“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:27-28)
The High Priestly offering which Jesus made is infinitely superior to any of the offerings made under the old covenant. The reason: He offered His own blood not the blood of a substitute. And although the altar on which Jesus made His sacrifice was the cross on Golgotha, His actual offering was made in heaven, at the throne of His Father, not in the temple at Jerusalem. The atonement is the result of the obedience of Christ in taking on our suns and offering up Himself for them, a sacrifice so complete and infinite that it need be offered only once.
This great sacrifice shows us the infinite love of God. Jesus came to bear our sins for us because He knew we were so enslaved by them that we could never hope to break free of them or atone for them, no matter how hard we try. And he did this for us while we were unworthy of His love or grace. He cares about every human being even the most hardened sinner, even the most convicted atheist. He desires all to come to repentance.
Yet even though Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient to cover all sin, many people in our culture and even in the church have great difficulty with the language of sacrifice and blood offerings. These are often dismissed as obsolete vestiges of primitive religious rituals which have no significance for the modern enlightened man. Sin and the need for atonement are also foreign concepts. Yet the author of Hebrews tells us that God forgives sin solely because of the sacrifice and obedience of Christ. We cannot receive mercy, grace and peace apart from Him and what He has done.