The Better Word :: Hebrews 9:13-14

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For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer ... sanctify (with the result being) the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God (v. 13-14).

For nearly two years now, you have heard me warn you weekly about reducing Jesus to being nothing more than a good man with a good word about good living. Maybe you’ve never understood why I was doing that ... beyond it being a catchy phrase I latched onto after reading Pastor Matthew Richard’s book, Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up? Today’s epistle gives us one answer.

You might be surprised to learn how many “Christians” in our world ignore the content of the Evangelist’s sermon to the Hebrews. They ignore this passage. They ignore the all-atoning work of Jesus. They will certainly say something like, Yes, I believe Jesus died for me. But death is always clean. They ignore his sacrifice. They ignore his blood. They reduce Jesus to being a great role model, a guru with a better word.

Today’s epistle differs pointedly.

Believe it or not, the world around you doesn’t think the sacrifice of Christ is all that important. They like to keep things neat and clean, especially their religion. Hell, they say, doesn’t exist. The devil and demons aren’t really real. God didn’t die. The Bible? Fiction. The resurrection? Didn’t happen; and if it did, it doesn’t mean anything. Worship is all about my experience.

You think I am making this up ... don’t you?


Did you know one recent study found that only 10 percent of sermons preached in some “Christian” circles address sin? Be holy, they say. Good luck with that.

Did you know that only 25 percent of some “Christians” are certain that the resurrection of Jesus actually happened? And that only 30 percent of the “Christians” who do believe in the resurrection actually believe the biblical version of the resurrection. 

1. To ask the Lutheran question, what does this mean: If they ignore the resurrection, why would they remember his blood?

As we near the end of Lent, as we peer through the veiled cross. trying to get a glimpse of Christ, trying to wrap our heads around what that cross might actually mean for us, trying to understand the mystery of what Jesus actually said, what Jesus actually did, AND what Jesus continues to do for you, you might be even more surprised to learn how many “Christians” today never talk about the blood.

It’s too shocking. It’s too horrifying. Blood is too messy. We don’t want to look at it. We will freak out about it. We want nothing to do with it. Blood screams at us. Blood means death. Death scares us.

2. Indeed, it does. But the evangelist proclaims, Remember the blood! 

There is a shadow of blood in all of our readings on this Fifth Sunday in Lent. To be sure, it is subdued in our Old Testament (Gen 22:1-14) and Gospel (John 8:46-59) readings. Abraham had the knife in his hand to shed the blood of his only son on the mountain where the Lord would provide the ultimate sacrifice (Gen 22:10-14). In the Gospel of John, the Jews went to great lengths searching for ways to slaughter the Lamb who was before Abraham (John 8:59). 

Both of these readings point to the mediator of the blood of the new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance (v. 15).


First, though, our sin has to be dealt with. We so badly want to forget sin ... to forget the price of sin. We are constantly trying to cover our sin, to hide it, lest it reveal our shame. Have you checked out the new line of fig leaves?

So we naturally long to silence our sin, to hide our sin, to never talk about our sin. We think we can protect ourselves that way. We then create for ourselves a no muss, no fuss religion: Simple, clean, and neat. 

No crucifix. No death. No pain. No blood.


Brothers and sisters in Christ, the evangelist to the Hebrews today reminds us we must face the truth.

3. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins (Heb 9:22).

To understand our epistle reading fully, we really need to understand the Book of Leviticus, in particular. I don’t have time to unpack it all here today. But you need to know Leviticus runs red with blood. 

Fortunately, for you, the priests handled all of it. You brought the offerings. They shed blood for you. Bulls, and goats, and lambs, and rams, and doves, and pigeons. There was a lot of blood shed in the temple at Jerusalem. The priests would take the blood and throw it against the sides of the altar. They would pour it out to the base of the altar. They would use this blood to cleanse and purify us all. For as God said, blood purifies everything (Heb 9:22).

Historians have noted that the streams running out of the city of Jerusalem would run red with the blood of sacrifices at times. According to the Talmud, a Jewish religious text, the heart of the city’s economy was the Temple, the only place where Israelites could sacrifice animals as offerings to God. Some passages depict priests wading up to their knees in blood; others describe 1.2 million animals being slaughtered on one day. 

The most important day of the year is detailed in Leviticus chapter 16. It’s the Day of Atonement, which means the Day of Covering. On that one day of the year, the high priest entered the Most Holy Place in the Temple to offer a sacrifice on behalf of the people, to cover all of their sins. First, he had to take special steps to purify himself. Then, he would present a bull as a sin offering for himself and his household. He would kill the bull and drain its blood. He would sprinkle some of that blood with his finger on the mercy seat. Finally, he would kill a goat as a sacrificial sin offering of the people and bring its blood inside the Holy of Holies. And their past sins were thus covered by blood.


That brings us back to our reading from Hebrews. 

Now if the blood of goats and bulls sanctifies (with the result being) the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, thank God that Jesus isn’t just a good man with a good word on good living. Thank God, we don’t need to repeat the sacrifices of Jerusalem. 

JESUS, OUR HIGH PRIEST, SACRIFICED HIS LIFE AND GAVE HIS OWN BLOOD ON THE ALTAR OF THE CROSS FOR YOU

4. Jesus has atoned for your sins with his blood. 

Jesus has become the sacrifice to end all sacrifices. He is both the high priest and the sacrifice. He is the only son who died on the mountain. Now because of his life, death, and resurrection, he gives us a clean conscience (v. 14), by grace through faith. No longer do we need to work out our own salvation, as if we were ever able to work that out. He has done all the work for us ... shedding his own blood for you. 

  • If you’ve been relying on yourselves to make yourselves holy ... 

  • If you’ve been relying on how well you behave, on how well you repent, on how often you come to church ... 

  • If you’ve been relying on how holy you live your life, on how much you pray ... 

  • If you’ve been relying on how many sacrifices you make ... 

  • If you’ve been relying on anything but the blood of Jesus ... 

then, in the name of Jesus, repent. 

  • If you are fixated upon trying to appease God through your piety and not upon what Jesus has done ... and continues to do ... 

in the name of Jesus, repent. 

When you try to do good works or make sacrifices to gain God’s favor, you are doing nothing but idolizing yourself and your work, driving yourself farther away from the only true God and the forgiveness he gives us in His Word and Sacraments. 

Instead, hear the gospel. Jesus has covered all sin with his blood. His blood purifies all of you. His blood gives you a clean conscience.  

God knows that none of us are worthy of the forgiveness of sins. He knows that no one does good; that no one understands; no, not one (Rom 3:11-12). No matter how hard we try to hide our sin, no matter how often we try to shed our shame ... apart from the blood of Jesus, he still sees the sinner in us. 

5. But now, because of the blood of Jesus, he sees only the saint in us.

The blood of Christ speaks a better word for us (Heb 12:24). Through his blood, Jesus gives us eternal life. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him from the dead (Jn 6:54). 

This is why his blood is a better word: Jesus has attached his promise to his blood. Our works in service to God are now pleasing to him. Why? The blood he pours out for us gives us living hope, because he gives us his life in his blood. We don’t need to make sacrifices any longer to merit God’s favor. God Himself has provided the blood ... the blood of his only begotten son, our Lord Jesus.

We understand now that we don’t need the blood of goats and calves. Jesus ... our prophet, priest, and king who was born without sin, and who lived a sinless life, suffered and died for you, he has shed His own blood for you as the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He shed it for you, the sinful ones ... and then he took his blood into the Most Holy Place once for all and erased all sin ... the sins of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. There, he obtained eternal redemption for all of us (v. 12). 


So, now, what are we to do? Thank God for his Divine Service to us today. The Old Testament sacrifices have given way to the New Testament sacraments. Our Lord is with us today, bearing these gifts through the public reading and preaching of Scripture, through the administration of the sacraments: baptism, absolution, and the Lord’s Supper. Our Lord has prepared his table for you. These means of grace actually do something better for you: delivering to you the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, receive it as often as you can with joy. It is for you  He gives us life through his blood for your good, and his glory ... in Jesus’ name.

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