What does Hebrews 9:22 mean?
Under the old covenant, sacrificial blood was required to sanctify almost everything. Forgiveness for sins, in particular, was dependent on the death of an animal. Up to this point, the writer of Hebrews has been pointing out that the old covenant was always intended, by God, as a symbol of the new covenant. The physical rituals and artifacts of the temple were given by God specifically to point towards the ministry of Jesus Christ. In many cases, those components of the old covenant were meant to be seen as limited specifically as proof that God intended to provide a more permanent solution.Immediately prior to this verse, the writer has pointed out that even at the very beginning of the covenant between God and Israel, blood was shed in order to establish that arrangement.
Here, the writer makes it clear that the blood which was spilled in both the old and new covenants is necessary—forgiveness from sin is not possible without it. Under the old covenant, this meant repeated offerings of animal sacrifices (Hebrews 7:27). In the new covenant, this means a single, perfect, once-for-all shedding of blood by Christ. Upcoming verses will focus on how this sacrifice by Jesus fulfills the symbolism of the old covenant and resolves the weaknesses of the temple rituals.
Hebrews 9:11–28 continues to explain how the new covenant in Jesus Christ is superior to the old covenant. This passage focuses on two main advantages of this arrangement: that Christ serves in a better temple, and that Christ offers a superior sacrifice. The physical temple, and its implements, were meant to be symbols of Christ's ''true'' place of service in heaven. Unlike limited sacrifices of animals, Jesus' single death was able to completely save us from sin.
Hebrews chapter 9 explains how the old covenant included various physical locations and physical rituals. These, according to the writer of Hebrews, were always intended as symbols. Their details, and the drawbacks which they suffered from, were meant to point towards the ''true'' means of our redemption, which is Christ. Unlike animal sacrifices, which must be repeated, and which cannot change man on the inside, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is a once for all, permanent, and completely effective solution to sin. The fact that Christ died for sin only once also means that His next arrival, in the future, will not be as a sacrifice, but as the final fulfillment of God's plan.
