Hebrews 9:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper,

NIV: This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper.

NASB: which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience,

CSB: This is a symbol for the present time, during which gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the worshiper’s conscience.

NLT: This is an illustration pointing to the present time. For the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them.

KJV: Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;

NKJV: It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience—

In this passage, the writer of Hebrews has listed several components of the temple. These rooms and artifacts were used under the old covenant as priests made sacrifices to God. The purpose of this description is to show how these components were meant to be symbolic. Rather than being God's final plan, those items were intended to point the way to God's true final solution for our sin, which was Jesus Christ (Hebrews 8:6–7). In the prior verse, the writer pointed out that the two rooms of the temple, each separated from the people by a curtain, were symbolic of the old covenant's inability to offer man free access to God.

Here, the writer makes a comment about how this arrangement—man separated from God, with the path to the holy places closed off—is symbolic of the "present age." This terminology is intended to be taken from the perspective of "past as present." In other words, speaking as those who were functioning under this law since Moses, the writer indicates that the symbolic separation is related to this very process of priests and sacrifices and curtained rooms. When Jesus was crucified, this temple veil was torn—literally—and the separation between man and God was eliminated (Matthew 27:50–51).

Along those lines, the writer returns to the idea that the sacrifices offered under this old covenant are purely external. Physical rituals can soothe the conscience of the participant (1 Peter 3:21), but they cannot actually change it. In order to be changed, on the inside, something more than external ritual is required.

Hebrews 9:1–10 explains how the rooms and artifacts of the temple were only meant as symbols. In fact, those items were specifically intended to show how the old covenant could not remove the barrier between God and man. The use of external rituals can only assuage feelings of guilt, it cannot actually remove sin or change a person's nature. The existence of the curtains, separating men from the holy places, is also symbolic of how the old covenant leaves us apart from God. This sets up a comparison, in the following passage, showing how Christ's sacrifice fulfills those symbols and achieves a perfection of our relationship with God.

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.

Chapter 9 continues the writer's explanation of the superiority of Christ. In chapter 8, this focused on the idea that God had promised a new covenant, even as the old covenant was still in effect. This not only means that the new covenant must be different, but that the old covenant must be flawed. Here in chapter 9, the writer focuses on the fact that the old covenant featured aspects which were meant only as symbols of the ''true'' high priesthood of Christ. Since Christ's sacrifice is more powerful, and performed in a better place, it is more effective in securing our salvation than the sacrifices of animals. Chapter 10 will continue this discussion by wrapping up these various ideas about the superiority of the new covenant.

The book of Hebrews is meant to challenge, encourage, and empower Christian believers. According to this letter, Jesus Christ is superior to all other prophets and all other claims to truth. Since God has given us Christ, we ought to listen to what He says and not move backwards. The consequences of ignoring God are dire. Hebrews is important for drawing on many portions of the Old Testament in making a case that Christ is the ultimate and perfect expression of God's plan for mankind. This book presents some tough ideas about the Christian faith, a fact the author makes specific note of.