The book of Hebrews is a brilliant epistle. The author points us to Jesus and then expounds the superiority and exclusivity of Christ as the only way of salvation.
If you read the book of Hebrews in one sitting, you can see the flow and get the overarching theme: Christ is superior, Jesus is the way. But, if you slow down, and examine word by word and line by line, you see the depth of theology and meaning in the text. Notice one small section of the books first sentence: “when [Jesus] had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3b).
Jesus purged our sins. Jesus cleansed us from our guilt and transgression against God’s law. Christ Jesus took our sins, bore them and removed them from us as far as the east is from the west. Jesus, by himself, purged our sins. The Old Testament tells the story of thousands of priests and thousands of years of sacrifice and offerings; yet the sum total of all those offerings could not, once and for all, deal with sin. There were many priests who had daily priestly tasks. Yet Jesus, by himself, dealt with sin, once and for all.
Jesus purged the sins by himself, without your help.
The priests could not do the job alone. It was not physically possible for one man to do everything that needed to be done in the service. One man could not provide all the animals and offerings, and then offer all the sacrifices, be the judge of controversies, keep the cities of refuge, judge cases of leprosy, pray and bless the nation and provide the spiritual needs of the people, just to mention a few. Jesus, by himself saved us, without your assistance. He did not need your opinion or your help. He doesn’t need you to offer your good works along with His. Jesus fully and completely and perfectly saves. There is no other way of salvation. Jesus is the only way.
Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Father. When a priest walked into the temple, he would pass the altar, the table that held the shewbread. The smell the incense wafted from the altar and the lights flickered from the lamp-stand. He would gaze upon the veil that separated him from the Holy of Holies, and once a year, would enter and behold the ark of the covenant. But what he did not see was a chair. There was not a seat to rest or a throne to sit upon. The job of the priest was never done. But Christ, after he purged our sins, rose from the dead and ascended on high. And he sat. He sat down because the job was finished. He sat down because the victory was won. He sat down at the right hand of the Father because the wrath of God was satisfied, sin was paid for, and the work of redemption was accomplished.
