Hebrews 9:11-12 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.
These verses state the significance of Jesus’ death on the cross. This is another important interpretation of the atonement in the New Testament. Jesus followed the same type of action as the ancient priests of Israel. He went into the Holy of Holies into the presence of the Holy God to make atonement for the sins of the people. The “tent” that Jesus went through was “greater and more perfect” because it was into God’s very presence in heaven. This required an infinitely even more perfect sacrifice than the blood of bulls and goats like in Israel. Jesus also only went once to make atonement because his sacrifice was perfect. He did not need to repeat his sacrifice because his death and resurrection forever solved the problem of sin. His sacrifice was the only payment for redemption from sin. All of these images come from the context of the Old Testament which points ahead to Jesus.
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