Hebrews 9:25-26 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
The high priest in the old covenant had to go into the Holy of Holies each year on the Day of Atonement. The author here compares the idea of this repeated sacrifice to the one time sacrifice of Jesus. The high priest made atonement with the blood of animals. This was a weak substitute and never solved the problem of sin. Jesus, however, offered his own perfect blood, which was from a sinless life, not for his own sins but for the sins of the people. This is an infinitely beyond comparison between the blood of the old covenant and the blood of the new covenant. Verse 26 is a reference to an absurd thought that if Jesus, the Son of God, the eternal and incarnate one, had to do the same thing as the old high priests, then his death would have to be repeated every year. But the fact that Jesus offered his life only once adds further proof that his death was the final solution to sin. His death solved sin for all eternity. The logic of the author’s argument here is clear and should not be missed. He is combining Old Testament theology with New Testament theology, bringing the two parts of the Bible together into one grand story. His purpose for all this is a little below the surface but will appear at points of exhortation. These verses and the previous ones are only adding further impact to this purpose. The author is building a case step by step, just like a lawyer might do. This is called an “argument” and it is supported by logic. From a modern perspective, these verses should help us see that God had a plan for our salvation since the beginning. All that we read in the Old Testament lays a foundation and prepares for what Jesus came and did.
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