Hebrews 10:5-7 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; 6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. 7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”
The author quotes Psalm 40:6-8 as further proof of why Jesus came and how Jesus resolves the problem of sin by his death on the cross. The first line may be what grabs the author’s attention in that it references how God desires something greater than sacrifices. The Israelites gave their offerings without sincerity and repentance. It had all become empty ritual. It is not that God changed His mind regarding sacrifices but that God had planned for something great from the beginning. The sacrifices were only temporary. The second line about the prepared body could reference the incarnation and how the Son of God took on human form in order to be the perfect sacrifice. Jesus did not turn away from the cross but came to complete the Father’s plan. By following the Father’s will, Jesus did not commit any sin but obeyed all that the Father directed Him to do. This was all prophesied in the Old Testament. The author has several quotations that demonstrate this. The author’s argument is convincing as he provides different proofs to his ideas: logic, scripture, examples.
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