Hebrews Chapter 9
The Old Covenant and the New Covenant Compared
A. Features of the Old Covenant Described
1. Hebrews 9:1–5 (NKJV):
"Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary.
For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary;
and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All,
which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;
and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail."
The author here summarizes the physical and ritual structure of the Mosaic tabernacle. He does not belittle it—it was divinely ordained—but he stresses it was only earthly, temporary, and symbolic. The tabernacle served as a picture of something greater to come.
The first room—called the holy place—contained the lampstand, the table of showbread, and was a place of daily priestly ministry.
The second room, beyond the veil, was the Most Holy Place, or Holiest of All, where only the high priest could enter once a year. This contained:
The golden censer (or altar of incense, closely associated with the Most Holy Place in function).
The ark of the covenant, which contained:
The golden pot of manna — a reminder of God's provision and Israel's murmuring.
Aaron’s rod that budded — symbolizing God's choice and Israel’s rebellion.
The stone tablets of the covenant — symbolizing the Law, which Israel broke.
Above the ark were the cherubim of glory, representing the presence of God. Between them was the mercy seat, where atonement blood was sprinkled once per year.
All these items represented sin, rebellion, and failure—but when the blood was applied to the mercy seat, it covered what God saw in the ark, symbolizing atonement by blood.
2. Hebrews 9:6–7 (NKJV):
"Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services.
But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance;"
The regular duties of the priests took place in the holy place daily. But only the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place, and only once per year—on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement (see Leviticus 16). He did not come empty-handed. He brought blood:
First for his own sin (Leviticus 16:6)
Then for the sins of the people committed in ignorance (Leviticus 16:15–17)
This pattern emphasized:
Restricted access: God’s immediate presence was not casually approached.
Continual sacrifice: It had to be done year after year.
Imperfect mediation: The high priest himself was a sinner.
These verses underscore the inferiority and incompleteness of the Old Covenant system. The continual repetition of sacrifices was proof that none of them actually took away sin (cf. Hebrews 10:1–4). It was all preparatory, pointing toward the perfect and final work of Christ.
3. Hebrews 9:8–10 — The Holy Spirit Gives Understanding Regarding the Priestly Service Under the Old Covenant
Hebrews 9:8–10 (NKJV):
"The Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing.
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—
concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation."
The restricted access to God’s presence in the tabernacle — with only one man allowed to enter the Most Holy Place once a year — was a symbol orchestrated by the Holy Spirit. It indicated that the full access to God's presence was not yet opened under the Old Covenant system.
a. “The way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing”
The presence of the veil meant that open access to God’s presence was blocked. The old system — with priests, sacrifices, and ceremonies — had to pass away before full and free access could be given. This reveals the temporary and incomplete nature of the Old Covenant system.
b. “It was symbolic for the present time”
The word translated symbolic is parabolē in Greek — the same root used for “parable.” It means that the entire tabernacle system functioned like an object lesson, pointing forward to a greater spiritual reality found in Christ. These rituals were never meant to be permanent or self-sufficient. They were shadows, not substance.
c. “Cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience”
The Law could regulate behavior but could not cleanse the conscience or transform the heart. Even the priests performing the rituals remained inwardly unchanged. If the priest offering the sacrifice wasn’t made perfect, then how much less the people he represented?
d. “Concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation”
The rituals were external—touching the body, not the soul. The Law dealt with cleansing of the flesh, not transformation of the heart. These ceremonies were temporary regulations “imposed until the time of reformation”—that is, until Christ came to establish the New Covenant, which reformed the order of access to God.
B. Features of the New Covenant Described
1. Hebrews 9:11 — The Superior Sanctuary of the New Covenant
Hebrews 9:11 (NKJV):
"But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation."
Jesus ministers in a superior sanctuary, not in an earthly tent like the tabernacle. He serves in the heavenly tabernacle, the throne room of God Himself — the very reality that the earthly tabernacle only symbolized.
The “good things to come” refers to the complete salvation and restored relationship with God that Jesus accomplished — not merely forgiveness, but access, cleansing, inheritance, and fellowship.
2. Hebrews 9:12–15 — The Superior Sacrifice of the New Covenant
Hebrews 9:12–15 (NKJV):
"Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh,
how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God,
cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death,
for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance."
a. “Not with the blood of goats and calves”
The blood of animals could never cleanse the soul — it was a temporary covering. Jesus, by contrast, brought His own blood, infinitely superior because He was sinless, divine, and voluntary in His offering.
b. “With His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all”
Jesus did not bring the blood of another — He brought His own. His sacrifice was:
Final (once for all),
Sufficient (no repetition needed),
Accepted (He entered heaven itself and remains there),
Atoning (obtaining eternal redemption).
The Levitical high priest came and went — Jesus tore the veil and stayed. The temple veil was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51), signifying that the barrier had been removed. Christianity is not about restriction — it’s about access.
c. “Who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God”
Jesus' sacrifice was a Trinitarian act:
The Son offered Himself,
Through the eternal Spirit,
To God the Father.
He was without spot — the perfect Lamb of God (see 1 Peter 1:19). This offering cleanses us not just externally but inwardly, cleansing the conscience.
d. “Cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God”
Dead works can include:
Overt sin (Romans 6:23),
Legalistic attempts to earn salvation (Galatians 3:10),
Religious rituals that deny grace (Hebrews 6:1).
Christ frees us from these, not to live for self, but to serve the living God. The Greek word for serve, latreuō, refers to priestly worship. Every believer, now cleansed, becomes a spiritual priest (1 Peter 2:5), rendering holy service to God.
e. “He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death”
Jesus mediates this New Covenant not through teaching alone, but through His death. His death paid for sins under the Old Covenant — every faithful sacrifice before Christ was paid forward at the cross.
f. “That those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance”
This is the purpose of it all: that those whom God has called — Jew and Gentile — may receive an eternal inheritance. This includes:
Full access to God,
Eternal forgiveness,
A glorified body,
Eternal life in the New Jerusalem.
This inheritance is guaranteed by the death of the Testator, and sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13–14).
3. Hebrews 9:16–22 — The Necessity of Jesus’ Death
Hebrews 9:16–17 (NKJV):
“For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives.”
The writer transitions from discussing a covenant to a testament (i.e., a “last will and testament”) to explain the necessity of Christ’s death. Just as a will only takes legal effect when the person dies, so the New Covenant only came into full force through the death of Christ.
This analogy highlights the legal and binding nature of Christ’s death. It wasn’t symbolic. It wasn’t optional. It was the legal requirement to activate the promises of the New Covenant.
“If Jesus did not die, then the gospel is null and void.” (Spurgeon)
Hebrews 9:18–21 (NKJV):
“Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood.
For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law,
he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop,
and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,
saying, ‘This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.’
Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry.”
Even the Old Covenant was inaugurated with blood. When Moses ratified the covenant at Sinai (Exodus 24:3–8), he used the blood of sacrificial animals to consecrate both the book of the Law and the people.
This act was a vivid declaration: death was required for access to God. The tabernacle, its furnishings, the priesthood, and the Law itself — all had to be consecrated by blood. God was teaching His people a consistent truth: atonement requires blood.
Hebrews 9:22 (NKJV):
“And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.”
This is one of the most critical theological truths in Scripture: without shedding of blood, there is no remission. This is not just a Levitical principle — it’s a divine law embedded in redemptive history.
Modern religious thought seeks to dismiss this, preferring ethical goodness, positive thinking, or good works. But none of those can atone for sin. Only blood — life given for life — satisfies the demands of divine justice.
As Spurgeon illustrated:
A wounded soldier wants to know who shot him, not how to be healed.
A captain faces a storm yet stays below studying charts instead of guiding the ship.
A sinner dying in sin obsesses over the origin of evil instead of seeking forgiveness.
We must stop analyzing the problem and receive the God-ordained solution: the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
4. Hebrews 9:23–28 — The Perfect Sanctuary Receives a Perfect Sacrifice
Hebrews 9:23–24 (NKJV):
“Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these,
but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true,
but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;”
The earthly tabernacle and its vessels were symbolic “copies” of the heavenly sanctuary. They were purified with animal blood. But the true sanctuary in heaven required something far greater: the perfect blood of Jesus Christ.
Christ did not enter a man-made temple. He entered heaven itself — the very presence of God — for us. His atoning work was not to satisfy ceremonial demands but to satisfy God’s eternal justice and secure real access for real sinners.
Hebrews 9:25–26 (NKJV):
“Not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another—
He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world;
but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”
Unlike the Levitical high priest who entered year after year, Jesus entered once for all time. His death was not repetitive, not symbolic — it was substitutionary and sufficient.
To offer Himself repeatedly would imply imperfection. But He offered Himself once, at the end of the ages — that is, the decisive turning point of redemptive history — and put away sin completely.
This passage alone utterly refutes the Roman Catholic doctrine of the Mass, which teaches that Christ’s sacrifice is re-presented. Scripture is crystal clear: “not that He should offer Himself often.” He died once — and it was enough.
Hebrews 9:27–28 (NKJV):
“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,
so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.
To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”
This verse captures the finality of life and the certainty of judgment. Just as man dies once and then faces God, Christ died once to bear our sins.
This one-time death of Christ is sufficient for all — but only effective for those who believe. And to those who have been cleansed and await His return, He will come again — not to deal with sin (which was finished at the cross) — but to complete our salvation by glorifying us and bringing us home.
“It ought to be a daily disappointment when our Lord does not come.” (Spurgeon)
Summary of Hebrews 9:16–28:
A covenant demands death to go into effect.
Blood was required under the Old Covenant, and blood was fulfilled in the New.
Christ’s once-for-all offering satisfies the full demands of justice.
He entered heaven itself on our behalf and appears now before God for us.
There will be no repeated sacrifices, because His work is complete.
Death is final — judgment is certain — and Christ’s sacrifice is the only preparation.
For those who believe, He will return — not to deal with sin, but to deliver us fully into glory.
