In our study today the author shows us that the sacrifice Christ made is the fulfillment of the prophetic words of King David in Psalm 40. These words prove that God always intended to bring in a new and better covenant, a covenant confirmed by the blood of Christ and not by the blood of animals.
"The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming---not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship." (Hebrews 10:1) Everything in the law pointed toward Christ. Therefore the author calls the law "a shadow". This shadow was like a hint, or a preview, of things to come. Just as a preview is meant to pique our interest for the real thing, the law was meant to prepare the hearts of men and women to accept Christ when He became flesh and dwelt among us.
If sacrifices and offerings were capable of making men and women right with a holy God forever, then at some point it would have no longer been necessary to keep bringing sacrifices and offerings year after year. But these earthly things did not have the power to eternally cleanse souls. "Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins." (Hebrews 10:2)
If any sacrifice or offering under the law had been capable of redeeming a soul for eternity, then a person would have only had to bring it once. But each time a person realized he had violated God's laws, he had to bring a sin offering. In addition to that, every year a sacrifice of atonement had to be made for sins that the people had committed in ignorance---for mistakes they may not have been aware of and for wrong attitudes they may not have known they were harboring. Rather than making people feel comfortable in their consciences, these repeated sacrifices and offerings served only to remind them of how much they had fallen short. "But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." (Hebrews 10:3-4) God didn't design it this way so people would continually beat themselves up, but so they would recognize their need for Him to make them righteous. They needed to understand that they could never save themselves by performing works, for righteousness is by faith and not by works. In acknowledging their inability to be perfect, they acknowledged their need for a Savior, and this paved the way for them to accept the perfect sacrifice that the perfect Son of God was going to make for mankind.
Because earthly sacrifices were not capable of cleansing souls from sins forever, God prepared a sacrifice that would be capable of doing this. The author of Hebrews now quotes the words of King David, who by inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote down what God the Son said to God the Father in regard to the plan of salvation. "Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: 'Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings You were not pleased. Then I said, 'Here I am---it is written about Me in the scroll---I have come to do Your will, my God.'" (Hebrews 10:5-7, Psalm 40:6-8)
It's not that God wasn't pleased when the people did what the law commanded them to do. It's that God didn't feel satisfied until the permanent solution for sin---the new covenant---was made. God wanted to provide man with a means of salvation that would last for all time, so until the proper time came for Christ to fulfill this plan, God considered the sacrifices and offerings of the law to be only a temporary solution. These things were a shadow of the reality that would be fulfilled in Christ. So now we don't have to bring sacrifices and offerings year after year. We don't have to continually be reminded that we have fallen short. Now we have a sacrifice that makes us right for all time, and we have a great high priest who intercedes for us with God when we mess up. We are saved by faith, not by works. Christ did all the work for us. He did what was necessary to save us. He does what's necessary to keep us saved. What other religion offers a plan like this? What other God gave His life to save sinful and unworthy mankind? What other plan offers us salvation through someone else's sacrifice? If we reject Christ, there is no solution for our sins, and we will stand before a holy God someday without Christ standing by us to defend us.
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