“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation,” Hebrews 9:28.
The religion of Christ is a religion of certainties! Daniel, upon revealing God’s future purpose to king Nebuchadnezzar underlined that the matter was settled and could not be altered.
“Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure,” Daniel 2:45.
The words ‘certain’ and ‘sure’ carry the meaning of ‘utterly reliable’!
BUT we live in a world of uncertainties because of our very limited perception of what lies beyond the ‘here and new’!
Thus James counsels us:
“Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that,” James 4:13-15.
The Word of God sets before us that of which we may be absolutely certain. Our text sets forth just such a most happy and thrilling certainty — the glorious return of Christ our Saviour!
Please consider some simple considerations set forth in this lovely verse.
I. HE IS SPECIAL BECAUSE HE IS THE ONE WHO BORE THE SINS OF MANY
“Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many.”
1. Let me underline that word ‘offered’. It is absolutely true that Christ offered Himself , as we read in Hebrews 9:14.
“How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
But it is also stated in that familiar and much loved verse, John 3:16, that the Father offered His Son at Calvary.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The Father gave His Son unto death for the sins of His people that they might be eternally pardoned and redeemed. If I might say, that is where the ‘offering’ of Christ began — in the heart and mind of the Father!
But Hebrews 9:14 also mentions the participation of the third person of the Eternal Trinity, the Holy Spirit, in that offering at the cross. Note what it says: “Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God.”
The godly Bible commentator, Dr John Gill, a predecessor of Charles Haddon Spurgeon who became pastor at the Strict Baptist church at Goat Yard Chapel, Horsleydown, Southwark in 1719 and his pastorate lasted 51 years. In 1757 his congregation needed larger premises and moved to a Carter Lane, St. Olave’s Street, Southwark. This Baptist church was once pastored by Benjamin Keach and would later become the New Park Street Chapel and then the Metropolitan Tabernacle pastored by Charles Spurgeon.
Dr Gill says of these words in Hebrew 9:14: Christ is often said to do such and such things by the Holy Spirit; and as the Holy Ghost formed and filled the human nature of Christ, so he assisted and supported it under sufferings.’
Thus we see that the offering made by Christ was one in which the Father and the Holy Spirit were indissolubly and gloriously involved and associated!
2. Consider the word ‘bear’. That means to ‘carry or bring up’. There is no part of the Saviour’s ministry more misunderstood than what He did at the cross. There He ‘carried, brought up’ before His father “the sins of many” that His Father, the “Judge of all the earth” might punish in Christ the sins of the “many”.
As the blood of the sacrificial lamb of the Old Testament era was shed and then sprinkled on the mercy seat as an act of atonement, so Christ, the “Lamb of God”, symbolised in the Old Testament rituals, offered Himself and His blood and thus “put away sin by the sacrifice of himself,” verse 26.
The words “put away” mean He ‘abolished our sins’. Before God, the death and sacrifice of Christ caused our sins to cease from the mind and from before the eye of God. How marvellously wonderful is this!
Look at these verses:
“I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins,” Isaiah 43:25.
“I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee,” Isaiah 44:22.
“Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities,” Psalm 51:9.
“In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve,” Jeremiah 50:20.
“Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea,” Micah 7:18-19.
“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord,” Acts 3:19.
Is there not enough stated here to underscore the eternal completeness of the atonement Christ made for our sins!
Paul stated this truth in those wonderful words in Romans 8. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit,” verse 1. Through the sacrifice of Christ we have eternal peace with God. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”Romans 5:1.
Rejoice and rest easy in that truth, Christian.
3. Then please note the very important word ‘many’. It is vitally important. Here we are taught that Christ did not die and offer Himself for the sins of ‘every body’!
There are those pulpits, likely the majority of pulpits, which sound forth the very false and damning notion that Christ died for everyone and therefore atonement has been made for everyy person who has ever lived and all will be in heaven!
That is the devil’s lie!
The truth of ‘election’ is defined in our Shorter Catechism in the question 20 and its answer.
‘Did God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery?
Answer: God having, out of his mere good pleasure, from all eternity, elected some to everlasting life, did enter into a covenant of grace, to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation by a Redeemer.’
God’s elect
Those for whom the Saviour died are often called in Holy Scripture, “God’s elect”. Paul’s opening words in his epistle to the Ephesians declares the doctrine of ‘election.
“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself,” Ephesians 1:1-9.
That is as complete a statement of the gospel as you will find anywhere! It is wonderfully confirmed by the Saviour Himself when he responded to the doubting question of some of the Jews.
“Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him,” John 10:24-31.
Did he not earlier declare this truth in those words so often pressed upon sinners by evangelists?
“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out,” John 6:37.
Yes, He did not die for all but He did die for ‘MANY! Here is what John was shown of the redeemed in glory.
“After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb,” Revelation 7:9-10.
Are you one of the ‘Many’!
II. THOSE NUMBERED AMONGST THE ‘MANY’ ARE MARKED BY A LOOKING.
Here is how you may know that you are ONE of the ‘MANY’?
The ‘many’ are marked by a looking “for Him”!
It is a chief feature of every true believer to Christ. “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God,” Hebrews 12:2. A Christian will find that their eyes are drawn toward the Lord Jesus. David put it like this: “Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us,” Psalm 123:2. He is the source of all our desires and needs!
1. That there was one feature in the believers’ behaviour in the early church that was often remarked upon. Consider please these verses.
“So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,” 1 Corinthians 1:7.
“For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself,” Philippians 3:20-21.
“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing,” 2 Timothy 4:7-8.
“Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ,” Titus 2:12-13.
“Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness,” 2 Peter 3:11-13.
The Saviour emphasised that the end of this age should be marked by our looking up as we see Scripture being fulfilled. “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh,” Luke 21:28. This indicates that we may ‘KNOW’ that the time of the Saviour’s return is near and that we then should PARTICULARLY begin to look up!
Expectation in the past
Do not these verses illustrate that the true believers in by-gone days were marked by a disposition that indicated that they were expecting and waiting for the return of Christ in power and great glory?
Is it not further suggested to us that since the disposition of many professing Christians today is almost one of INDIFFERENCE regarding the return of the Saviour, that it is clear that we have entered upon that time referred to by Christ in the parable of the ‘wise and foolish virgins’?
“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept,” Matthew 25:1-5.
All too often, readers of ‘The Burning Bush’ have responded to an article of mine on this topic with the words, ‘My minister rarely mentions the return of Christ’!
Confusion about so much!
Sadly, I believe that such a comment is all too true. When the return of Christ is mentioned it is in the most general terms and not in the detailed fashion that the wonderful subject is revealed to us in the Scriptures.
Many ministers shy away from the subject, offering the excuse that ‘there is much confusion and many theories regarding His second coming’! That is very true!
It is also true of the doctrine of the existence of God, the nature of God, the person of Christ, His divinity, His purpose, His death and resurrection . . . need I go on?
There is confusion and division amongst professing Christians on every doctrine set out in Holy Scripture. If ministers were to avoid every doctrine about which there is ‘much confusion and many theories’, they would never open their mouths!
That excuse will not stand, therefore.
2. I believe that there is another reason for this ‘silence’! I firmly believe that the devil has much to do with it! He is most certainly behind the blinding (the word infers – ‘to blunt the mental discernment, darken the mind’) of the minds of mankind to gospel truths.
Paul stated: “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them,” 2 Corinthians 4:4.
His attempts at ‘blinding’ do not stop at “them which believe not”. No, he attacks the minds of believers. Remember Peter’s folly?
“Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men,” Matthew 16:22-23.
I know of cases of ministers, as truly saved as was Peter, but nevertheless as stupidly deceived as Peter, saying to members of their flock that the subject of the return of Christ was of lesser importance than evangelism and missionary work, and therefore it should not be given any great importance!
That was not the mind of the apostles as stated in the verses I have quoted above! Such a neglecting of the subject of the second advent of Christ’s is part the latter-day ‘falling asleep’!
3. Surely the need to ‘look’ intensifies as the last apostasy breaks forth upon us. I repeat the words of Paul that I have often quoted. “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come,” 2 Timothy 3:1.
That spoken of by the apostle is upon us today!
Of old, before the days of ship-to-shore radio/telephones, the mothers, wives and sweethearts of sailers used to gather at the harbour, to anxiously watch for the return of their loved ones’ fishing vessels, especially if the weather was stormy.
There is a like need for us, in these stormy days, to look heavenward, not in anxiety as did the fishermen’s womenfolk, but with joyful expectation of the soon return of our ‘beloved’.
III. UNTO SUCH AS LOOK FOR HIM, HE SHALL APPEAR.
“Unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time.”
Now it is to be clearly understood that when Christ returns in glory He will be seen by all. “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen,” Revelation 1:7.
That was stated also by Zechariah. “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn,” Zechariah 12:10.
But in a special way, He shall appear to those who, in response to what the Bible has taught them, have been watching for Him.
This truth is illustrated for us in the circumstances of the Saviour’s first advent.
“And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; and she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem,” Luke 2:25-38.
There were ‘lookers’ in the days before the first advent and they were amongst the first to hear the news. So it will be at the second advent! There will be those clear to what will be taking place and the wonderful event that is about to happen. They will be have “trimmed their lamps” and will have will have “gone out to meet” the Saviour and be the first, as it were, to go “in with him to the marriage”.
I think we can see a picture of this ’spirit of expectancy and welcome’ in the record of Paul’s journey to Rome as a prisoner.
“Where we found brethren, and were desired to tarry with them seven days: and so we went toward Rome. And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii forum, and The three taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage,” Acts 28:14-15.
O dear Christian, have you heard of and are you pondering the news of the Saviour’s approach, and is there a spirit of ‘a going out to meet Him’ in your heart and life, as there was in the ‘brethren’ who heard of Paul’s approach. Love made them eager to meet Paul and rightly so, but how much more eager ought we to be to see the One Who has borne our sins and died to save us with an everlasting salvation?
The Lord bless you richly, dear readers.
Sincerely in Christ’s name,
Ivan Foster (Rtd)
Friday 15th November 2024