“Cleansed with Blood” [Matt's Messages] ~ Matt Mitchell

“Cleansed with Blood”

Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus - The Letter to the Hebrews

Lanse Evangelical Free Church

July 26, 2026 :: Hebrews 9:15-26

I think I have a pretty easy job this morning.

You tell me. I think I have a relatively easy job in this message because my job today is to convince you of something you already believe.

At least, I assume you believe this because you’re here, and we’ve been singing about it all morning. Anita just sang about it in her song which, by the way, was written by Philip Bliss who was born right here in Clearfield County. [He lived from 1838 to 1876. For all we know he might have attended the Clearfield County Fair (which began in 1852)!] “Once For All”

My job is to convince you of something you already believe. Let me ask you. Do you believe this?

Do you believe that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is superior and sufficient?

Do you believe that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is superior to the sacrifices of the Mosaic Covenant and sufficient for your eternal salvation? Yes? ... Okay then. My job is done! That was easy. Let’s all go home. Let’s sing the last song.

Ok. Not so fast. It still might be worthwhile for us to study this passage of holy Scripture anyway. Because we don’t always act like the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is superior and sufficient. And we might need reminded of why it’s superior and how it’s superior and why it’s sufficient and how it’s sufficient. So that we can truly appreciate what Jesus Christ has done for us. And live accordingly.

[VIDEO WILL BE EMBEDDED HERE.]

We’ve reached the part of the letter to the Hebrews that emphasizes blood.

There’s blood everywhere in this section. Blood, blood, blood, blood, blood. I think we said last time that he uses the word “blood” 22 times right here. It shows up 7 times just in the 11 verses we’re looking at this morning, and the concept is there more than the word. Blood, blood, blood, blood, blood. A sea of blood. Blood everywhere.

“Blood” in the book of Hebrews stands for a sacrificial death. It’s not just the red stuff with corpuscles but how that red stuff was shed. A sacrificial death. A violent death. Not a peaceful one. But a death where blood was spilled on purpose. Where the one who died was killed. Where something or someone was sacrificed in place of another. That’s what “blood” means in Hebrews.

And, yes, it’s gory. There’s no getting around it. It’s not pretty.

We sing about it all the time as Christians. How many worship songs can you think of that mention blood? Maybe your family could do that this afternoon? Count up how many Christian songs you can all think of that mention blood? We sing it about, but it is not pretty.

Yet it is precious. And it is necessary. I think, perhaps, the most important word in this passage is the word “necessary.” It really jumped out at me as I studied it for this message. “Necessary.” Look for “necessary” or “required” we read it.

And the other word that jumped out at me in this passage was “cleansed.” Like in verse 22, “The law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood...”

“Cleansed with Blood”

What a strange idea! That blood could be cleansing. Purifying.

Moms, do you use blood when you do your laundry? “Oh, you got that dirty? Bring it here. I’ll put some blood on it. I’ll run it through the machine with a little blood. Clean it right up for you.”

No, we don’t do that. But, apparently, the right kind of bloodshed is purifying for the right kind of dirt.

The right kind of blood (sacrificial death) can be cleansing for a special kind of filth that we call “sin.” In fact, it’s necessary.

Now, unlike this church, the Hebrews were not necessarily convinced that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was superior and sufficient.

Remember, they seemed to be tempted to turn back and fall away. They seemed to be tempted to take their eyes off of Jesus and fall back on what seemed more safe and familiar–all of what they knew from their Old Testaments. Moses, Aaron, the Law, the Levitical Priesthood, all of that. The old covenant. The old sanctuary and the old sacrifices.

And that was dangerous! So this pastor wrote them this letter to exhort them to fix their eyes on Jesus and to convince them that Jesus was worthy of their attention. Jesus was greater, much greater, than everything they had ever learned in their Old Testament. Including how much greater was His sacrifice.

He’s been on about this since chapter 4. We’ve learned that chapters 4 through 10 could be summarized with three keys words. What are they? I’ll give you two chances because there are two sets of repeated three key word phrases.

Great High Priest! That’s the one I’m looking for. You might have guessed (and it wouldn’t be wrong), “Once For All.” We’ll see those precious words again today, too.

But first, Great High Priest. Jesus is the Greater High Priest, who–according to what was just read for us–went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle but not with the blood of bulls and goats and calves (like the Levitical High Priest on Yom Kippur), but with and by His own blood.

Verses 11 through 14 taught us that the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer would cleanse the outside of the Israelites, so that’s good. But it only went skin-deep. However, the blood of Jesus Christ goes deeper. It goes inside and cleanses our consciences!

Which brings us to verse 15. Look at our first verse for today. Verse 15.

“For this reason [because His blood cleanses our consciences] Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance–now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.”

I’ve got three points this morning to summarize what the blood of Jesus Christ has done which makes it superior and sufficient. Here’s number one.

Jesus died a bloody death:

#1. TO PROVIDE OUR INHERITANCE.

Jesus died a gory sacrificial death to provide our eternal inheritance.

That’s some good news right there!

Verse 15 says that Jesus Christ is the “mediator” of a new covenant. He’s been talking about the new covenant a lot since chapter 8. Remember, it was full of “better promises” than the first covenant, made with Moses. Deeper change, wider knowledge, full forgiveness. Jesus is the mediator of that New Covenant.

Now, that doesn’t mean that Jesus was a kind of negotiator between two parties. God and us. Trying to get the two parties to agree on something. “You give a little bit. You give a little bit. Meet in the middle.”

No, He wasn’t that kind of a mediator, but He was and is an intermediary. Jesus announced that the New Covenant was here, and He inaugurated it by His own blood. Remember what He said in the Upper Room? “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.” And then He died, and that kicked the covenant into effect!

Now, before we think about what good news this is for us, I want us to notice how good this was for the Hebrews. Notice in verse 15 how it says that Jesus died as a ransom (a payment) to set people free “from the sins committed under the first covenant.”

Isn’t that interesting? I would have guessed that it sets people from the sins under the new covenant. And it does! We’ll see that in just a second. But this is saying something different. This is saying that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ also operates retroactively.

Did you ever wonder how people got saved in the Old Testament? If the blood of bulls and calves can only cover sin on the outside, how did the Old Testament people ever expect to be forgiven eternally and live with God forever?

Well, the answer is by grace through faith in the promises of God.

Salvation has always been by grace alone through faith alone in the promises of God alone. And it’s always been by the blood of Jesus Christ. All of those sacrifices in the Old Testament were pictures of and foreshadowings of His sacrifice to come.

And when Jesus died, His death was not just sufficient to forgive us all of our sins, but theirs, too. The sins committed under the first covenant. (And the ones before that, too!)

That’s some retroactive cleansing power!

“Oh! Precious is the flow

That makes [Old Testament saints] white as snow!

No other fount I know,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

- Robert Lowry, 1876

Jesus died, and He fulfilled the promises of the Old Covenant and kicked in the promises of the New Covenant.

The key word in verse 15 is “inheritance.”

“Those who are called (that is genuine Christians) may [now because of the precious blood of Christ] receive the promised eternal inheritance.”

What is that? That’s all of the promises that were given to Abraham and his believing children. He wrote about this back in chapter 6, and He’s going to come back to it in chapter 11.

“The promised eternal inheritance.”

I love that word “inheritance.” It means all the good stuff you and I are going to get. It means heaven. It means the kingdom. It means joy and peace. And knowing God intimately. It means blessing!

It’s all ours. In part now, and soon, in full forever. It’s all been promised.

Only one thing stands in the way of our coming into our inheritance...Somebody has to die.

That’s the problem with an inheritance, right? The normal way you inherit something is that the person who is leaving it to you has to leave. That’s the point of verse 16.

“In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living” (vv.16-17).

Now, it’s not obvious in the English, but the word for “will” in verse 16 and 17 is the same word as “covenant” in verses 15 and 18 and 20. It’s the Greek word, “diathaykay.”

And some people think that verses 16 and 17 are talking about how in a covenant in the ancient world both parties had to stake their lives on their word in the covenant. That’s why covenants were sealed with sacrifices. The parties passed between the carcasses to say “Let this happen to me as well if I break this covenant.” And that’s true and could be what verses 16 and 17 are pointing to–the high stakes at play.

But I tend to lean into the word “inheritance” in verse 15 when I’m interpreting verses 16 and 17.

I think that he’s talking here about a last will and testament. They used the same word “diathaykay” for both.

When do you get your inheritance when you are named in a will?

When the will-maker dies, right? That’s the point of all of those murder mysteries out there, right? Because people are waiting for someone to die so that they can get their inheritance, and sometimes they just can’t wait!

Did you see the word “necessary” in verse 16? “In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it...” We won’t get the eternal inheritance unless the will-maker dies.

Jesus had to die for us to get the promises! He had to shed His blood. Verse 18.

“This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood.”

Now, that’s a double negative which is a no-no in English, my Mom taught me, but it’s valid in the original Greek. Boil it down. The first covenant (the one that came through Moses) was put into effect with blood. Necessarily. It took blood. Lots of blood. Verse 19.

“When Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. He said, ‘This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep’” (vv.18-20).

He’s taking about Exodus chapter 24. You might want to pull it out and read it this afternoon. Exodus chapter 24. It’s after God gave Moses the Law, and they are going to solemnize the Mosaic Covenant. Moses reads the whole thing. And then the nation of Israel says “Everything the LORD has said we will do.” (Which is kind of funny/not funny if you know how the story turns out.)

And then the next day, they build an altar, and they start sacrificing bulls. They set up a slaughterhouse. One bull after another. And they take half the blood, and they put it in bowls. And the other half they put on the altar. The altar is covered in blood. It’s gross. Can you imagine the smell?

But the blood in the bowls...what do they do with that blood? Moses sprinkles it on the scroll. He puts the blood on the book! And Moses sprinkles it on the people. Thousands and thousands of people there. I don’t know if they were all sprinkled that day or just representatives of the twelve tribes. It says, “all the people.” Either way, it’s a lot of blood!

“This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.”

The blood is on them. Death was necessary. And that’s not all. Look at verse 21.

“In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies.”

There was blood everywhere. Last time, we talked about all of that gleaming gold inside the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place? All of that gold had blood on it. [See Leviticus 8 & 14, Numbers 19, and Exodus 40 places that Hebrews is probably referencing for this practice.]

There was blood everywhere. A sea of blood. Verse 22.

“In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

That’s point number two. The blood was necessary:

#2. TO PAY FOR OUR RELEASE.

Verse 22 says that “nearly everything” was required to be “cleansed by blood.”

There were other sacrifices in the Law. There was flour and there was gold. You could give up some of your wheat and some of your wealth as a sacrifice for some things. But mostly it was blood.

And here’s why. It’s a fundamental rule of God’s world:

“Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

That’s another double negative. Boil it down. It takes the shedding of blood for there to be forgiveness. For someone to be forgiven by God, someone or something else must die.

Do you know that? Do you know that fundamental rule of the universe? We may not like it. We may not want it to be true, but it is. God is holy, holy, holy, and to satisfy His justice, either we die or Someone else dies in our place. “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." That’s why Jesus sacrificed Himself. He had to. For us to be reconciled to God, Jesus had to shed His blood for us. For us to receive our promised eternal inheritance, Jesus had to bleed.

“What can wash away my sin?

What can make me whole again?”

“Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

“Nothing can for sin atone

Naught of good that I have done.”

“Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

I cannot earn my way out of this. Somebody’s got to die.

“Oh! Precious is the flow

That makes me white as snow;

No other fount I know,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. I almost titled this message, “No Forgiveness.” Because it’s unthinkable how terrible that would be. What if there was no way for you and me to be forgiven? The Greek word there in verse 22 is “aphesis” which means to be released from bondage or imprisonment or punishment and came to mean “forgiven” of a debt and released.

The old King James word is “remission,” being let go from your sins. But what if there was no remission? What if there was no forgiveness? Then there would be no hope.

Do you feel that? Are you walking around today with no forgiveness? You know you’ve sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. You can feel it in your bones. Even if you say you don’t, you know deep down that you’re guilty. And you know you’re in so deep you can’t get out on your own. And the rule of the universe is that it takes blood to get out. It takes blood to get to God.

Good news! Jesus Christ has shed His blood.

Verse 22 has stated the rule, verse 23 explains the logical conclusion. Verse 23.

“It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence” (vv.23-24).

What’s he talking about? Can you see his logic?

What does he mean in verse 23 by saying the “copies of the heavenly things” need to be purified? What are the “copies?” We saw this last time (cf. Hebrews 8:5 and 9:1-5).

The copies are the original tabernacle (and its successor ,the temple). Moses was given blueprints for the tabernacle. “Make it like this.” Because it was like a prototype teaching us that access to a holy God required blood, sacrificial death. So, Moses was supposed to sprinkle blood all over the copies.

But (verse 23), “...the heavenly things themselves [were necessarily purified] with better sacrifices than these.”

What’s he talking about? “Heavenly things” that needed to be purified? Is heaven dirty? What are the heavenly things that need purified?

Theologians have suggested several different plausible ideas. See me after church for a short list.

But I think the most likely thing is that you and I are the heavenly things that need purified by the better sacrifices!

You and I would get heaven all dirty. We don’t belong there with our sin. But Jesus has cleansed us with His blood.

“What stream can sweep away

My sins just like a flood

Nor lets one guilty blemish stay?

‘Tis Jesus precious blood.”

- William Irons (1812-1833)

Look at verse 24.

“For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence”

And that means that we can now enter His presence. That’s point number three and last. Jesus died:

#3. TO PURIFY US FOR GOD’S PRESENCE.

He’s talking again about Jesus as our Great High Priest. What does our memory verse say He did? He has “gone through the heavens.” He went to the Most Holy Place in the universe to “appear for us in God’s presence.” He is representing us “before the throne of God above.” We are cleansed with His blood.

Think about this! Jesus could be His own executor of His will. Normally, you can’t be the will-maker and the executor, too. But Jesus made the will, died to put the will into effect, and then takes the case to the judge Himself to probate the will!

Yes, I think that Jesus’ sacrifice is superior. And I think that the Hebrews were beginning to see it, too.

Believe it or not, in verse 25, the writer kicks it up another notch. Look at verse 25.

“Nor did he [Jesus] enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself” (vv.25-26).

Jesus’ sacrifice is superior because it is sufficient. In the old covenant, the High Priest had to enter the Holy of Holies once a year with blood that wasn’t his own. But that’s not what Jesus did. He not only came by dint of His blood, but He also came once for all.

Say it to your neighbor again, “Once for all.”

If Jesus had to do it the other way, He would have had to be sacrificed over and over and over again from Adam and Eve to today.

Do you see the logic? If he was the old style of high priest, once a year from creation on, He would have to suffer and die again and again and again.

“Oh, they sinned again? Okay. Here we go.”

But He’s not that kind of a high priest. He’s greater than that! He has “appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sing by the sacrifice of himself” (v.26).

We are cleansed with His blood. Once and for all! His sacrifice is sufficient. The last days have begun. Jesus has come and Has sacrificed Himself on the Cross and has come back to life and entered into heaven itself to appear before God as our high priest.

And He will not ever do it again. Because He doesn’t have to do it again. Our sin has been removed. Once for all. Once for all.

“Oh happy condition. Jesus has bled, and there is remission.”

- Phillip Bliss

What do we do about this? How should we respond? I through of three things which I’ll give you 1-2-3.

- Receive.

If you are convinced that Jesus’ sacrifice is superior and sufficient, then receive His cleansing today. Come for your cleansing. Receive Jesus as your saving high priest and be washed in the blood. Put your hope in the sufficiency of His sacrificial death. And receive the promised eternal inheritance of all who are called. Answer the call and receive His cleansing today.

- Rejoice.

I don’t know about you, but this passage is so incredibly encouraging to me. I don’t like all of the blood,. I don't glory in the gore, but I’m so grateful for it. To think of what Jesus did for me!

There’s a reason why there are thousands of worship songs that sing about the blood. The blood of Jesus is worth singing about!

“Redeemed how I love to proclaim it! Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.”

“There is power, power wonder-working power in the precious blood of Lamb.”

“O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood!

To every believer the promise of God;

The vilest offender who truly believes,

That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

Praise the Lord!

Let the people rejoice!”

Rejoice.

You are receiving the inheritance.

You are released in forgiveness.