Hebrews 9:27-28: Offered to Bear the Sins of Many
2023-03-25
Hebrews 9:27
The word used for “appointed” is translated “laid up” elsewhere. There is a concept of “awaiting.” “And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin” (Luke 19:20). The servant who did not invest his life for the Lord stored his pound, awaiting for the Master’s return.
Again, we read, “For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel” (Colossians 1:5). The splendor of heaven is awaiting for every believer.
The third time, we read, “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 4:8). The crown is awaiting Paul on the Day of Christ.
Likewise, death is awaiting every human being, as is judgment. Every man without the hope of Jesus Christ is fearfully waiting around to see what will happen at their death. The Lord affirms to us that hell follows on the heels of death. “And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him” (Revelation 6:8).
On that day, so many will trust in something other than the Lord to save them on that day. They will count on their religious ritual. They believe that the scale will tip in their favor when comparing their good works versus their sins. They will think upon their Santa Claus god that exists only for their benefit, who is there to fulfill their happiness, and surely, their god will grant them entrance to Paradise. If there is any hell, they say, it is reserved for those really bad people that are far worse than them.
But then they find themselves falling into pitch blackness. They find themselves in the core of the earth with billions of souls, mostly ordinary folks like themselves. They behold Biblical patriarchs of old from afar, and those least esteemed in society walking with them, like a poor man named Lazarus. They cry out, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame” (Luke 16:24). They quickly find out about the chasm that keeps them from going to Paradise. They plead for the saints of heaven to send someone to save those they loved, whom they left behind. The people in hell do not want their friends and family to go there. There is no laughter and cheer in hell. There is no “party” of sinners awaiting.
They cry out to Jesus, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” (Matthew 7:22). “We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets” (Luke 13:26). “Lord, Lord, open to us” (Matthew 25:11). He answers unexpectedly, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:23). It is not that He knew them once upon a time, but it did not work out. No, He never knew them.
After what seems like forever in hell, they are ejected from hell unto a great throne. A library worth of books is opened everywhere. Their tormented souls are reunited with their bodies, regardless of cremation, burial, or otherwise. There is a chance, they say, they have served their term. There is a chance that hell comes to an end. Maybe love wins after all? But the verdict finds them guilty. Their names are not in the records of the Book of Life. The blood of Christ was not applied to the doorposts of their soul. They may have given verbal or mental assent to the Bible, that Jesus Christ was Lord, and they had all the correct answers. “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:8). This time, they, and those that were with them in hell, are cast out into outer darkness into a lake of fire. They never leave that place. They “shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power” (2 Thessalonians 1:9). They will pay for every act recorded in the books.
This is the judgment that awaits humankind after death.
Hebrews 9:28
Just as humankind dies once, and judgment follows, Jesus Christ died once “to bear the sins of many.” The judgment that was described in the previous verse was placed on the Lord Jesus Christ. The wrath of God fell on Christ on the cross. On that cross His payment for sin was finished, for He said on the cross, “It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost” (John 19:30). His judgment was there.
Did Jesus go down into hell? Many argue different ways, but I say that He did. What did they do with sin sacrifices? They were burned: “Even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn him on the wood with fire: where the ashes are poured out shall he be burnt” (Leviticus 4:12). Again, of the Passover lamb, we read, “And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof” (Exodus 12:8-9).
Elsewhere, we read of Jesus: “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40), where the heart of the earth is its center. And again, “Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption” (Acts 2:27). And again, “By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water” (1 Peter 3:19-20).
However, this is not where Jesus paid for our sins. The wrath of God fell on Him at the cross, for as we have seen, it was “finished” there. It is the blood, not the fire, that atones for sin. One purpose of His going there was this preaching as found in 1 Peter 3:19-20.
The born-again believer looks for the coming of Jesus. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (1 John 3:2-3). And again, “Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:6-7). And again, “And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:27-28). And finally, “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). Just like death and judgment awaits humankind, as we saw in the previous verse, we await the Lord from heaven who took death and judgment away.
When He comes the second time, He will save us from the coming wrath. We are saved already, but the “salvation” here is the salvation from that wrath, namely, the rapture. The same usage is here: “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:9).
The “without sin” is unusual, but may suggest that the first time Jesus came to deal with sin and pay for it. This is not the case the second time. If we did not accept Him the first time as our sacrifice for sin, we will not accept Him as His second coming. He will not be the Savior at the second coming if He were not our Savior at the first.