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Hebrews 10:5-10 – The Candle of Love

by Gary Sims
12/15/03
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The Letters
Hebrews 10:5-10 – The Candle of Love

Key Verses: (NRSV)
  • 5: “Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me.’” – Blood sacrifices were a reminder, year after year, of the sins that would not go away. But God had prepared a new way.

  • 7: “Then I said, ‘See God, I have come to do your will, O God.’” – Jesus was focused with, a singularity of purpose, to do the will of God.

  • 9: “‘See, I have come to do your will.’ He abolishes the first in order to establish the second.” – A system that did not work was replaced, not by a system, but by the amazing gift of God’s love.

  • 10: “And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” – Be careful in your reading of this verse: it does not simply say ‘once, for all time.’ It says that Christ’s sacrifice is for all people.
Points to Contemplate:
  • In the middle of Christmas, do you think of Easter? Do you only look to the manger or do you also remember the cross? When you light the candle of love on your Advent wreath, do you think of angels and shepherds or do you think of blood and thorns? When you sing Christmas carols, does the image of Christ on the cross come to mind? Do you recognize that Christmas would be nothing without Easter?

  • Are you still giving blood sacrifices for your sins? Even after accepting Christ’s holy sacrifice, do you still have a tendency to extract payment for the sins you commit or that have been committed against you? Have you forgiven yourself or do you continue to carry the baggage of guilt? Have you forgiven those who have sinned against you or do you expect some kind of payment or retribution for what they have done? Does sin continue to dominate your life or are you able to fully move into the light of God’s love and allow Christ’s single sacrificial act to sanctify you?

  • How is Christ’s sacrifice different from animal sacrifices? What is the key difference between the old system and the new? Is it simply one type of blood in exchange for another? Or does it have more to do with God’s expectations of you? In the old system, repentance and payment for your sins were what God expected of you. Now that payment has been made, what is it that God expects? Do you see that now you are free to obey and follow God? That in His forgiveness you are empowered to grow closer to Him? Do you accept that He has provided you this amazing gift of love simply because He does not want anything to stand in the way of your growth towards being the person He has created you to be?
Promises of the Gospel:

A Christmas song written by Chris Eaton1 is right when it says: “Love came down at Christmas time.” However, today’s verses remind us that true revelation of that love is what happened on a cross on Good Friday. We must remember this as we look into the manger this Christmas Eve and celebrate the arrival of the Christ Child. To understand the full measure of this Christmas gift we must take some time to consider the Easter story. God’s love, immeasurable in so many ways, is fully understood when we realize that He paid the ransom for our sins, once for all time and for all people. This amazing act of love has one purpose in mind, to draw us all closer to God, sanctifying us in His grace so that we can become the disciples He is calling us to be.

For this fourth week in Advent, we light the Candle of Love.

1"When Love Came Down,” by Chris Eaton, ©1998 SGO Music Publishing Ltd. and Clouseau Music

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