RoparnaThe Sanctuary Service – The Plan of Salvation Illustrated
Purpose: The Sanctuary was an illustration of the Plan of Salvation and a type of the Heavenly Sanctuary where Jesus is High Priest.
Focus: Jesus’ ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary is equally important to our salvation as was His sacrifice on the Cross.
Introduction
Have you ever tried reading through the Bible and gotten stuck in Leviticus, and the sacrificial system and descriptions of the sanctuary? Today’s study will shed some light on why this was so important to God, and perhaps make your OT readings a bit more interesting.
After Israel’s Exodus from Egypt, God spoke to Moses about building a sanctuary…
Exod 25:8-9
Why were they to build a sanctuary? How did Moses know how to build it?
How did the sanctuary look? We get an overview description in the New Testament…
Heb 9:1-5
What furniture and apartments were there? IE: Draw a picture! (Exod 40:1-8) What lay inside the arc of the covenant?
What then took place in the sanctuary?
Lev 4:27-29
What was a person to do if they had committed a sin? Wages of sin is death. But sin could be symbolically transferred to the animal that died in your place.
Then the priest would bring the blood into the sanctuary…
Lev 4:5-6
Where was the blood transferred? (Heb 13:11) (How was the sin transferred into the sanctuary if the blood was not brought in? – Lev 10:17-18, 6:30)
There were two main services in the sanctuary for the priest to atone for people’s sins…
Heb 9:6-7
How often did the priest go into the Holy Place? How often did he go into the Most Holy Place?
What happened on the yearly Day of Atonement?
Lev 16:15-16
IE: Describe the event. IE: Scapegoat. Where was the blood taken? From what was the Sanctuary cleansed? (v.19-22, 34)
These ceremonies were not empty rituals; they were designed to teach people the plan of salvation…
John 1:29
Who did the slain animals represent? (1 Pet 1:18-19, 1 Cor 5:7, Isa 53:7) By slaying the sacrifices, the Israelites were saved by faith in Christ by looking forward to what Jesus would do. We are saved today by looking back in faith.
Jesus is not only our Lamb; He is also our High Priest…
Heb 8:1-2, 5
Is there a Heavenly Sanctuary? (Heb 9:24, Rev 11:19) By studying the copy, we can learn something about the heavenly. Who is the High Priest?
We see the same thought in chapter 9…
Heb 9:11-12
Whose blood did Jesus bring into the Heavenly Sanctuary?
How does Jesus’ ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary affect me?
Heb 7:24-25
What is Jesus doing for us in the Heavenly Sanctuary? (Rom 8:34) IE: Intercedes, Daily ministry – covers our sins with His blood. Is Jesus’ intercession in the Sanctuary necessary for our salvation? (Heb 2:17)
Chapter 4 gives us deeper insight into this subject…
Heb 4:14-16
How does Jesus feel about our weaknesses? It is because of Jesus’ ministry in the Sanctuary that we, today, have access to the grace gained at the Cross.
John also writes about what Jesus priestly ministry means for us…
1 John 2:1
Should we sin? But what if we fall trying not to sin? Because of Jesus’ intercession we do not fall in and out of grace.
APPEAL
Praise God, for what Jesus is doing for us in Heaven, what do you say? One day the sanctuary will close (Rev 15:8), so let us “seek the LORD while He may be found”. Let us not pull back from God, but come boldly to the Throne of Grace, in the name of Jesus, to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Would you like to do that?
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