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AND ACCORDING TO THE LAW, ALMOST ALL THINGS ARE CLEANSED WITH BLOOD: kai schedon
en haimati panta katharizetai (3SPPI) kata ton nomon: (Leviticus
14:6,14,25,51,52)
According to
the Law - As prescribed in the Pentateuch or under the guidelines
of the Mosaic or Old Covenant. Remember that what the writer is doing
in this section is explaining to his readers why Christ had to die. He
first stated that a will or testament demands a death for the will to
become effective. In Hebrews 9:18, he explains the necessity of the
shedding of blood in order to bring about forgiveness.
Almost (4975)
(schedon) means nearly or nigh. Below are some of the OT
exceptions to the necessity of blood for cleansing.
Lev 5:11-13 'But if his means are
insufficient for two turtledoves or two young pigeons (thus providing an
exception for the extremely poor individual, suggesting that even the
poorest would always at least have flour to offer), then for his offering
for that which he has sinned, he shall bring the tenth of an ephah of fine
flour for a sin offering; he shall not put oil on it or place incense
on it, for it is a sin offering. 12 'And he shall bring it to the
priest, and the priest shall take his handful of it as its memorial portion
and offer it up in smoke on the altar, with the offerings of the LORD by
fire: it is a sin offering. 13 'So the priest shall make
atonement (Hebrew = Kaphar = cover over) for him concerning his sin
which he has committed from one of these, and it shall be forgiven
(Lxx =
aphiemi) him; then the rest shall become
the priest's, like the grain offering.'
Comment: In a sense, the flour
"symbolized" the offering of an animal's blood. The fact that there is a
non-blood offering for sin supports the fact that the OT sacrifices were
symbolic.
Note that this OT "exception clause"
refers to atonement under the Old Covenant an atonement which brought about
covering for sin. Although this passage does use the word forgiveness,
the concept of forgiveness is different than the forgiveness made possible
under the New Covenant as the result of the shedding of the blood of the
Lamb of God. Perfect forgiveness is only possible based on the
substitutionary sacrificial blood of Christ. The remainder of Hebrews 9
compares and contrasts the efficacy of the Old Covenant and the New
Covenant.
As A T Robertson says "The blood
of Christ sets aside all other plans for pardon."
Spurgeon adds "This solemn truth
needs to be well learned and remembered. Nothing can cleanse us but the
blood of Jesus. Sacraments, prayers, repentances are all useless as a
substitute for faith in the blood."
Nu 16:46 (Context = God's
judgment after the rebellion of
Korah)
And Moses said to Aaron, "Take your
censer
and put in it fire from the altar, and
lay incense on it; then bring it quickly to the congregation and make
atonement for them, for wrath has gone forth from the LORD, the plague
has begun!"
Nu 31:50 (Context = When
the soldiers were counted and not one had been killed their gratitude
stimulated them to make a freewill offering to the LORD) So we have brought
as an offering to the LORD what each man found, (not blood but)
articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings and
necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD.
MacDonald mentions another
exception noting that...
For instance, when a man was to be
numbered in a census among the children of Israel, he could bring a
half-shekel of silver as “atonement money” instead of a blood offering (Ex.
30:11–16). The coin was a token symbolizing atonement for the man’s soul in
order for him to be reckoned as one of God’s people.
(MacDonald,
W & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson or
Logos)
Vincent adds that the emphatic
word...
Almost provides for such
exceptions as Ex. 19:10; 32:30-32; 5:11, 12, 13; Lev. 15:5; 16:26, 27, 28; 12:6; Num.
16:46, 47, 48; 31:23, 24; Ps. 51:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6-17; 32:1, 2.
Cleansed (2511)
(katharizo
from katharos = pure, clean,
without stain or spot; English words - catharsis = emotional or
physical purging, cathartic = substance used to induce a purging,
Cathar = member of a medieval sect which sought the purging of evil
from its members) means to make clean by taking away an undesirable
part. To cleanse from filth or impurity.
Click here
(and
here) for more
background on the important Biblical concept of clean and
cleansing.
Figuratively
katharizo referred to cleansing from ritual contamination or
impurity as in (Acts 10:15). In a similar sense katharizo is used of
cleansing lepers from ceremonial uncleanness (Mt 8:2, 3, et al)
Another figurative use in 1John 1:9 (cf James 4:8, Hebrews 10:2)
describes the purifying or cleansing from sin and a guilty conscience
thus making one acceptable to God and reestablishing fellowship.
AND WITHOUT SHEDDING OF BLOOD THERE IS NO FORGIVENESS: kai
choris haimatekchusias ou ginetai (3SPMI) aphesis:
(Leviticus 4:20,26,35; 5:10,12,18; 6:7;
17:11)
Without (5565)
(choris) as a preposition (its more frequent use) means apart
from, without, separate from. It
is used both as an adverb signifying separately or by itself (John
20:7). More often however choris is used as a preposition
meaning apart from (eg, apart from Him nothing came into
being John 1:3), without (eg, without sin
Hebrews 4:15-note)
or separate from (eg, separate from Christ, Ep 2:12-note).
Webster
says that without (as a preposition) is used as a function word
to indicate the absence or lack of something or someone.
Shedding of
blood (130)
(haimatekchusia from haima = blood + ekcheo = to
pour out) is literally the pouring out of blood. This reminds one of
our Lord's words at the Last Supper where He says...
this is My blood of the
covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.
(Mt 26:28)
Is (1096)
(ginomai) means to cause to be ("gen"-erate), to become, to
come into existence, to be formed or to come to exist. Forgiveness
does not "come into existence" without an appropriate sacrifice of
blood. The writer is emphasizing the general principle the even under
the Old Covenant God required the shedding of blood for forgiveness
under the Mosaic Law. This principle is absolutely true of the New
Covenant.
No (3756)
(ou) signifies absolute negation.
Guzik
comments that...
Modern people think that sin is
remitted (forgiven) by time, by our good works, by our decent lives,
or by simply death. But there is no forgiveness without the shedding
of blood, and there is no perfect forgiveness without a perfect
sacrifice.
Barnes
explains that...
It is on this principle that the
plan of salvation by the atonement is based, and on this that God in
fact bestows pardon on men. There is not the slightest evidence that
any man has ever been pardoned except through the blood shed for the
remission of sins. The infidel who rejects the atonement has no
evidence that his sins are pardoned; the man who lives in the neglect
of the gospel, though he has abundant evidence that he is a sinner,
furnishes none that his sins are forgiven; and the Mohammedan and the
heathen can point to no proof that their sins are blotted out. It
remains to be demonstrated that one single member of the human family
has ever had the slightest evidence of pardoned sin, except through
the blood of expiation. In the Divine arrangement there is no
principle better established than this, that all sin which is forgiven
is remitted through the blood of the atonement; a principle which has
never been departed from hitherto, and which never will be. It
follows, therefore,
(1.) that no sinner can hope for forgiveness except through the blood
of Christ;
(2.) that if men are ever saved they must be willing to rely on the
merits of that blood;
(3.) that all men are on a level in regard to salvation, since all are
to be saved in the same way; and
(4.) that there will be one and the same song in heaven--the song of
redeeming love. (Barnes NT Commentary)
Forgiveness (859)
(aphesis
from
aphiemi = action which causes
separation and is in turn derived from apo = from + hiemi
= put in motion, send. Aphiemi literally means to send away or
to put apart. And thus the root meaning of forgiveness is to
put away an offense. In secular Greek literature, the related word
aphiemi was used to indicate the
sending away of an object or a person and came to include the release
of someone from the obligation of marriage, or debt, or even a
religious vow. In its final form this word group came to embrace the
principle of release from punishment for some wrongdoing.
The KJV
uses the word remission instead of forgiveness, which
conveys the idea of remitting (laying aside or releasing from penalty
of) a debt (as in the "Lord's Prayer" - see Mt 6:12-note)
which is an accurate picture because our sins are "debts" to a holy
God (see Ro 6:23-note).
Related Resources
On Forgiveness
Word Studies
Word
study on aphesis
= forgiveness
Word study on aphiemi
= to forgive
Expositions on forgive/forgiveness
Matthew 6:12;
6:13
Romans 4:7
Ephesians 1:7
Ephesians 4:32
Colossians 3:13
Spurgeon comments...
If the doctrine of the atonement be
kicked at, the answer of Christ's minister should be to preach the atonement
again and again and again in the plainest terms, and declare with even
greater vigor and frequency the glorious substitutionary sacrifice of our
Lord Jesus Christ in the place of his people. This is the very heart of the
gospel, and it should be preached in your hearing every Sabbath day at the
least. Leave that out? You have left out the life of the gospel.
Now and then we meet with some squeamish person who says, "I cannot bear the
mention of the word blood." Such individuals will be horrified this morning,
and it is intended that they should be. Sin is such a horrible thing that
God has appointed blood to wash it away, that the very horror which the
thought of it causes may give you some notion of the terrible nature of sin
as God judges it. It is not without a dreadful blood shedding that your
dreadful guilt could by any possibility be cleansed. Sin-bearing and
suffering for sin can never be pleasant things; neither should the type
which sets it forth be pleasing to the observer. On great days of sacrifice
the courts of the tabernacle must have seemed like a shambles, and fitly so,
that all might be struck with the deadly nature of sin.
C H Spurgeon
Morning and Evening...
This is the voice of unalterable truth.
In none of the Jewish ceremonies were sins, even typically, removed without
blood- shedding. In no case, by no means can sin be pardoned without
atonement. It is clear, then, that there is no hope for me out of Christ;
for there is no other blood-shedding which is worth a thought as an
atonement for sin. Am I, then, believing in him? Is the blood of his
atonement truly applied to my soul? All men are on a level as to their need
of him. If we be never so moral, generous, amiable, or patriotic, the rule
will not be altered to make an exception for us. Sin will yield to nothing
less potent than the blood of him whom God hath set forth as a propitiation.
What a blessing that there is the one way of pardon! Why should we seek
another?
Persons of merely formal religion cannot understand how we can rejoice that
all our sins are forgiven us for Christ's sake. Their works, and prayers,
and ceremonies, give them very poor comfort; and well may they be uneasy,
for they are neglecting the one great salvation, and endeavouring to get
remission without blood. My soul, sit down, and behold the justice of God as
bound to punish sin; see that punishment all executed upon thy Lord Jesus,
and fall down in humble joy, and kiss the dear feet of him whose blood has
made atonement for thee. It is in vain when conscience is aroused to fly to
feelings and evidences for comfort: this is a habit which we learned in the
Egypt of our legal bondage. The only restorative for a guilty conscience is
a sight of Jesus suffering on the cross. "The blood is the life thereof,"
says the Levitical law, and let us rest assured that it is the life of faith
and joy and every other holy grace.
"Oh! how sweet to view the flowing
Of my Saviour's precious blood;
With divine assurance knowing
He has made my peace with God."
Torrey's Topic
Blood
The life of animals -Genesis 9:4;
Leviticus 17:11,14
Fluid -Deuteronomy 12:16
Red -2Kings 3:22; Joel 2:31
Of all men the same -Acts 17:26
EATING OF, FORBIDDEN TO
Man after the flood -Genesis 9:4
The Israelites under the law -Leviticus 3:17; 17:10,12
The early Christians -Acts 15:20,29
The Jews often guilty of eating -1Sa 14:32,33; Ezekiel 33:25
Of animals slain for good to be poured on the earth and Covered -Lv 17:13;
Dt 12:16,24
Birds of prey delight in -Job 39:30
Beasts of prey delight in -Numbers 23:24; Psalms 68:23
SHEDDING OF HUMAN
Forbidden -Genesis 9:5
Hateful to God -Proverbs 6:16,17
Defiling to the land -Psalms 106:38
Defiling to the person -Isaiah 59:3
Jews often guilty of -Jeremiah 22:17; Ezekiel 22:4
Always punished -Genesis 9:6
Mode of clearing those accused of -Deuteronomy 21:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
The price of, not to be consecrated -Matthew 27:6
OF LEGAL SACRIFICES
For atonement -Exodus 30:10; Leviticus 17:11
For purification -Hebrews 9:13,19, 20, 21, 22
How disposed of -Exodus 29:12; Leviticus 4:7
Not offered with leaven -Exodus 23:18; 34:25
Ineffectual to remove sin -Hebrews 10:4
Idolaters made drink-offerings of -Psalms 16:4
Water turned into, as a sign -Exodus 4:30
Waters of Egypt turned into, as a judgment -Exodus 7:17, 18, 19, 20, 21
ILLUSTRATIVE
(Washing the feet in,) of victories -Psalms 58:10; 68:23
(Building with,) of oppression and cruelty -Habakkuk 2:12
(Preparing to,) of ripening for destruction -Ezekiel 35:6
(On one’s own head,) of guilt -Leviticus 20:9; 2 Samuel 1:16; Ezekiel 18:13
(Given to drink,) of severe judgments -Ezekiel 16:38; Revelation 16:6
><>><>><>
C H Spurgeon has a sermon on
Hebrews 9:22 entitled
An Unalterable Law
"Without shedding of blood there is no
remission."—Hebrews 9:22.
EVERYWHERE under the old figurative
dispensation, blood was sure to greet your eyes. It was the one most
prominent thing under the Jewish economy, scarcely a ceremony was observed
without it. You could not enter into any part of the tabernacle, but you saw
traces of the blood-sprinkling. Sometimes there were bowls of blood cast at
the foot of the altar. The place looked so like a shambles, that to visit it
must have been far from attractive to the natural taste, and to delight in
it, a man had need of a spiritual understanding and a lively faith. The
slaughter of animals was the manner of worship; the effusion of blood was
the appointed rite, and the diffusion of that blood on the floor, on the
curtains, and on the vestments of the priests, was the constant memorial.
When Paul (Ed: Obviously Spurgeon
thinks Paul wrote Hebrews but I would beg to differ) says that almost all
things were, under the law, purged with blood, he alludes to a few things
that were exempted. Thus you will find in several passages the people were
exhorted to wash their clothes, and certain persons who had been unclean
from physical causes were bidden to wash their clothes with water. Garments
worn by men were usually cleansed with water. After the defeat of the
Midianites, of which you read in the book of Numbers, the spoil, which had
been polluted, had to be purified before it was claimed by the victorious
Israelites. According to the ordinance of the law, which the Lord commanded
Moses, some of the goods, such as raiment and articles made of skins or
goat's hair, were purified with water, while other things that were of metal
that could abide the fire, were purified by fire. Still, the apostle refers
to a literal fact, when he says that almost all things, garments being the
only exception, were purged, under the law, with blood. Then he refers to it
as a general truth, under the old legal dispensation, that there was never
any pardoning of sin, except by blood. In one case only was there an
apparent exception, and even that goes to prove the universality of the
rule, because the reason for the exception is so fully given. The trespass
offering, referred to as an alternative, in Leviticus 5:11, might, in
extreme cases of excessive poverty, be a bloodless offering. If a man was
too poor to bring an offering from the flock, he was to bring two
turtle-doves or young pigeons; but if he was too poor even for that, he
might offer the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering,
without oil or frankincense, and it was cast upon the fire. That is the one
solitary exception through all the types. In every place, at every time, in
every instance where sin had to be removed, blood must flow, life must be
given.
Under the Gospel there is No
Exception
The one exception we have noticed gives
emphasis to the statute that, "without shedding of blood, there is no
remission." Under the gospel there is no exception, not such an isolated one
as there was under the law; no, not even for the extremely poor. Such we all
are spiritually. Since we have not any of us to bring an offering, any more
than an offering to bring; but we have all of us to take the offering which
has already been presented, and to accept the sacrifice which Christ has, of
himself, made in our stead; there is now no cause or ground for exemption to
any man or woman born, nor ever shall there be, either in this world or in
that which is to come,—"Without shedding of blood, there is no remission."
With great simplicity, then, as it concerns our salvation, may I ask the
attention of each one here present, to this great matter which intimately
concerns our everlasting interests? I gather from the text, first of all,
the encouraging fact that:—
I. THERE IS SUCH A THING AS REMISSION—that is to say, the remission of
sins.
"Without shedding of blood there is no
remission." Blood has been shed, and there is, therefore, hope concerning
such a thing. Remission, notwithstanding the stern requirements of the law,
is not to be abandoned in sheer despair. The word remission means the
putting away of debts. Just as sin may be regarded as a debt incurred to
God, so that debt may be blotted out, cancelled, and obliterated. The
sinner, God's debtor, may cease to be in debt by compensation, by full
acquittance, and may be set free by virtue of such remission. Such a thing
is possible. Glory be to God, the remission of all sin, of which it is
possible to repent, is possible to be obtained. Whatever the transgression
of any man may be, pardon is possible to him if repentance be possible to
him. Unrepented sin is unforgivable sin. If he confess his sin and forsake
it, then shall he find mercy. God hath so declared it, and he will not be
unfaithful to his word. "But is there not," saith one, "a sin which is unto
death?" Yea, verily, though I know not what it is; nor do we think that any
who have enquired into the subject have been able to discover what that sin
is; this much seems clear, that practically the sin is unforgivable because
it is never repented of. The man who commits it becomes, to all intents and
purposes, dead in sin in a more deep and lasting sense even than the human
race is as a whole, and he is given up case-hardened—his conscience seared,
as it were, with a hot iron, and henceforth he will seek no mercy. But all
manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men. For lust, for
robbery, for adultery—yea, for murder, there is forgiveness with God, that
he may be feared. He is the Lord God, merciful and gracious, passing by
transgression, iniquity, and sin.
And this forgiveness which is possible is, according to the Scriptures,
complete; that is to say, when God forgives a man his sin, he does it
outright. He blots out the debt without any back reckoning. He does not put
away a part of the man's sin, and have him accountable for the rest; but in
the moment in which a sin is forgiven, his iniquity is as though it had
never been committed; he is received in the Father's house and embraced with
the Father's love as if he had never erred; he is made to stand before God
as accepted, and in the same condition as though he had never transgressed.
Blessed be God, believer, there is no sin in God's Book against thee. If
thou hast believed, thou art forgiven— forgiven not partially, but
altogether. The handwriting that was against thee is blotted out, nailed to
the cross of Christ, and can never be pleaded against thee any more for
ever. The pardon is complete.
Moreover, this is a present pardon. It is an imagination of some (very
derogatory to the gospel) that you cannot get pardon till you come to die,
and, perhaps, then in some mysterious way, in the last few minutes, you may
be absolved; but we preach to you, in the name of Jesus, immediate and
present pardon for all transgressions—a pardon given in an instant—the
moment that a sinner believes in Jesus; not as though a disease were healed
gradually and required months and long years of progress. True, the
corruption of our nature is such a disease, and the sin that dwelleth in us
must be daily and hourly mortified; but as for the guilt of our
transgressions before God, and the debt incurred to his justice, the
remission thereof is not a thing of progress and degree. The pardon of a
sinner is granted at once; it will be given to any of you tonight who accept
it—yea, and given you in such a way that you shall never lose it. Once
forgiven, you shall be forgiven for ever, and none of the consequences of
sin shall be visited upon you. You shall be absolved unreservedly and
eternally, so that when the heavens are on a blaze, and the great white
throne is set up, and the last great assize is held, you may stand boldly
before the judgment-seat and fear no accusation, for the forgiveness which
God himself vouchsafes he will never revoke.
I will add to this one other remark. The man who gets this pardon may know
he has it. Did he merely hope he had it, that hope might often struggle with
fear. Did he merely trust he had it, many a qualm might startle him; but to
know that he has it is a sure ground of peace to the heart. Glory be to God,
the privileges of the covenant of grace are not only matters of hope and
surmise, but they are matters of faith, conviction, and assurance. Count it
not presumption for a man to believe God's Word. God's own Word it is that
says, "Whosoever believeth in Jesus Christ is not condemned." If I believe
in Jesus Christ, then I am not condemned. What right have I to think I am?
If God says I am not, it would be presumption on my part to think I am
condemned. It cannot be presumption to take God's Word just as he gives it
to me. "Oh!" saith one, "how happy should I be if this might be my case."
Thou hast well spoken, for blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
and whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord doth not
impute iniquity. "But," saith another, "I should hardly think such a great
thing could be possible to such an one as I am." Thou reasonest after the
manner of the sons of men. Know then that as high as the heavens are above
the earth, so high are God's ways above your ways, and his thoughts above
your thoughts. It is yours to err; it is God's to forgive. You err like a
man, but God does not pardon like a man; he pardons like a God, so that we
burst forth with wonder, and sing, "Who is a God like unto thee, that
passeth by transgression, iniquity, and sin?" When you make anything, it is
some little work suitable to your abilities, but our God made the heavens.
When you forgive, it is some forgiveness suitable to your nature and
circumstances; but when he forgives, he displays the riches of his grace on
a grander scale than your finite mind can comprehend. Ten thousand sins of
blackest dye, sins of a hellish hue he doth in a moment put away, for he
delighteth in mercy; and judgment is his strange work. "As I live, saith the
Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, but had rather that
he turn unto me and live." This is a joyful note with which my text
furnishes me. There is no remission, except with blood; but there is
remission, for the blood has been shed.
Coming more closely to the text, we have now to insist on its great lesson,
that:—
II. THOUGH THERE BE PARDON OF SIN, IT IS NEVER WITHOUT BLOOD.
That is a sweeping sentence, for there are some in this world that are
trusting for the pardon of sin to their repentance. It, beyond question, is
your duty to repent of your sin. If you have disobeyed God, you should be
sorry for it. To cease from sin is but the duty of the creature, else sin is
not the violation of God's holy law. But be it known unto you, that all the
repentance in the world cannot blot out the smallest sin. If you had only
one sinful thought cross your mind, and you should grieve over that all the
days of your life, yet the stain of that sin could not be removed even by
the anguish it cost you. Where repentance is the work of the Spirit of God,
it is a very precious gift, and is a sign of grace; but there is no atoning
power in repentance. In a sea full of penitential tears, there is not the
power or the virtue to wash out one spot of this hideous uncleanness.
Without the blood-shedding, there is no remission. But others suppose that,
at any rate, active reformation growing out of repentance may achieve the
task. What if drunkenness be given up, and temperance become the rule? What
if licentiousness be abandoned, and chastity adorn the character? What if
dishonest dealing be relinquished, and integrity be scrupulously maintained
in every action? I say, 'tis well; I would to God such reformations took
place everywhere—yet for all that, debts already incurred are not paid by
our not getting into debt further, and past delinquencies are not condoned
by future good behaviour. So sin is not remitted by reformation. Though you
should suddenly become immaculate as angels (not that such a thing is
possible to you, for the Ethiopian cannot change his skin, nor the leopard
his spots), your reformations could make no atonement to God for the sins
that are past in the days that you have transgressed against him. "What
then," saith the man, "shall I do?" There are those who think that now their
prayers and their humblings of soul may, perhaps, effect something for them.
Your prayers, if they be sincere, I would not stay; rather do I hope they
may be such prayers as betoken spiritual life. But oh! dear hearer, there is
no efficacy in prayer to blot out sin. I will put it strongly. All the
prayers of all the saints on earth, and, if the saints in heaven could all
join, all their prayers could not blot out through their own natural
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