Hebrews 9:23-28 (HCSB)
Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves to be purified with better sacrifices than these. For the Messiah did not enter a sanctuary made with hands (only a model of the true one) but into heaven itself, so that He might now appear in the presence of God for us. He did not do this to offer Himself many times, as the high priest enters the sanctuary yearly with the blood of another. Otherwise, He would have had to suffer many times since the foundation of the world. But now He has appeared one time, at the end of the ages, for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And just as it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment — so also the Messiah, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.
The writer of Hebrews continues his argument that Jesus is superior to any earthly high priest, and that His New Covenant high priesthood in the order of Melchizedek surpassed and supplanted that of the Aaronic high priesthood of the Old Covenant.
The earthly tabernacle and temples, shadows of the heavenly realities, were consecrated and purified with the blood of bulls and goats, by which the people were purified as well. But Jesus brought into the reality, the heavenly Tabernacle, His own blood to make atonement for those on earth.
Unlike the earthly high priests, who were as sinful and fallible as the people for whom they interceded, Jesus was morally pure and perfect. Before the earthly high priest could offer the sacrifice for others, they had to first offer one for themselves, for their own sins. And every year, they had to carry the blood of the surface into God’s presence for the atonement.
But Jesus’ blood is more potent than the blood of bulls and goats. Instead of Jesus having to pour out His blood on the heavenly altar periodically, He laid down His life once. And that single sacrifice is sufficient to wash and purify every man, woman and child on the face of the earth from every sin.
Verse 27, taken by itself, contains a powerful teaching against the idea of reincarnation. As human beings, each of us has one life to live, one opportunity to seek God and be saved. After this life is over, each one of us will stand before God’s throne for judgment, and will be eternally rewarded or eternally punished on the basis of what we have done with our lives, and whether we surrender to Jesus or rejected him (Matthew 25:46, Revelation 20: 11-15).
But in its context, verse 27 is used to draw a parallel. Just as a person only dies once, so Jesus only had to die one time, not repeatedly. And even though He will return, it will not be to die again to provide forgiveness, but to declare the end of the age, and provide the ultimate salvation for all who have trusted in Him.
Father, it is easy for us to get lost in the minutia and lose sight of the big picture. The sacrifice of Jesus is so powerful that He only had to die once in order to provide forgiveness and cleansing for all the billions of people who were in the world of that time, and who have been born since then. His atonement isn’t limited by His ability to provide forgiveness, but purely by our willingness to receive it for ourselves. It is also vital for us to really grab hold of the truth that this life is our one shot to do it right. If we reject Jesus and His sacrifice on our behalf, there are no do-overs, no second chances, as much as we might want to believe that there are. Help me, Lord, to live each day fully for You, so that when this life is over, I can stand before Your throne in Christ, unashamed and unafraid. Amen.