IF JESUS' SACRIFICE WAS ENOUGH, WHY WOULD WE EVER NEED ANOTHER ONE?
The Temple is gone. The animal sacrifices stopped. What happened to atonement?
For centuries, Israel's worship revolved around sacrifice.
There was an altar.
There were priests.
There were animals.
There was blood.
Morning and evening the sacrifices continued.
Year after year the Day of Atonement returned.
Then Jesus came.
He died.
He rose.
And within one generation, the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed.
The sacrifices stopped.
That raises an enormous question:
WHAT HAPPENED TO ATONEMENT?
Did God leave His people without a way to approach Him?
Or had something happened that made the old sacrifices unnecessary?
Hebrews gives us a remarkable answer.
THE OLD SYSTEM WAS NEVER THE FINAL ANSWER
We saw this in our last study.
Hebrews says:
“It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” — Hebrews 10:4
That doesn't mean those sacrifices were useless.
God commanded them.
They served the purpose God gave them.
But they were not the final solution.
They pointed beyond themselves.
Hebrews calls the law:
“a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities.” — Hebrews 10:1
A shadow is real.
But a shadow tells you that something else is there.
When the reality arrives, you don't keep staring at the shadow.
THEN THE REALITY ARRIVED
John saw Jesus and cried:
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” — John 1:29
For generations, Israel had watched lambs die.
Now John points to a man.
There is the Lamb.
But Jesus was not simply another sacrifice in a long line of sacrifices.
Something completely different was happening.
Hebrews says:
“He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood.” — Hebrews 9:12
Notice those words:
ONCE FOR ALL.
That changes everything.
THE OLD PRIESTS NEVER SAT DOWN
Hebrews gives us a picture that is easy to miss.
It says:
“Every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices.” — Hebrews 10:11
Why was he standing?
Because his work wasn't finished.
Another sacrifice would be needed.
And another.
And another.
Tomorrow morning there would be another lamb.
Tomorrow evening another.
Next year another Day of Atonement.
The priest's work continued because the sacrifices continued.
Then Hebrews gives us the contrast:
“But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.” — Hebrews 10:12
The priest stood.
Jesus sat down.
Why?
HIS SACRIFICE WAS FINISHED.
ONE SACRIFICE
Look at how often Hebrews emphasizes this.
Christ:
“appeared once for all...to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” — Hebrews 9:26
Again:
“We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” — Hebrews 10:10
And again:
“By a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” — Hebrews 10:14
Once.
One offering.
For all time.
This is not merely saying Jesus offered a better animal.
It is saying the entire situation has changed.
THEN HEBREWS SAYS SOMETHING ASTONISHING
After explaining Christ's sacrifice, Hebrews says:
“Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.” — Hebrews 10:18
Read that again.
“NO LONGER ANY OFFERING FOR SIN.”
Why not?
Because God had abandoned sacrifice?
No.
Because the sacrifice toward which the others pointed had finally been offered.
You don't need another lamb when the Lamb of God has already given Himself.
THEN WHAT ABOUT THE TEMPLE?
The Jerusalem Temple was still standing when Jesus walked the earth.
But Jesus began saying some startling things.
When challenged about the Temple, He said:
“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” — John 2:19
His hearers thought He meant the building.
John explains:
“But he was speaking about the temple of his body.” — John 2:21
That should make us stop.
Jesus was already redirecting attention from a building—
TO HIMSELF.
SOMETHING GREATER THAN THE TEMPLE WAS HERE
Jesus said:
“I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.” — Matthew 12:6
Imagine hearing that in first-century Israel.
Greater than the Temple?
The Temple represented God's presence among His people.
Sacrifices were offered there.
Priests served there.
Yet Jesus says:
Something greater is here.
Who?
Jesus Himself.
THEN JESUS DIED
Matthew records something extraordinary:
“The curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.” — Matthew 27:51
That curtain separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
Under the old covenant, the high priest entered behind it only under carefully prescribed conditions.
But when Jesus died—
the curtain tore.
From top to bottom.
Hebrews later explains our new access:
“We have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus.” — Hebrews 10:19
Access to God is no longer centered on an earthly priest carrying animal blood into an earthly sanctuary.
Our access is through Jesus.
BUT DON'T WE STILL NEED A PRIEST?
Yes.
But not another priest from the tribe of Levi.
Hebrews says:
“We have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God.” — Hebrews 4:14
And unlike the old priests, Jesus does not die and need to be replaced.
Hebrews says:
“He holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.” — Hebrews 7:24
Then comes this wonderful statement:
“He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him.” — Hebrews 7:25
We still have a High Priest.
HE IS JESUS.
THEN WHERE IS OUR SANCTUARY?
Hebrews says Christ entered:
“heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.” — Hebrews 9:24
The earthly sanctuary was a copy.
Christ entered the reality.
That means Christians did not lose their way to God when the earthly Temple disappeared.
Their access to God did not depend upon that building anymore.
It depended upon Christ.
AND SOMETHING ELSE HAD CHANGED
God's presence was no longer identified with one sacred building in Jerusalem.
Paul asked Christians:
“Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?” — 1 Corinthians 3:16
Peter describes Christians as:
“living stones...being built up as a spiritual house.” — 1 Peter 2:5
This is remarkable.
The language once associated with a sacred building is now being applied to God's people.
God's dwelling is not confined to a building made of stone.
SO WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THE TEMPLE WAS DESTROYED?
In A.D. 70, Roman armies destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple.
The altar disappeared.
The Levitical sacrifices stopped.
But Christians did not suddenly discover that they had lost their atonement.
Why?
Because decades earlier Jesus had already offered:
THE ONE SACRIFICE FOR SINS.
The effectiveness of His sacrifice did not depend upon the Temple continuing to stand.
The Temple could disappear.
The altar could disappear.
Animal sacrifice could disappear.
Christ remained.
THIS RAISES AN IMPORTANT QUESTION
If Jesus offered:
one sacrifice
once for all
for all time
and Scripture says:
“There is no longer any offering for sin,”
then what would another animal sacrifice accomplish?
What could another lamb add?
What could another goat accomplish?
What could another Day of Atonement provide that Christ had failed to provide?
Those aren't questions designed to attack anybody's theology.
They are simply questions raised by the language of Hebrews.
WOULD GOD EVER NEED TO GO BACK?
This becomes especially important when we hear claims that a future Temple must be built and animal sacrifices restored.
Before accepting that idea, we should ask:
What does Hebrews say?
If the old sacrifices were shadows—
and Christ is the reality—
why return to the shadows?
If Christ offered one sacrifice for all time—
why resume the sacrifices that had to be repeated?
If forgiveness means there is “no longer any offering for sin”—
why would God restore offerings for sin?
Those questions deserve careful answers from the text.
THE TEMPLE DID NOT FAIL
This is important too.
We shouldn't think:
The Temple was God's first plan, but eventually it didn't work, so He tried Jesus instead.
No.
The Temple belonged to the story that was leading to Jesus.
Priest.
Sacrifice.
Blood.
Holy place.
Atonement.
Access to God.
All that language prepared people to understand what Christ would do.
The old system was not a failed plan.
IT WAS A SIGNPOST.
And the signpost pointed toward Christ.
FOLLOW THE SIGNPOST
Suppose you're driving toward Omaha and see a sign:
OMAHA — 20 MILES
The sign is useful.
It tells you where you're going.
But when you arrive in Omaha, you don't turn around and drive twenty miles back because you miss the sign.
The sign did its job.
It brought you to the destination.
In much the same way, the sacrifices pointed forward.
The priesthood pointed forward.
The sanctuary pointed forward.
The blood pointed forward.
And then—
CHRIST CAME.
SO WHERE IS ATONEMENT NOW?
Not in another animal.
Not in another altar.
Not in another earthly high priest.
Not in another yearly Day of Atonement.
Our atonement is in Jesus Christ.
Our sacrifice has been offered.
Our High Priest lives.
Our access to God is open.
And our Savior has sat down at the right hand of God.
Hebrews says:
“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace.” — Hebrews 4:16
We don't need to wait for another Temple.
We can draw near now.
FROM SHADOW TO REALITY
Put the pieces together:
The lambs pointed forward.
The blood pointed forward.
The altar pointed forward.
The priests pointed forward.
The Temple pointed forward.
Then Jesus came.
The Lamb was offered.
The High Priest entered.
The sacrifice was completed.
And He sat down.
THE SHADOW HAD LED US TO THE REALITY.
READ FIRST. CONCLUDE LATER.
Before deciding what role an earthly Temple or animal sacrifices might have in God's future plans, read these passages carefully:
John 1:29
John 2:19–21
Hebrews 4:14–16
Hebrews 7:23–28
Hebrews 9:11–28
Hebrews 10:1–22
1 Corinthians 3:16–17
1 Peter 2:4–10
Then ask:
IF JESUS' ONE SACRIFICE WAS ENOUGH FOR ALL TIME, WHAT SACRIFICE IS STILL MISSING?
And that leads us naturally to Part 5.
We've followed the story from sin → sacrifice → Christ → the finished sacrifice.
Now we can follow it to its destination: