Blood
We read about blood from animals back in Leviticus and Jesus’ blood in Luke and Romans. Here, the writer of Hebrews is emphasizing the differences between the two. The first covenant refers to the time before Jesus’ death when animals were sacrificed for sin. This older way of receiving forgiveness only happened once a year, could only be carried out by a priest, and only forgave sin on a temporary basis. Jesus’ death provided forgiveness once for all. That means we can receive forgiveness at any time without the help of priests or ceremonies, and this forgiveness is permanent.
Reading this chapter should make you very glad you live in the time after Jesus’ death. Showing up at the temple with an animal and having it killed for your sin could not have been a pleasant event. Knowing you will need to do it again and again for the rest of your life would be challenging. We should remember and be thankful for Jesus’ death continually, but it is complete for us. When Jesus was hanging on the cross, John 19:30 tells us he said, “It is finished.” For those who have trusted Jesus, our sin is forever forgiven.