What Does Jesus Have to Offer?
Hebrews 8:1-3
By Alan Walker

What does Jesus have to offer? Just everything that matters...

Sometimes as you read the scriptures devotionally, a passage or a phrase will reach out and grab your funny bone and you find yourself laughing. That happened to me a couple of weeks ago as I was reading the book of Hebrews. Before I could get my highlighter I was amused, and then chuckling. The phrase was in Hebrews 8:3:

Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. (NIV)

Does Jesus have anything to offer?

For those of us who have been Christians for some time, and even for those who may be just starting their jubilant walk of faith in Jesus, we know, I mean absolutely know Jesus Christ has something to offer. We wouldn't trade it for anything!

We could and maybe should spend the rest of our lives doing nothing else but falling on our knees and saying "Thank You…thank You….thank You…thank You Jesus!" We might have to be satisfied with just a few minutes every day!

Jesus didn't merely offer us something. He offers us everything!

It is an incredible adventure being a son or daughter of God. It's amazing! Our hearts overflow with the wonder of it all.

The context of chapters 8 and 9 of Hebrews has to do with the High Priest. The High Priest in the Old Testament was from the lineage of Aaron, the first High Priest. It was the job of the High Priest to intercede with God on Israel's behalf.

Let's look at the first 3 verses of chapter 8 - which will be our springboard this morning.

The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man. Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. (NIV)

Under the Old Testament the High Priest duty was very significant. Look at verse 7:

But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.(NIV)

Once a year this man would enter into the holiest room on the planet, the "Holy of Holies" and sprinkle blood on the Mercy Seat - first for the sins of all Israel, and then for his own sins. By this act, God overlooked the sins of Israel, until someday a better sacrifice could be made to forgive the sins forever.

Does this new High Priest - this Jesus - really have something to offer?

Let's take a few moments to relish the thought, to remember, to rekindle, to savor, to delight in, and to marvel at the gifts and the sacrifices He brought with him.

First of all let's consider -

The sacrifice of Jesus has been shared in vivid detail by the prophetic writings of the Old Testament, but also, by each of the Gospel writers. Perhaps today we owe movie director Mel Gibson a debt of gratitude by making the sacrifice of Jesus so real in his movie, The Passion of the Christ. It takes a strong constitution to watch that movie, but it took an even stronger Savior with a strong desire to save us to actually make the sacrifice.

Many times in the bible, we come to the blood of Jesus. It's called the "precious blood" - and so it is. Precious to each of us who have experienced it in our lives.

Jump ahead of our text and look with me at chapter 9, verses 11 and 12:

When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.

His blood - His sacrifice is more powerful than all the thousands of barrels of the blood of bulls and goats that for centuries were used in an attempt to push sin aside - showing us the horrible price of sin.

Jesus shed His own precious blood and with this precious blood He entered into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled it on the Mercy Seat once. In that act He took care of the business of sin once and for all.

Enjoy and savor the words - "once for all…." All past sins before the cross, and all future sins of those who come to know Jesus as Lord are included in it.

It's no wonder 8:1 says, "The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven…." His work was finished - now He could rest - what more would there be to do?

Isn't this something? Look at 9:13-14:

The blood of all those animals could only cleanse the worshipper outwardly - yet this powerful blood of Jesus can go deeper - it will cleanse our conscience from all the wrong things we have ever done. We are clean again, pure again; all the past deeds of sin are gone. How? By the blood of Jesus - that precious and powerful blood!

Do you have any idea what it means to people to know they can have a conscience that is squeaky clean?

Is it really possible? Come on Alan, are you sure?

Yes, it is possible! Jesus forgives us and obliterates our past by the power of His blood, and so we can, because He already has, forgive ourselves. Praise God!

Doesn't that stir your heart? Does Jesus have anything to offer? Oh my goodness - what a question!

Let's move down to chapter 9, verse 27-28:

Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him."

This may seem redundant, but I could stand to hear this over and over again. This is why our lives are different today! This is what has changed our lives. This is what has given us a future - not only here but a future that includes a meeting face to face with Jesus.

Just as all of us will die one day, so Jesus was sacrificed - He died - to take care of the sin problem!

The Bible says, "…it was necessary for this One (Jesus) to have something to offer…"

And boy, He did do a splendid job!

His sacrifice on the cross has changed history, the calendar, our way of life. But while all that matters, what matters most is that His sacrifice changed our lives and if you haven't accepted that yet, He will change your life too, if you allow Him access to your heart.

What does Jesus have to offer? Let's take the remainder of our time today to look at…

I want to share with you three gifts that only Jesus can give us, and they are some mighty awesome gifts. If you haven't yet begun to enjoy them, today would be a great day to start.

There's no Zirconium here. No fool's gold. No fake silver. This is the real thing. The cost of all of these gifts is the precious blood of Jesus.

Hebrews 8:10-11 says, This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.

The law used to be on tablets of stone and scrolls of parchment - but now, the law of God is written in our minds and on our hearts. Oh, sure they are still in the book but there is a difference.

We are now in a relationship not with a high priest talking to us about God and sharing with us about Him, but Jesus lives within us, and He's a part of our life as we are a part of His. We are now in relationship.

"…they will all know me…." Praise God! Not just the High Priest, but you and me. Retired people, managers, housewives, mill workers, loggers, unemployed, students, retail employees - regardless of our age, or how many bucks we have in our wallet, or how well balanced our portfolio, we can know God. We are in a relationship.

There is no relationship more important to me than the relationship I have with my God and His Son Jesus. It's more important than my relationship with you, with my children, and even my relationship with my wife. But don't let that worry you. The truth is, if my relationship is growing as it should with Jesus, then all my other relationships are going to be sound as well.

I want to persuade you not to take this gift for granted. Don’t take it back and try to exchange it for a smaller size or a different color, or to get your money back or look for something else.

I want to encourage you to take this gift and put it on and watch it grow. It may be today a "Good Morning Lord" but tomorrow a conversation, to grow into time with Him in the book, time with Him here at Church, time with Him in ministry, in service, in devotion, in commitment, in growth, in perseverance and in joy.

This gift so small right will grow to overwhelm you, to become bigger than you are, to enrich your soul to where you will go about saying, even out loud, "Thank you Jesus - I love you Jesus."

Look at Hebrews 8:12: For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.

That time when I was just a kid on Baltimore Street, in Bandon, OR when I tried to steal that plastic stagecoach and was caught - God has forgiven me.

Those times in High School when I used his name, in vain - He has washed them away.

The many times I allowed pride or arrogance to invade my character and said things or acted unwisely, He has forgiven me.

Forgiveness is a gift that keeps on giving.

Listen to this valued passage in Revelation 1:5: …and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood…"

Look with me at another verse - one I'm sure you are familiar with - Acts 2:38:

Forgiveness - what an incredible gift! I hope you've already unwrapped this gift. There's still another gift…

Hebrews 9:28: So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him."

He's coming back again. He's coming back for his people. He's coming back for you and me! He's coming back for those who are waiting for him.

He's coming back for Rex and Chloe, for the Erquhart's, for Lola and Dolly, and Ollie, and Pat, and Pat, for Kevin, Dave and Helen, Melanie and her folks, Ken and Marilyn and his brother Bob and Bob's wife Sandy, and Marilyn's mom Ila. He's coming back for Rome and Pam, Bob and Sylvia, he's coming back for Danny and Michelle, for Crystal and Little Danny, he's coming back for Wanda, for the Weise's. He's returning from heaven for Mark and Nancy, Donita and Alan, for those folks from W. Virginia, for those Hartman's for Jim and Joyce, for Amber, for Ron and Jenny, for Ronnie, for Ron and Marilyn, for Royal, and for you!

He's coming back for everyone who's waiting and ready for Him.

He's coming back and He wants this gift of His to be shared with those who are not prepared and packed for the trip. He wants us to be the ones who share this good news.

Does Jesus have anything to Offer?

For those of us who have been Christians for some time, and for those who may be starting your jubilant walk of faith in Jesus, we know, I mean we absolutely know Jesus Christ has something to offer.

He has surrounded us with both gifts and sacrifices. We could and maybe should spend the rest of our life doing nothing else but falling on our knees and saying "Thank you…thank you….thank you…thank you Jesus!"

What a God we serve! What a Savior! What a Holy Spirit!

The passage caused me to chuckle, it hit my funny bone, but there's something that strikes me today, and it's not at all humorous. It's the thought that many are unprepared for His coming, many have never accepted His sacrifice and been blessed by His gifts. Many need Jesus and we have so much room here for them. We have so much to offer them. Oh folks, let's join together to do what we can to share this wonderful news.

And if you have not accepted His sacrifice and been blessed by His gifts, good friend, today is the day of Salvation…

Copyright © 2005. Alan Walker is minister of the Arcata Church of Christ in Arcata, California. Used by permission. Permission is granted by the author and by The Preacher's Study to use this document in total or in sermon preparation in the context of the local congregation only. Publishing it in a book, on the Internet, or any place beyond the local congregation is prohibited.