What does it mean that Jesus' sacrifice was once for all (Hebrews 7:27)?

But there is more. A sixth contrast fills verse 27. They offered up daily sacrifices, not only for the sins of the people but for their own sins as well. He offered one sacrifice, and He offered it once for all. It was for the people truly, but it was not for Himself. It was "HIMSELF," instead of being for Himself. He was the Sacrifice as well as the Offerer! Here we have the great truth alluded to, which we shall find expanded in all its glorious details when we come to Hebrews 9 and Hebrews 10.

"Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people, for this He did once, when He offered up Himself." One who must sacrifice daily could never actually meet the need of our souls, for the daily repetition only hears witness that the need has not been met. The first part of the verse then speaks strictly of the Aaronic priesthood, under which order the priest must offer both "for his own sins, and then for the people's." The concluding phrase is the blessed contrast seen in the Lord Jesus. His sacrifice is perfectly completed: "this He did once when He offered up Himself." The eternity of His Person gives eternal value to His blessed work. In this the believer has rest. "For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated (or perfected) for evermore." Here is an added testimony as to the weakness of law: it appointed men who have infirmity as high priests. A system in the hands of failing creatures must be a failing system. But "the Son" is again seen in beautiful contrast: in resurrection, having accomplished propitiation, He is perfected forever. Indeed, in life on earth, He has proven Himself without infirmity, and now in resurrection as superior to death, - perfect in every respect as High Priest forever.

“Such an high priest became us … who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this He did once, when He offered up Himself.” (Heb. 7:26-27.) Under the law, there was a daily need for sacrifice, and a daily offering of the same sacrifices. The priest of Israel offered up the daily sacrifice (Lev. 8), the blood of which availed for the day upon which it was shed. It neither covered past sins, nor future sins. Fresh sins called for fresh blood. There was no abiding value in the blood shed. God required constant sacrifices, and the sins of the people required constant offerings. Daily sins had to be met by the sacrifice of the day; but the conscience of the comer to God was never at rest, he was ever remembering sins, and ever coming to God for his sins to be put away. There was divine design in this; He who gave the law declared, “the law made nothing perfect.” (Heb. 7:19.)

How different the sacrifice of Jesus! The sinless Offerer offered Himself once and for ever. “He needeth not daily … to offer up sacrifice” (Heb. 7:27), are the words of the Holy Ghost, for He met the need “once,” when He offered up His own peerless body upon Calvary. Once and for ever is the divine record of the sacrifice of the cross; once offered — never repeated. Faith allows no darkening thought of twice or thrice doing the same thing; no presumptuous daring that there can possibly be of any sort whatever the shadow of a repetition of this sacrifice. And the result of His work, so far as our need as sinners is concerned, is this, never repairing to Calvary for a second putting away of our sins, but constant and daily praising of God for the one offering of His Son, the efficacy of whose blood lasts for ever and ever; a continual remembrance, not of sins, but of His offering, which more than eighteen hundred years ago met our need as sinners.

Inauguration to His Priesthood. — But more has to be stated. And again the contrast between the Lord and the sons of Aaron appears. We quote the passage: "Who needs not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins, and then for the people's; for this He did once when He offered up Himself. For the law makes men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, makes a Son, who is consecrated [or, perfected] for evermore" (Heb. 7:27-28). Much question has arisen as to what is here referred to, when the sacred writer mentions the high priests offering up of sacrifice for sins daily, because at the date of the Epistle it was not the custom for the high priest thus to minister daily. One of the other priests officiated at the altar morning and evening; witness Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist (Luke 1:9). Further, as the daily burnt offering was not a sin offering, the reference clearly cannot be to that. And though there was a daily meat offering for the priests, which by the law the high priest was bound himself to offer (Lev. 6:19-22), neither was that a sin offering so it could not be referred to here. As different conjectures have been hazarded about this matter, we feel that without being too bold we may briefly state what we believe was in the writer's thoughts at the moment.

Now, remembering that our author is about to treat of the Lord's sacrificial service, which preceded the intercessory work already set forth, we believe that he had in his mind the week's consecration of the high priest provided for in the Mosaic ritual, ere he could according to the Divine mind discharge the duties of that high and holy office. Ex. 29 tells us of that week, during which, when Aaron was being consecrated, a sin offering was each day offered up for him and for his sons. In Aaron's case Moses officiated, as we know, for as yet there were no priests who could minister at the altar. But that same chapter of Exodus (Ex. 29:29-30) tells us that Aaron's successor, as often as there was one, was to be anointed and consecrated for seven days, during which he daily wore the garments of glory and beauty when ministering in the holy place. We believe then that it is to this the Apostle refers. For of high priests he writes, and does not mention Aaron. It is to what was common to all his successors that the reference is made. And bearing in mind that at the close of the quotation given above (Heb. 7:26-27) the technical term for consecration, i.e. perfected, is introduced in ver. 28, it seems quite in character to suppose that the reference is to the manner of the consecration of high priests under the law, as contrasted with the way that the Lord was inducted into His priesthood. Sacrifice preceded their full consecration. Sacrifice preceded His. But in His case there was but one, being offered up once for all, and that sacrifice was Himself. Of a sin offering for Himself there was and there could have been no need. He offered Himself for others, and then entered on His priestly office. And He was the Son, made Priest by oath — a solemn introduction this. What, we again ask, would the unbelieving part of the nation, clinging still to Judaism, advance to eclipse this? What could they adduce to match it? Entering on His office as High Priest; consequent on the offering of Himself once for all, and perfected, or consecrated, for evermore, Judaism must give way to Christianity, for the latter far outshines it.

Why did the writer omit what goes a few verses before, "Who needeth not daily as these high priests to offer up sacrifice first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once [ἐφάπαξ once for all], when he offered up himself." The passage speaks of the actual offering, as a sacrifice to God (ἀναφέρει). He did this (ἐφάπαξ) once for all. And on this the apostle insists as contrasted with the Jewish sacrifices, that the work was effectually, finally done by one single act of sacrifice, done only once and completely; once and once for all, excluding constant, subsequent, as well as repeated offering. Thus Hebrews 10. By His own blood He entered in once (ἐφάπαξ) into the holy place having obtained eternal redemption. And again (and note here the passage refers to His entering into the holy place where it is pretended He still offers His sacrifice): "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands which are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us." Now here is the very place to lead us to that truth of profound spirituality, the constant offering of His sacrifice to God. Alas! — rather, thank God — it is just the contrary. "Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with the blood of others; for then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world he hath appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." That is, when His appearing personally in heaven is the subject, not only has the Holy Ghost not a word to say of this profoundly spiritual truth, but He negatives any such thought. It was once, in the end of the world, the sacrifice of Himself was made, and as it was appointed unto men once to die, and after that the judgment, so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many.

Of old there were carnal ordinances imposed till a time of setting things right; but Christ being come, High Priest of good things to come, by the better and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands (that is, not of this creation), nor by blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood entered in once for all into the holies, having found (or, obtained) an eternal redemption. His sacrifice is in the strictest sense of everlasting efficacy. The word "eternal" occurs frequently with peculiar stress in the Epistle to the Hebrews. Why eternal? In contrast with the temporal character of what was akin among the sons of Israel. Thus we find not only eternal or everlasting redemption but eternal salvation, eternal inheritance, eternal covenant: all of which words have a pointed reference, to lift the believing Hebrews into familiarity with what was beyond temporal. Christ dead, risen, and in heaven, puts the believer face to face with the unseen and eternal. Just because as Jews they were accustomed to what was displayed on earth, their eyes needed to be raised above and so to see within the veil what can never pass away. If the believing ones slipped into their old thoughts, they would lower the gospel, and perhaps fatally as they are warned in chapter 6 and elsewhere.

We would like to think that all our readers have entered into the tremendous significance of all this. Oh, the blessing and establishment of soul that comes when we really lay hold of it! Its surpassing importance may be seen in the way that the Spirit of God dwells upon the subject, and elaborates it in its details. Note too, how again and again it is stated that the sacrifice of Christ is one, and offered once and for ever. Six times over is this fact brought before us, in the passage beginning with Hebrews 9:12, and ending with Hebrews 10:14. Search that passage and see for yourselves.

Looking back again to the sixteenth of Leviticus, you find the high priest clothed in white, answering to the spotless purity of Christ, "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners." The priest entered into the sanctuary with the cloud of incense, with the blood in the basin, and going before the throne of God, the mercy-seat, he sprinkled of the blood upon it, and seven times before it. That was the type, the shadow. Christ by His own blood has entered in, — we do not mean, of course, nor does Scripture say, He entered in with His blood. The type was but a shadow, to make plain to our comprehension what our blessed Lord did in His priestly work. He entered in by virtue of His blood the blood was shed, the work was finished upon Calvary and the Sacrifice accepted God giving proof of it in rending the veil and raising Him from the dead. Christ is passed into heaven, He has gone into the presence of God, and we know that, it is by His own blood that He entered there. He might have entered heaven at any moment during His perfect life here, but He would have gone alone, as He came alone there would not have been a single one to share His glory with Him. But He has not entered heaven in that way. He has entered by, or in virtue of, His blood — not by His perfect character, not by His keeping the law of God, not by His personal worthiness even but He has entered by His blood, after having accomplished redemption: and because of that work He is there before God.

That brings us to the expression "having obtained (or found) eternal redemption." But where had He to go to find it? He had to go to the cross. It meant that He had to shed His blood, to give up His life, in order to get redemption for us. Look at that expression, "eternal redemption," as contrasted with everything they had before. The high priest might say when he took the censer in his hand on the day of atonement, "I have a redemption here that will last for a whole year. O Israelites, if ye are only faithful, I have here the assurance that God will remain among us in His Tabernacle for one whole year I have remembered and made atonement for your sins since you left Egypt to the present time." But some one might say, "Did you not put them away last year, and the years before that? Did you not make mention of these sins?" In contrast with that we have the glorious entrance of our blessed High Priest He has entered in once, into heaven itself. He has found a redemption that seals our relationship with God forever! — not for a year, nor conditional upon our good behaviour. Who would dare to have his relationship with God dependent upon his good behavior? What may we not do during the coming year, save as we abide in self-distrust in the presence of our blessed Lord? But, dear brethren, as we look forward, not for the next year merely, but our whole earthly life, whatever may come in, whatever power of Satan may be manifest, whatever the needs of the way, there is a redemption which He has found which is eternal in its efficacy, which can never lose its power, upon which we rest now, upon which we will rest as we pass from earth into glory, and in eternity itself.

Now then we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. It is not the sanctification of the Spirit in Hebrews, but by sacrifice: not the oil, but the blood is the foundation of everything, and by which the priestly family is set apart to God. The offering is offered, never to be repeated: He is not busy in continual sacrifice as the legal priesthood were. He has sat down at the right hand of God, not needing to rise any more on this account; sitting perpetually there until the time comes for His enemies to be put under His feet. There is no more to be done as regards offering: "By one offering He has perfected in perpetuity those that are sanctified" — there is never a moment in which they are not in the full value of that work before God.

It is by virtue of His own blood that Christ has entered into the Holiest of all. He has gone in permanently. When Aaron entered the Holiest of all in the tabernacle in the wilderness it was on a temporary basis, and only once a year did it take place. The expression "by His own blood" is significant. In verse 25 reference is again made to the day of atonement which was year by year. Referring to the required offerings of that day it says "with blood of others." There was no permanence connected with those offerings. How beautiful to contrast these with "His own blood" by which He has entered in "once," never to be repeated. Added to this is the obtaining of an "eternal redemption." There was no thought in the Old Testament of an eternal redemption. It is only by the Lord's death that this has been effected. There is therefore a setting aside now of the inadequate offerings of the Old Testament times.