Jesus Makes Holy Hearts

When I was just six months old my family moved into an old 19th century clapboard house that gave new meaning to the phrase “fixer upper.” I don’t remember, of course, most of the early work. I’ve heard the stories of how we lived in the midst of the dust and inconvenience of remodeling. My dad would work a full day at his regular job, come home, eat a quick dinner, and then work on our old house until the wee hours of morning, catch a few hours sleep, and start it all over again.

By the time I got old enough to help the jobs were better. By then we were building new things instead of tearing out of old things. We built a back porch, and decks, and built out the basement, and put on a new roof. I was only about 12 when my father had me up on the roof of the two story house hanging on to full sheets of plywood until he could get up the ladder and help me put them into place.

We worked hard. And it was fun. But there was always one point in the day I particularly looked forward to. I never knew exactly when it would happen, sometimes in mid-afternoon if it was really hot. Sometimes later at night, but I knew the sign. At some point my dad would grab a cold Coke, go over by a tree or find a lawn chair or even an overturned bucket--and he would sit down. It was the sign. When dad finally sat down we knew the work was done for the day.

“He sat down.” Those words were spoken by the Hebrew writer about Jesus in our text for today. Verse 12, “He sat down.” Those may be, in one sense, the most important words of the passage.

We know from our focus last week in this letter to Hebrew Christians, the writer is comparing the old covenant under the law of Moses with the new covenant under the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The writer is contrasting the futility of the old sacrificial system with the perfect and completed work of Jesus. Before, the people had to bring animal sacrifices and offerings constantly because none of those sacrifices would ever take away their sins forever.

But now when this priest, Jesus, offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, was all we needed. The work was done. Nothing more could be offered, nothing more needed to be offered. So having made that perfect sacrifice, Jesus “sat down.”

Now did you catch the comparison? The writer opens this section by saying the priests of the old covenant would stand, day after day, performing their religious duties. Standing is the posture of most priestly ministry. Even now we stand to lead worship, I stand to preach to you. We stand when the work is not yet done. We stand because there’s more to do. For us standing means readiness for action, we talk about lazy people or unprepared people as “sitting down on the job.” But Jesus “sat down.”

It’s interesting to notice how this posture even plays out in Jesus’ earthly ministry. I was interested to see just how often in the gospels Jesus is sitting down on the job. In Matthew chapter 5 at the opening of Sermon on Mount the gospel says, “He went up on a mountainside and sat down, and began to teach them” (Matthew 5:1-2).

Later in Matthew’s gospel the crowds have grown to unmanageable size. Once the people gather on the lakeshore and press in so much Jesus gets into a boat, sits down, and teaches the people from there. Why is that significant? It says something about authority. It says something about confidence.

In January I was attending a conference for pastors and our keynote speaker was Dr. E. V. Hill, the great pastor of the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in south central L.A. for early 40 years. E.V. Hill is a formidable man both in physical presence and in personality. But age is taking its toll and Dr. Hill’s balance isn’t sure. So when he came to address us they placed a winged back chair on the platform. I would feel handicapped if I had to sit down to preach. But Dr. Hill came out, sat down, and held us with the power of his words for nearly two hours. Authority. Confidence.

Jesus sat down. In John chapter 4 He sat down to engage a life changing conversation with the woman at the well. In John 8--just before the woman caught in adultery is brought to Jesus--the gospel says He “sat down to teach them.” In the book of Acts, the apostles follow Jesus’ example. Going into the synagogues to try and bear witness to Jesus, they are often described as sitting down to teach. In this book of Hebrews it says on four different occasions, “[Jesus] sat down at the right hand of God.”

“He sat down.” It says something about a completed work in which there is so much confidence nothing else needs to be done. All other work is over.

Before “each new sin required a new offering” (H. Orton Wiley). And even though we have not lived under the Jewish system of temple sacrifices, we can all relate to how frustrating it is trying so hard to please God by just doing good things. It’s never enough.
That’s why Jesus came. God loved us so much, and desired relationship with us so much He was willing to do whatever it took to win us back and bring us home. So “our high priest offered himself to god as one sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down” (Hebrews 10:12, NLT). “Christ sits, for his work is done. There is nothing to be added to it” (NICNT).

Now that’s not all. He sits, but also “He waits.” Did you see that? Verse 13: “Since that time he waits for his enemies to made his footstool” (NIV). “The war has been won and now the mopping up is taking place. The victorious Son is waiting for all of his enemies, all of the manifestations of sin--disease, poverty, warfare, hunger, loneliness, anger, despair . . . even the final enemy, death--to be made a footstool for his feet” (Tom Long, Interpretation).

And “He waits”--which again is a picture of rest and confidence and authority. The end is sure, the outcome is certain and we are part of that. God is not in a panic over the condition of our world. Christ is not anxious about what’s going to happen to us. The work is done, the last chapter has been written. And we are a part of that when by faith we trust our lives into the care and keeping of Jesus.

And as great as that is--it’s still not the end of what this text says to us. There’s more. Not only has Christ made the one sacrifice for all time so that we don’t have to anymore--and not only is our future certain, Jesus is doing an amazing work in His people now.

Here it is. Verse 14: “By one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (NIV). Remember what we’ve heard the past couple of Sundays about what God wants and expects from us? God said, “Be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19:1). Jesus said, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).

Impossible commands, right? But listen to the gospel for today: “[Jesus has] perfected forever all those whom he is making holy” (Hebrews 10:14, NLT). Jesus has done for us and is doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Praise be to God! “He has made perfect forever, those who are being made holy.” This verse is the climax of all the writer of Hebrews is trying to say.

Now I know the question we have is, “how does that work?” Because I know I’m not perfect and I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody who was perfect. And it sounds contradictory. He has made perfect (which sounds like it’s done)--those who are being made holy (which sounds like it’s ongoing). This is critical for understanding what holiness is.

First we need to understand what the Bible means when it says “perfect.” It’s not the same as when we use the word. In our Western and modern way of thinking “perfect” means “flawless.” That’s not what the Bible means. The Bible word is “telos” which essentially means, “to fulfill the purpose for which you were created.”

Can we be flawless in our walk with God? No. Can we fulfill the very purpose for which we were created? Yes we can. What is that purpose? Jesus put it like this: “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength. And love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22: 37, 39).

Jesus “has made perfect”--what does that mean? That through the sacrifice of Jesus, once for all, you and I can live the way God created us to live in the first place. With sin gone, with guilt gone, with our brokenness healed--we can love from a pure heart. That’s what it means, according to the Bible, to be perfect.

Then the text says, “Those who are being made holy.” Well is this holiness deal something that happens to me all at once or do I kind of grow into it? I can answer that question. The answer is “yes.”

In a moment of faith, of trusting Jesus’ sit down work instead of my stand up work, I am filled with His Spirit and I am by God’s grace sanctified. Which means “set apart, made holy.” But that’s only the beginning. It’s like the on-ramp to the highway of holiness. Now there’s a journey to go on of becoming more and more like Jesus so the world will see through me what it’s like to be restored to the image of God.

This is so important, please don’t miss this. God calls us to be holy, we’ve seen clearly. But you can’t make yourself holy. That’s why Jesus came. There is no longer any sacrifice for sin. It’s not about your good works, it’s about your devotion, it’s not about your service, it’s not about your moral purity. It’s not about you!

You can’t “earn” your way to favor with God. You can’t “make up” for the bad things you’ve done. All you can do is to trust the mercy and grace of Christ. We seem to understand becoming a Christian is a free gift, but then we seem to think sanctification is about our discipline and work. No. It’s still all about Jesus.

Jesus does call me to a life of excellence and purity and sacrifice and love. There is some discipline involved, but it’s not what makes me holy. Jesus makes me holy and then gives me the power to live like he did. That’s why the writer of Hebrews says it this way. He has made perfect forever (it’s Jesus’ complete work and gift) those who are being made holy (we are on the journey of Christ-likeness.)

So, I can finally let go of my efforts to please God. I can let go of my fear and when it’s all said and done God won’t let me in to heaven because I haven’t worked hard enough.
When my dad sat down at the end of a long day’s work, I knew the work was done. Time to rest. Time to enjoy. Time to renew.

Jesus sat down. The work is done. Now it’s time to receive and enjoy and respond with a life of grateful service to the one who made this possible.

This is different than becoming a Christian. When I become a Christian I ask Jesus to do for me all I know needs to be done. I need my sins to be forgiven so I can come back home. But once I’m in the family, I begin to see that my need for God’s grace goes far deeper than having my sins forgiven.

I need my heart to be changed so I can please God not because I try hard, but because Jesus’ sit down work fills me and empowers me for life and for service.