Into the World and Outside the Camp
This passage is not what you might have expected for the Sunday morning of Christmas Eve. The way the calendar falls this year, today is the 4th Sunday of Advent and tonight we will have a Christmas Eve Service, and we hope you come back for that service at 4:00pm today.
If you are a guest or starting coming more recently, this past year we preached through the whole book of Hebrews, and then for these 4 weeks of advent, we have gone back to 4 passages in Hebrews that highlight the person and work of Jesus during his ministry on earth.
Week one: we looked at Jesus being “for a little while lower than the angels.”
Week two: we looked at Jesus being “made like his brothers in every respect.”
Week three: we looked at how Jesus “in the days of his flesh” related to us in his praying, and waiting and suffering.
Week four: we are going to look at Jesus who “suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people.”
This passage highlights the purpose for which Jesus came. He came to save his people. His ability to save is the main purpose for all he did while he walked this earth. This morning the three things we will work through are:
1) Jesus came into the world to save the world
2) Jesus went outside the camp to save the world
3) We must go to Jesus to be saved.
1) Jesus came into the world to save the world
God Created the world
In the beginning, before anything was created, there was God. A god from all eternity that existed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. A God that is the very definition of love, and was perfectly and eternally happy. He lacked nothing, was in need of nothing.
And from his love and joy and freedom he created the world. He created the world as an overflow of all that he is. God created the universe and all the beauty and joy and life that is in it.
He did not create because He was lonely, or bored or sad. God could have never created the world and would still be eternally joyful and happy but because he was full of love and joy, in his overflowing goodness he created a world and he created people. People that could know Him and delight in Him and have a relationship with Him.
Mankind rejected God
But, it didn’t take long for mankind to leave the good design of God and look for another way.
In the Garden in Genesis 3, a doubt is planted in Adam and Eve’s mind by satan: That maybe God isn’t as good as they thought, maybe God shouldn’t be trusted, maybe they know what is better. And in rebellion to God, they sought to do what they thought was best, disobeyed God and sin entered the world.
And sin has wreaked havoc on the world. The world God created had been broken and the people God created had been broken. The world became a dark place that needed redemption, that needed saving.
And the greatest problem wasn’t external it was internal. The sin in the hearts of human beings was the greatest problem then, and is the greatest problem now. Sin in the hearts of mankind is the cause of it all.
God still loved the world, and planned to save the world
Yet, God still loved the world and the people he created. And He had a plan from the very beginning to save His people from there sins. It wasn’t as if He was thrown for a loop and started to scramble; he always had a plan set in motion. And a few verses later after the rebellion of Adam and Eve, we see the first promise of hope for a world that was lost.
Genesis 3:15, God says to Satan who had deceived Eve,
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
From the very beginning of scripture, there was a declaration that evil would be defeated through a son that would be born of a woman. Then after that, Adam and Eve were sent out of the garden to the east, sent away from the presence of God, and the way back was blocked by an angel. And from the very day that Adam and Eve fell, God declared that he had a plan to save them and from that day forward, the people of God in faith began to wait for a son to come.
We sing “come thou long expected Jesus” and thats right, all that way back to the garden!
After that the world spirals out of control, sin toward God goes from bad to worse, and God judges the world through a flood in which only Noah and those with him are saved. Then a few chapters later God again speaks of a child to come.
In Genesis 12 God comes to Abram, who is later renamed Abraham, and says:
“And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
God promised Abraham an offspring that will bless the whole world.
And God through his prophets continued to speak about this son who is to come. Here are just a couple examples from the book of Isaiah:
Isaiah 9:6–7 shows us that this son will conquer and reign,
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.”
This is a son who will be a king forever. But also, much less seen and much less understood, this son will suffer and die for us.
From Isaiah 53,
Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter…
And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied
Much more could be said of the one who was to come. He was an example for us, and a teacher for us, but what we need is a savior. He came to save the world and the world desperately needed saving. We see God’s front and center purpose in one of the most popular verses of all time. Maybe you haven’t seen it as a Christmas verse before but it is…
John 3:16,
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
He came so that the world might be saved through Him.
Jesus came into the world to save the world.
And how would Jesus save the world? By dying for their sins. But the more specific answer in Hebrews is by suffering outside the camp.
2) Jesus went outside the camp to save the world (verses 10-12)
As we get to the passage read a few moments ago about altars, and sin offerings, and suffering, it is contrasting what the people of Israel were commanded to do under the law that God had given them. We have seen from the beginning that God was going to send a savior to his people, but for the family of Israel (that became the nation of Israel), the way to forgiveness and relationship with God was seen through the sacrificial system.
That might be a little foreign to us, since we did not live in the time prior to Christ coming. But by looking back, we can enter into the waiting of Israel. As the people of God waited for the Son to come, they did it while living under the sacrificial system.
Let’s read it here again and answer the question of Why Jesus suffered outside of the camp. Why is that the way Jesus died to save the world?
Hebrews 13:10–12,
“We [followers of Jesus] have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.”
Two reason he suffered outside the gate
First, Jesus suffered and died outside the camp to show that He was the main point of the Day of Atonement.
There were many different types of sacrifices, and occasions for them to be done, but this passage is talking specifically about the sin sacrifices on the day of Atonement.
This was the sacrifice where the blood was brought into the Most Holy Place. The sin sacrifice on the day of atonement was the one time a year that the High Priest would go behind the inner most curtain, into the presence of God, before the Mercy Seat. The High Priest would need to follow meticulous instructions:
Wash and put on Holy garments. Take fire and incense, so that smoke covered the mercy seat, so that he doesn’t die. First sacrifice a bull for his own sin and bring the blood in and sprinkle it. Then sacrifice a goat for the people, and bring its blood in for all the sins of the people. The fat of the animals would be burned on the bronze altar. But all the rest would be carried outside the camp and burned.
The greatest and holiest sacrifice was taken outside the camp, so Jesus suffered outside the camp. Jesus death for sin had similarities with the day of atonement, we are supposed to see the connection, that Jesus is atoning for sin. He is like the Holiest sacrifice done under the law.
Second, Jesus suffered outside the camp to show that true forgiveness of sin was never to be found in the sacrificial system. Jesus died outside of the camp in contrast to the sacrificial system, which had not been able to cleanse people from their sins.
As we have worked through the book of Hebrews, the main theme has been that Jesus is Better. Jesus is the better thing that was needed, because He accomplished what the Old Testament sacrificial system could not do, and was not meant to do. The sacrificial system was never meant to be the final way to relate to God. From it’s creation it was temporary and insufficient. Jesus died outside the camp to show something new had come.
Have you ever heard of the term Planned Obsolescence?
The idea is making something artificially obsolete, whether perceived or in reality.
In business and marketing it could be making you think, or perceive, that your phone is so old if it isn’t the latest version. Or, in reality, making a part intentionally cheap, or a phones memory too small. Both strategies have the goal of making you buy more stuff more often.
A good example of planned obsolescence could be: A bag of ice versus a refrigerator. It accomplishes its task, but is not a final and lasting solution.
The planned obsolescence of the Old Covenant
The Old Covenant served as a temporary guardian and instructor so that we would be ready to receive the fulfillment of the promise of salvation. It was instructive for Israel and us to understand the seriousness of sin. Its incompleteness was to signal to us to look for something more. It helps us to understand Jesus and the way in which He came and died.
I want to walk through the examples that show the “planned obsolescence” of the Old Covenant, and then explain why it matters.
Ways we see the planned obsolescence of the Old Covenant:
Jesus became a High Priest after the order of the Melchizedek, not the lineage of Aaron.
This priesthood came before the priesthood of Aaron, Melchizedek is mentioned soon after the promises to Abraham, hundreds of years prior to the giving of the law.
This priesthood is seen as superior, in that Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedek, and in a sense Aaron gave tithes as well because he was not yet born.
The priesthood established the law, covenant, and the government of it, so a change in priesthood means a change in law, covenant, and government (including the sacrificial system).
The tent of meeting was a copy of the real thing: Hebrews 8:5, “[The tent serves as] a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, ‘See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.’”
The way into the Holy of Holies was closed, the High Priest could only enter once a year, and needed to sacrifice an animal for his own sins first.
They could not freely go into the presence of the Lord, and the manner they went in almost says “you shouldn’t be in here!”
Hebrews states, that “by this the Holy Spirit indicated that the way into the Holy Place is not yet opened.” Even after the sin offering.
We get one more indication of the insufficiency of the sacrificial system in our text today. He mentioned that we have an altar in which the priest in the OT have no right to eat from. The specific comparison here is Jesus’s death for sin and the sin sacrifices on the day of atonement.
There were some sacrifices the people of Israel were able to eat. There were some sacrifices that only the levites could eat. And there was a sacrifice that no one was able to eat… The sacrifice for sin in which its blood was brought inside the tent of meeting, it was to be burned outside the camp and no one could eat of it.
Leviticus 6:30,
“But no sin offering shall be eaten from which any blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place; it shall be burned up with fire.”
The day of atonement sacrifice also shows its insufficiency in the fact that the priests could not eat of it. Eating signifies sharing in. Eating signifies fellowship. Eating signifies peace.
The day of atonement continued every year because it didn’t truly forgive sin, because the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin, which made the day of atonement a reminder of sin every year.
The best sacrifice the OT system had to offer, done according to God instructions, was insufficient to take away the sins of the people. It was more an emblem of God’s forbearance of sin than His forgiveness of sin.
The Priest could not enter freely because their sins still remained. And the people could not eat of the sacrifice, because there sin still remained.
It was not the answer for our sins, but it was a tutor and guide to prepare us to see and receive the real thing. We see that we need a different altar, and that is exactly what he have through Christ.
Jesus never entered into the tent of meeting on earth, he was not sacrificed on the bronze altar. The best that the bronze altar could offer wasn’t enough. But Jesus, the promised son, was the new and compete sacrifice that did take away sin.
And the sacrificial system has made us ready to see the sufficiency of Jesus’s death
Jesus died once for sin and was raised, never to die again. This shows us that the forgiveness and atonement for sin was finally accomplished.
“…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, thus securing an eternal redemption”
Jesus ascended to heaven, to the true tent where he, through his death, has opened up access for us all in Christ.
“For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.”
“We have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us”
We have an altar that we have the right to eat from, we have a sacrifice from which we can spiritually eat and be nourished. That we share in, that we have fellowship through, that gives us peace with God.
We need to know the shadow so that we can see and understand when the real thing came. Jesus has reconciled us and now we have peace with God, and are no longer under the debt of our sin.
The redeeming work of Jesus is written all over the Bible, he does not leave us out in the dark, he gives us all kinds of pointers so that we will “know it when we see it”.
And not just see it, but be able to confidently lean on Him when it comes to our doubts or fears. When we are staring right at something that we do not want in the face, we need to know that Jesus is who he said he was. That Jesus has forgiven us and has freed us from the fear of death. That Jesus is rock solid when we need Him the most and don’t have anything else to stand on.
Knowing what Jesus has done for us, verse 13 says,
“Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.”
3) We must go to Jesus to be saved (verse 13)
We must go out of the camp to receive Jesus and be saved by Him. To leave the camp is spiritual not spatial. The camp for the Hebrews, was the Old Covenant law and system as a way to be righteous before God. For us there is no exact equivalent. The old covenant was a good, temporary covenant, given by God to the Hebrews that we were called to be done with because Christ, the substance had arrived.
Even though there is no exact equivalent, the closest things for us would be the world. The camp and the city gates for the Jews was where their security was found, there status and identity, their citizenship, their hope and their salvation.
And that is what the world can be for us. Is our hope in this world and in this life? Is our trust, our security, our hope and identity in our money, or our job, or our planned future?
The camp for us is anything that we trust in contrary to Jesus. Do we put our trust in our money, or do we trust our good works, or our relative kindness above the person next to us?
If the sacrificial system taught us anything, it is that sin is costly. It cost grain, and wine, and animals from the herd. And ultimately, the only sacrifice that could pay the cost of sin, was the death of Jesus, the son of God. That is the cost of sin.
When go to him we will in some sense bear His reproach, but He is a treasure!
We must remember, to go to him outside the camp, is not towards slavery but away from it. Remember that he says:
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Our sin is the heavy burden. It is our sin that enslaves us. It is our sin that brings forth death.
And the fear of death is what causes us to keep such a tight grip on the world, to live for and to trust in only what we can see and acquire. But Jesus frees us from the fear of death by giving us eternal life through His Son.
But we must leave the camp to be saved by Jesus. And we do this by faith. To go to Him is to believe that He alone can save you from your sins.
We remember the manger, but Jesus is no longer in the manger.
We remember the cross, but Jesus is no longer on the cross.
We remember the grave, but Jesus is no longer in the grave.
Jesus came into the world, then went outside the camp, so that we could be saved.
We go to Jesus, our great shepherd, our high priest and mediator, our savior and king, to adore him, to worship him, to praise Him and celebrate what he has done.
This bring us to the table.
The Table
The amazing part of the table is that Jesus is saying, “take, eat, this is my body given for you.” Through Jesus we have the right to eat! We remember that Jesus is the bread of life. That we have been united to Jesus by faith and are reconciled to God.