When Jesus Came into the World—Lectionary Reflection for Advent 4C (Hebrews 10)

Hebrews 10:5-10 New Revised Standard Version

⁵ Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,

“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
    but a body you have prepared for me;
⁶ in burnt offerings and sin offerings
    you have taken no pleasure.
⁷ Then I said, ‘See, God, I have come to do your will, O God’
    (in the scroll of the book it is written of me).”

⁸ When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), ⁹ then he added, “See, I have come to do your will.” He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. ¹⁰ And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

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                We are now just days away from Christmas. The Gospel reading from Luke 1 tells the story of Mary’s visit to the home of her cousin Elizabeth, who like here is pregnant. When the two meet, the child in Elizabeth’s womb jumps for joy. That leads to Mary’s song of praise, the Magnificat (Luke 1:39-55). The reading from the prophet Micah speaks of the little town of Bethlehem, out of which comes the one who will rule, a prophetic word that came to be applied to Jesus, who is descended according to the Gospels from David (Mic 5:2-5a). Here in Hebrews 10, the Advent message is a bit more subtle, but it does begin by speaking of when Jesus came and spoke. The words he spoke, according to Hebrews are found in Psalm 40.  

                The Book of Hebrews goes to great lengths to contrast the new covenant that Jesus introduces with the old covenant represented by the Temple sacrificial system. The old system had its day, but now it's time for it to give way to the new thing God is doing in Jesus. So, when Christ came into the world, he declared that the old system no longer was in force. That’s because God desired obedience rather than sacrifice. Besides, Jesus has offered his body up to God once for all.

                The challenge we face when engaging this and other words from Hebrews is the possibility of giving voice to supersessionism. That is, we follow the logic of this passage in such a way, that Christianity is understood to replace Judaism in God’s covenant. The Temple had its day, but it failed, so God moved on to Jesus and so should you (or something to that effect). Too often the effect of such a view is that it makes room for anti-Jewish views, which can lead to anti-Semitism, which can lead to violence and oppression toward Jews.   

                The author of this sermon puts words in Jesus’ mouth, words that come from Psalm 40:6-8 (LXX 39:7-9), that contrast the ministry of Jesus with that of the Jewish sacrificial system. Since we don’t know when Hebrews was written, it’s quite possible it was written after the destruction of the Temple. However, Hebrews doesn’t focus on the Temple but instead, it takes us further back to the Tabernacle. Here Jesus (using the words of Psalm 40) declares that God has no interest in sacrifices. The point appears to be, that the Psalmist is speaking of Jesus, therefore Jesus can embody these words.

                The key phrase here has to do with Jesus’ willingness to do the will of the Lord. It would appear that in order to do the will of the Lord, the sacrificial system needs to be abandoned. As the Psalmist declares, God is not interested in sacrifices and burnt offerings. The challenge for us is making sure we do not draw a sharp line between Judaism and Christianity. It’s good to remember that Jesus was not the first nor the last Jewish prophet to critique the sacrificial system. The Psalmist surely did not envision Jesus in making this critique of a system that could easily be abused. Prophet after prophet declared that God wanted obedience and justice not just religious ritual.

                As a word concerning the incarnation, New Testament writers often reinterpret Old Testament passages to point to Jesus. The assumption here is that what came before points to Jesus so that he fulfills the intention of these passages. Now, there is no record of Jesus ever speaking these words, but if we follow the logic that is revealed in the Gospel of John, then Jesus is the word of God incarnate. Thus, words spoken in the Old Testament become his words.

                The message of Hebrews is that Jesus’ death on the cross is the final sacrifice. No further sacrifices are needed because he has taken care of the situation that the sacrificial system was designed to take care of. While the system did provide a covering for sin, it had to be repeated regularly. With Jesus’ death, sin is dealt with once and for all. It no longer holds a dagger over our heads. So, we are free to do the will of God.

                So, what word would Jesus want us to hear in this reading? Should we focus on the insufficiency of the original sacrificial system or take a close look at our own tendency to think that religious rituals cover a multitude of sins. Might we not hear Jesus say to us: I could care less about your commitment to reading the Bible every day if you fail to act justly and love your neighbor? The context for the prophetic critique of the sacrificial system is that it was used as an excuse to neglect the needs of one’s neighbor.

                As we conclude our Advent journey and prepare to welcome the one who incarnates the word of God, we are reminded that God has high expectations. Perhaps we should read this passage in light of the Magnificat. There, in Mary’s song, she speaks of her own obedience to God that results in the birth of Jesus. As a result of her obedience, God will bring down the mighty and lift up the lowly. This takes place in fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham and his descendants (Luke 1:46-55). May we follow Mary’s example and that of Jesus and live in obedience to the call of God.

                The message of Hebrews 10 speaks of when Jesus came into the world. It is the expectation that moves us through Advent as we prepare for Christmas. The message here concerns obedience, that of Jesus and ours. So, the passage from Hebrews 10 reveals the nature of God’s will, which Jesus gave obedience to, for our benefit: “And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Heb. 10:10). That offering leads to our sanctification, our cleansing, so we may stand before God holy and righteous. This begins and ends with the obedience of Emmanuel who came into our world to make us whole. It also requires obedience on our part, that obedience involves fulfilling the commandments of God, which are lifted up as we light the fourth candle, the candle of love. Those commandments are these—love God and love one’s neighbor. They are not mentioned in the passage, but I think it’s an appropriate extension of the message of Advent and this passage of Scripture.