Please turn with me to the Word of God and to the letter of the Apostle Paul to the Hebrews and to the chapter number 9. The subject before us this evening are the three appearances of Christ that are here mentioned at the end of this chapter. Let me read from verse 24 again. where we come across these three appearances. 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. Nor yet that he should offer himself often as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with 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, hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment, so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many. And unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. The Apostle Paul is continuing with his mighty, detailed and lengthy treatment of Christ's high priestly ministry. He took up the theme at the end of chapter 4 and continues right the way through to almost the end of chapter 10. And he does so to demonstrate and to prove conclusively to these Hebrew Christians to whom he's writing the superiority of Christ's priestly work over all that had gone before. Not only is Christ a greater high priest than Aaron, Eleazar, and all the others, but the sacrifice he offered was a better sacrifice than those offered. Now, The Apostle towards the end of the ninth chapter makes reference to these three glorious appearances of the Lord Jesus Christ. So far in this chapter, he has referred to the types and to the shadows of the tabernacle. That's why I read from Exodus 26. The outer court, which measured 150 cubits. A cubit is 18 inches from the elbow to the fingertips. The outer tabernacle, the outer court, 150 cubits by 40 cubits, and that was in front of the tabernacle proper. It contained the holy laver, the altar of burnt offerings. Then there was the tabernacle itself, which was covered by a veil of richly embroidered tapestry depicting the cherubims, and it was divided into two chambers, the inner chamber, the sanctuary, verse 2 of chapter 9, which was also called the first tabernacle. And then the holiest of all, verse three, the second tabernacle, which contained the Ark of the Covenant, the tables of the law, the mercy seat, which was overshadowed by those two golden cherubims with outstretched wings beneath which the Shekinah glory, the visible symbol of God, was manifest. Now into that first tabernacle a priest entered each day to make the appointed daily sacrifices. But into that second tabernacle, the holiest of all, only the high priest could enter. And even he could only enter but once a year, the Day of Atonement, the tenth day of the seventh month. But even the high priest could only enter after the most solemn preparations had been made, teaching us that God, Jehovah, is holy and he is a consuming fire. But on that tenth day of the seventh month, Aaron and his successors had to make confession first for his own sins, for he was a sinner like the congregation, and then for the sins of the people. Then he had to present the shed blood of an innocent victim upon that mercy seat, the seat of propitiation. The Apostle therefore reminds us almost all things are by the law purged with blood and without shedding of blood is no remission. We focused on the blood this morning. In that wilderness tabernacle blood was seen everywhere. As you entered the outer court there was the brazen altar And at the base of that brazen altar, there were bowls of blood constantly being filled as animal after animal was sacrificed and its blood shed. Then when you pass through that first veil, the priest was bespattered with blood, covered from head to foot with that crimson gore. And then as you entered even further, there was the altar and the horns of the altar were smeared with blood. The thick tapestry veil was also covered with blood. That wilderness tabernacle was no place for those with a weak stomach. It was a place for broken-hearted sinners. It was a place where eternal realities were constantly being brought before the people, sinful man and woman seeking to approach a thrice holy God. Eternal realities were dealt with. that they were a figure, but it was a constant reminder that access to the Lord was through a sacrifice, a propitiatory sacrifice, a sacrifice that turned away the wrath of God. And without such a sacrifice, sinners could not approach such a sin, hating God, such a holy God. Every requirement of God's holiness demanded the blood of an innocent victim be shed and sprinkled on the mercy seat. So the apostles already brought before us the necessity of a blood atonement. Those vast rivers of blood, which had been shed for over 2,000 years, could not and could never atone for one sin. for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. The Apostle also says here, the second verse, went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the errors of the people. The Holy Ghost, this signifying that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest while as the first tabernacle was yet standing, which was a figure for the time then present in which were offered both gifts and sacrifice, listen, that could not make him that did the service perfect as pertaining to the conscience. They were powerless to cleanse a sinner, powerless to atone, powerless to put away sin, powerless to satisfy the wrath of a holy God. So the Apostle shows those things described in verses 1 to 7 of chapter 9 are fulfilled and they are gloriously manifested in that blood-atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ has secured all those blessings which Aaron and his animal sacrifices could never do. How does the hymn go? What can wash away my stain? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow. No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus. And so he has shown these things earlier in the chapter. But now we turn to these three appearances that I've already mentioned. And before we consider these three appearances, we must realize the word that is translated appearance or appear in these verses is a forensic term, it's a legal term. It's the word which describes the appearance of an attorney or an advocate or a barrister in a court of law before the judge representing his people. It's a legal term, it has to do with a court of law. And therefore in these verses the Apostle Paul, by the Holy Spirit, takes each one of us tonight into the law court. but this law court is heaven. It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this, the judgment. He takes us into the law court, the court of heaven. My friends, if you're a child of God tonight, if you're born again of the spirit of God, our confidence is this, that we have this evening are an advocate, an attorney in the court of heaven. And he charges no fee. And from the court of heaven, he bestows blessing upon blessing, purchased by the shedding of his precious blood. Before the throne of God on high, we have a great high priest, an advocate, an attorney, and he ever lives to pleads the merits of his blood, which was shed for the sheep. No wonder Paul can write in Romans, who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. The us are those who are loved of God, called according to his purpose, foreknown, predestined, justified, and most certainly will be glorified. So I turn you to the first appearance. And in doing so, I turn you first of all to verse 26, because this is the chronological order. Verse 26, for then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world, but now, once in the end of the world, hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. The apostle anticipates and answers the objections that some of these Hebrew Christians might raise with that which he has taught so far in chapter 9. What were the objections these Hebrew Christians might have? Well, first of all, Aaron offered the blood of beasts. And secondly, Aaron offered annually So in answering these objections, the Apostle rests his case on the one offering of Christ, nor yet that he should offer himself often as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with the blood of others. And further, the Apostle speaks of the sufferings of Christ, for then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world. As you read through the Gospels, as you read through the New Testament, you will soon realize that The sufferings of Christ and the offering of Christ are joined together. They are inseparable. It was through the sufferings of Christ, through all that he endured, the contradiction of sinners against himself, that he endured the cross and despised the shame. The sufferings and the offering that he made are inseparable. I say that for this reason. Aaron, offered a sacrifice every year. But Aaron never really had to suffer. We don't truly read all the sufferings that Aaron had to endure, but Christ suffered. And moreover, Aaron was not the sacrifice that was being offered. It was a bullock or a lamb or a goat that was being offered. It wasn't Aaron himself. By contrast, it is Christ who offers himself as a sacrifice. Christ being both the high priest officiating at the altar at Calvary was also the sacrificial victim upon that altar. But Christ could not offer himself without first having suffered. The points the apostle is making here to these Hebrew Christians and to you and I is that the offerings of Aaron and the Jewish high priests, they were imperfect. That's why they had to be repeated. But Christ's offering is a perfect offering and a perfect sacrifice. Therefore, it does not need to be repeated. It's once and for all. Christ offered himself once. He suffered once. He put away sin once. He entered into heaven once. And so the apostle here refers to the first coming of Christ. But now once in the end of the world, hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself? What is meant by this expression, put away sin? It's a very forceful expression. It's an expression we come across in several places in Holy Scripture. I'll give you three examples. First of all, it's a legal expression. You come across it, for example, in the Sermon on the Mount, when our Lord is speaking of marriage, and he cites Deuteronomy 24, the case of an unfaithful wife, a wife who has committed adultery. And our Lord says, whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement. I'm not entering into the whole subject of divorce here, but there, according to Deuteronomy 24, provision was made for a husband to put away his wife if she has committed adultery. She has been caught committing adultery. The husband could give to her, according to Deuteronomy 24, a bill of divorcement. Literally, he could put her away. She had been his lawful wife. He had been bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. But under the law, they were regarded as one. But once that bill of divorcement has been given, she no longer has any relationship to her former husband. She has been utterly disowned. and she has no further claim upon him whatsoever. The separation is complete, irrevocable, and permanent. She has been put away. It's a forceful word, it's a legal term. And in like manner, Christ has proclaimed a complete, permanent, everlasting divorce between our souls and our sins. He has put them away. They no longer have any claim upon us. That is why the Apostle can write in Romans 8, there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. So this term here in Hebrews 9.26 put away is first of all a legal term, it's also a term that's used in connection with false gods. We come across it several times in the Old Testament, in the book of Joshua 24, Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in truth and put away the gods which your father served on the other side of the flood and in Egypt and serve ye the Lord. They had to put away the false gods that they had worshipped. A search had to be made in every home to find every tariff, every image, every symbol of idolatry that had been kept as an object of reverence. Once these objects had been found, which they had venerated, they had to be thrown out of the tent door with utter indignation. We read of Jacob saying to his household and all that were with him, put away the strange gods that are among you, throw them out. Then we read again of Jacob, they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand and all the earrings which were in their ears and Jacob hid them under the oak, which was by Shechem." Think of Moses, when he came down the mountain, found them worshiping the golden calf. What happened? He took the calf, which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strode it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink it. He ground it to powder. We read of godly Josiah, He brought out the grove from the house of the Lord without Jerusalem and to the brook Kidron and stamped it small to powder and cast the powder thereof upon the graves and of the children of the people. And he break in pieces the image, he break down and burnt the high places, stamped it to small powder and burnt the grove. You see the picture. Christ has so in like manner put away sin. He has broken them. He has utterly and completely demolished them. He has broken them, destroyed them, and cast them away. He has obliterated them, annihilated them, ground them to powder. But also this expression put away is used thirdly in connection with the Passover itself. We come across that in the book of Exodus chapter 12. Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread, even the first day shall ye put away leaven out of your houses. Here the children of Israel were commanded to put away all leaven out of their house. I preach in several churches in the London area. I have friends that live in Hendon, They've got a place in Stamford Hill. There was one occasion several years ago, I was preaching in their church and went to their home for lunch in Hendon, and a strange activity had taken place. My friends from the West Indies were the only non-Orthodox Jewish people on the entire road. And on this occasion, I noticed something strange happening in every Jewish home along that road. The ladies were taking the drawers out of the kitchen, walking into the garden with them, then emptying the contents on the lawn, then they'd turn the drawer upside down, then they'd bang the base of the drawer, then with a fine brush they would hold the drawer up with one hand and sweep the corners of each drawer. What were they doing? They were ensuring that there was no Leaven, bread, not even the minutest crumb left in the house. They were putting away all leaven, bread, every minute crumb swept away. In like manner, Christ has so put away sin by his atoning blood to ensure that not one minute single crumb of sin remains. You see, there might have been a sin, left in some secret dark chamber of my heart, and that minute crumb of sin would have been sufficient to damn my soul for all eternity. My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin not in part, but the whole, is nailed to his cross, and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul. So I say again, this expression, put away, when that first appearance of Christ, when He first came into the world to live that life here upon earth, it was to put away sin. It's a very powerful expression. And the Greek word translated put away is found also in chapter 7. It's the only two places in the New Testament where it's found. In chapter 7, verse 18, there is verily a disannulling. of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof, disannulling a total, complete annihilation, an everlasting abolition of them. Christ, through his suffering and through his offering, has abolished, destroyed all the sins and all the iniquities of his people by that one sacrifice he offered upon the cross at Calvary. Let me give you some verses to encourage you. Jeremiah 31, verse 33. After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be my people. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. What a verse is that? The God of heaven, the holy God of heaven, says of his people, their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. Why? Because Christ has put them away by his sacrifice. Or as we have it in Hebrews 8 verse 12, for I will be merciful to their unrighteous and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. We remember them. And certainly the devil remembers them, the accuser of the brethren. But the Holy God of heaven doesn't know what the devil's talking about. I will remember them no more, he says. Again, Hebrews 10, just in case we missed it in chapter 7, in Hebrews 10, at the verse 17, he states it again, and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. The Apostle John in 1 John 1 says, the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son cleanseth us from all sin. The Psalmist could say in Psalm 31, Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, because it be put away by the shed blood of the Lamb of God. Jeremiah 50 verse 20, In those days and in that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none, and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found, for I will pardon them. whom I reserve, again Jeremiah 33, and I will cleanse them from all their iniquity whereby they have sinned against me and I will pardon all their iniquities whereby they have sinned and whereby they have transgressed me. Isaiah can say, or the Lord says through Isaiah rather, in chapter 38, Behold, for peace I had great bitterness, but thou hast in love to my soul delivered from the pit of corruption, for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. And the psalmist in the Psalm 103 says, as far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgression from us. How far is the east from the west? 40 years ago, we lived in Greenwich. And I'm a country boy, and I found living in Greater London very difficult. Saturday mornings, we would take the children to Greenwich Park. And from Greenwich Park down to Greenwich Village, go down the road. I'm not sure whether it's still there, but it was there 40 years ago. There was a big white line right the way across the road. And then at one side, there was a big capital letter E painted in white. and on the other side of the road there's a big capital W painted in white, and I would say to my children, they were young at the time, about that big, I would say, Matthew, my oldest boy, I'd say, Matthew, if you set off east and keep walking and swimming, eventually you'll come back to this very spot, but you'll never reach west. I would say to my daughter, my second child, Rachel, if you go west, Keep going, walking, running, swimming. Eventually you'll come back here, having circumnavigated the earth. But you'll never reach the east, as far as the east is from the west. So far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Who is a god like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity? passeth by the transgressions of the remnant of his heritage. He retaineth not his anger forever because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again. He will have compassion upon us. He will subdue our iniquities and thou cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. How deep is the sea? Around the British Isles, the seas are very shallow. We're on the continental shelf, no more than 100 fathoms or 600 feet. But go out into the Atlantic, 30, 40, 50 miles off the coast of Ireland, then the depths go down deep. Same in the Indian Ocean, the Arctic, the Antarctic, but the Pacific Ocean. Do you know there are parts of the Pacific Ocean that are so deep that were it possible to uplift the whole of the Himalayan mountain range, including Mount Everest, and transport it south of Japan and just let it drop, it would sink to the bottom and there would still be a mile of water if you were standing on Mount Everest above your head. He has cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. So that's the first appearance. I'm going to be very brief on the next two, so don't panic. The first appearance, when he first came into this sin-cursed world, virgin-born, living here for 33 years, the chief purpose of that was to put away sin. The second appearance, going back to verse 24, 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. Israel's priests entered the holy place. The high priest alone, Aaron, Eleazar, and the successors, only they could enter the holy of holies. Aaron's duty was to enter that sacred bode where the typical visible representation of Jehovah was manifested. But Christ has not entered into a man-made sanctuary. not entered into the Holy of Holy, which was but a figure of the true, but he has entered into the heavenly sanctuary, into heaven itself. Aaron entered the Holy of Holies clothed in linen garments. And no doubt he did so with fear and with trembling. But our great high priest has entered into heaven. at his ascension, clothed with infinite majesty and glory, not with fear, not with trembling, but rather with joy, with jubilation, as the psalmist puts it. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and lift up your everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. He entered heaven, the second appearance as the King of glory, as our great high priest, a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. And tonight, whilst we sit here, In this village hall, there is one in heaven appearing on our behalf in the court of heaven, in the presence of God the Father and the holy angels. I say again, this word appear is a word associated with a court of law, with an attorney, with an advocate. representing his client appearing before the judge, and we have one now appearing before God, the Father, pleading on our behalf, interceding on our behalf, representing us as our advocate, as our attorney in heaven. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. And as John writes in 1 John 2, and if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. So the first appearance was to put away sin. The second appearance taking place now, he is there in heaven interceding on our behalf. but briefly there is a third appearance. So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. And this verse needs to be considered with reference to the Aaronic priesthood. You see, when Aaron went within the veil into the Holy of Holies, the congregation waited outside with eager anticipation and expectation, waiting and waiting for Aaron to reappear to bless the people, waiting to see whether the sacrifice had been accepted by a holy God. And in like manner Christ, having made atonement, having put away sin, has gone now within the veil, And we are like the children of Israel, outside in the outer court, waiting tonight with eager expectation, with glorious anticipation, awaiting the day when Christ will reappear, when he will come again, in power and in great glory. Christ's first appearance was to deal with sin. Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sin. He came to seek and to save that which was lost. He came to put away sin. At his first appearance, Christ was without sin. So what does it mean when we come across this expression at the very end of chapter 9? The second time, without sin, unto salvation. What does that expression mean? Well, could I suggest it means that when he comes again, the glorious second coming of Christ, it will not be to deal with sin. That was the purpose of the first appearance, to deal with sin, to put away sin, to offer that one sacrifice for sin forever. That was the purpose of that first coming. But when he comes the second time, it's not to deal with sin. That's been dealt with once and for all. It's been put away. So when He comes a second time, it's not in connection with sin. He's not returning to make another sin offering. When He came that first time, all the sins of all His people were laid upon Him, but now He will come without sin. He has borne once and for all His people's sins, put them away, and there is no longer any sins of His people to be laid upon His shoulder. When He comes the second time, it will not be to deal with sin. To them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. Begs the question, are you looking for him tonight? Let me suggest five brief things involved in looking for him. First, are you resting on his promise that he will come again? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again. and receive unto myself this, where I am there ye may be also. Are you resting upon that promise? And then secondly, is there any love in your heart for his appearing? Henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me in that day, and not to me only, but unto all them that love his appearing. Do you love his appearing? Is it the chief affection of your heart? And then thirdly, is there an ardent, fervent longing for the glorious appearing of our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ? Do you say, even so come Lord Jesus? But fourthly, is there a patient waiting amidst the many discouragements? Where is the hope of his coming? Since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were. James writes, Be patient, therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth and hath long patience for it until he receive the early and latter rain. Be also patient, establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. You are to be patient and to wait expectantly. But fifthly, and perhaps more importantly, are you prepared for his coming? For when he comes, it's not to deal with sin. He will come a second time for judgment, to separate the sheep from the goats. Let your loins be girded about and your lights burning. And ye yourselves liken to men that wait for their Lord when he will return from the wedding And when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the Lord, when he cometh, shall find watching. Are you like those five wise virgins in the parable? Your lamps are prepared and full of oil, waiting, longing for his appearing. And when he comes that second time, it will be unto salvation. But did he not come the first time to say yes? But salvation is a many-faceted subject. As Paul writes in Romans 8, moreover, whom he did predestinate them he also called, whom he called them he also justified, whom he justified them he also glorified. Salvation involves predestination, calling. justification, sanctification, glorification. We are not yet glorified, and we are not yet fully sanctified. But when he comes again, he will present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. As John writes, for we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. He shall change our vile, our weak and frail, humble bodies and fashion them like unto his glorious body, unto salvation, that salvation, when these bodies, these frail, weak bodies of ours will be gloriously changed, when this corruption shall put on incorruption, this mortal shall put on immortality. So we have these three appearances. The first appearance was to put away sin. The second appearance taking place now in the court of heaven. The third appearance yet future, not too far distant, I trust. when he will come the second time without sin unto salvation. Amen. Well, our closing hymn is from Gospel Hymns and it's 458 in Gospel Hymns. To comprehend and fully prove the depths of everlasting love, a seraph's powers must fail. How then shall sinful worms below the great dimensions ever know or give the full details? The hymn number 400. and 58 in Gospel Hymns.