Picture this

Taken from Hebrews 10:1-4, Step 2 of “Show Gratitude” spotlights the superiority of Christ’s sacrifice to cleanse a guilty conscience. Under the new covenant, which we studied last week, we learned that God, who does not lie, promised forgiveness to believers. Praise God for such a guarantee! We can ‘take that promise to the bank’ for sure. The new covenant was established with the blood of Christ when he sacrificed himself, one for all, and once for all.

The LifeWay commentary helps us picture this using a stained shirt (p.93). If someone wants me to describe this in more detail, post a comment and I’ll respond.

As an illustration of the old sacrificial system foreshadowing the sacrifice of Christ show a photograph, for example, of a class member. Ask the class to tell what the picture informs them about the class member. They will name a few items, but the details they point out will be incomplete. Then have the REAL class member stand up in front of the class and make the point of how the presence of the real person obsoletes the need for a photograph. Having the real person is more satisfying than a mere photo.

Lastly, you might want to consider the promotion that an upcoming concert gets in advance. Producers show video clips, play song excerpts, and describe what will happen at the event. However, all these simply foreshadow the reality of the actual concert when it does take place. When it does, the reality replaces, or makes obsolete, the old promotional material. In addition, prior to the event, the old promotional material was never satisfying. Right? The clips weren’t long enough, or right song parts weren’t played, etc. However, when the real event does happen everyone who attends is completely satisfied. Similarly, what the old sacrificial system only pictured and could not satisfy was revealed in the superior sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Thank God for His promise of forgiveness through Christ Jesus!