Devotional 08 July 2025

July 08, 2025 • Steve Torres

Hebrews 10:10.jpg

"Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’” 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), then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Hebrews 10:5-10, ESV)

From the beginning, God’s heart was not for endless rituals and sacrifices, but for a people who would walk in fellowship with Him. The old covenant, though filled with shadowy glimpses of God’s presence, always kept the people at a distance. Sin barred the way. The tabernacle and temple made God’s presence accessible, but never fully approachable.

But in Jesus, everything changes.

The writer of Hebrews declares that Jesus came not to offer another ritual, but to do the will of God, to fulfill what sacrifices never could. His obedience, even unto death (Philippians 2:8), abolished the old system and established a new and living way. He didn’t just offer a sacrifice: He was the sacrifice. And in doing so, He sanctified us, once for all.

Yet the wonder doesn’t end there.

John tells us that “the Word became flesh and dwelt (literally: tabernacled) among us” (John 1:14). Just as God’s presence once filled the tabernacle in the wilderness, now He filled the body of Christ. But instead of a tent that moved through the desert, Jesus moved through towns and cities, touching lepers, raising the dead, and making the unclean clean. His holiness was not fragile, but powerful. His touch did not defile Him: it healed us.

Unlike the priests who feared contamination, Jesus (our greater High Priest) entered our brokenness with divine compassion. He tabernacled among us, not to avoid our defilement, but to bear it and cleanse us.

And now? “Behold, the dwelling place (literally: tabernacle) of God is with man” (Revelation 21:3). Not only did Jesus dwell among us, He now dwells in us. We are made holy by His once-for-all sacrifice, and our very lives have become His temple (1 Corinthians 3:16). No longer do we need to go to a place to meet with God. In Christ, God has made us His dwelling place.

What kind of love is this—that the Holy One would not only come near, but come within?