And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him.
– Hebrews 9:27–28
There’s so much in these two verses we could talk about. But just look at this perspective from two moments in history.
Hebrews 9:27–28 teaches us that Jesus has paid the price for our sins.
First, the moment when Jesus came to us to pay the price for our sins. Verse 28 says, “Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many”. If you’ve never put your trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, if you’ve never turned from your sin and trusted in him, here, today, why he came, he came for you. He came to bear your sins, put your trust in him. That’s why he came. He offered himself to bear the sins of many. Of people in every tribe and tongue and nation who will trust in him. That’s why he came the first time.
And then verse 28 says he “will appear a second time”. So a moment to come in history, when he will return. Not to deal with sin, he’s already done that. But he’s coming back a second time to save those who are… Listen to this phrase, eagerly waiting for him. So for all those who know Jesus as Savior, we are now “eagerly waiting” for his return. We wait for the fullness of the salvation He has promised to us. For ultimate, complete salvation from sin. Not just its penalty, not just its power, we already have that, but from its presence altogether. To bring us to himself in a moment where sin will be no more. Leading us into an eternity where sin, and sorrow, and suffering, and death will be no more.
Hebrews 9:27–28 reminds us that our Savior is coming back.
That’s why we eagerly wait for him. We want to be free, totally free, from the presence of sin. Free from all of its effects in our lives and our relationships and in the world around us. And so absolutely we’re eagerly waiting for this. This is why the Bible ends with just a cry, repeatedly, “Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly”, and why that cry should be repeatedly, continually on our lips and on our hearts. We don’t want sin anymore in our lives. We don’t want sorrow and suffering and death, and what we want is to be with our Savior, who came the first time to bear our sins and is coming back a second time to bring our salvation to completion.
Jesus, we fix our eyes on you in this moment, based on your words, specifically in Hebrews 9:28. We praise you for coming to bear our sins 2000 years ago; for paying the price for my sin, for our sins, on a cross, and for rising from the dead in victory over sin and the grave; for ascending into heaven, where you have promised, ever since you ascended, think about Acts 1, the angels saying, “This one who went out from you will come back to you”.
This verse encourages us to live out the gospel in light of the coming judgment.
We are eagerly waiting today, Lord Jesus, for your return a second time. Come Lord Jesus, come quickly, we pray. We long for sin, sorrow, and suffering to be no more, for your peace and justice and righteousness to reign over all the earth, for all the nations to be brought into your salvation. We long for this. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly, and help us today.
In light of Hebrews 9:27, knowing that it’s appointed for every one of us to die, and after that, to face judgment; after that, to see you, stand before you, we pray you’d help us to be faithful to you today. By your grace, by your Spirit in us, with eager anticipation, we praise you. We don’t have to fear your judgment, because you’ve born our sins, you’ve covered them by your blood. We praise you for the relationship we have with you. We’re children, longing for our Father.
Prayer for the Eli-Elat Banda People
We’re children, longing to be with the fullness of our family forever, with you, free from sin and sorrow and suffering and death. Come Lord Jesus, come quickly. And help us, help us to proclaim this good news until all the nations are brought into the family.
God, we pray specifically today for the Eli-Elat Banda people of Indonesia, this small people group, Muslim, 5,000 strong, most having no knowledge of how you came the first time to bear the sins of many. God, we pray for the Eli-Elat Banda people, they would be reached with the good news of how you came the first time, and how you’re coming back a second time. They are not ready, O God, they’re not ready for your coming, because they’ve not heard the good news of your first coming. So we pray, please, God, cause your church in Indonesia and from parts outside of Indonesia to spread the gospel to the Eli-Elat Banda people, knowing they will die and face judgment. And they need you, Jesus. We pray all this according to your Word in Hebrew 9:27–28. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
