December 13, 2010 thru December 19, 2010

Jesus: ‘A Body You

Have Prepared for Me’
Hebrews 10:1-18

Introduction
We’re getting ready for Christmas. This week’s devotion will unlock for you a deeper time of
appreciation and celebration this holy day season. Let’s look at Jesus, the Word Become Flesh,
who dwelt among us as a human. The Father prepared a body for Him so that He could
sacrifice His own life for the salvation of our souls.

Memory Verse
Hebrews 10:5

when Christ came into the world, He said:

‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
but a body You prepared for Me.’

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1. Observation
(Read the instructions on Page 2 and make your observations here)

1 For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of

things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect

those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the

worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? 3 But

in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of

bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says,

"SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR

ME; 6 IN WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE TAKEN NO PLEASURE.

7 "THEN I SAID, 'BEHOLD, I HAVE COME (IN THE SCROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN OF ME)

TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD." 8 After saying above, "SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS AND

WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, NOR HAVE YOU

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TAKEN PLEASURE in them" (which are offered according to the Law), 9 then He said, "BEHOLD, I

HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second.

10 By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for

all. 11 Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices,

which can never take away sins; 12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT

DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, 13 waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES

BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET. 14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time

those who are sanctified. 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, 16 "THIS IS

THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL

PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEART, AND ON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM, "He then says,

17 "AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.” 18 Now where

there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.

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 2. Interpretation
There are several purposes for religion listed in verses 1-4. The
writer makes the case that the Old Covenant did not accomplish
those purposes. List out these purposes and explain in your own
words how Jesus did accomplish them.
J.I. Packer writes
about Jesus’ becoming
a human, "In the thing
that happened at the
first Christmas, that
the profoundest and
most unfathomable
depths of the Christian
revelation resides.
Again, we are confronted with the New Covenant, as promised in
"THE WORD BECAME Jeremiah 31:31-34. In what sense does God no longer remember
FLESH" (John 1:14). our sins?
God became man; the
divine Son became a
Jew; the Almighty
appeared on earth as
a helpless human
baby, unable to do
more than lie and
stare and wriggle and
make noises, needing
3. Application
to be fed and changed No longer shadows for us! The very form which accomplished our
and taught to talk like forgiveness has appeared! The form is our Christ and the Body
any other child. And that God has prepared for Him.
there was no illusion or
deception in this: the This Christmas think of the incarnation of Jesus. Reflect on the truth
babyhood of the Son that God became a man so that His body could take our sins, die
in our sins, and then come back to life victorious over sin.
of God was a reality.
The more you think Magnify our God who came to us on Christmas in a body. Take
about it the more time to worship this God who planned in His wisdom to remove our
staggering it gets. The sin once and for all! On the next pages, pick one of the Christmas
mystery of the songs to either listen to or sing along with. Worship Him for what
incarnation is He has done in your life!
unfathomable.”

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I Celebrate the Day
by Relient K

And with this Christmas wish is missed

The point I could convey
If only I could find the words to say to let You know
how much You've touched my life
Because here is where You're finding me,
in the exact same place as New Year's eve
And from a lack of my persistency
We're less than half as close as I want to be

Chorus
And the first time
That You opened Your eyes did You realize that You would be my Savior
And the first breath that left Your lips
Did You know that it would change this world forever

And so this Christmas I'll compare the things I felt in prior years
To what this midnight made so clear
That You have come to meet me here

To look back and think that

This baby would one day save me
In the hope that what You did
That you were born so I might [ really ]live
To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me

And I, I celebrate the day

That You were born to die
So I could one day pray for You to save my life

You can listen to this song for a limited time at: http://www.WhitehallBFC.org/hebrews

Written by Relient K. Used by permission. CCLI #3151498

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Joy to the World
by Isaac Watts and Lowell Mason

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!

Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,

And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.

You can listen to this song for a limited time at: http://www.WhitehallBFC.org/hebrews

#125 in Bethany’s Hymnal. The Hymnal for Worship & Celebration. WORD Music. Waco,
Texas. 1986. Used by permission. CCLI #3151498

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