Hebrews 10:3 means that the animal sacrifices under the old covenant did not fully remove sin. Instead, they served as a yearly reminder that people still needed forgiveness. The author of Hebrews, traditionally thought to be a teacher writing to Jewish Christians, is contrasting the repeated temple sacrifices with the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ.
But in those sacrifices there is a yearly reminder of sins.
Hebrews 10:3 (WEB)
What Hebrews 10:3 Means
The phrase “those sacrifices” points back to the offerings made at the tabernacle and later the temple, especially the sacrifices for sin on the Day of Atonement. The word “reminder” means something that brings a matter back to mind. Each year the sacrifices reminded the people that their sins were still an issue before God, and that another offering would be needed the following year.
The verse does not say the old sacrifices were worthless or that God rejected them. Under the law, they were given by God as a real means of approaching him and receiving his mercy. The verse is describing their limitation: they pointed toward forgiveness without fully achieving it, and so they had to be repeated.
Read this way, Hebrews 10:3 prepares the reader for the larger argument of the chapter. If the old system needed to be offered again and again, something better must be coming, something that could deal with sin permanently.
The Context of Hebrews 10:3
Hebrews was written to Christians who had a Jewish background and who were tempted to return to the familiar practices of the temple system. The author argues throughout the letter that Jesus is greater than angels, Moses, and the Levitical priests, and that his sacrifice surpasses all the sacrifices offered under the law. Chapter 10 comes near the climax of this argument.
The verses just before it, in Hebrews 10:1 and 10:2, explain that the law only offered a shadow of the good things to come and could never perfect those who approached God. Verse 3 then gives the evidence: if the sacrifices had truly cleansed people, they would have stopped being offered. Seeing this context makes it clear that the verse is an argument for the sufficiency of Christ, not a condemnation of God’s earlier provision.
Key Phrases in Hebrews 10:3
Hebrews 10:10
By which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
(WEB)
This verse follows directly from the argument in Hebrews 10:3. It explains that believers are made holy through the offering of Jesus Christ, once for all, which answers the question raised by the repeated sacrifices of the old covenant.
Hebrews 9:26
Or else he must have suffered often since the foundation of the world. But now once at the end of the ages, he has been revealed to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
(WEB)
Here the author states that Christ appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. The verse reinforces the contrast between the repeated offerings of the law and the single, decisive offering of Christ.
A Short Prayer From Hebrews 10:3
Lord, you know how often I return to the same failures and feel the weight of them again. Thank you that the old sacrifices pointed to a need I could never meet on my own. Help me to rest in what Christ has accomplished, and to bring my guilt to him rather than carrying it alone. Let the truth of his once-for-all offering settle my heart today, and give me peace in your mercy. Amen.
