But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. (12) Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. (13) For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, (14) how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?  (15) And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. 

The author of the letter to the Hebrews is unknown. In the early days of the church many Jews believed that Christ Jesus was the Messiah and the persecution of these early Christians was escalating, tempting those converts  to revert to the Jewish (allowed) religion.  This letter was written to warn them of the fatal and eternal consequence of apostasy.

Our verses today speak of the end of the old covenant between God and the Jews through Christ and chapter 9 refers specifically to the ceremonial system of that old covenant. The old sanctuary was an earthly, shadowy image of the heavenly sanctuary in Christ.  One day a year ceremonial rituals allowed for the High Priest to enter the tabernacle or Holy of Holies with blood sacrifice for his sins and those of the people. This old system was temporary and inadequate and allowed only limited access to God. The sacrifice of Christ made with His own blood marked the new covenant between God and man. It provided complete access to God and forgiveness of sin in faith in Christ.  Christ Jesus became our only and once for all High Priest – nothing could be added to this perfect and acceptable sacrifice.

Our verses tell us that Jesus paid the price for sin under the first covenant. In Christ the faithful are made heirs of eternal life- the life that was promised to the fathers from the beginning but only entered into by the blood of Christ. He alone is the mediator of the New Testament; Christ alone brings eternal life.