Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Hebrews 9:26

"else must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once at the end of the ages hath he been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." — Hebrews 9:26 (ASV)

Again the author emphasizes that there is no other way of dealing with sin than Christ’s own offering of himself. If his one offering was not enough, he would have had to “suffer” (GK 4248) death over and over. The reference to “creation” carries the idea right back to the beginning.

“But now” introduces the real situation after the contrary-to-fact clause.

Again the author emphasizes the decisive quality of Christ’s sacrifice with the word “once for all” (GK 562). It matters a great deal to him that Christ made the definitive offering and that now that it has been made, there is no place for another. We should probably understand “the end of the ages” to mean “the climax of history.” The first coming of Christ—and more particularly his offering of himself on the cross—ushered in the final state of affairs in human history. It is a common thought of the NT writers that God’s decisive action in Christ has altered things radically. The Messianic Age has come—the age that all the preceding ages have led up to.

The purpose of Christ’s coming was “to do away with sin,” an expression that signifies the total annulment of sin. Sin is rendered completely inoperative by Christ’s “sacrifice of himself.” The self-offering of Christ is the decisive thing.