OUTSIDE THE CAMP. Hebrews 13:11-14 In order to sanctify the people, Jesus suffered outside the gate, outside the camp. No longer does God want animal sacrifices, holy days, special garments, incense, foods, or ceremonial washings. Christ has died outside the camp. We come out to Him, bearing His reproach. Separation unto Him at the place where sacrifices were burned and where Jesus suffered is the place to which we should go. The ultimate destination is the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Everything here is temporary. We have our hearts set on the heavenly city, where the Lamb is all the glory.
The blood of the sacrifices made on the Day of Atonement was brought into the Holiest, but the bodies of the sacrificial animals were burned outside the camp. The priests who served at the altar were not able to eat any of the sacrifices because it speaks to us of the sacrifice Christ made when He died outside the camp of Judaism and its rituals. Believers do not worship forms or remember past events to worship, but instead we worship the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who suffered and died in our place “outside the camp.”
Personal application: Those who serve the tabernacle have no part with Christ, the true sacrifice. To sanctify the people, Jesus suffered outside the camp, beyond the gate. Compare the type with the antitype. God no longer desires animal sacrifices, holy days, special garments, incense, foods, or ceremonial washings. Christ died outside the camp. We come out to Him, bearing His reproach. Compare the example with the followers. Sanctification by blood: The Person – “Jesus;” The Price – “His own blood;” The Place – “Outside the gate;” The Purpose – “Sanctify the people.”
We gather unto the Lord Jesus Christ, a living person, outside the camp of religion and social acceptance. That is where He sanctifies believers, sets them apart from the world to Himself, and purifies them from sin. Being outside the camp excludes believers from the religious and social life that links us to the world. That means we will not have the approval of the world, but will experience the “reproach of Christ.”
The fire that consumed the sacrifice outside the camp represents the wrath of God that fell upon our Lord Jesus Christ when He bore our sins in His body on the cross. He suffered the curse of sin and was forsaken when He suffered alone. “The blood makes atonement for the soul,” not the body of the sacrifice or the burning of the body outside the camp.
We are separated unto the Lord when we go outside the camp. This separation sanctifies us and sets us apart unto Him, which, in many ways, is more important than what we are separated from. We go out to a living Savior who died for us and rose again, and who sanctifies us so that we worship Him outside of religious ceremonies, traditions, and laws, in spirit and in truth, in the beauty of holiness. The religious world is left behind in the earthly sphere with only forms.
Outside the camp, we find our fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ as we worship the Father in spirit and in truth, guided by the Holy Spirit. The death of our Lord provided atonement for our sins and has opened the way to a new life of fellowship, sacrifice, and separation. We share with Him a new life of fellowship, sacrifice, and separation, where His life and power make us ready and able to go into the world bearing His reproach.
It is then we draw near to Him with true hearts and full assurance of faith and enter into His presence to worship “inside the veil.” Then we also go to witness for Him “outside the gate.” Our Lord was the rejected One who is not the glorified One. We associate with Him where He is. Here we become conscious that we are partakers of the heavenly calling as pilgrims and strangers on our way to the “continuing city” that is before us. Everything here is temporary. Our hearts are set on the heavenly city where the Lamb is all the glory. There is a big difference between the pilgrims and the citizens. We are now citizens of heaven.