Commentaries:
After the purification of the sanctuary, the very next theme is that Christ put away sin. His sacrifice alone is sufficient for this; Satan has nothing to add to Christ's work of salvation! We denigrate His name by suggesting that His work is somehow insufficient and that a “counterpart” is needed to fulfill half the sin offering.
The Greek word translated “put away,” athetesis, means “to cancel,” and it can also be translated as “disannul.” The root of this word, atheteo, means “to neutralize,” and can be translated as “cast off,” “despise,” and “bring to nothing.” Thus, in addition to cleansing the sanctuary, Christ's sacrifice put away sin—it cancelled the sin, bringing it to nothing, for those who repent and come under His blood.
Verse 28 says that Christ's sacrifice was for the sake of bearing the sins of many, precisely what the azazel did in type. In addition, He will appear a second time, apart from sin. An ancient Israelite would be horrified to see the young goat wander back into the camp because it would signify that all his sins had come back into view. Spiritual Israelites, however, have confidence that their sins have been completely removed. So, when our Savior appears again, it is not to bring those sins back into view, but to bring salvation.
David C. Grabbe
Who Fulfills the Azazel Goat— Satan or Christ? (Part Three)
Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Hebrews 9:28:
Leviticus 16:5
Leviticus 16:20-21
Leviticus 16:20-22
Leviticus 16:21-22
Leviticus 16:22
Leviticus 23:5
Psalm 133:2
Daniel 9:24-27
Matthew 12:38-40
Acts 11:19-21
Romans 5:1
Hebrews 4:15
Hebrews 10:1-10
Hebrews 13:11-12