Heb 8:1-6 Draw near through Jesus
Notes
Transcript
1 Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,
2 a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.
3 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer.
4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law.
5 They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.”
6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.
Most if not all sermons start with an introduction to captivate the attention and bring that attention to the text and the message that God has in that passage. Then after studying and analyzing the text there is an application in the end.
However, that is not what we are going to do today, we are going to do something different, we are going to start with the application, then study the text, and end with the same application. You might ask why we are doing this way today. First, because of the importance of the application, we know that when something is important, we need to repeat it, we don’t tell our kids only one time as they are growing up, to wash their hands or brush their teeth, but we repeat each day and often multiple times a day.
Secondly, because of the passage we are going to study there is no direct commandment, however, the commandment to draw near to God is implied in the previous verses we studied in chapter 7, and it is repeated later on in chapter 10.
The commandment to draw near seems to me to be the main theme or commandment in this whole letter, it is repeated 7 times in the letter. Considering the author’s great knowledge of the Old Testament I don’t think it is just by coincidence that this commandment is repeated 7 times but considering that the number 7 indicates completeness and fullness the author of Hebrews repeats the commandment to draw near to God seven times to point to its importance for us.
The commandment to draw near to God as you just heard is repeated seven times in the letter to the Hebrews. In most of the occurrences, it says simply to draw near to God, other times it is a little more specific, in 4:16 it says to draw near to the throne of grace, while in 10:22 it says let us draw near with full assurance of faith, and in 7:25 we are to draw near to God through Jesus.
To whom should we draw near? All the commandments are very clear and direct to point that it is to God that we should draw near. Additionally, we are told to draw near to the throne of grace, that is we draw to God by grace and we are welcome and received by grace, which is unmerited favor from God. As we approach God, we should expect His grace and His favor.
Furthermore, Heb 11:6 says “for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” This means that as we approach God we must have faith that He exists and that God rewards those who seek Him.
We are drawing near to God, the gracious king on his throne. God, the generous rewarder with his hands full of blessings. But, how do we draw near to God? Let me remind you what I said the last time.
We don’t need to go south, north, east, or west, we don’t need to bend our knees or go to the altar, and we don’t have to move a muscle to draw near to God. Because this is a spiritual act, not a physical one. We can draw near to God without moving a muscle, we can do it sitting down listening to a sermon, we can do it right now, with eyes open or closed. In your heart, you can approach God’s throne right now. I beg you to do it right now, draw near to God through Jesus, through our great High Priest.
Know that as you draw near to God, He will draw near to you. Remember the parable of the prodigal son, when the son comes to his senses and he returns to his father, the father saw him and felt compassion and he ran and embraced him and kissed him. Know that as we draw near to God, God is running to embrace us and kiss us and reminds us that He loves us, in Him we are accepted, adopted sons and daughters. As we draw near to God, He will draw near to us and tell us: my son, my daughter, I love you and care for you, I’ll never leave nor forsake you.
Now that we are in God’s presence we can stay in His presence as we will examine the first 6 verses of chapter 8 of Hebrews. Where we are going to learn why we can draw near to God’s throne.
The author of Hebrews spent a significant amount of time explaining in chapter 7 how Jesus’s priesthood is not contrary to God’s revelation in the Old Testament, but it is foretold as the order of Melchizedek found in Gen 14 and Psalm 110. Furthermore, the author has shown that Jesus’ priesthood is superior and of another level than the Levitical priesthood.
1 Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,
After the author gave us a long description of the order of Melchizedek, he stops and says “now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven.” The reason he went on describing and explaining the whole previous section about Melchizedek is to point out that we have the most amazing intermediary between God and man, through Jesus we have full access to the holy of holies, to the very throne of God.
In v1 it says that Jesus is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven. It is noteworthy to see that Jesus is seating and not standing. The wording here is very similar to what the author already said in Heb 1:3 that Jesus “sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” which the author is alluding to Psalm 110 to declare the exaltation of Jesus to a position of supreme honor. Furthermore, it not only brings the exaltation and honor of Jesus but also the fact that Jesus exercises a heavenly office, a royal and priestly office, as our king and the only eternal, perfect, and holy High Priest.
Furthermore, it says that Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven, one might wonder why does it say Majesty and not God?
Riggans said “When Hebrews speaks here about Jesus at God’s right hand in the highest heaven, he uses a word to refer to God which stresses his transcendence. He calls him the Majesty. This is a typically Jewish way of referring to the awesome greatness of God by not actually using the term ‘God’ at all, but substituting another term. To this day Orthodox Jewish people will most frequently refer to God by the expression ‘HaShem’. Some are familiar with the traditional words for thanking God in the Jewish community: ‘Baruch HaShem’. It means, ‘Blessed be the Name!’
The Hebrew word ‘HaShem’ simply means ‘The Name’. God is The Name above all other names that could be given—and this is the context in which to appreciate the significance of Paul’s teaching about Jesus that
God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name (Phil. 2:9).
God is so great that our language just serves to limit our understanding of him as well as helping us to speak about him at all. So the Jewish community uses various expressions to refer to him in language which draws attention to our inability to define him. The term used here in Hebrews is one of those expressions. God is the very ideal and personification of majesty.”
This is whom we can approach and rest in His presence, in the presence of the throne of the Majesty in heaven. Then in v2, it says about Jesus that He is…
2 a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.
In this whole section v1-6 the author seems to relate Jesus’ priesthood to the themes of sanctuary, sacrifice, and covenant. “The Levitical priesthood gives place to the priesthood after the order of Melchizedek, so the old covenant gives place to the new, the earthly sanctuary gives place to the heavenly, and sacrifices which were but temporary tokens give place to one which is effective and of eternal validity” (Bruce)
Here in v2 then in v5 points to this theme of sanctuary, that is our High Priest’s minister not in an earthly temple, but in the heavens.
5 They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.”
Bruce said, “This “pattern” was something visible; it did not consist merely of the verbal directions of Ex. 25–30. It may have been a model for which the verbal directions served as a commentary; it may have been the heavenly dwelling place of God which Moses was permitted to see. The tabernacle was intended to serve as a dwelling place for God in the midst of his people on earth, and it would be completely in keeping with current practice that such an earthly dwelling place should be a replica of God’s heavenly dwelling place. This, of course, is how our author understands the situation. The high priests of Aaron’s line ministered in the earthly sanctuary; Jesus exercises his high-priestly ministry in the heavenly sanctuary, of which the earthly one was but a replica”
Through our great High Priest, we can enter the true temple, not the replica, the earthly Old Testament temple, but the permanent heavenly temple, and be in the presence of the Creator of all things, who is all-powerful and sovereign over all, from all time until eternity.
But how can we sinful and imperfect human beings draw near to the presence of the Holy, Perfect, Spirit, Infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. We can enter the presence of the Majesty in Heaven because of Jesus’ sacrifice.
The author talks about the theme of sacrifice in v3-4
3 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer.
4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law.
Lane said “The concept of priesthood logically entails the concept of sacrifice. This point was made earlier in 5:1, where it was stated that every high priest is appointed “in order to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.” Although the qualification “for sins” does not appear in v 3, the writer regarded all sacrifice in terms of the procuring of atonement and the removal of sin. In v 3 the writer is thinking of Jesus’ presentation of himself as a sin offering, but the nature of his offering is not stated until 9:14.”
The main point here is that Jesus’ sacrifice was not offered in the earthly realm, but in the heavenly realm, in the eternal heavenly temple, in the very presence of the Majesty in heaven. Later the author of Hebrews will go into greater detail about how Jesus’ sacrifice is far superior and able to save once for all those that approach Him through faith.
The point here is we can draw near to the Holy of holies because we are made holy through Jesus’ blood. Our confidence, our assurance is in the perfection and effectiveness of Jesus’ sacrifice in our place for our sins.
What Jesus brings is completely new and different from the Old Covenant, it is the New Covenant.
6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.
Bruce said Jesus' ministry “is superior because of the superiority of the covenant in the power of which it is exercised—the covenant of which Jesus is himself the Mediator. He has already been called, the “guarantor of a better covenant” (7:22); the present description of him as “mediator of a better covenant” (repeated with variations in 9:15; 12:24)
“A “mediator” connotes both one who is an intermediary for the purpose of settling a dispute and/or one who is a guarantor in a commercial sense who stands as surety for a debt or who ensures that a contract would be fulfilled” (Allen)
Thus, Jesus is both the guarantor and the means for access. We have such a high priest who is the intermediary of a better Covenant because it is enacted on better promises. These better promises are described in the next verses in the remaining of chapter 8 as Jeremiah 31 is quoted, which we will study next time.
Because we have such a high priest we should draw near to God, through Jesus we have access, freedom, and privilege to come to His very presence. Through Jesus, we can approach the throne of the Majesty in heaven.
We are drawing near to God, the gracious king on his throne. God, the generous rewarder with his hands full of blessings. But, how do we draw near to God?
We don’t need to go south, north, east, or west, we don’t have to move a muscle to draw near to God. Because this is a spiritual act, not a physical one. We can draw near to God without moving a muscle, we can do it sitting down, and we can do it right now, with eyes open or closed. In your heart, you can approach God’s throne right now. I beg you to do it right now as we sing the closing song, draw near to God through Jesus, through our great High Priest.
“We have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven”. We have the most amazing intermediary between God and man, through Jesus we have full access to the holy of holies, to the very throne of God.
We can draw near to the Holy of holies because we are made holy through Jesus’ blood. Our confidence, our assurance is in the perfection and effectiveness of Jesus’ sacrifice in our place for our sins.
Know that as you draw near to God, He will draw near to you. Remember the parable of the prodigal son, when the son comes to his senses and he returns to his father, the father saw him and felt compassion and he ran and embraced him and kissed him. Know that as we draw near to God, God is running to embrace us and kiss us and reminds us that He loves us, in Him we are accepted, adopted sons and daughters. As we draw near to God, He will draw near to us and tell us: my son, my daughter, I love you and care for you, I’ll never leave nor forsake you.
Now that we are in God’s presence we can stay in His presence as we sing the closing song, and throughout this whole week remember at any time we can draw near to Him, to His throne, to enjoy His presence and rest in Him, and enjoy Him. We have an amazing God that we will enjoy for eternity and He made a way so even now we can run to Him and have a glimpse of His presence.