Hebrews: A Journey of Faith, Week 5

Good morning. Today we are continuing our series on Hebrews. I pray that it has been insightful and meaningful, I know it has been for me, personally. Before we pray, let’s do a recap of what we’ve covered so far:

Week 1: Hebrews 1:1-4: Jesus is God, took human form.

Week 2: Hebrews 3-4: The importance of rest

Week 3: Hebrews 5: 1-10; 7: 1-10: Christ is our forever, perfect priest

Week 4: Hebrews 5:11-6: 12: A warning against immaturity & A hope for the future.

As you can see, we have progressed, covering the majority of the first seven chapters....the only chapter I haven’t touched on is chapter 2, which I will get to before the series is concluded. I’ve done my best to go in order, but that is difficult, given the nature of Hebrews. We are rapidly approaching some of the more famous chapters, like chapter 11: the faith chapter. In fact, we are going to be covering Hebrews 11 next week.

PRAY

The passages we are covering this week are at the very heart of the overall message of Hebrews. In other words, the first 7 chapters were kind of a build up to chapters 8-10, then the last 3 chapters are sort of the conclusion. We are covering quite a bit of material today, but it is all under one theme, which is Jesus as our High Priest, How the New Covenant is superior to the Old Covenant. While we are technically covering all of chapters 8, 9 and part of 10, our main text is chapter 8:1-6. As I read it, keep an ear out for 4 distinct points made by the author, that he will then expound on through chapter 8, 9, and part of chapter 10.

Christ’s Better Ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary

(1) Jesus’ present posture, “seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty” (8:1–2;) (10:12b–13)

(2) The sanctuary in which Jesus serves: “in heaven, … the holy places, … the true tent that the Lord set up”

(8:1–2, 4–5) (9:1–5, 11–12, 23–24)

(3) The sacrifice Jesus offered: “It is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer” (8:3) ( 9:6–10) (10:1–22)

(4) The covenant Jesus mediates: “The covenant he mediates is better … enacted on better promises” (8:6; 8:7–13) (9:15–20) (10:15–18)

In order to understand what the author in saying in the first few passages of chapter 8, we have to read the last couple verses of chapter 7, as chapter 8 is merely continuing the same point…so, I’m going to start in chapter 7, and just continue on through chapter 8.

Hebrews 7:26–28 (NIV)

26 Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. 28 For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.

Hebrews 8:1–6 (NIV)

Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.3 Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. 4 If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. 5 They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”[a] 6 But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.

Let’s go ahead and explore each of these 4 descriptions of Jesus’s priesthood mentioned in chapter 8, verses 1 through 6. As we explore these, we will end up covering most of chapter 9 and a portion of chapter 10.

1. Jesus’ present posture, “seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty” (8:1–2;) (10:11–14)

Hebrews 8:1-2

Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being

As I said before, the preacher has been building to a particular point. He was not simply rambling. For the Hebrew audience, who had been immersed and probably brought up in Jewish tradition, the role of the chief priest was very significant. In the previous chapter, when talking about Melchizedek, the preacher was trying to get the people to expand their view of what a chief priest was supposed to be. One that is:

holy, innocent, pure, set apart from sinners, and who holds the honored position—the one next to God the Father on the heavenly throne.

Christ is the perfect fulfilment of this perfect ideal of what a chief priest should be. Not only that, but Christ is now seated at the right hand of God, on the heavenly throne.

Hebrews 10:11–13

Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.

Nowadays, especially here in the Western Hemisphere, we associate sitting with working. The vast majority of “white-color” professions involve sitting at desks…from the newly hired data entry person to the president and CEO…they sit for most of their day, working at a computer and such. In fact, standing up is more associated with completing a task…we stand up to leave our places of employment…when we stand up, we are signaling that we are done with our job.

For much of the world, though, and for much of history, the act of sitting down meant that you had finished work, not that you were beginning it. In a world where most working people laboured in the fields or in energetic crafts like building, only a few sat down. Most people stood to work and sat to rest. That is the contrast which Hebrews is making here between the priests who (in his day) still served under the old covenant, offering regular sacrifices in the Temple, verses the position Jesus has now taken after completing his work. They all stand daily at their duties (verse 11); he has finished his work, and now sits at God’s right hand (verse 12). He doesn’t have to offer his sacrifice any more; he’s done it, and it’s complete. All that to say, the author points out Jesus’s posture, as it is an indication of the finished work of salvation.

As a quick side note, the preacher is quoting his favorite Psalm in this section…

Psalm 110:1

“A Psalm of David. The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”

2. The sanctuary in which Jesus serves: “in heaven, … the holy places, … the true tent that the Lord set up”

(8:1–2, 4–5) (9:1–5, 11, 23–24) (10:19–22)

So, not only has Christ taken a seat at the right hand of the Father, but the temple, or the sanctuary in which Jesus serves is not made with human hands. There are a number of passages that deal with this in chapter 9. Let’s take a look at them

Hebrews 9:1-2;

Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. 2 A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place

Hebrews 9:11;

11 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation.

If you have ever had the misfortune of being stuck in a traffic jam, then you know the frustration that can occur. All big cities have these issues, that is for sure. Back in the 1970’s to the nineties, the city of Boston was among the worst in the US. Back then, according to their own statistics, traffic was jammed for 8 hours every day…so, in order to solve this issue, the city embarked upon a massive building project called the:

“Big Dig”

This project broke all sorts of records for the amount of materials that were used to construct it. In essence, Boston decided to build a massive interstate underground. The project took about a decade to complete.When it was finished in 1995 it cut down traffic times by 62%. It was truly a modern marvel of engineering.

Part of the process of the Big Dig was to tear down some of the existing highway. As a result, the engineers had to come up with temporary roadways to redirect traffic. In other words, while the grand plan of the big dig was being constructed, the city had to set up an alternative…or even a shadow of what was to come.

Hebrews 9: 23-24;

23 It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence.

As I talked about a few weeks ago, Christ could not have been considered a priest, as he was not from the tribe of Levi. This would not have been lost on the Hebrew audience. It was well known that Jesus was from the tribe of Judah…that’s why he is called “The Lion of the tribe of Judah.” The audience had the presupposition, or the prior belief, that only those from the Levi tribe could be priests. This is why the preacher argues in the latter part of chapter 5 and all throughout chapter 7 that God had established a separate line of priests through Melchizedek…and that Jesus was part of this line of priests.

One very important thing we must understand about the writer of Hebrews is that be firmly believed in (what is called) progressive revelation…as was Paul. The Jews on the other hand, did not believe in progressive revelation. So what is progressive revelation…the term has gotten a bad rap, but in reality,

Progressive Revelation:

The things that God revealed to humanity were not all given at once. His revelation was given in stages.

Now, these days, this term is associated with those who believe that God can be revealed outside of God’s Word. In other words, if someone comes along, claiming to speak for God, then, even if it may contradict established scripture, then so be it…as God is still revealing Himself…that is not correct. That said, if we look at the early church, they had to rely on progressive revelation in order to understand what the New Covenant was going to look like.

Romans 16:24–25

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past,”

Paul is pretty much stating the very definition of progressive revelation.

Just to make it clear, while there is no doubt that God still speaks today, He has given us His word as the final authority by which all things must be measured.

In our modern day, I believe in a very watered down version of progressive revelation. We can’t argue that God does not still reveal Himself…but the way it happens, when it is legitimate is that God reveals to humanity a better understanding of His character. A good example of this type of progressive revelation is the great reformation…while God’s word did not change, our understanding of His word did change. Doing away with slavery is another good example…all of these things are progressive revelation, even if we don’t like the term. I find it interesting that those who argue the hardest that any form of progressive revelation does not exist are the ones who write the most books…trying to get people to understand God’s word better. Would they argue that their words come from human reasoning or spiritual and biblical reasoning. If their words are human reasoning, then the book has no business claiming to be of a spiritual nature. However, if their words come from the Holy Spirit, then that means that the Holy Spirit is revealing to them insights, so we can better understand the character of Christ....that is the definition of progressive revelation.

In the Old Covenant, the Temple represented God’s covenant with His people; However, the temple that God had Moses build was merely a shadow of the heavenly temple, where Christ now resides.

3. The sacrifice Jesus offered: “It is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer” (8:3) ( 9:6–10) (10:1–22)

If you are at all familiar with the O.T., then you know that God had established a system of sacrifices for the people of Israel. I’ve talked about this before, but this was not merely a Jewish practice back then. Nowadays, the idea of sacrifice seems pretty barbaric. But back in ancient times, just about every culture would make sacrifices to their gods. Except there was a very big difference in why the Chief Priests would offer the sacrifices. Pagan nations would offer sacrifices to please their god in hopes that their god would act favorably toward them. That is not why God enacted a system of sacrifices…it was because our God is a holy God and can not be in the presence of sin. The shed blood of the animal acted as a temporary way for God to have communion with His people.

Hebrews 8:3;

Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer.

In other words, because the former Chief priests would offer up sacrifices on behalf of the people, therefore if Christ is indeed our new Chief Priest, it only makes sense that He would have to offer up a sacrifice on behalf of the people. After all, the main job of a chief priest is to offer sacrifices.

Hebrews 9:22

“And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

One of the things that makes Christ superior is what He offered up as a sacrifice. Christ offered up the only thing that could serve as a permanent solution to the problem of sin…His own blood.

Now, in order to understand why Christ offering up himself was superior, you must understand that the former Chief Priests could only offer inferior sacrifices…that of animals. Not only that, but they also had to offer sacrifices for their own sins. Christ was superior because He was sinless. His nature was not sinful. The first half of chapter 10 is all about this topic. The preacher is comparing and contrasting the sacrifice of Christ with the other Chief Priests.

Hebrews 10:3-4

3 But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. 4 It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Let’s go ahead and look at the fourth reason the preacher gives for his argument:

4.The covenant Jesus mediates: “The covenant he mediates is better … enacted on better promises” (8:6; 8:7–13) (9:15–20) (10:15–18)

So, not only is Christ a superior Chief Priest because is sits at the right hand of the father, or the fact that the temple that he serves in was not made with earthly hands, as well as the fact that the sacrifice he offered is superior, but also because the covenant promises that Jesus mediates is better.

Hebrews 8:6

 But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.

If you grew up in the church like I did, then no doubt you’ve heard the old covenant and new covenant compared and contrasted a million times. After a while, it’s like…I get it....yes, grace is better than the law. One of the reasons that we get to that point is because no one here or that will watch this has lived under O.T. Jewish Law. We were never taught that in order to relate to God, one must follow the law of Moses.

Let me quickly draw your attention back to the original audience for a second. The preacher is trying to convince the people that his is writing to that the Mosiac law…or the Old Covenant, it’s not that it was bad, but rather, that the New Covenant that Jesus represents is better. Imagine for a moment if the preacher would have said to the people…you know what, from now on you need to toss out about 70% of the law of Moses, because it is no loner needed under the New Covenant. How well do you think that would have gone over? Well, instead of doing that…instead of telling his Jewish audience that O.T. positions like Chief Priest are no longer relavent…which would have sent the people into a tail spin, instead, the Preacher is using things that they are familiar with, in order to communicate the truth of Christ. Of course, the best way to do this for a Jewish audience is to use the Old Testament:

Hebrews 8: 7-13

7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8 But God found fault with the people and said[a]: “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 9 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. 10 This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 11 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12 For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” 13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.

In order to prove his point to the Hebrew audience, the preacher quotes from the book of Jeremiah

Jeremiah 31:31–34

““Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah… Something important to notice is that the writer says that the fault with the first covenant was not the covenant itself…rather, it was the people and their unfaithfulness. The people were unable to follow such a covenant. The book of Jeremiah then points out three aspects of this new covenant which we must embrace, in order to understand it.

deeper understanding

open access

complete forgiveness

These things are a separate sermon unto themselves, but I will briefly address them in just a moment.

The prophet Jeremiah foretold of a day where the people of Israel would no longer have to rely on fallible Chief Priests in order to maintain a relationship with God. Today we understand that the New Covenant is far more encompassing than the Old Covenant…which is what the book of Acts is all about…how the message of this new covenant spread to the Gentiles, and what that would look like going forward. Would the gentiles be required to obey certain aspects of the O.T. law like circumcision and dietary regulations, or did this new covenant fulfill the purposes of those things. Of course, we know the answer to that.

When we understand the circumstance behind the Hebrew audience, the book of Hebrews, including the harshly worded warning passages make much more sense. They were wavering in their faith and many of them wanted to retreat back to the safety of O.T. Judaism, where at least they new what was expected of them. This is why the author said that returning to such a thing would cause them to be lost forever…as they were forfeiting the grace of Christ in order to rely on the fallible chief priests and the blood of animals.

To finish up today, I want to apply these things to our lives.

Admittedly, we have a limited understanding of the old covenant…but that does not mean that we can not appreciate the 3 things mentioned by the preacher and the prophet Jeremiah…the fact that we now can have a deeper understanding of God and his word, we have open access to the father at all times, as well as the forgiveness of our sins. If we compare our old lives of sin to a type of old covenant vs our life lived in grace to that of the new covenant, it can help us better understand what Hebrews is talking about.

1. Limited Understanding vs Deeper understanding

“I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts”

Today, we have access to God’s Word. As a result, our understanding of His word has grown. Additionally, before Jesus ascended to heaven after his resurrection, he promised to send the holy spirit, which will

John 14:26

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”

Once we submit our life to Christ and receive the Holy Spirit, our spiritual eyes are opened and we can have a deeper understanding of the mysteries of God and His word.

2. Closed Access vs Open access

I will be their God, and they will be my people. 11 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.

When i say closed access, I do not mean that God does not love us. In fact, scripture says that God loved us while we were still sinners. What I mean by closed access is that before we make a true confession of faith, we are unable to enjoy unfettered access to the throne of God. While God does love us, it is only through the blood of His son that we can appear before Him.

Hebrews 10:19–20

“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh,”

In other words, God is sitting there, knocking at the door of our hearts, waiting for us to answer. Once we do, he comes in and sups with us and we have access to Him.

3. Death vs Complete forgiveness

“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

Ephesians 2:1–3

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”

Before we knew the Lord, living under the sinful covenant (as it were), we were marked for death…which is the ultimate result of sin. Now that we belong to Christ, our sins have been forgiven and we now have the hope of Glory, which is Christ in us.

All three of these aspects of the “superior covenant” should give us pause....to stop and think about the rivers of blood that were shed by the animals in the Old Covenant…only to be a temporary measure. It should also make us appreciate the sacrifice of our Lord, Christ. When we truly appreciate the fact that in our old life we had a limited understanding, that we were closed off from our heavenly father, and that we were dead in our trespasses, it should give us a deeper appreciation for the superior sacrifice of Christ.

When I first recieved my drivers licenses, I was 16 years old and thought I had the world on a string. All of my friends were also getting their drivers licenses at the same time. Very few of us…if any, had a proper appreciation for the consequences of driving a car recklessly. None of us could really appreciate the value of our ability to drive.

One day a group of my friends hopped into a car and set out for a night on the town…in the exciting city of Dayton, Ohio. Something I had done a number of times myself…although I did not happen to go this time. So these buddies of mine were out… there were either 3 or 4 of them, I can’t remember, male teenagers in a car, music blasting, when all of a sudden, the young driver, who we referred to as “Bouey,” (that was a nickname, as he was Asian, and none of us could pronounce his name, so we called him what his named looked like to us…which was bouey…and it kinda stuck. Anyway, bouey was driving and got distracted and swerved lanes into oncoming traffic. At that same moment, the car in the oncoming lane happened to be in that exact same spot…so the two cars had a head on collision at about 60 miles per hour. Bouey and his front passenger, mike were killed instantly and went flying out of the car, as they were not wearing a seatbelt. The person in the back seat did make it to the hospital, but ended up dying later on.

I remember waking up the next morning and getting to school and heard about the accident. It was devastating, to say the least. What it did though, was give me a greater appreciation for the value of what it means to be able to drive and how much responsibility it is to operate a motor vehicle.

In much the same way, we can fail to appreciate the fact that Christ freely offers us a deeper understanding, open access to the father, and complete forgives of our sin, through his superior sacrifice.

My challenge this week is to reflect on these greater gifts and make sure our lives show how valuable they are....not forgetting to spend time with God’s word and prayer.

PRAY!

Dave Conroy: esopogus and kidney

Joe: COPD