You have come to Mount Zion
Notes
Transcript
The New International Version (Chapter 12)
The Mountain of Fear and the Mountain of Joy
Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.
Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.
You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm;
to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them,
because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”
The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”
But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly,
to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?
At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”
The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,
for our “God is a consuming fire.”
As we have journeyed together through the letter to the Hebrew Christians, we have, at least to some extent been taken into the mindset of those Jewish believers, who all of their lives had a history that was unique and had set them apart from all other nations. They had a set of traditions and practices, which reminded them of that history and of a God who had chosen them to be his own special people; and they had a set of laws, given to them by God, which, if they followed completely, and performed the required sacrifices, would enable them to stand before God.
We today have a privilege that they did not have. We are children of the New Covenant. For those early Christians, their upbringing had been under the Old Covenant and they had yet to learn and understand that the New Covenant was theirs too and that the Old Covenant was but a foreshadowing of what was to come.
It was Jesus, their long-awaited Messiah, who fulfilled completely all the requirements of the Old Covenant and brought them into a New Covenant; a covenant not based on what man could do to come near to God, but based on what God in his love and mercy has done through Jesus, his beloved son, to reconcile man to himself.
All the way through the letter Jesus is the focus and everything in the Old Covenant pointed to him. Christ is introduced in the letter in verse 2 of chapter 1. Hebrews 1:2 “but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.”
The writer leads the Jewish Christians to all those from their past to show Christ’s superiority over all. Jesus is greater than the angels; Hebrews 1:4 “So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.” .
He is greater that Moses: Hebrews 3:3 “Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself.”
Greater than Joshua: Hebrews 4:8 “For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.”
Jesus is our Great High Priest: Hebrews 4:14 “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.”
The writer was not saying to the Jewish Christians that what they had believed and practised till now was wrong. Rather it was to encourage them that their faith in Jesus was better in every way.
Jesus is the guarantor of a better covenant: Hebrews 7:22 “Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.”
The new covenant is established on better promises: 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.”
In this chapter 12 of Hebrews the writer continually uges the Jewish Christians, and indeed all Christians, you and me, to persevere in our walk of faith. For that is what it is - a walk of faith, not by what we can see, or touch, or hear; a walk that is not determined by what we experience day by day, for there will be ups and downs, there will be good times and times of hardship. The whole of chapter eleven put before us a gallery of men and women who lived their lives in faith as they looked forward to what God had promised them - a better country, a heavenly city and their assured place in that city with their God.
2 Corinthians 5:7 “For we live by faith, not by sight.”
So we are to run our race with perseverence; we are to fix our eyes on Jesus; In our trials and hardships and difficulties we are to remember that God is with us in them, treating us as his children, always working for our good and never for our harm. He is not punishing us for our sins for he has dealt with those on the cross and has declared us righteous, or not guilty, before him
If we do that we will not grow weary or lose heart.
When the Jewish Christians , or indeed all Jews, look back in their history, there are some key moments that are foremost in their minds. The first might well be the Passover, when God protected them as a nation and led them out of slavery in Egypt across the Red Sea to safety. The God who did this for them was certainly a God in whom they could rejoice and be thankful to. Speaking through Moses, here is what God said: Exodus 19:4 “‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.” It is no great surprise that the people responded with these words: Exodus 19:8 “The people all responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.”
That brings us to the next key moment in their history that they would surely remember and it is this that the writer to the Hebrews turns their attention: Hebrews 12:18–21 “You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.””
Having left Egypt the people of Israel were now at the foot of Mount Sinai, where they would soon learn that God was not just a God who acts in love and mercy to lead and protect and provide. He is a God who is to be approached with reverence and Awe. Hebrews 12:29 “for our “God is a consuming fire.””
Exodus 19:16–19 “On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.”
On Mount Sinai when the law was given the people experienced something that they had not yet seen. They saw, in a tangible, physical way, the power and majesty and holiness of God. They could feel the mountain shake, they could see the fire and smoke, they could hear the trumpet sound getting louder and louder. This was a time of absolute terror and an understanding that God is to be feared. Such was the terror that the people asked Moses to be the mediator between them and God
Exodus 20:18–20 “When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.””
There was nothing in this experience, recorded in Exodus 19 that shows God as a God of love, or a God of mercy, or a God of forgiveness. The experience was awesome; it was terrifying; there were limits beyond which no one was permitted to go and any person or animal that did so could not be touched, but had to be stoned or shot through.
This event, beginning at Mount Sinai and the giving of the Law and the establishment of the sacrificial system, where High Priest, once a year on the day of atonement acted as mediator between the people and God, had been the experience of these Jewish Christians. They would each bring their sacrifice to the tabernacle; they would see it being slaughtered; they would see and probably smell the blood. This was physical. This was something that, in what they were doing, by their own actions, albeit at the final moment, the priest on their behalf did, was bringing them near to God.
The writer had already told them at the beginnin g of chapter 10:
Hebrews 10:1 “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.”
The writer of the letter contrasts all that with Mount Zion:
Hebrews 12:22–24 “But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”
While the city of Jerusalem, the city of David, is often referred to as Zion, the reality of Zion is spiritual, not physical
1 Kings 8:1 “Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of David.”
Psalm 78:68–69 “but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loved. He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth that he established forever.”
1 Peter 2:6 “For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.””
Revelation 14:1 “Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.”
Zion is full of blessings. It is the city where God dwells; there are thousands of angels in joyful assembly and so much more.
Zion can not be touched, but it is real and it is so much superior, so much better than anything physical, or any ritual which satisfies the senses. You can understand why some of those early Jewish believers found it hard to persevere. All their lives they had been taught and believed that the law and the sacrifices and the traditions was the way to come near to God. It was hard to let go of them. In fact it had been a difficulty to grapple with from the first days of the Church.
Acts 15:5 “Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.””
It is comforting to hold on to your traditions and practices and to tell yourself that they are necessary and essential to bring you near to God.
Hebrews 10:16–18 ““This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.”
That’s probably what the writer was referring to when he said in chapter 12 verse 1 “let us throw off everything that hinders”
The writer is encouraging them to lay hold of the reality of Mount Zion by faith. He has already urged them to do so:
Hebrews 10:22 “let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”
Two mountains: Mount Sinai and Mount Zion. Mount Sinai which shook, when God descended on it and spoke to let his people know that the God with whom they had to do was not to be looked on with reverence and awe.
Exodus 20:20 “Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.””
Mount Zion: a kingdom that can not be shaken and will remain when all earthly things have gone.
Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.
We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.
Mount Sinai where God was distant and could not be approached except by a mediator
Mount Zion, where God is near to us. You have come to God, the judge of all
How has this been made possible? It was by way of a third mountain, Mount Calvary, where the mediator was not Moses, as on Mount Sinai, but God’s own son Jesus, who fulfilled all the Law given on that ancient mountain, and became the sacrificial lamb that the law required, offered by himself, the great High Priest,
By the grace of God, his sacrifice on Mount Calvary, has brought us to Mount Zion, where we can enjoy all those blessings that the writer has spoken of in these verses of chapter 12.
But he gives us a warning in verse 25
See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?
Right at the beginning of Hebrews in chapter 1 we read the “he has spoken to us by his Son.”
At Mount Sinai God spoke to his people through Moses.
Before that he spoke to the patriarchs and others and they all had the opportunity to respond to his call.
If you look at verses 16 and 17 you will see that the writer considers Esau. Why choose him of all the people of the Old Testament? The writer calls him godless, or profane. Why?
The account is probably familiar to you from Genesis chapter 25. Esau, the elder son of Jacob had a very special privilege. He had a birthright which promised him a double portion of his father’s estate. there would be a special blessing from his father and he would have dominion over any other sibling; and he would also have a priestly function.
Numbers 3:13 “for all the firstborn are mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel, whether human or animal. They are to be mine. I am the Lord.””
Esau knew all of this, that he was heir to the Promise, but he chose to satisfy his present hunger, without a thought for the future. He traded future promised blessings for temporary satisfaction. And he could never undo the choice that he had made. His tears were not tears of repentance, but tears of self pity for what he had lost.
We have had the privilege of hearing the Gospel message and have responded to his call. There are so many people who have heard the gospel and have yet to respond, or, like Esau, have chosen and continue to choose seek their fulfilment in the pleasures of today’s world, which are only temporary and will not last.
That’s the warning that the writer gives to the Hebrew Christians. You have come to Mount Zion in faith and you have the promise that you will dwell in the Heavenly City with God. Why would you want to go back to Mount Sinai?
Hebrews 12:28–29 “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.””