Hebrews Part 16
Notes
Transcript
18 For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest
19 and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.
20 For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.”
21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,
23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
The Kingdom that Cannot be Shaken
The Kingdom that Cannot be Shaken
So, to fully understand what is happening in this passage
We must recall what was spoken of earlier in this book
when the author teaches us that the OT things were types and shadows
The entire letter has been comparing things from the OT with the NT
And teaching us that everything in the OT pointed to the real thing in the NT
And this passage is using an analogy
from what would have been a very familiar story to the Jews
The giving of the Law on Mount Sinai.
In that story, the author is pointing out that the mountain could be touched, seen, and heard.
18 For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest
Notice the word “Touched” in verse 18.
And then you see the words “blazing, darkness, gloom, tempest”.
These are things that can be seen.
19 and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.
Then in verse 19 we see the word “Sound”
and the word “voice”.
And the word “hearers”.
“Messages spoken”
So, what is being depicted here is that the first mountain in this comparasion
Is one that can be seen, felt, and heard with our natural senses
And when we can see, feel, and hear something
It makes it real to us
It makes it solid
It makes if “firm”
So, it is no wonder that when the Jews encountered difficulty
That they looked to go back to the familiar
To their foundation
To something they thought was “firm”.
But the Author is reminding them that this firm mountain in the OT
was able to shake under the sound of God’s voice
and it was set on fire
So, it wasn’t as firm as they thought it was.
In fact, even Moses began to “shake” or “tremble”
at the sound of God’s voice.
21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”
So, the comparison being depicted here,
is the the very thing they are running back to
because it is so “firm”
is actually not so firm at all.
It is able to shake
and anything that can shake is not firm.
anything that can burn cannot be firm.
The mountain shook, Moses shook, the mountain burned.
When we encounter trials, it is often natural to run back to the familiar
To turn from where God is taking us
and run back to where God brought us from
Or we pull our heads and feet into our shells like a turtle
and stop moving forward.
The author of Hebrews is reminding them to keep moving forward
Don’t go back to temporary things
that were just types and shadows of the real things
Keep moving forward.
So, Mount Sinai and Moses are then compared to another mountain, and another man.
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,
He doesn’t say they can see, hear, or feel Mount Zion
He uses the word “heavenly” here to depict things unseen
You can’t see this Jerusalem, or the millions and millions of angels
but it is there.
and not only is it there
it is more real than the mountain of Moses that you can see, hear, and touch.
We get it backwards when we call reality the natural world
The truth is, the spiritual realm is reality
and this natural world is just a physical representation of the Spiritual. =
23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
He continues to list of what is really real
The saints in heaven and God are real
Despite not being able to see, feel, or hear them with our natural senses
They are real
24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
And then to sum up the comparison between Mount Sinai and Mount Zion
The writer says, “And to Jesus, the mediator”
This word “mediator” is used 3 times in the book of Hebrews
and about 6 times in the NT.
It identifies the man Christ Jesus
as the “go between” from us to God and from God to us.
So, Jesus mediates a new covenant
between God and Men
And he does so by sprinkling his own blood
not the blood of bulls and goats
The cross opened the door to the New Covenant
So, Acts 2:38 cannot happen without the death of Jesus.
You could repent, and you could be baptized
but you could not be filled with God’s Spirit before the cross
The priest could, the prophet could, and the Kind of Judah could
but you couldn’t
Not until the blood
37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”
39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
When was Jesus glorified?
John tells us when…
At the passover meal the night before he was crucified
Jesus said this while they broke bread..
31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.
33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’
Where was Jesus going?
The cross
That is when Jesus was glorified
His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension was the glorification process
and it started when the first drop of blood was shed
And after the ascension in Acts chapter 1
we see the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 2
24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
What does it mean that his blood speaks a better word?
Well we know that in Genesis 4.10
That the blood of able cried out to God.
What was it saying?
In my opinion it was crying out for justice
Justice is a good message, indeed
but the blood of Jesus spoke a better word
It was a message of mercy
a message of grace
a message of redemption
No, the final 5 verses are the instructions based on the argument that was just made
Which is that Mount Zion is better than Mount Sinai
Because Mount Zion cannot be shaken
Jesus is better than Moses
The New Covenant is better than the Old
The blood of Jesus is better than Ables
Grace and redemption is better than justice
Because of all of this…
25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.
Don’t refuse him who is speaking:
This is talking about that message of redemption
coming from the blood of Jesus
And we see a comparison of warning from earth
and warning from heaven
What is temporal and what is eternal
26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”
His voice:
This was God the Father’s voice who shook Mount Sinai
After he spoke to Moses and all the people
But we were just talking about Jesus speaking through his blood
and if you follow this closely, you’ll see that it is really one and the same voice
Because, the one who prosed ot shake the heavens and earth once more…
Is a quotation from Haggai 2.6
6 For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land.
And notice the word “LORD” there is in all caps
That’s because it is YHWH who is speaking
So it is just another little indication that Jesus is YHWH of the OT
Manifested in the flesh
26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”
The next time Jesus speaks from heaven, it will shake the heavens and the earth
Here, heaven means the sky and out space
not the spiritual realm
He’s basically saying, a lot more than a single mountain is going to shake
In fact, it is going to be all created things as he explains in the next verse.
27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.
“Once more” means that there won’t be a second chance
When God speaks the next time
it will shake all things in earth and in space,
the entire created universe
All those things you can see, hear, and touch
The things you think are firm foundations
familiar realities
those things are going to be shaken away
and then then only things that will be left are things that cannot be shaken
And what is that?
The very things the original readers were trying to abandon
the things of the Kingdom of God
28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,
Why?
29 for our God is a consuming fire.
I could spend an hour on this verse
but I’m trying to behave
Let me just suffice it to say
that this phrase meant a lot to the Jews
You can read it all through the OT
and they knew what it meant
It referenced God’s wrath and judgment on the wicked
and the writer is reminding them what their future holds
if they abandon the Mountain of Zion which cannot be shaken
for the Mountain of Sinai that was not only shaken by God’s voice
but it was also blackened by fire.
In other words, hold fast, don’t fall away
which is the main theme
otherwise there is fire in your future.
Chapter 13:
Chapter 13:
The primary message of the book of Hebrews comes to an end in chapter 12
and the final chapter can be divide into 3 parts.
Some practical christian living examples which are not intended to be exhaustive
Some instructions on submitting to spiritual authority
Final greetings
The first section, I’ll hurry through since it is pretty self explanatory
1 Let brotherly love continue.
2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.
4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
…Which is a quotation that the Hebrew people would have recognized from Deuteronomy
Starting in verse 7, we have some instructions for submitting to spiritual authority.
7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.
I want to point out the phrase “spoke to your the word of God”
This is the “Logos of God”
It is talking about the Gospel message that leads to salvation
as opposed to whomever it is that is trying to lead them back to Judaism
So, he reminds them to follow your leaders who have the truth
not the false teachers that don’t
It seems from this context that the ones leading them back to Judaism
were false teachers
and the reason they were getting themselves into this predicament
is because they were not listening to their leaders
the ones who were preaching the truth
This is going to be a bigger and bigger issue
with all the preachers online
Without being submitted to a pastor who preaches the truth
false teaching and deception is inevitable
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
9 Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.
10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat.
11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp.
12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.
13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.
14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.
So, in short, Don’t go back to Judaism, hold fast to Jesus.
The city to come is Zion
The city that won’t last is the earthly Jerusalem
They were probably worried that they had lost access to the tabernacle
since they were followers of Jesus
But the writer explains why that doesn’t matter
They don’t need access to the tabernacle
or to those animal sacrifices
Instead, they should stay outside the temple
and bear the same reproach that Christ bore
15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
So, the only sacrifice we need now is preaching the Gospel of Jesus
We don’t need animal sacrifices
we just need to spread the name of Jesus
And that is how we praise God
16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
Doing good, and sharing the gospel are sacrifices
but it pleases God
It is probably the case that they were afraid to do this
Since it was bringing them persecution
We might be afraid to do it today because of fear of rejection
but do it anyways… because it pleases God
17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
This verse is taught by some,
and even me in the past
to mean that pastors have to stand before God on judgement day
and give God a list of all the things the people in their church did or didn’t do
However, the words “give an account” is a bad translation IMO.
Remember in verse 7 how I pointed out the “word of God” is the “Logos of God”
What was it talking about there?
Preaching the truth as opposed to false doctrine, right?
Well, the word “account” is the Greek word “Logos”.
The words “those who will have to” are all added to the ESV.
The words “they that must” is added to the KJV.
It isn’t in the Greek.
It appears the translators interpreted it to mean the pastors would have to give an account
and used that interpretation to color their translation.
In Greek it just says, “giving the word”, or “will give the word”.
So, in other words, they are preaching the truth,
the same thing referred to in verse 7 as “the word of God”.
If it really meant that a pastor has to give an account for each saint
Then which pastor would give an account for me?
I’ve had 3 in my lifetime.
Some people have had many more.
So, when we put this together, we realize that the author is talking about preaching truth
and he is asking the readers to follow the leaders that preach the truth
and then he says, don’t make it hard for them to preach the truth
How do you make it hard for a preacher to preach the truth?
When you make up your mind that you don’t want the truth
It is much easier to preach the truth to someone that is hungry for the truth.
In fact, that brings me joy as a pastor.
Let them do this with Joy
means, let them preach the word of God with joy
not having to argue with you about it…
which is what the author has just spent 13 chapters doing
18 Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.
The author says… we know we have the truth
and we desire nothing by good thing by preaching it to you.
Finally, the closing words…
20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,
21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
22 I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.
23 You should know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon.
24 Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who come from Italy send you greetings.
25 Grace be with all of you.
Grace be with all of you
Not the Law of Moses
but the Grace of Jesus
what a fitting end to this amazing letter
about holding fast to the better things in Christ
Thank You!
Thank You!
