The High Priest of a new covenant

Hebrews Sermon 6

The High Priest of a new covenant

Hebrews 1:3

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

It would be understandable to think that when Jesus died on the cross, paid the penalty for our sins and then sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in Heaven, that his work was then complete. But let’s pause to consider this. Remember the verse in Hebrews 6: 19,20

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

We looked at this Melchizedek, the priest king, bringing together righteousness and peace, which point to Jesus and his priesthood. The writer to the Hebrews has made clear that Jesus is a priest forever. Not only is he King, sitting on the throne in heaven, he is also priest serving in the heavenly sanctuary.

Remember the words of Jesus:

I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me.

Hebrews 7: 18 The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless 19 (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.

This better hope is Jesus and by his death there is no longer any need to offer sacrifices or for priests to act as mediators. There is one priest, Jesus, who lives forever and his priesthood is permanent.

Hebrews 9:11 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

That there is a work to be done in us to make us fit to serve God is absolutely clear. By his death he redeemed us and his sacrifice gave us the means by which we can draw near to God.

15 And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. For it is declared:

“You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

What this means is that Jesus lives in Heaven as High Priest in the power of an endless life. He works in that power to meet our needs, not merely to save us from our sins, but to prepare us for life in God’s service.

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, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.

This high priest, Jesus, continues the work he has begun in those whom he has redeemed.

Hebrews 7:25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

‘Completely, to the uttermost’

Christ does not rescue the perishing by his death and then leave those who are saved to fend for themselves. No, He lives on to help those who have been saved towards the final goal. “He is able’ tells us that he is more than sufficient to enable us to cope with and overcome all difficulties and oppositions that we may face.

He always lives to intercede for us. As he died for us so he lives for us

John 14:18,19 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you

Paul puts it this way in Romans 5:10

For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

It is because, as priest and sacrifice and his resurrection and ascension to the heavenly tabernacle the Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant (v22). This guarantor. or guarantee, or surety needs an explanation. The idea is of someone standing in the place of another who could not act for himself, He represents that other person and pledges to make good his debts. Christ was not a surety for God; he needed none; but for his people who were unable to meet their obligations. Christ agreed to undertake for them, to pay all their debts and satisfy all the demands of God

No earthly priesthood or system of sacrifice could ever accomplish.

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.

As mediator Jesus stands between two parties that were formerly unreconciled. As man, yet without sin, only he could be the perfect representative on our behalf. As God’s son, only he could bring about the reconciliation by his willing sacrifice. That he is accepted by God is evidenced at his baptism when God said:

This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

In times past the Jewish people recognised the need for a mediator, looking to Moses as we read in Deuteronomy 5:26,27

For what mortal has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of fire, as we have, and survived? Go near and listen to all that the LORD our God says. Then tell us whatever the LORD our God tells you. We will listen and obey.”

The writer to the Hebrews now refers to a new covenant , of which Jesus is the guarantor and which is established on better promises. The early Jewish Christians had grown up in a system where the temple and its rituals and sacrifices were an essential element in their understanding of their coming to God. To bring an offering and to attend the services at the temple was something that they could physically do and it was difficult to comprehend and accept that all this was set aside and a new covenant had been introduced when Jesus had died on the cross.

When God entered into covenant with his people it wasn’t a negotiated agreement. God settled the terms of the covenant and all man had to do was to obey. God was never going to break the covenant. He is a covenant keeping God.

Deuteronomy 7:9,10 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. But those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction; he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.

Isaiah 54:10 Though the mountains be shaken

and the hills be removed,

yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken

nor my covenant of peace be removed,”

says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

From the beginning of the bible there are several occasions where covenant is mentioned or inferred.

Eden

Genesis 2:15-17 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

In order for man to exercise free will God made just one rule. Adam had to do was obey.

In Genesis 3: 15 we discover God’s covenant of redemption:

And I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your offspring a and hers;

he will crush your head,

and you will strike his heel.”

Then in Genesis 9

8-11 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

Then Genesis 12

12: 1-3 The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;

I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. i

I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;

and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Leviticus 26

26 : 1-9“ ‘Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the LORD your God.

2 “ ‘Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD.

3 “ ‘If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, 4 I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit. 5 Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land.

6 “ ‘I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove wild beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country. 7 You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. 8 Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.

9 “ ‘I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you.

Deut 30: 1-6 When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come on you and you take them to heart wherever the LORD your God disperses you among the nations, and when you and your children return to the LORD your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes x and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the LORD your God will gather you and bring you back. He will bring you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors. The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

The Covenant with David

2 Sam 12-16

“ ‘The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’ ”

In all of these examples God establised the rules and man’s part was to obey. And they promised to do so.

EX 19: 5-8

Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the LORD had commanded him to speak. The people all responded together, “We will do everything the LORD has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD.

Of course we know that the covenant was broken right from the start when Adam sinned and throughout the whole of human history, but if you look carefully at the Old testament covenants you will discover that in them you will see the signs of the new covenant that the writer of Hebrews is about to examine.

Genesis 3:15

he will crush your head,

and you will strike his heel.

Genesis 12

and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Deuteronomy 30

The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

2 Sam

I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom.

When the writer to the Hebrews speaks of the first covenant, a covenant based on the law, it was a covenant which promised life, but could not deliver it. The law itself was good and if we could follow it then blessings would follow.. Psalm 119 says as much:

1 Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,

who walk according to the law of the LORD.

2 Blessed are those who keep his statutes

and seek him with all their heart—

And Psalm 19:7

7 The law of the LORD is perfect,

refreshing the soul.

What went wrong? Certainly not God, who is always faithful and keeps his covenant. He gave us the law, but, as we read in 7:19 the law made nothing perfect. The writer contends that the first covenant is set aside and replaced with, not another covenant but a new covenant.

Hebrews 7:18 The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless 19 (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.

Why was this? Hebrews 8:7,8

For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people.

There was a purpose to the first covenant and we find the reasons in Hebrews 9: 8-10

The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order.

And 10:3,4

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

We have seen already that God had already given signs of this new covenant in his earlier covenants and to continue his argument the Hebrew writer goes back to the prophet Jeremiah. The whole of chapter 24 of Jeremiah is taken up with the image God gave to him of two baskets of figs, a picture given at a time when Jeremiah was at a very low point as he observed the troubles of his people, many of whom had been carried off into exile in Babylon. It was a message of encouragement to Jeremiah and of a future hope for his people. Verse 7 is particularly important

I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.

The writer to the hebrews doesn’t quote that bit but he does take the words from Jeremiah 31. For him it is such a key p[assage that he quotes it in full:

Jeremiah 31:31 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD,

Jeremiah 31:31 NIV

“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.

“when I will make a new covenant

with the people of Israel

and with the people of Judah.

32 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 broke my covenant,

though I was a husband to them,”

declares the LORD.

33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel

after that time,” declares the LORD.

“I will put my law in their minds

and write it 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.

In this new covenant we have forgiveness for sins, a new or restored relationship with God and a promise that God will teach us his ways.

Ezek 34:25

I will make a covenant of peace

Ezek 36:26,27

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

Paul, in his second letter to the church at Corinth describes the work of the holy spirit in the lives of believing Christians. Here’s what he wrote to the believers in that city and the message is the same for us today: Staring in Chapter 2 and going into Chapter 3

2 Cor 14:But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? 17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

And here is how the writer to the Hebrews encourages his readers:

Hebrews 10:19-23 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 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. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.