- the letter to the Hebrews about a better covenant, a better High Priest and the rewards of faith
- the first half of James, where we see that faith without works is useless
Some thoughts from today:
An outline of Hebrews:
God has spoken through his prophets and scripture, but now He has spoken in an even better way, through His Son, Jesus Christ, who →
Is greater than the angels as attested to throughout Scripture and is greater than Moses →
Jesus became flesh and blood to help the descendants of Abraham and lead them into God's promised rest. This he did by →
Breaking the power of sin, death and the devil by dying for us, and becoming our great High Priest, through whom we can enter the presence of God with confidence →
He is the High Priest of God's promise, yet of a better and different order than Levi, which was based on the law, which could not make anyone perfect. Instead, he is a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek →
Jesus is a High Priest forever, not having to offer a sacrifice over and over, since his sacrifice was sufficient once for all. He is a priest of a better covenant than that in the law, which is a shadow of the perfect one in heaven, in the same way that earthly temple and tabernacle are shadows of the perfect ones in heaven →
This new covenant sealed by Jesus blood is once for all, so we can have confidence to persevere, encouraging each other by meeting together and motivating each other to do good works while we wait for the fulfilment of God's covenantal promises. In the same way, →
We have the example of the many heroes of faith who persevered through faith, ie being sure about what they could not see and confident that what they hoped for would actually happen. God did amazing things through these people, who all shared in the fact that they had faith that God would deliver on his promises, but neither they nor we have seen the complete fulfilment yet, but it will come →
Therefore we should press on, encouraged by all our fellow pilgrims of faith, and live lives focused on that goal and on Jesus who is our advocate, mediator, High Priest and God. For we know that →
God will never leave us or abandon us, and in Christ He has done everything for us, so let us share in all that Christ has done for us and called us to do.
One of the major themes of Hebrews is that what we have in Jesus is new and better.
1:2 - God has spoken in a better way, through His Son;
3:3 - Jesus is worthy of more honour than Moses;
6:9 - we are meant for better things;
7:19 - we have confidence in a better hope;
7:22 - Jesus is the guarantee of a better covenant;
8:6 - "Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises";
8:8 - recalling the promise through Jeremiah of a new covenant written on people's hearts;
9:10 - a better system than the physical regulations than the law;
9:11 - a greater, more perfect tabernacle;
9:23 - Christ is a far better sacrifice;
10:34 - better things waiting for us that will last forever;
11:40 - God has something better in mind for us.
The whole of chapter 1 sets our focus on Jesus and his divine nature, in beautiful terms, eg in v 10-12. The essence of the gospel is in 1:3 - "The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honour at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven."
2:16-18 - "We also know that the Son did not come to help angels; he came to help the descendants of Abraham. Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested."
3:12-14 - "Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ."
4:12-13 - "For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable."
4:14-16 - "So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most."
The question of the identity, nature role of Melchizedek is one that I would like to explore elsewhere. One article I have read has left me with more questions than answers, but it is quite interesting. I have also asked Chris about this.
6:16-19 has a compelling logic, and offers great reassurance - "Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary."
7:25-28 - " he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honour in heaven. Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins."
9:14-15 - "Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant."
9:27-28 - "And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him."
10:12-14 - "our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honour at God’s right hand. There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy."
10:19-22 - "And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water."
10:23-25 - "Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near."
10:31 - "It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
10:35-36 - "So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised."
11:1 - "Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see."
12:1-2 - "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honour beside God’s throne."
12:22-24 - "you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel."
13:5 - "Don't love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, / "I will never fail you. / I will never abandon you."" 13:8 - "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever."
One verse from today's section - "All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us" (Heb 11:39-40).
POSTSCRIPT
If you have the chance, I can recommend listening to Michael Card's album, Soul Anchor, based on the book of Hebrews.
1 comment:
Great work.
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