The Book of Hebrews 1. "An Introduction and a Prologue!"

Let’s say it’s the around the year 65 A.D. and you are part of a church that is experiencing problems from both the inside and the outside. Those problems are to do with a number of situations. Firstly, the church has lost some of its enthusiasm. This is a second generation of folk who don’t quite have the fire of their forbearers. People are not involved like they used to be. Then there are those who teach things in a different way than those who originally gave the gospel message.

And on top of all that there’s a lot of pressure to give up on the Christian faith. A lot of folk are highly suspicious of this new Christian sect and feel they could be a threat to society. Others are suggesting that it needs to be more “Judaistic” in its rituals and practices.

Such would be a likely scenario for the setting of the book of Hebrews.

Imagine that somebody in the midst of this situation, someone who had been with the church from its outset, has been taking notes when the big preachers had come to town. Paul, Apollos, Timothy and others may have visited this church and made a profound impression on it’s past. Much of their teaching has remained within the church. Some amazing sermons and studies have been absorbed.

So there’s a problem.
How to set this church community back on track?

The solution. Rather than dumbing down the faith let’s lift up some of that teaching and some of those lessons. Let’s dig deep into the Old Testament and discover our place in the purpose of God. Let’s proclaim the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. Let us speak of faith in such a way as to encourage this church in danger of losing their way to get back on track.

Whomsoever the author or compiler of the book of Hebrews may have been, the purpose of the book is to recall the listener (or reader) to authentic faith by recounting some of the teachings that had first inspired them and then through theological reflection, consolidate the church in the faith they had received.

It’s theologically a meaty book. Indeed one of the contrasts it makes is between teaching that is like babies milk and teaching that is like solid food. It wasn’t for the new convert or the person who was an outsider. ‘The Dummies Guide’ would have to be written by somebody else. Hebrews is along the lines of a manual for those wanting to go deeper!

Whilst it’s my opinion that the work reflects a number of voices in the early Christian community, historically other theories have been put forward as to whom wrote it.

Issues of Authorship

Traditionally (and still some hold to the view today) the book was said to have written by Paul. The problem with that idea is that whilst Hebrew’s reads in English as though it could have been written by Paul, in Greek a different story appears. If Paul did write the whole book then in parts of it he wrote it in a style very unlike the way he wrote in all his other works, which makes people suspect that he was either indulging in a huge chunk of plagiarism, or maybe it wasn't him. So very early on in Christian history some rejected the Pauline view and suggested that Luke or Timothy or later in history that Apollos was the writer. Other candidates have included Barnabas, Silas and Priscilla.

Author F.F Bruce suggests, “the epistle to the Hebrews is anonymous’ and was ‘probably written shortly before AD70 to a community of Jewish Christians in Italy” (P5). One Church Father, Origen, made a famous comment around 1800 years ago when he wrote “who wrote the letter to the Hebrews only God knows for certain”.

Some date it as quite a late composition, because it’s doctrinal content is well developed; but others date it much earlier. A letter by a bishop Clement of Rome (dated around 95 AD) to the church in Corinth paraphrases key passages from Chapter One of Hebrews. So at least parts of it must have been written by then.

Whenever it was written and by whomsoever, the instructions and the exhortations of the letter reveal a person well educated in Greek rhetoric as well as in Judaism, (especially the Hellenistic Judaism formed by the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament).

It appears, as does much of the New Testament, to have been designed to be ‘heard’ as much as read and contains reflections that could well have come from different speakers only to be later collated into one volume by some unknown editor. Such is a view of authorship that makes the most sense to myself. There are distinct sections in the book that appear to be reflecting different voices. Yet, as a whole, the different sections seem to have been placed together, as though by an editorial hand.

The discourses reflect apostolic teaching. This was important, because for a book to appear in the Christian canon, apostolic authorship had to be established. Maybe that's why some early church Father's were anxious to claim that Paul wrote it.  It may well indeed contain some words and ideas that originated with Paul, but there appears to be other hands at work as well.

SUMMARY

Hebrews begins with a well crafted prelude that takes in its stride the great drama of salvation that is the core of the Good News about Jesus Christ.

From Chapter 1:5 through to chapter 11 the author develops a series of arguments that speak of how Christ is greater than those who have gone before Him, be they angels in the spiritual realms or priests and prophets on the earth. The character of Melchizedek is introduced as an illustration of Christ’s greatness.

Two key bible passages lay behind the author’s exegesis of the role of Melchizedek, Psalm 110 and Genesis 14:17-20. Jesus is pictured as having a superior ministry to any who have gone before Him, as superior as the New Covenant was to the Old.

Having outlined the superiority of Christ Chapter 11 deals with how to apply this teaching to our lives and the importance of faith is underscored by numerous examples... In the light of their witness, in Chapter 12 the author encourages the hearer to ‘run with perseverance the race that is set before them’.

The closing chapters offer general instruction for Christian living and appeal for prayer before a final blessing and a few closing greetings. The author’s argument is interspersed with 5 sections of warnings that outline consequences of disobedience.

The Outline of Hebrews

A: The Prologue (1:1-4)

B: Section 1: The Greatness of Christ
He Is Greater Than the Angels (1:5-2:18)
He Is Greater Than Moses (3:1-4:13)
The Superiority of His Ministry (4:14-5:10)
His Position in Heaven (4:14)
His Empathy (4:15-16)
His Priestly Order (5:1-10)
The Need for Solid Teaching (5:11- 6:12)
Abraham and Promises (6:13-6:20)
The Mysterious Melchizedek (7)
Melchizedek, King and Priest (1-3)
Melchizedek Is Superior to Levites (4-10)
A New Priesthood (11-19)
Confirmed by God's Oath (20-25)
Christ, Our Eternal High Priest (26-28)

The Superior Ministry of Christ (8:1-13)
The Superiority of the New Covenant (9:1-10:18)

C: Section 2: So what does it all mean? How is this applied?
The Exhortation to Endure (10:19-39)
The Primacy of Faith (11)
The Motivation for Endurance (12:1-29)

D: Concluding Exhortations (Chapter 13)

5 warnings in the letter to the Hebrews

WARNING 1: In chapter 1 we are warned that if Jesus is the greatest messenger of God (greater than any angel) we should listen more to what He has to say than to any other persons words.

WARNING 2: In Chapter 3 we are warned that if Jesus promises us a Kingdom (described as the ‘Rest of God’) we should be sure that we don’t fail to enter the things of that kingdom through unbelief.

WARNING 3: In chapter 5 we are warned that if we wanted our faith to be a living, growing thing then we have to move from babyhood to maturity and feed on solid spiritual meat.

WARNING 4: In chapter 10 we are warned of the danger of apostasy and that to treat our faith lightly was playing with fire.

WARNING 5 In chapter 12 the warning is; “Don't refuse to listen'. When God speaks people were expected to pay attention. To fail to do so can  be costly!

These warnings can be phrased as questions.

1. Whose words do we consider carry the most authority? Jesus or some other?
2. Whose promises do we really believe in? Those of God or those of worldly philosophy?
3. How serious are we are about developing a mature faith? Are we content to remain shallow?
4. How deeply held are our Christian convictions? Are they cast aside when seen as inconvenient?
5. How much attention do we pay to God's Word? Are there times we prefer not to listen?

So we've had an overview, but now... let’s make a start! 

A: THE PROLOGUE

You are familiar I’m sure with the opening words of Abraham Lincolns’ Gettysburg Address. “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure.”

In a similar tone the Book of Hebrews paints a picture that roots its message in a situation of struggle. Not a civil war but the struggle of God’s redemption and prophetic proclamation, a struggle that had reached a culmination in the coming of Jesus Christ as the reveal-er of God’s ways.

Hebrews 1:1-4 “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by his Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe.

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. So He became as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is superior to theirs.”

The prologue is significant not just for its theological depth, but also for its style. William Barclay in his commentary on Hebrews writes;

“This is the most sonorous piece of Greek in the whole New Testament. It is a passage that any classical Greek orator would have been proud to write. The writer of Hebrews has brought to it every artifice of word and rhythm that the beautiful and flexible Greek language could provide.

In Greek the two adverbs which we have translated ‘at many times’ and in ‘various ways’ are single words, ‘polumera’s and ‘polutropos’.’ PoIu-‘ in such a combination means ‘many’ and it was a habit of the great Greek orators, like Demosthenes, the greatest of them all, to weave such sonorous words into the first paragraph of a speech.

The writer to the Hebrews felt that, since he was going to speak of the supreme revelation of God to men, he must clothe his thought in the noblest language that it was possible to find.” (William Barclay ‘Letter to the Hebrews’ P11 ‘Westminster Press’)

In terms of theology this prologue features such a kaleidoscope of New Testament themes that it’s difficult to pick out any single one.

It begins with the whole history of salvation, a theme that is returned to later in the letter. Then the author uses the enigmatic phrase, “In these last days” signifying not ‘last days’ as in ‘the final countdown’, but in the sense of a new age having dawned since Christ had come into the world.

“He has spoken to us by a son” reflects the famous John 3:16 passage, ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,” but it’s taken one step further in bringing into play thoughts about inheritance and position. “heir of all things”... and then that thought is taken up a further notch, with ideas reminiscent of the prologue to John’s Gospel.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. (John 1:1-4 NAS)  

Paul’s teaching about the pre-existent Christ seems reflected in the phrase “through whom he made the universe”. We read in Colossians 1:15-17 -And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things have been created by Him and for Him.  And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Statements about the Son’s unity with the Father and how the Fathers Glory was reflected through the Son would later become wrestled with by the early Church Fathers who formulated some of the great Christian Creeds (such as the Nicene Creed) but here the author squeezes them into a few words “The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word”.

Compare that to the Nicene Creed; “We believe... in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made.”

The great drama of salvation and redemption, Christ’s death upon the Cross and it’s meaning, His resurrection and Ascension, themes that occupy the major portion of all four gospels are stated; “After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven”.

Finally we are led into the next section... reflections on angels...  as the prologue concludes “So He became as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is superior to theirs”

It truly is a spectacular opening paragraph in terms of literary content and theological scope.  Whomsoever the author was, and wherever they may have obtained their material, it’s an opening shot that surely would have grabbed the original readers (or hearers) attention. Hopefully having grabbed your attention… we can dig deeper next time!  There are many parallels between the Church addressed to in Hebrews and our own.

We are not first generation believers. Generally speaking… in historic denominations people are not involved like they used to be. There are those all around us who teach things in a different way than we are used to experiencing it. How do we sift through the different beliefs and emphasis?

As society becomes increasingly secular there’s a lot of pressure to give up on the Christian faith. The actions of those who use religion as a political tool, scandals in high places and low places within religious establishments, the simple fact that we are often too busy and too distracted to focus on faith… all this can unsettle us and cause us to question what we believe.

The remedy suggested by Hebrews is … whatever you do, don’t dumb it down. Instead dig deep. Establish the connection between the faith you experience with that of those who have come before you, particularly the faith of those in the Old Testament. Think about some of the tricky subjects. Make the connections between where you are now and how God has worked throughout history. Consider angels and principalities and powers. Take a trip down some theological avenues that your preacher doesn’t normally take you.

Over the next few weeks, God willing… that’s where we’ll be heading!

The Book of Hebrews. 2 "Greater than Angels!"

We began our journey into the Book of Hebrews last time by outlining its purpose… that it’s a book addressed to a second generation church that was becoming lukewarm in its faith. We saw that the author’s solution to the problem is not to dumb down the faith, but to dig deeper into our roots.  The Book opens with a magnificent prologue, comparable with the opening of John’s gospel that not only covers a vast scope of Christian doctrine and history but also underlines the uniqueness of Jesus Christ.

The author now begins his teaching about how much greater in significance was Jesus Christ than any of those who had come before him… in heaven or on earth. In this first section he tells us: Jesus Is Greater Than the Angels (1:5-2:18)

Angels are a part of the biblical story of both Old and New Testaments. But they are always an aside concern, not at the heart of things. The word ‘angel’ in Greek simply meant, "Messengers". But for some within the church at the time Hebrews was written, angels had moved from the outfield to the center. They seem to be paying more attention to 'the messengers' than 'the message'. This wasn't something unique to the church addressed in Hebrews. Paul, in Colossians 2:18, speaks of those who had given up on Christianity in favor of the 'worship of angels'.

Angels sound great. But Jesus is greater. Simply stated … in declaring Jesus greater than angels the author is saying, ‘Don’t spiritually speaking ‘short change’ yourself.  Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith”, whom in the words of Hebrews 12:12 “for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Jesus Christ is superior to angels for the following reasons.

1. Because Jesus is the Son whilst the Angels are the Servants (1:5-7)

Hebrews 1:5-7  5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you"? Or again, "I will be his Father, and he will be my Son"?  6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him."  7 Of the angels he says, "He makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire."

‘Son’ imagery was very important to the Jewish audience who first heard this teaching. In the Jewish household… as in many households up until our modern age of appliances and time saving gadgets… there were servants and there were sons. Although the servants were often a close part of the family, only the sons were the heirs to the father’s estate.

I’m reminded of a scene from a Monty Python film (Holy Grail) where the Father of the Castle takes his son to the window, pulls back the curtains and showing him the countryside sprawling out as far as the eye can see, says “One day son all this will be yours!” The son looks at him and says, “What the curtains”?

The writer is telling his readers that they suffered from having a near-sighted view of Jesus. Only He was the son. He was the only heir to God’s throne. Christ is superior to angels because, while the angels were servants of God, He was the Son of God. There is a quote here from Psalm 2, which is a Psalm all about royal enthronement.

Psalm 2:6-12   "I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill."  7 I will tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my son; today I have begotten you.  8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.  9 You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."  10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.  11 Serve the LORD with fear, with trembling  12 kiss his feet, or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way; for his wrath is quickly kindled. Happy are all who take refuge in him.

2. Because He Is Worshipped by the Angels (1:6)

A second contrast, which proves Christ’s superiority, is the fact that He is worshipped by the angels. Another quote from, from another enthronement Psalm, Psalm 97 supports the author’s point. It follows that if Jesus is worshiped by the angels, He must be superior to them. He’s the heir to the throne, the angels serve before the throne. The angels worship Him… He doesn’t worship the angels.

So the argument continues; Christ is also superior to angels;-

3. Because He Is Sovereign - The ‘Anointed One of God’ (1:8-14)

Hebrews 1:8-14  8 But of the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom.  9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions."  10 And, "In the beginning, Lord, you founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands;  11 they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like clothing;  12 like a cloak you will roll them up, and like clothing they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will never end."  13 But to which of the angels has he ever said, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet"?  14 Are not all angels spirits in the divine service, sent to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

This passage is a series of ‘Old Testament proof-texts’ that point to the divinity, Lordship and creative power of Jesus Christ. Again the passage hits home the authors point, angels are servants but Christ is the Son. God never said to any angel, “Sit here whilst I make your enemies a footstool”. That’s such a powerful image! The Son laying back in ease whilst all those who sought to bring Him down are captive beneath his feet, something He, the Son, can rest easy about!

Never are angels mentioned as being associated with the creation of the earth and the heavens. But in this passage the role of the Son is spoken of as a creative one. John’s gospel prologue regarding the creative ‘Word of God’ is here lifted up. ‘And the Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us!”

Jesus is the One ‘anointed with the oil of gladness beyond all companions’. Anointing was an Old Testament image of both blessing and authority. David was anointed as King. Levitical Priests were anointed for holy service… set apart by being marked with the anointing oil for specific tasks related to Gods Kingdom. And this oil is no ordinary oil but ‘the oil of gladness’.

The phrase has an interesting background. It is first used in Psalm 45, which is a love song to the King.  A ‘Maskil’.

Psalm 45:2-8  2 You are the most handsome of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever.  3 Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your glory and majesty.  4 In your majesty ride on victoriously for the cause of truth and to defend the right; let your right hand teach you dread deeds.  5 Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; the peoples fall under you.  6 Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. Your royal scepter is a scepter of equity;  7 you love righteousness and hate wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;  8 your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad.

The next time the phrase ‘Oil of Gladness’ appears in scripture is in the book of the prophet Isaiah, words to the Hebrew people at a time when they were being trodden down. You may remember the story of when Jesus goes to the temple and is asked to read from the scroll the lesson of the day he reads a verse from Isaiah and then rolls up the scroll and tells them, Luke 4:21 “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."  The phrase ‘oil of gladness’ comes in the verse after the one Jesus reads in the synagogue.

Isaiah 61:1 The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners;  2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;  3 to provide for those who mourn in Zion-- to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, to display his glory.

These two instances of the phrase point us to Jesus not only being the loved One of God, but also are indicative of the ministry He had brought to the world, a ministry that transformed situations of hopelessness into places of new possibility. “a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit”.
Jesus is the Son, the angels are servants. Jesus is the one worshiped by angels.
Jesus is the sovereign, the anointed one of God. He is greater than angels.

The Contemporary Significance

Now why is this idea of Jesus being greater than angels important for us who don’t spend a whole lot of time wondering about such things? Well, we may not contemplate ‘angels’ in the same way as previous generations, but when you consider that an angel was considered to be a ‘messenger’ that revealed the ‘secrets of God’, we do on a daily basis encounter those who will assure us that our belief in Jesus Christ as the greatest revelation of God’s purpose and will for the world is nothing more than mumbo jumbo.

Those of other religious traditions may claim that their ‘prophet’ or ‘guru’ is a greater ‘messenger’ of God’s truth than the Savior we claim. Psychologist Sigmund Freud claimed that our religion was nothing more than a neurosis. Karl Marx that it was part of the oppressive economic system that held us down. Various sociologists make the claim that we create gods in our own image to order society after our own needs and desires.

Voices such as those of atheist author Richard Dawkins tell us ‘There is no God!” All these voices claim to reveal ‘life as it really is’… they claim… if you like to be the ‘true messengers’ amidst the confusing voices of religious darkness.

Angels in the ancient world were the carriers of truth bearing secret knowledge that the rest of us have missed. So the author of Hebrews is anxious to tell us that whilst angels have a message, their message is to be evaluated in the light of the greater truth and reality of Jesus Christ, the Son of God through whom all creation came into being, and before whom angels bowed down and worshiped.  

So we today need to evaluate the many different voices that claim to give us ‘the true picture of what life is all about’ in the light of our Christian faith. We claim that Jesus is the truth by which all other truths are compared.

One thing we’ll see a number of times in Hebrews is how the flow of the argument is interrupted by a series of warnings. We’re given three reasons why Jesus is greater than angels…but, before we get to the fourth… hold on…

WARNING 1 But hold on!

Hebrews 2:1 Therefore we must pay greater attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.  2 For if the message declared through angels was valid, and every transgression or disobedience received a just penalty,  3 how can we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? It was declared at first through the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him,  4 while God added his testimony by signs and wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, distributed according to his will.

Before putting the angels aside, the author tells us… the thing about angels is this. They had a message that needed to be listened to. And if folk didn’t listen, then they paid the consequences. How much more then do we need to pay attention to the message of Jesus Christ. Because He is greater than angels we should pay greater attention to what He has to teach us!

If the law (“the message spoken by angels”) was binding, then certainly the superior revelation of Jesus Christ was also binding and the readers should not neglect it. He gives them further motivation to pay attention by telling them the results of neglecting this final revelation.

In the same way that there was discipline for disobedience under the law of Moses, the readers could expect discipline for disobedience to the message being proclaimed through the newly emerging church, the message about Jesus Christ that was being authenticated amongst them by signs, wonders and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Having given his warning the writer has one last reason why Jesus was greater than angels.

4. Because of His Humanity (2:5-18)

Hebrews 2:5-18  5 Now God did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels.  6 But someone has testified somewhere, "What are human beings that you are mindful of them, or mortals, that you care for them?  7 You have made them for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned them with glory and honor,  8 subjecting all things under their feet." Now in subjecting all things to them, God left nothing outside their control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them,  9 but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.  10 It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings.  11 For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,  12 saying, "I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters, in the midst of the congregation I will praise you."  13 And again, "I will put my trust in him." And again, "Here am I and the children whom God has given me."  14 Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,  15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.  16 For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham.  17 Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people.  18 Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.

Having firstly emphasized the divinity of Jesus, now we see emphasized the humanity of Jesus. To the Hebrew mind humankind was considered only a small step below the angels. “7 You have made them for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned them with glory and honor, subjecting all things under their feet.”

Echoes are heard here of the original Creation story where man gives names to all the animals and together with his wife they are to rule and have dominion over Eden’s Garden. A lie breaks the stillness and death enters the story. But Jesus comes as a conqueror of death and the ancient curse is reversed, Jesus tastes death in order that His ‘brothers and sisters’ do not need to travel that road.  

Verse 9 “So that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. “ Jesus came to save humankind, not angels! He comes, in verse 15 -16 to ‘free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.  For it is clear that He did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham.’

This for us should be a tremendous encouragement. Christ died for us. He went through depths of suffering we do not face. He was tested almost beyond endurance. Yet He endured. And because He endured He can help us face the trials that life will bring our way. We can face them in the knowledge that He’s been there, He knows how it feels.

Because He cried out on the Cross “My God, my God, why hast though forsaken me’ we can know that there is no God-forsaken place in this world that the love of God cannot reach. Crucifixion and abandonment were turned by God’s power to Resurrection and hope.

So the author writes ‘Therefore He had to become like His brothers and sisters in every respect, so that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people.  18 Because He himself was tested by what He suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.’

No angelic messenger ever went through what Jesus went through, only the Son, God incarnate, clothed in our flesh, can save us and help us. Jesus is greater than angels! So let’s remind ourselves of the four reasons given in Hebrews.

 Jesus is superior to angels because;
•    Jesus is the Son whilst the Angels are the Servants
•    Because He Is Worshiped by the Angels
•    Because He Is Sovereign - The ‘Anointed One of God’
•    Because of His humanity

The Book of Hebrews 3. "Greater than Moses! (And ‘The Rest’)"

We continue our journey through the letter to the Hebrews. Following a dramatic prologue, the author begins a section that outlines the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. In the first part the author has told us how much greater Jesus was than any angel.

•    Jesus was the Son, angels were servants
•    Jesus was one whom the angels bowed down to worship
•    Jesus was the sovereign anointed one of God
•    Jesus was the one who came in the flesh, fully divine, yet fully human.

This first section has been interjected with a warning… (the first of 5)… hold on. If Jesus is greater than any angel, then we should pay greater attention to the message Jesus brings us than to that of any other ‘messenger’. Now the attention is switched from heavenly messengers to earthly messengers and we focus on Moses.

Jesus Is Greater Than Moses (3:1-4:13)

Moses was the giver of the law and a key figure in Old Testament history.

1.    Moses was a Servant in the House of God - Jesus owned the House (3:1-6)

Hebrews 3:1 Therefore, brothers and sisters, holy partners in a heavenly calling, consider that Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,  2 was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses also "was faithful in all God's house."  3 Yet Jesus is worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself.  4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.)  5 Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that would be spoken later.  6 Christ, however, was faithful over God's house as a son, and we are his house if we hold firm the confidence and the pride that belong to hope.

The contrast with Moses begins by speaking of how faithful Moses had been. Moses had been appointed by God, to be the one who ministered within the ‘house of God’ a term used to describe the people (and nation) of God. And Moses was incredibly faithful in performing his ministry! But Moses wasn’t the one who built the house. God built the house. Moses worked in the house. As God’s Son, the owner of the house was not Moses, but Jesus. Who inherits a house, the ones who work in it, or the ones who own it?

The one who would inherit the house of God was Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Church. The church is sometimes even called ‘the family and household of God’. Moses was one of the greatest prophets in Israel’s history, but, just like angels, he was only a servant.  Jesus was God’s son, the heir to the house, the one through whom God was building the Kingdom.

In addition… Moses spoke about things which were to come. The implication is that the things spoken of as ‘to come’ were a greater thing than the one who said they would come! 5 Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that would be spoken later”.

Jesus was the one who fulfilled the testimony of Moses. This is a continuing theme in Hebrews. Jesus is the One who fulfills what those who came before Him foretold. This is consistent with what Jesus Himself taught. In Matthew’s gospel 5:17, Jesus instructs His disciples “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” Jesus Christ is the one who fulfills the prophecies of old.

The ‘house’ imagery continues in verse 7 “and we are his house if we hold firm the confidence and the pride that belong to hope.” That little verse could be the basis for a whole sermon. (But not right now!) Our calling is to put our faith in Christ and hold firm to His teachings. In particular we are called to be people filled with hope. Hope brings confidence. Hope makes us proud of what we believe.

Hopelessness brings despair but hope builds confidence. Apply that to the life of a church. A church community can look around and say, “The times have changed. The statistics are against us. Our glory days are all in the past. It’s useless. It’s hopeless”. Or a church can look around and say, “It’s a new day. Let’s find out what God is doing in this new time!”  When one puts faith in God as the builder then you are placing faith not in what you can do, but in what God can do.

Hopelessness leaves us feeling defeated but hope builds pride. Pride not in the sense of “Hey, aren’t we something!’ but pride in the sense of being able to stand up and hold our heads up high as we proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. In a shifting culture where Christianity is often looked down upon or made fun of, there is a temptation to excuse our beliefs or even feel like we should apologize for them. But if we genuinely believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to change the world for better… if that’s the hope that drives us… then we are not ashamed to tell it out loud and proud.

This passage is seen as important enough for the author to interrupt the flow of the argument with the second of his “Now just Hold On!” passages. First time he said, “This teaching is important because it’s not coming from angels it’s coming from Jesus!’ This time he says 'Have an open mind about this. When God’s people in the past were stubborn, they missed out on receiving the blessings God wanted for them!’

WARNING 2 But hold On!  “Do not harden your heart.” (3:7-19)

Hebrews 3:7-19  7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, "Today, if you hear his voice,  8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, as on the day of testing in the wilderness,  9 where your ancestors put me to the test, though they had seen my works  10 for forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and I said, 'They always go astray in their hearts, and they have not known my ways.'  11 As in my anger I swore, 'They will not enter my rest.'"  

12 Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.  13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.  14 For we have become partners of Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end.  15 As it is said, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion."  

16 Now who were they who heard and yet were rebellious? Was it not all those who left Egypt under the leadership of Moses?  17 But with whom was he angry forty years? Was it not those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?  18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, if not to those who were disobedient?  19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

The author pauses in his comparison of Christ and Moses to discuss the role of the people of God in the scheme of things. Israel’s response to Moses is given as an example for the readers as to how they should respond to Christ. The Israelites hardened their hearts and doubted God’s ability and goodness and refused to trust Him to conquer the enemies in the land. What could happen if they failed to “Hold fast in confidence and pride to their hope” (3:6)?

The result for the Israelites was that they forfeited their right to enter the land. From 3:12-19 the author applies the example of Israel to the Hebrew congregation. 12 “Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God”. If the children of Israel failed to enter into the land because of their unbelief, believers could also fail to enter into God’s rest and share in Christ’s reign if they were unfaithful.

THE ‘REST’ OF GOD

You’ll have maybe noticed by now that the phrase ‘The Rest’ is used a number of times. It will appear a number of times in our next section also. What’s meant by ‘The Rest’?

Firstly; The Israelites had come out of slavery in Egypt and entered into the wilderness. They were in Egypt for generations and wandered around the desert for decades. They were tired. They were weary. But they would not find rest until they entered into the land God had promised. So in it’s original setting ‘The Rest’ was a symbol of entering into the Promised Land. Because of their rebellion and unbelief, many of the Israelites in the wilderness never reached the place of rest.

A second meaning of rest can be found in our next passage where we will read 4:4 “For in one place it speaks about the seventh day as follows, "And God rested on the seventh day from all his works." ‘The Rest of God’ is associated with the Sabbath, the seventh day when God took time out simply to enjoy all that was created. All that had needed to be done had been done. The creative process was completed. The Rest of God is thus associated with completion, wholeness and Sabbath.

Thirdly, in the New Testament ‘The Rest of God’ is associated with our salvation in Christ. Just as the Israelites were set free from slavery in Egypt so Jesus came to set us free from all the things that enslave us. The Israelites wandered in a wilderness, just about getting by from day to day. So God sends the Holy Spirit to us that we no longer have to wander aimlessly through life, but can live with purpose and meaning.

Also in the New Testament ‘The Rest of God’ is related to that great Reformation doctrine of ‘salvation by grace through faith’.  The work Jesus Christ came to do is a finished work. Those very words came from His lips as he hung upon the cross ‘It is finished’. Those words are not meant to apply to the work of creating a new heaven and a new earth, but apply to the work of salvation. We are invited to enter into the ‘rest’, meaning the ‘salvation’ that Jesus Christ obtained for us through His death on the Cross.

The biblical commentator Matthew Henry, who although ministered in a previous generation is one whose work I get a lot out of in terms of his ability to relate scripture to scripture, makes this comment about the salvation Christ obtained for us through his death and resurrection. Through faith he explains:

“We enter into a blessed union with Christ, and into a communion with God through Christ; in this state we actually enjoy many sweet communications of pardon of sin, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace and glimpses of glory, resting from the servitude of sin, and reposing ourselves in God till we are prepared to rest with Him in heaven."

The “Rest of God” offered to us through placing our faith in Jesus Christ is something we experience in part now, in the blessings that God’s love brings to us in the present, but a rest that will only fully be realized when we enter our final ‘resting place’ in eternity. That’s exactly how it is with salvation. We are saved in the now but will never know what that really looks like till we are in God’s nearer presence and out of this earthly life.

This idea of ‘Rest’ is wonderfully captured in Fanny Jane Crosby’s hymn “Blessed Assurance”

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels, descending, bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long.

Having thought about what the ‘Rest of God’ is we return to our original theme; ‘Jesus is greater than Moses.’ Moses ministered in the house, but Jesus built the house and owned the house.  As He calls us to make our home in His house, such should fill us with hope. For His house is a place of rest and salvation. Moses never got the people through to experience that promised rest. But Jesus did! And that’s the second reason given for Christ’s supremacy over Moses.

2.    Moses Could not Bring Them Into God’s Rest, but Christ Can (4:1-13)

Hebrews 4:1-13 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest is still open, let us take care that none of you should seem to have failed to reach it.  2 For indeed the good news came to us just as to them; but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.

 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, "As in my anger I swore, 'They shall not enter my rest,'" though his works were finished at the foundation of the world.  4 For in one place it speaks about the seventh day as follows, "And God rested on the seventh day from all his works."  5 And again in this place it says, "They shall not enter my rest."

 6 Since therefore it remains open for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience,  7 again he sets a certain day-- "today"-- saying through David much later, in the words already quoted, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."  8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not speak later about another day.  

9 So then, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God; 10 for those who enter God's rest also cease from their labors as God did from his.  11 Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through such disobedience as theirs.  

12 Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  13 And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.

The events of Israel’s disobedience are found in Numbers Chapters 13 through 14. To summarize the Old Testament story… spies are sent out to survey the Promised Land. They come back with a report that is extremely scary and disheartening and fails to take into account the promises of God. This causes the people to panic and rebel against God. Moses pleads with God, but the damage has been done. The people never make the journey and remain in the wilderness.

The writer is urging us to not make the same mistake. God knows the thoughts of our hearts and minds. ‘The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.’

It is for us to put our faith in Jesus Christ and make the blessings He offers our own. For the ‘Rest of God’ is still available. Freedom from sin. Pardon for past wrongdoing.  The hope of glory.  The promise of God’s presence to lead us and guide us.  As the writer urges us "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."

Jesus is greater than Moses

•    Moses ministered in the house as a servant; Jesus owns the house
•    Moses foretold the coming of Jesus.
•    Moses failed to bring people into the ‘Rest of God’, Jesus died that we may know God’s ‘Rest’
•    THE WARNING: Don’t miss the ‘Rest’ though unbelief. Trust in God whose Word changes everything.  

Next time we will go onto look at how Jesus was greater than all priests who came after Moses, leading us to a consideration of a priest who is made much of in this section of the book of Hebrews... the mysterious Melchizedek.

The Book ofHebrews 4. "Greater than the High Pries"t

Hebrews begins with a magnificent prologue and then moves on to a section where Jesus is proclaimed as being greater than all who have come before Him. Let us review;

Jesus is greater than angels because;
•    Jesus is the Son whilst the Angels are the Servants
•    Because He Is Worshiped by the Angels
•    Because He Is Sovereign - The ‘Anointed One of God’
•    Because of His humanity

Jesus is greater than Moses because:
•    Moses ministered in the house as a servant; Jesus owns the house
•    Moses foretold the coming of Jesus.
•    Moses failed to bring people into the ‘Rest of God’, Jesus died that we may know God’s ‘Rest’

This teaching has been interrupted by two warnings (We’ll have a third one in this session);

WARNING 1: “If Jesus is greater than any angel you better pay greater attention to Him than you would to any other who claims to be a messenger of God”
WARNING 2: “Don’t miss the ‘Rest of God’ though unbelief. Trust in God whose Word changes everything.

Jesus is greater than any High Priest (4:14-5:10)

In this study Jesus is pictured is greater than any priest, pastor, minister or servant of God whoever walked the face of the earth before or after His coming. This superiority of Jesus is outlined in a number of different ways.

His Position in Heaven (4:14)
He is a superior High Priest because of His position in heaven. Other priests worked in the temple, but Christ went directly into the presence of God

Hebrews 4  14 Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.  

The image of the High Priest who “has passed through the heavens” evokes an image of the Jewish High Priest on the Day of Atonement. On this holiest of days the high priest would pass through the veil of the Temple and enter into the area known as the ‘holy of holies’. This was the place where God's presence, symbolized by the Ark of the Covenant which rested in the inner chamber of the tabernacle, was thought to especially dwell.

The idea of passing through the heavens, may also have reminded the original hearers of the ancient figure of Enoch. We read in Genesis 5:24  ‘Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him’. Also Elijah about whom we learn in 2 Kings 2:11 ‘As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven.’ Both Enoch and Elijah were regarded as exceptional men of God, but Jesus was greater!

Encouragement is given in the last part of the verse; “Let us hold fast to our confession”. In other words if we believe that Jesus is this great One of God, and declare Him so to be, then let us live in a way that shows it. ‘Holding fast’ meant ‘Get a grip’. Don’t let this idea go. Live by it. Let others know about it! Jesus is greater than all who went before because of His unique position in heaven. But there’s more. Jesus is also greater than any priest, minister or servant that came before Him because of:-

His Empathy (4:15-16)

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.  16 Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Here the humanity of Jesus is again emphasized. Yes… He is the Son of God who has passed through the veil, but He is also the One who experienced all the force of what it meant to be human. Christ is ‘Fully God/ Fully Human.’

The writer is not suggesting that Jesus was physically weak, or that He suffered from sin as we do. On the contrary verse 15 emphasizes that He was ‘without sin’. What is being referred to is Jesus' unwavering firmness in His faithfulness to God. His being without sin does not lessen His capacity to sympathize with us. It is not by sinning that one is made empathetic but by being tested as we are tested.

Think of it this way. Because Jesus was made of the same human clay as that which we are fashioned out of, Jesus knows what its like to be us. Because He never succumbed to the temptations we fall to, He can help us through our temptations. The early Church Fathers expressed it like this: ‘He was as we are, and therefore He will help; He was not as we are, and therefore He can”

• He is a great High Priest because of His unique position in heaven.
•  He is a great High Priest because He became human and can sympathize with our weaknesses.

The credentials of a High Priest are further expanded in verses 1-10 of chapter 5. We’ll look first at verses 1 -4.

Hebrews 5:1 Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.  2 He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness;  3 and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people.  4 And one does not presume to take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was.  

The first thing to notice about this passage is that the priest is chosen not by people, but by God… as the text says… ‘Just as Aaron was’.  The story of Aaron’s calling is given in Exodus 4:27-30 “The LORD said to Aaron, "Go into the wilderness to meet Moses." So he went; and he met him at the mountain of God and kissed him.  28 Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD with which he had sent him, and all the signs with which he had charged him.  29 Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites.  30 Aaron spoke all the words that the LORD had spoken to Moses, and performed the signs in the sight of the people.”

One of the features of Presbyterianism has been to stress the notion of ‘call’. One is called to exercise a ministry within the church, not just as a pastor, but that call extends to elders, deacons, indeed every member is encouraged to discover their place in the body. God has made us all different. Moses needed Aaron to fulfill his call and Aaron needed Moses to fulfill his. We need each other to fulfill our calling. Christianity is a team game!

The second thing to notice about this passage is the character of the priest. There is a tendency to put those the church employs as its leaders upon a pedestal, as though somehow they were stronger at resisting temptation or more easily able to commune with God than the rest of humanity.

This passage stresses that those whom God calls are not suddenly endued with all the faculties of a super-hero. It tells us that the priest himself is nothing more than flesh and blood and therefore ‘subject to weakness’ and just as much a sinner as those whom he seeks to represent before God. ‘He must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. ‘

The third thing to notice about the priest in this passage is that those who lead God’s people are not called to ‘Lord’ it over them, but to lead through service. ‘He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward’. Such a passage pictures the Good Shepherd of Psalm 23 who deals gently with the sheep.

The easiest thing in the world to do is complain about people’s ignorance or criticize them for their behavior. It is not so easy to seek to change people through our devoted service of them. ‘They let us down’. ‘They just don’t get it’. “They don’t understand’. They are just using us’. Too many times we use such phrases rather than staying with people through their highs and lows. To ‘deal gently with others’ is not a soft option, but takes true strength of character and a heart that desires to serve.

Verses 5-11 speak of how Jesus was called by God and of how He wrestled and struggled with fulfilling a call that would involve suffering and faithful obedience.

So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you";  6 as he says also in another place, "You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek."  7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.  8 Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered;  9 and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,  10 having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

The priestly role was not one that Jesus claimed for Himself but One to which He was appointed by His Father God. It was not a status symbol but an opportunity to minister. It was not a sign of importance but a designation of office that carried great responsibility.

The privileged position Jesus had as Son of God did not prevent Him from experiencing all that being human implies. He could not get through all He was called to do without prayer. He cried out to God with ‘supplications’.

The Greek word (i`kethri,a) ‘hiketeria’ for supplications has an interesting background. A ‘suppliant’ was somebody who approached a higher authority seeking for favor. It was a custom in such circumstances to take an olive branch (a symbol of peace) and entwine it with white wool (indicating surrender and acceptance) with which one would signify to the king or high power the desire to approach the throne.

As one approached a place of power and authority there was no question of making demands yet one could, once granted an audience, make a heartfelt plea. As far as any answer that may be given, the suppliant had no option but to accept the will of the One they were approaching. Verse 7 includes the words about Jesus that ‘He was heard because of his reverent submission’

The passage also talks of the prayers of Jesus as being made with ‘loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death’ taking us to the Garden of Gethsemane where we are told that Jesus sweated blood as He prayed, “Father, Let this cup of suffering pass from me”. Whatever glory there was in being the Son of God, the price to be paid was something that even He pleaded not to have face and there is an intense power in His words “Yet not my will, but Thine be done”. As verse 8 tells us ‘Although He was a Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered.’

This passage twice mentions another old Testament Priest about whom the author will have a whole lot more to say, namely Melchizedek. The teaching about to be given regarding Melchizedek is not the easiest to get your mind around. And the writer knows it!  So it’s time for warning number 3.

WARNING 3: The Need for Solid Teaching (5:11- 6:12)

Hebrews 5:11 - 6:12 11 About this we have much to say that is hard to explain, since you have become dull in understanding.  12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic elements of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food;  13 for everyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is unskilled in the word of righteousness.  14 But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.  

Hebrews 6:1 Therefore let us go on toward perfection, leaving behind the basic teaching about Christ, and not laying again the foundation: repentance from dead works and faith toward God,  2 instruction about baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.  3 And we will do this, if God permits.  4 For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit,  5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come,  6 and then have fallen away, since on their own they are crucifying again the Son of God and are holding him up to contempt.  

7 Ground that drinks up the rain falling on it repeatedly, and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God.  8 But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and on the verge of being cursed; its end is to be burned over.  9 Even though we speak in this way, beloved, we are confident of better things in your case, things that belong to salvation.  

10 For God is not unjust; he will not overlook your work and the love that you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do.  11 And we want each one of you to show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope to the very end,  12 so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

The author pauses before his lesson on Melchizedek. It’s going to be a tricky one. Yet it’s also a necessary one if they were going to grow in their spiritual lives. In not so many words he is telling them, “You need to grow up!” It was time that they had become teachers of others, instead of having to keep going over and over the basics again. It was time they had some solid food.

He makes the point that when things in the natural world don’t grow they produce a bad harvest. He speaks of how hard it was to restore to faith those who had fallen away. If the readers do not make progress in the Christian life, they will regress to a state in which there is such hardness of heart that there will be no chance of repentance. That’s not the example to imitate. Rather they were to be imitators of ‘those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.’

It wasn’t that God was displeased with them. On the contrary God was a just God who had seen all the good things that had been happening in their midst, the work they were doing, the love they were showing to others and the service they were giving. But they needed to keep it up. Laying the foundations and leaving the building at the level just didn’t make the grade. God is looking not for starters, but finishers. And as an example we are given the example of Abraham.
Abraham and Promises (6:13- 6:20)

Hebrews 6:13-20   13 When God made a promise to Abraham, because he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself,  14 saying, "I will surely bless you and multiply you."  15 And thus Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise.  16 Human beings, of course, swear by someone greater than themselves, and an oath given as confirmation puts an end to all dispute.  

17 In the same way, when God desired to show even more clearly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it by an oath,  18 so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God would prove false, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to seize the hope set before us.  19 We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain,  20 where Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf, has entered, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

When Abraham heard about the promise of God’s blessing, and how it may be obtained, he stuck it out until the blessing was given. As the text says; ‘Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise’. When people make promises they say things like, “I swear on my life that I’ll do this for you”. But when God makes a promise God does it though His Word, and through His Son.

Jesus is our promise. He is our security. He is, as the wonderful imagery of this passage declares,’ a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul’.

Will Your Anchor Hold

Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,
When the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the strong tides lift, and the cables strain,
Will your anchor drift, or firm remain?

Chorus: We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll;
Fastened to the rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love.

Will your anchor hold in the straits of fear,
When the breakers roar and the reef is near?
While the surges rage, and the wild winds blow,
Shall the angry waves then your bark o'erflow?

Chorus

Will your anchor hold in the floods of death,
When the waters cold chill your latest breath?
On the rising tide you can never fail,
While your anchor holds within the veil.

Chorus

Will your eyes behold through the morning light,
The city of gold and the harbor bright?
Will you anchor safe by the heavenly shore,
When life's storms are past for evermore?

Chorus

Words: Priscilla Owens (1829-1899)/Music: James Kirkpatrick (1838-1921)

The Message bible transliterates the last few verses of our passage;

“We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It's an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up His permanent post as High Priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek”

So our argument continues to be developed;

•    Jesus is greater than angels
•    Jesus is greater than Moses
•    Jesus is greater than any High Priest

As we are digging deeper we have been given 3 warnings, to make us ‘wake up and pay attention’.

WARNING 1: “If Jesus is greater than any angel you better pay greater attention to Him than you would to any other who claims to be a messenger of God”
WARNING 2: “Don’t miss the ‘Rest of God’ though unbelief. Trust in God whose Word changes everything.
WARNING 3: “Don’t be a spiritual baby. Unless you are nurtured on solid food, you could die!”

Next time… the Mysterious Melchizedek!

 

The Book of Hebrews 5. "The Mysterious Melchizedek"

The Book of Hebrews opens with a short paragraph that is comparable with the opening of John’s gospel as it speaks of the glory and ministry of Jesus, the Son of God through whom all things were created and in whom redemption may be found. The writer then launches into an extended section, a biblical study from the Old Testament, of how Jesus Christ was greater than all the messengers and prophets of God that had both come before Him and pointed to Him.

•    Jesus is greater than Angels
•    Jesus is greater than Moses
•    Jesus is greater than any High Priest

The argument is moving on to say that not only is Jesus greater than any priest who has ever or will ever be, but also that the priestly line from which He descended is one that is superior to that of the line all the Levitical priests had come before. And so we are introduced to the character of Melchizedek.

Now this, as the writer keeps explaining, is not easy teaching. To keep us focused there are what I’m calling ‘warnings’, to help us ‘wake up and pay attention’. In the face of a church that was losing it’s way, the writer has made a decision that the way forward was not to ‘dumb down the faith’, but to wean it’s listeners and readers away from spiritual milk and start getting them to digest some solid spiritual food.

WARNING 1: “If Jesus is greater than any angel you better pay greater attention to Him than you would to any other who claims to be a messenger of God”
WARNING 2: “Don’t miss the ‘Rest of God’ (a phrase describing the benefits of God’s Kingdom … past, present and future) though unbelief. Trust in God whose Word changes everything.
WARNING 3: “Don’t be a spiritual baby. Unless you are nurtured on solid food, you could die!”

Melchizedek, King and Priest (1-3)

So we begin now to examine the mysterious Melchizedek.  Melchizedek makes but a fleeting appearance in the pages of the Old Testament. The events of his life are of a nature that attracted speculation and left interpreters scratching their heads as if to say, “Well, what just happened?”

Rather like Enoch, who walked with God and then was ‘taken’ or Moses whose ‘grave was never found’ or Elijah who ‘ascends to God in a whirlwind’, Melchizedek walks onto the pages of the Old Testament and then is gone, with no information about where he comes from or where he is going. Some of the language of the passage, in its original Hebrew, suggests there may have been a hymn or poem in Melchizedek’s honor that the authors are drawing upon.

The writer of Hebrews has what is best called an ‘exegetical’ problem. He has told us that Christ is the King, but also that He is the greatest High Priest. Kings came from the line of David. Priests came from the line of Levi. How can the two be reconciled? The answer that Hebrews proposes is that the priestly line that Jesus came from was not through the Levites, but from a totally different place, namely the priestly line of Melchizedek.

There are three places in the bible that speak of Melchizedek, and for a deliberate reason, I’m going to deal with them in reverse order. The first passage is the one we are currently considering. Melchizedek’s name appears 8 times in the 3 chapters of Hebrews 5 thru 7. It appears here in our current reading.

Hebrews 7:1-3 This "King Melchizedek of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him";  2 and to him Abraham apportioned "one-tenth of everything." His name, in the first place, means "king of righteousness"; next he is also king of Salem, that is, "king of peace."  3 Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.

A second passage where he appears is in Psalm 110. This Psalm is one of the royal Psalms addressing a King… in fact a King of Kings… and the first part has already by the writer of Hebrews been interpreted as referring to the Messiah.

Psalm 110:1 A Psalm of David. “The LORD says to my lord: "Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool." 2 The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your foes! 3 Your people will offer themselves freely on the day you lead your host upon the holy mountains. From the womb of the morning like dew your youth will come to you.
4 The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, "You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek." 5 The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. 6 He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. 7 He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head.”

The third passage is the actual story of Melchizedek and his blessing of Abraham. The passage is set amidst a tale of five warring kings, in the midst of which Abrahams nephew Lot has been captured. Abraham sets out and successfully liberates his nephew. He then meets with the King of Sodom in what appears to be a test of his faithfulness. It is during this meeting that Melchizedek comes to him.

Genesis 14:17-20
After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).
18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!" And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

Following this meeting Abraham does the right thing. Chapter 15 begins “After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." This meeting with Melchizedek, a ‘Priest of God most High” with whom Abram shares bread and wine and to whom Abram offers a tithe (a tenth of all he owns) is an encounter of no small significance.

The reason I’ve given you the passages in reverse order is simply that such is the way that the writer of Hebrews develops his argument. Along the way he offers a lesson on biblical interpretation… in this way.

If you have ever been to the opticians for new lenses or glasses then you sit down in the chair and the optometrist places a lens in the glasses you are looking through. ‘Is that clearer or less clear’ you may be asked. Depending on your answer another lens is inserted, and again the question is asked, ‘Is that clearer or less clear’. The process is repeated a number of times. It’s only as you are staring through a series of lenses that the picture finally becomes clear.

In a similar way we are invited to view Melchizedek through a progression of perspectives, beginning with Christ, moving chronologically to the scripture nearest to Christ, namely that of Psalm 110 and then the third and final lens, the oldest account, that of Genesis 14:17-20. 

The writer looks through  Christ through the Psalm to Melchizedek

When we have difficult passages in scripture to interpret this is a good practice to follow.

•    Firstly look to Christ. What was His teaching on the issue? What is the perspective of the gospels on the matter?
•    Secondly, for the next authority ask which is the most recent in terms of chronological sequence. Many Christians believe that Scripture is an unfolding revelation of God’s purposes the ultimate pinnacle (the mountain-top if you like) being the coming of Christ. All that comes before Him points towards Him. All that comes after, points back to His life and teachings. So seeking the next authority … chronologically speaking is consistent with that view.
•    Thirdly, work back to the most ancient material, allowing the additional material to fill in any gaps.

Such a method is the one followed in Hebrews. He firstly looks to the revelation of Christ that he outlines in the prologue… the One who is greater than all, the One through whom all was created and in whom all move and have their being.

In the knowledge of whom Christ is the writer then moves to consider the passage that is next in the chronological order, namely Psalm 110. The question being asked is “What does this passage tell us about Christ?” Already, in Chapter One of Hebrews we have had the quote "The LORD says to my lord: "Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool. Now we move to another quote, “The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, "You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek."

Then the focus goes further to consider the passage that deals with Abrams meeting with Melchizedek, in Genesis 14 and the question of how Jesus could be both a priest and a King finds resolution.  

Behind all of this the argument regarding how Jesus is greater than all that came before is continuing to be developed.  He is greater than angels, He is greater than Moses, and He is greater than any High Priest… and now we are moving on to consider that even the priestly line of which He is a part is of greater significance than that of the priestly line of the Levites. That is the significance attached to Melchizedek, which we now continue to explore.

Melchizedek Is Superior to Levites (4-10)

Hebrews 7:4-10  4 See how great he is! Even Abraham the patriarch gave him a tenth of the spoils.  5 And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to collect tithes from the people, that is, from their kindred, though these also are descended from Abraham.  6 But this man, who does not belong to their ancestry, collected tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had received the promises.  7 It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.  8 In the one case, tithes are received by those who are mortal; in the other, by one of whom it is testified that he lives.  9 One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham,  10 for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

The writer here develops five arguments as to why the order of Melchizedek was superior to the of the order of the Levites.

First, he received a tenth of the spoils or booty of war (v: 4 -5) Abraham the patriarch gave him a tenth of the spoils.  5 And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to collect tithes from the people, that is, from their kindred, though these also are descended from Abraham.

One of the duties of the Levitical priests was to collect the peoples tithe. Tithing is a practice that has a long biblical history. However, it was not the duty of the Levites to receive the spoils of war. Usually such spoils and booty went to the people at the top, to the King or the governmental officials.

Spoils were the most prized and valuable materials taken from the enemy. Things like gold, silver, ornate furniture and clothing, fine horses, even slaves. Melchizedek received a ‘tenth of the spoils’. This was more in line with an offering to a King than to a priest. Levitical priests received a tithe. Melchizedek received the platinum! A tenth of the best! His priesthood was therefore superior to that of the Levites.

Second, he collected a tithe from Abraham v6 “This man, (Melchizedek) who does not belong to their ancestry, collected tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had received the promises.” Here the argument is that it is in Abraham that the future of the whole nation of Israel lay dormant. Abraham was Israel in prospect and in promise. All the promises of God at that point in the history of the nation lay within the bosom of Abraham. Both Israel and the priestly line of the Levites, where yet to come into being.

Third, in the writer's value system, the one who blesses is always greater than the one who is blessed. 7 It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.

Fourth, Melchizedek received a tithe as one who was a priest for ever, eternal and everlasting. Here 7 verse 3 is being recalled – ‘having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever’ Levites died, but Melchizedek lived forever, coming from who knows where and departing to a destination only speculated about. So the writer explains 8 ‘In the one case, tithes are received by those who are mortal; in the other, by one of whom it is testified that he lives.’

Fifthly, Levi himself paid tithes to Abraham in the sense that he was “still in the loins” of Abraham when Abraham paid tithes. 9 One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham,  10 for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.  Chronologically Levi was ‘just a twinkle in his ancestor’s eye’ so to speak. So, the writer argues, that because Levi had yet to be born, in effect Levi paid a tithe to Melchizedek. I find it interesting that he feels that this is not entirely a conclusive argument for he does preface it with the thought… ‘One might even say’. Kind of like Paul when he writes, ‘Now this isn’t the Lords teaching, but here’s what I think about it!’

So five reasons why the Priestly line of Melchizedek was greater than that of Levi;
1.    He received a tenth of the spoils, more than just a tithe.
2.    The ancestor of the nation, Abraham, was the one from whom he received.
3.    The one who blessed was greater than the one being blessed.
4.    Melchizedek was a priest for ever, Levites died.
5.    As Levi was yet to be, Levi in effect paid a tithe to Melchizedek.

So here is our developing argument;
•    Jesus is greater than Angels
•    Jesus is greater than Moses
•    Jesus is greater than any High Priest
•    Jesus is of the priestly line of Melchizedek (the priestly line of Melchizedek being greater than that of Levi)

One final observation. Jesus in Matthew 5:35 speaks of Jerusalem, as ‘the city of the great King.’ In Hebrew ‘Salem’ is another name for Jerusalem. In our Hebrews passage Melchizedek is described as ‘King of Salem’… in other words Melchizedek was ‘King of Jerusalem’. (e.g. NLT notes on Psalm 76:2)

The fact that this King of Jerusalem not only receives a tithe from Abraham, but also offers Him bread and wine, symbols that we (and the people to which the letter is addressed) attach sacramental significance, has led to some speculation that Melchizedek was more closely related to Christ than even the author dares to speculate.

But there’s enough in this lesson to keep our minds occupied with… so until next time!.

The Book of Hebrews 6. " The Superior Covenant"

If a billboard were posted for the first section of Hebrews it could read; “Jesus is the Greatest!” A subtext could be “Greater than angels, Moses, and High Priests”. Maybe an endorsement would read…’this message comes to you through the line of Melchizedek.’

Such is the picture of Jesus being developed in Hebrews. In our last session we delved deeply into the theological implications of Jesus being both a King and Priest and saw how, using the figure of Melchizedek the writer seeks to explain how the priestly line of Jesus was that of the mysterious Melchizedek rather than a line traced back through the Levites.

Along the way there have been three warnings, firstly that we should listen, secondly that we should watch out that we don’t miss out through unbelief and thirdly that we need to pay attention because we’re going deep!

In this session there will be a lot of scripture. Similar ground is covered that we have already walked through.

From verse 11 –19 of chapter 7 the argument of the supremacy of the Melchizedek priesthood over that of the Levitical priesthood continues. The passage we will read begins by pointing out that the system of law under the Levitical system failed to perfect the people. It was a flawed system that required repeated sacrifices. With the arrival of Jesus, ‘a priest after the order of Melchizedek’ the entire system under which Israel lived would change. As verse 19 explains in Christ we see ‘the introduction of a better hope, through which we approach God’.

Hebrews 7:11  1 Now if perfection had been attainable through the levitical priesthood-- for the people received the law under this priesthood-- what further need would there have been to speak of another priest arising according to the order of Melchizedek, rather than one according to the order of Aaron?  12 For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.  13 Now the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar.  14 For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.  15 It is even more obvious when another priest arises, resembling Melchizedek,  16 one who has become a priest, not through a legal requirement concerning physical descent, but through the power of an indestructible life.  17 For it is attested of him, "You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek."  18 There is, on the one hand, the abrogation of an earlier commandment because it was weak and ineffectual  19 (for the law made nothing perfect); there is, on the other hand, the introduction of a better hope, through which we approach God.

Verses 20 –24 repeat two arguments we have already encountered, firstly that Melchizedek was a greater priest than the Levitical priests because God told him, or as the passage phrases it ‘confirmed with an oath’ that he was a priest for ever, and secondly that it was a superior priesthood because Levitical priests were ‘prevented by death from continuing in office.’

20 This was confirmed with an oath; for others who became priests took their office without an oath,  21 but this one became a priest with an oath, because of the one who said to him, "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, 'You are a priest forever'"--  22 accordingly Jesus has also become the guarantee of a better covenant.  23 Furthermore, the former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office;  24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.

Our third passage draws out the implications for believers in having a Savior who is of the line of Melchizedek.

25 Consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. 26 For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.  27 Unlike the other high priests, he has no need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for those of the people; this he did once for all when he offered himself.  28 For the law appoints as high priests those who are subject to weakness, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

Jesus is unlike other high priests who offer sacrifices repeatedly and have to offer a sacrifice for their own sins. He made one sacrifice once and for all and being without sin, He had no need to offer a sacrifice for Himself.

Jesus is therefore uniquely positioned to offer us the gift of salvation. Under the Old covenant people approached God through the many priests who served in the tabernacle and temple. Our approach to God is through the One priest of the New Covenant, Jesus Christ ‘exalted above the heavens’. Jesus, as Son of God, did away with the whole priestly system. This conveniently brings us to our next section.

The Superior Ministry of Jesus (1-6)

Hebrews 8:1 Now the main point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,  2 a minister in the sanctuary and the true tent that the Lord, and not any mortal, has set up.  3 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; hence it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer.  4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law.  5 They offer worship in a sanctuary that is a sketch and shadow of the heavenly one; for Moses, when he was about to erect the tent, was warned, "See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain." 6 But Jesus has now obtained a more excellent ministry, and to that degree he is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted through better promises.

In verse 2 a reference is made to ‘the true tent that the Lord, and not any mortal, has set up.’ What is being referred to here is the tent that Moses set up in the wilderness that became the meeting place between the people and their God. This tent (or tabernacle) was never meant to be a permanent fixture but was a ‘shadow’ of what was to come. When the priest offered the sacrifice in that tabernacle, it was simply a foretaste of what Jesus would offer. So we are told in verse 5 ‘They offer worship in a sanctuary that is a sketch and shadow of the heavenly one’.

The point being made here is that Jesus had a superior ministry because the place He occupied was a superior place than that of the earthly tabernacle. As verse 1 tells us ‘We have a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens’.  

The priest was a minister of the old covenant, but Jesus was a minister of the new covenant, a covenant that had come into being because the old covenant did not fulfill all that God wanted. It was flawed, partly because it didn’t go far enough, but also because the people failed to live by it.

The Superior Covenant (7-13)

 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need to look for a second one.  8 God finds fault with them when he says: "The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;  9 not like the covenant that I made with their ancestors, on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; for they did not continue in my covenant, and so I had no concern for them, says the Lord.  10 This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  11 And they shall not teach one another or say to each other, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.  12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more."  13 In speaking of "a new covenant," he has made the first one obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old will soon disappear.  

Just as Jesus Christ is greater in His person and ministry than all those who came before Him, so the new covenant is superior to the old. To prove his point in verse 10 the writer quotes from Jeremiah 31:31-34. "This is the (new) covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."  The coming of the new rendered the old obsolete.

Chapter 9 begins by describing the tabernacle that Moses erected in the wilderness. (See picture below). In particular the items within the innermost sanctum are spoken of. 

Within the Holy of Holies, shielded from the eye of the common man, was one piece of furniture comprising two parts, the Ark of the Covenant and the atonement cover (or “mercy seat”) on top of it. The ark was a chest made of acacia wood, overlaid with pure gold inside and out. It was 3 feet, 9 inches long and 2 feet, 3 inches wide and high. God commanded Moses to put in the ark three items: a golden pot of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the two stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written. 

The atonement cover was the lid for the ark. On top of it stood two cherubim (angels) at the two ends, facing each other. The cherubim, symbols of God’s divine presence and power, were facing downward toward the ark with outstretched wings that covered the atonement cover. The whole structure was beaten out of one piece of pure gold. The atonement cover was God’s dwelling place in the tabernacle. It was His throne, flanked by angels.

NRS Hebrews 9:1 Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary.  2 For a tent was constructed, the first one, in which were the lampstand, the table, and the bread of the Presence; this is called the Holy Place.  3 Behind the second curtain was a tent called the Holy of Holies.  4 In it stood the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which there were a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;  5 above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot speak now in detail.  6 Such preparations having been made, the priests go continually into the first tent to carry out their ritual duties;  7 but only the high priest goes into the second, and he but once a year, and not without taking the blood that he offers for himself and for the sins committed unintentionally by the people.  

8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the sanctuary has not yet been disclosed as long as the first tent is still standing.  9 This is a symbol of the present time, during which gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper,  10 but deal only with food and drink and various baptisms, regulations for the body imposed until the time comes to set things right.  11 But when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation),  12 he entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.  13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, with the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer, sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified,  14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God!  15 For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, because a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant.  

The writer contrasts the work of the priests under the old covenant to Christ’s work under the new covenant. Christ’s personal sacrifice brought healing to the broken relationship and eternal salvation to mankind. Christ’s tabernacle is superior to the earthly one of the old covenant. He offered a better sacrifice. Christ’s blood was superior to the blood of animals, and His sacrifice did not need to be repeated as did the sacrifices of the old covenant. Such is the argument that takes us all the way to Chapter 10 verse 18.

Verses 6-28 of chapter 9 speak of the role of the shedding of blood in the old covenant and how Jesus has offered the ultimate sacrifice in shedding His blood for our sins. Verses 27-28 speak of a final judgment that believers need not fear, because their sins have been dealt with through Christ’s death.

6 Where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established.  17 For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive.  18 Hence not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood.  19 For when every commandment had been told to all the people by Moses in accordance with the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the scroll itself and all the people,  20 saying, "This is the blood of the covenant that God has ordained for you."  21 And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship.  22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.  23 Thus it was necessary for the sketches of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves need better sacrifices than these.  24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.  25 Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own;  26 for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself.  27 And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment,  28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

The writer speaks of how a will is not enacted until a death has taken place. So the New Covenant could only come into effect once Jesus had died. Much is made of how the rituals, and even the furnishings, associated with worship, were but shadows of things that would be fulfilled through the coming of Jesus Christ into our world. The importance of blood in religious ritual is highlighted as foreshadowing of the blood sacrifice Jesus offered through His death upon the cross, something we recall around the communion table.

Finally, in this study, (which as I promised covers a lot of scripture reading!) our writer expounds on how the sacrificial system from the start was never meant to be permanent. The blood of bulls and goats was a reminder that sin exacted a deadly price. Such death and suffering never pleased God, but was meant to be a way of helping us understand both the enormity of the price sin exacted and something that pointed to us the higher goal of seeking to do the will of God.

Doing God’s will was what God truly required all along. Pursuing peace and justice was always a higher priority than covering the tracks of wrong doing. But until the past was dealt with and acknowledged as being wrong it was hare to move forward!

Now Jesus had come, and something glorious had taken place. Jesus had made a once and for all offering for sin on the cross of Calvary. The way was clear for God to write His love on our hearts as the prophets has predicted of old.  Jesus is at the right hand of God and intercedes on our behalf. Through repentance and worship and service, under this new covenant we are set free to serve!

Ultimately Jesus will have the victory. His enemies will become His footstool. Glory will go to the God to whom glory rightly belongs! God will remember sin no more and we are bid to daily live lives that are being sanctified by the work of God’s Holy Spirit.

Such is my version of the verses that follow… but for now allow the author of Hebrews to put all that in the context of the message that He is bringing to us, the message of the greatness of Jesus Christ and the superiority of His Melchizedek like Kingly/Priesthood over all that had come before!

Hebrews 10:1-18  Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered year after year, make perfect those who approach.  2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased being offered, since the worshipers, cleansed once for all, would no longer have any consciousness of sin?  3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin year after year.  4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.  5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me;  6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.  7 Then I said, 'See, God, I have come to do your will, O God' (in the scroll of the book it is written of me)."  8 When he said above, "You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law),  9 then he added, "See, I have come to do your will." He abolishes the first in order to establish the second.  10 And it is by God's will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.  11 And every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins.  12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, "he sat down at the right hand of God,"  13 and since then has been waiting "until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet."  14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.  15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying,  16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds,"  17 he also adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."  18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

Having now completed the first section of Hebrews, (the section that outlines the greatness of Jesus Christ) we will proceed to the second section which asks ‘So what does it all mean? And how can this be applied to our lives?’ I know you can hardly wait!

So till next time… God bless!