Book of Hebrews – part 2:
Last time, we began our study of the book of Hebrews. It is an epistle by an unknown Author, written to the Jewish Christians, just prior to the Roman destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. It was written to help bolster their waning faith in Christ. Why? Because He had yet to return. It was the Author’s intent to reveal the superiority of the New Covenant.
So far, we have learned about the ultimate position that Jesus possesses, sitting at His Father’s right hand in co-rulership – an exact visible expression of our invisible God, the living Messiah. And we learned of Christ’s universal status, high above all things and persons – even over Moses.
Now, we are going to focus upon Jesus’ representative status as our High Priest:
So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God.
There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Heb. 4:14 – 16. NLT
This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. Heb. 6:19, 20. NLT
While on earth, Jesus was tempted by every form of unrighteousness that Satan had to offer; yet He, and only He, out of all of history, remained sinless. Therefore, He can both empathize with the suffering that we endure when we are tempted and show us the way to resist those temptations.
We cannot, ourselves, persevere in faith in this Christ. Our physical / mental weaknesses, produced by the tug of worldly desires, must be vanquished by the formidable strength of the grace of the Son of God. And our High Priest mercifully provides.
The Author then uses a description of the Temple priest liturgies, (something the Jews would be well-versed in), to illustrate how the consequences of Christ’s death and resurrection, covers those who follow Him, with righteousness. Then, they can enter the ‘Holy of Holies’ – into the presence of Jehovah Himself:
…Christ did not honor himself by assuming he could become High Priest. No, he was chosen by God… Heb. 5:5 NLT (see also Ps. 2:7 & 110:4).
While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.
In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. And God designated him to be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. Heb. 5:7 – 10. NLT
The Father appointed the Son to be the High Priest over His children. Recall that Melchizedek was the high priest and king over Salem, during the time that God helped Abraham deliver his nephew Lot and his family from captivity.[1]
Christ too, holds the office of High Priest and King. However, His priesthood far surpasses any whoever wore that mantle before:
What I mean is, our Lord came from the tribe of Judah, and Moses never mentioned priests coming from that tribe.
This change has been made very clear since a different priest, who is like Melchizedek, has appeared. Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed. Heb. 7:14 – 16. NLT
Jesus did not inherit His priesthood through having a Levitical lineage; He was appointed and prepared for His office by God Himself – set apart from the history of the office, to be set above and superior to the earthly version. How does that help us?
Yes, the old requirement about the priesthood was set aside because it was weak and useless. For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God. Heb. 7:18, 19. NLT
This new system was established with a solemn oath. Aaron’s descendants became priests without such an oath, but there was an oath regarding Jesus. For God said to him,
“The LORD has taken an oath and will not break his vow: ‘You are a priest forever.’” Because of this oath, Jesus is the one who guarantees the better covenant with God.
There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. Therefore, he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. Heb. 7:20 – 25. NLT
But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises.
If the first covenant had been faultless, there would be no need to replace it. Heb. 8:6, 7. NLT
When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear. Heb. 8:13 NLT (See also Jer. 31:31 – 34).
God evolved the Mosaic Law, (because the people could not keep it perfectly), into His eternal salvation model – the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which, as the Son of God, brings with Him a much greater significance and authority:
So, Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. Heb. 9:11 NLT
The Author’s focus now shifts from the New Covenant to a new sanctuary. Instead of the Temple (Tabernacle), where the high priest could only enter once a year, to offer an animal sacrifice for the sins of himself and the Jewish people, that only applied for the year that had just elapsed, Christ entered the heavenly Tabernacle to offer Himself:
With his own blood – not the blood of goats and calves – he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever…For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself as a perfect sacrifice for our sins…For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of sins they committed under that first covenant. Heb. 9:12, 14 & 15. NLT
Old Testament sacrifices only cleansed one externally (the flesh). Christ cleansed the heart, proffering eternal redemption.
He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf…once for all, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice. Heb. 9:24 & 26. NLT
And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him. Heb. 9:27, 28.
If you accept Christ, your sins are dealt with for all time, as long as you remain with Him. When He comes back, He’s only coming to take you Home.[2]
Jesus went into the heavenly Most Holy Place, i.e., the throne room of God, for you. He rendered His own blood, from His one and only sacrifice, to bring you to sanctification[3]. It was the moment that Christ decimated the power of sin for all time.
The Author then tells us why all these revelations should strengthen our faith:
…we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new life – giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him.
For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Heb. 10:19 – 23. NLT
Amen.
To be continued…
Goodnight and God bless.
[1] Gn. 14
[2] Jr. 31:4
[3] Heb. 10:14