Chapter summary:
The writer reminds his readers that every element of the Mosaic Covenant had special significance, for it reflected realities in heaven (9:1-5). But the most significant act of all was performed on the Day of Atonement. Then the high priest entered the inner room of the tabernacle, the most holy place, carrying the blood of an atoning sacrifice (vv. 6-7). The curtain separating this inner room symbolized the fact that under Mosaic Law no one had direct access into God's presence (vv. 8-10).
But our High Priest, Jesus, entered heaven itself, bearing His own blood. By His sacrifice he obtained eternal salvation for us (vv. 11-14). Christ is thus mediator of a New Covenant, activated by His death. This is in fact the significance of Old Testament sacrifices: in cleansing earthly things they symbolize the cleansing Jesus has won for us (vv. 15-22). Animal sacrifices were sufficient for earthly copies, but Christ alone could enter heaven and then with His own blood. When He did He put away our sin once for all, all by the one sufficient and awesome sacrifice of Himself (vv. 23-28).
The believer’s application: Have confidence that what Jesus did is enough!
INSIGHT
“Sacrifice”: The offering of sacrifices was practiced throughout the ancient world, being viewed as food for the gods. In the Old Testament, however, blood sacrifices were not viewed as food. The significance lay in the blood of sacrifice for, as Leviticus 17:11 says, "I have given it [the blood] to you to make atonement for yourselves." In essence sacrifice throughout sacred history has graphically indicated that sin deserves death, but that God will accept the death of a substitute in place of the life of the sinner.
Christ's sacrifice alone was capable of cleansing a lost humanity so that we might have access to heaven itself and stand before a holy God. The teaching of this great section of Hebrews is that Jesus' one sacrifice cleanses our conscience (9:14), does away with sin (v. 26), perfects believers, provides a perfect forgiveness (10:11-18), and makes all other sacrifices irrelevant. The Old Testament Age truly is past. A new and far better age has dawned.
“Approaching God” (9:8):
The O.T. system permitted the Israelites to come close, but not pull aside the last veil and enter God's presence. What a stunning difference in our relationship with God through Jesus. Through Him "we may approach God with freedom and confidence" (Ephesians 3:12; Hebrews 4:16).
“Cleansed from acts that lead to death” (9:14):
The O.T. sacrifices worked externally. Christ's sacrifice works internally. With a cleansed conscience we are no longer bound by guilt to our past. We are no longer overwhelmed with a sense of our inadequacy. Our past sins are gone, and we are released to serve God.
"Forgiveness" (9:22):
Forgiveness in Scripture is never a cheap, "Oh, forget it," that simply shrugs off sin. Forgiveness is expensive, purchased at the price of blood. The O.T. sacrifices revealed how forgiveness would be obtained. But only the blood of Jesus shed on the cross for us was sufficient to pay sin's penalty. How awesome that Jesus was willing to die that you and I might be forgiven.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Keys of Truth: Hebrews (Chapter 8)
Chapter summary:
Aaronic priests ministered on earth, in a sanctuary which was a copy and shadow of heavenly realities. Our High Priest, Jesus, ministers in heaven itself (8:1-6). The superiority of Christ's ministry is further reflected in the superiority of the covenant which governs it. The old Mosaic Covenant was flawed. The Old Testament itself predicts its replacement by a New Covenant (vv. 7-9). Under the New Covenant that replaces the old, God promises to "put My laws in their minds and write them on their hearts." Under the New Covenant believers will truly come to know God, will be forgiven for all their sins, and will be transformed from within (8:10-13).
The believer's application: God has relegated Mosaic Law to history in order to make us righteous through faith.
INSIGHT: (8:1-7). The priests who offered sacrifices under the Mosaic Covenant acted out on earth what Christ would one day do in heaven itself. Services held in the earthly tabernacle and temple were like shadows cast on a sheet: they reflected the reality hidden behind it, but did so imperfectly. Rightly understood, everything in O.T. faith and worship portrays and was intended to prepare Israel for the revelation of heavenly realities in Jesus Christ.
"The first, flawed covenant" (8:7). The writer argues the very prediction in Jer. 31:31-34 of a "New" Covenant to replace the one given through Moses, proves the first was flawed. The writings of Paul have many analyses of the flaws in Mosaic Law. Essentially, what Law could not do was to transform the believer from within, so that righteousness was "written on the heart."
"Contrasting covenants" (8:8-12). The Mosaic Covenant, or Law Covenant, differed from other biblical covenants. The others announced what God intended to do, irrespective of what men might do. The Mosaic Covenant announced what God would do if the Israelites obeyed and what He would do if the Israelites disobeyed. The weakness of that covenant lay not in God's ability to do His part, but in man's inability to live an obedient life.
The New Covenant is not like the Mosaic (v. 9) in that New Covenant promises are unconditional.
The three unconditional promises in Jeremiah Chapter 31 are:
1) God will transform believers from within, planting His Law on our hearts and minds.
2) He will establish an unbreakable relationship which will make Him "our" God and us "His" people.
3) And God will "forgive... and remember their sins no more" (v. 12).
The New Covenant Jeremiah predicted was instituted by the death of Christ. So in Christ all three New Covenant promises are our present possession, guaranteed by God Himself.
"Remember" (8:12). The word means more than recall. It means to "act in accordance with" what is remembered. Not to remember sins means God will not punish them.
Aaronic priests ministered on earth, in a sanctuary which was a copy and shadow of heavenly realities. Our High Priest, Jesus, ministers in heaven itself (8:1-6). The superiority of Christ's ministry is further reflected in the superiority of the covenant which governs it. The old Mosaic Covenant was flawed. The Old Testament itself predicts its replacement by a New Covenant (vv. 7-9). Under the New Covenant that replaces the old, God promises to "put My laws in their minds and write them on their hearts." Under the New Covenant believers will truly come to know God, will be forgiven for all their sins, and will be transformed from within (8:10-13).
The believer's application: God has relegated Mosaic Law to history in order to make us righteous through faith.
INSIGHT: (8:1-7). The priests who offered sacrifices under the Mosaic Covenant acted out on earth what Christ would one day do in heaven itself. Services held in the earthly tabernacle and temple were like shadows cast on a sheet: they reflected the reality hidden behind it, but did so imperfectly. Rightly understood, everything in O.T. faith and worship portrays and was intended to prepare Israel for the revelation of heavenly realities in Jesus Christ.
"The first, flawed covenant" (8:7). The writer argues the very prediction in Jer. 31:31-34 of a "New" Covenant to replace the one given through Moses, proves the first was flawed. The writings of Paul have many analyses of the flaws in Mosaic Law. Essentially, what Law could not do was to transform the believer from within, so that righteousness was "written on the heart."
"Contrasting covenants" (8:8-12). The Mosaic Covenant, or Law Covenant, differed from other biblical covenants. The others announced what God intended to do, irrespective of what men might do. The Mosaic Covenant announced what God would do if the Israelites obeyed and what He would do if the Israelites disobeyed. The weakness of that covenant lay not in God's ability to do His part, but in man's inability to live an obedient life.
The New Covenant is not like the Mosaic (v. 9) in that New Covenant promises are unconditional.
The three unconditional promises in Jeremiah Chapter 31 are:
1) God will transform believers from within, planting His Law on our hearts and minds.
2) He will establish an unbreakable relationship which will make Him "our" God and us "His" people.
3) And God will "forgive... and remember their sins no more" (v. 12).
The New Covenant Jeremiah predicted was instituted by the death of Christ. So in Christ all three New Covenant promises are our present possession, guaranteed by God Himself.
"Remember" (8:12). The word means more than recall. It means to "act in accordance with" what is remembered. Not to remember sins means God will not punish them.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Hebrews Chapter 7 (Insight)
Chapter summary:
The writer now emphasizes the fact that Jesus' priesthood does not derive from Aaron but from Melchizedek. Melchizedek appears briefly in sacred history, as king of Salem, later called Jerusalem, and as a priest. He blessed Abraham after the patriarch's victory over invading kings, and Abraham gave him a tithe of the plunder (Genesis 14). From this brief account the writer of Hebrews establishes two things: as the greater blesses the lesser, Melchizedek was greater than Abraham. And as Aaron was, in a sense, present in his great-grandfather Abraham, Aaron paid tithes to Melchizedek and thus acknowledged the superiority of his priesthood (Hebrews 7:1-10).
As the psalmist quotes God ordaining someone as a "priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek," it is clear that God always intended to make a change in the Aaronic priesthood. And such a change requires a change in the whole system of Mosaic Law of which that priesthood was a part (vv. 11-19).
How is Jesus' priesthood better?
It is "forever," and thus rests on a better covenant (vv. 20-22). It is permanent, for Jesus lives and thus can save us completely (vv. 23-25). And it meets our every need, for by the one sacrifice of Himself this High Priest settled forever the issue of our sins (vv. 26-28).
The believer’s application: Jesus guarantees our salvation.
INSIGHT
"A priest forever" (7:3).
The writer uses a typical rabbinical argument, based on the fact that neither Melchizedek's birth or death are recorded. Thus in Scripture he is a "timeless" figure, an appropriate type of Jesus, who because of His endless life remains a "Priest forever." Some have taken this verse as evidence that Melchizedek was a theophany—a preincarnate appearance of Christ. It is better to take him, as the text here does, simply as a type of Christ.
"A change of law" (7:12).
The writer's point is that "law" is a linked system. There are commands and obligations, a tabernacle where God can be approached, a priesthood and sacrifices to restore fellowship when men sin, and so on. If we change any part of that system, we affect its other elements as well. Thus the O.T. prediction of a change from an Aaronic to a Melchizedekian priesthood implied from ancient times that God intended to replace the whole Mosaic system. And this implied that that system was flawed: It could not make men perfect, for if it could have, it would not have to be replaced. Christ's ordination as a priest "after the order of Melchizedek" shows that the old Mosaic system has been replaced—by something much better!
"Guarantee" (7:22).
The Greek word "engyos" is found only here in the New Testament. It is a legal term which identifies a bond or collateral. It means that the signer of the guarantee pledged his resources as security for the commitment he made. The writer reminds us that Jesus is the living guarantee that the forgiveness God offers us under the New Covenant will surely be ours.
"Jesus lives forever" (7:24-25).
The high priest represents his people before God. As an ever-living High Priest, Jesus is always available to represent us and thus "He is able to save completely."
The writer now emphasizes the fact that Jesus' priesthood does not derive from Aaron but from Melchizedek. Melchizedek appears briefly in sacred history, as king of Salem, later called Jerusalem, and as a priest. He blessed Abraham after the patriarch's victory over invading kings, and Abraham gave him a tithe of the plunder (Genesis 14). From this brief account the writer of Hebrews establishes two things: as the greater blesses the lesser, Melchizedek was greater than Abraham. And as Aaron was, in a sense, present in his great-grandfather Abraham, Aaron paid tithes to Melchizedek and thus acknowledged the superiority of his priesthood (Hebrews 7:1-10).
As the psalmist quotes God ordaining someone as a "priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek," it is clear that God always intended to make a change in the Aaronic priesthood. And such a change requires a change in the whole system of Mosaic Law of which that priesthood was a part (vv. 11-19).
How is Jesus' priesthood better?
It is "forever," and thus rests on a better covenant (vv. 20-22). It is permanent, for Jesus lives and thus can save us completely (vv. 23-25). And it meets our every need, for by the one sacrifice of Himself this High Priest settled forever the issue of our sins (vv. 26-28).
The believer’s application: Jesus guarantees our salvation.
INSIGHT
"A priest forever" (7:3).
The writer uses a typical rabbinical argument, based on the fact that neither Melchizedek's birth or death are recorded. Thus in Scripture he is a "timeless" figure, an appropriate type of Jesus, who because of His endless life remains a "Priest forever." Some have taken this verse as evidence that Melchizedek was a theophany—a preincarnate appearance of Christ. It is better to take him, as the text here does, simply as a type of Christ.
"A change of law" (7:12).
The writer's point is that "law" is a linked system. There are commands and obligations, a tabernacle where God can be approached, a priesthood and sacrifices to restore fellowship when men sin, and so on. If we change any part of that system, we affect its other elements as well. Thus the O.T. prediction of a change from an Aaronic to a Melchizedekian priesthood implied from ancient times that God intended to replace the whole Mosaic system. And this implied that that system was flawed: It could not make men perfect, for if it could have, it would not have to be replaced. Christ's ordination as a priest "after the order of Melchizedek" shows that the old Mosaic system has been replaced—by something much better!
"Guarantee" (7:22).
The Greek word "engyos" is found only here in the New Testament. It is a legal term which identifies a bond or collateral. It means that the signer of the guarantee pledged his resources as security for the commitment he made. The writer reminds us that Jesus is the living guarantee that the forgiveness God offers us under the New Covenant will surely be ours.
"Jesus lives forever" (7:24-25).
The high priest represents his people before God. As an ever-living High Priest, Jesus is always available to represent us and thus "He is able to save completely."
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