Our High Priest grants full access because His sacrifice is fully effective!

The writer of Hebrews strengthens his case that it would be foolish to turn away from Jesus and back to Judaism. Chapter 9 strikes at the core of Judaism by showing the inadequacy of the old system because of limited access and limited effectiveness. Warren Wiersbe, Hebrews 9 presents a detailed contrast between the Old Covenant sanctuary (the tabernacle) and the New Covenant heavenly sanctuary where Jesus Christ now ministers. This contrast makes it clear that the New Covenant sanctuary is superior.

Much can be learned about God through a study of the sanctuary. William Barclay, If all the loveliness of the tabernacle was only a shadow of reality, how surpassingly lovely the reality must be. He does not describe the tabernacle in detail; he only alludes to some of its treasures. This was all he needed to do because his readers knew its glories and had them fixed in their memories. But, we must keep in mind that this earthly structure is only a type of the heavenly structure. One can’t look at the earthly sanctuary without realizing the separateness of God from His creatures because of His holiness.

It is hard to miss that God is great and access to His presence was limited. Let’s examine the sanctuary in view of its access. It was separated into two rooms. The first is called the Holy Place and only priests had access. The second is the Most Holy Place (Holy of Holies) where only the high priest could enter only once per year on the Day of Atonement. Raymond Brown, The very presence of that outer tent symbolized the restricted way and limited ministry of the old covenant. A heavy curtain kept ordinary priests out of the inner sanctuary. This arrangement would certainly have to be changed to something better if the access was to be made available to all.

Secondly, the regulations for worship were limited in effectiveness. The focus of the old system was on externals. Thomas Constable, The Old Covenant system of worship did not meet the deepest need of God’s people, namely, intimate personal relationship with God. The nation of Israel yearned for the Day of Atonement in hope of cleansing and a right relationship with God. The high priest would enter the Holy of Holies with an offering for himself and one for the unintentional sins of the people.

But what about intentional sins? The old system had no way for forgiveness. There was no way to have a clear conscience before the Holy God of Israel. Consider King David who had premeditated sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah. There was no remedy in the Old Covenant. R. Kent Hughes, What could he do? Only one thing—come to God with a contrite heart and throw himself on God’s mercy: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:17). . . Thus, we see that the spiritually informed in the Old Testament came to understand that their only hope was a repentant heart and God’s grace. Ultimately, salvation rested on the blood of Christ.

On the day of Jesus’ crucifixion, limited access and limited effectiveness were swallowed up by grace. The veil to the Holy of Holies was ripped in two from top to bottom with access for all who place faith in Christ alone. Hebrews 10:19-20, Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh.

The promise of Jesus to send the Holy Spirit to reside in every believer assures intimacy with God because cleansing takes places from the inside out. Ray Stedman, Those who today try to earn a sense of being pleasing to God by good behavior need to hear this lesson. Never knowing when they have done enough, they feel troubled and restive without any heart-peace and thus are often driven to extreme measures of self-punishment and despair. They need to cease from their efforts and trust in Christ’s completed work.

Why turn back to Egypt from the Promised Land? Why turn back from a personal relationship with God to a system that couldn’t reach the heart? Raymond Brown, Hebrews reminds us repeatedly of the assurance of pardon. God’s people enjoy the privilege of undeserved remission and eternal security. Their sins are remembered no more and their names are enrolled in heaven. This is the staggering message of a better hope, of a new covenant and an eternal redemption.

I encourage you to join the study of Hebrews under the Books of the Bible tab. We have a better priest and better promises. We are blessed! We should never take for granted the wondrous work of Jesus our High Priest.

A New High Priest and a New Covenant - Wow!

The writer of Hebrews continues his emphasis on the superior priesthood of Jesus. In chapter 8, his focus is on the foundation of Jesus’ superior priesthood which is a superior covenant proclaimed in Jeremiah 31:31-34. Take a moment to savor this most precious passage, “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

The New Covenant is much superior to the Mosaic Covenant because it is based on grace not works. The old covenant was tied to obedience but was not able to effect a change in the hearts of people. The New Covenant can change hearts because God’s promises are unilateral. God effects change through the finished work of His Son, our great Savior and High Priest.

The promises are almost too good to be true but they are! They work on the inside instead of the outside. They empower the people of God to live like people of God. Carefully consider the better promises of the New Covenant revealed by Jeremiah:

• An inner desire to obey God - Charles Spurgeon, Is it not a wonderful thing that God shall ever make it as natural for us to be holy as once it was natural for us to be unholy, and that then we shall find it as much a joy to serve Him as once we thought it a pleasure not to serve Him, when, indeed, to deny ourselves shall cease to be self-denial?

• A personal relationship with God - Donald Hagner, The law is internalized, and a new intimacy of relationship between God and his people becomes possible.

• A personal knowledge of God - Douglas Mangum, No longer would any of God’s people need to seek out an expert or someone from an elite class of society to experience intimate, personal knowledge of God. All from the least to the greatest are able to know him.

• Forgiveness of sins - Ray Stedman, Any sin called to our attention by our conscience needs only to be acknowledged to be set aside. Provision for God to do so justly rests on the death of Christ on our behalf, not on our sense of regret or our promise to do better.

These are wonderful promises made by God to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. Some believe the New Covenant is not for the Church while others believe the Church is spiritual Israel. I believe Warren Wiersbe rightly declares that the New Covenant is for Jew and Gentile, All who are "in Christ" share in the New Covenant which was purchased on the cross. Today the blessings of the New Covenant are applied to individuals. When Jesus comes in glory to redeem Israel, then the blessings of the New Covenant will be applied to that beleaguered nation.

Jewish Christians were starting to wonder if Jesus Christ was worth the threat of persecution, why not turn back to Judaism and the Mosaic Covenant? The writer forcefully declared that the New Covenant is worth it. Jesus, the superior High priest of the New Covenant, alone can take one beyond religion and into personal relationship with the living God. Amazing promises were made by God and they are being experienced every day by those who have placed faith in Christ alone.

I encourage you to join the study of Hebrews under the Books of the Bible tab. We have a better priest and better promises. We are blessed!

What a Priest - Perfect Intercessor and Sacrifice!

The writer of Hebrews was concerned that the readers were not ready for deeper truths of the faith. In chapter 5, he warned them not to be satisfied with milk when they should be eating meat. He mentioned Melchizedek but chose to wait until chapter 7 to explain his importance. This is passage reveals the beauty, the majesty, the all sufficiency of Jesus as our High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. Here, we see the importance of Melchizedek as one who helps us more fully understand the greatness of Jesus our Savior Who is beyond compare.

We all need to savor the majesty of Jesus. The more we understand Him, the less likely we will turn away. When many think of Jesus, they think of the cross which is such an important place. But, Hebrews 7 gives us a picture of our Savior from eternity past to eternity future. Too many people are not secure in their faith because they are not certain Jesus can do what He says. Read chapter 7 and see that Who Jesus is determines what He can do!

I encourage you to prayerfully dig into chapter 7. For now, I will focus on the last 3 verses, 26, For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27, He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. 28, For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever. The force of these verses is that Jesus, our High Priest, has a superior sacrifice because it is based on His person, it was the sacrifice of Himself, and His priesthood was based on an oath.

We should revel in Jesus’ nature. R. Kent Hughes, . . . it seems that the author stands back in awe as he celebrates the superior character of Christ the high priest. He is holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens. The word for holy means devout in contrast to another word translated holy which means set apart. Innocent means literally, without evil. Unstained means pure in a religious and moral sense. William L. Lane, Taken together, these three adjectives describe the sinlessness of the high priest . . . In contrast to the Levitical high priest, of whom there was demanded only ritual purity (Lev 21:11) and bodily integrity (Lev 21:17).

The writer continues by describing Jesus as separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. Separated from sinners can mean the contrast between mankind’s sinfulness and Jesus’ sinlessness. Some believe it is tied to exalted above the heaven. William L. Lane, . . . his actual entrance before the divine presence, where he accomplishes the ministry of intercession. That is a beautiful separation since our High Priest is at the right hand of the Majesty on high, always concerned about those who place faith in Him alone.

Because of Jesus’ sinless nature, He not only represents us before God but was our sacrifice. Levitical priests had to offer daily sacrifices for their sins but for Jesus there was no need. In addition, Jesus’ sacrifice was once for all time. Hebrews 9:12, he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. Raymond Brown, Jesus was not only the perfect priest; he was the perfect sacrifice. In this letter Christ is priest, sacrifice, altar and even the ‘curtain' which was rent on that first Good Friday so that everyone might have direct access to God.

Jesus’ sacrifice is superior because it is based on God’s oath. Zane Hodges, Thus the Law appointed as high priests those who were weak, but the oath, which came after the Law, appointed this kind of Priest. Accordingly the readers could go to Him at all times, fully confident of His capacity to serve their every need. Ray Stedman, Such then is our Melchizedek, God’s provision for help in our daily life, incomparable in greatness, inexhaustible in resource, infinite in patience, infallible in wisdom and interested in all that concerns us.

I encourage you to join the study of Hebrews 7 under the Books of the Bible tab. Who He is determines what He can do!