Monthly Archives: March 2025

THE GOSPEL IN HEBREWS – 6

Bible Study, ,

Since Jesus is superior to Moses as the Son over God’s household and the Old Covenant, the writer to the Hebrews warns his readers of the danger of unbelief.

Hebrews 3:12-13 NLT
[12] “Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. [13] You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.”

During their journey through the wilderness, the children of Israel repeatedly tested God’s patience by complaining against their hardships…hunger and thirst for example, despite the miracles He did for them.

“Don’t be like them! Through their unbelief, they failed to enter the rest God promised them in the Promised Land.”

Hebrews 4:1-2 NLT
[1] “God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. [2] For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God.”

There is an even greater rest for those who are faithful in suffering…the rest of faith in Jesus that frees us from the hard work of trying to earn our salvation.

Hebrews 3:14 NLT
[14]”For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.”

The Israelites who rebelled against God never saw the Promised Land. They died in the desert, leaving behind the next generation that entered Canaan and took possession of the land God gave them. However, what the Israelites failed to understand was that their new life in the Promised Land was to be a life of faith in God and obedience to His commands. They would have rest from their enemies around them and from the struggles of life through their faithfulness to God and in His care.

The Israelites rested from the hard work of travel and war, only to suffer punishment because they failed to trust God. There is an even greater rest for those who believe in Jesus, a rest from the ravages of sin and unbelief.

Hebrews 4:6-7, 9-10 NLT
[6] “So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God. [7] So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts…”
[9] So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. [10] For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world.”

So, the writer urges his readers, “If you go back to Judaism, you will never enter the rest of faith in Jesus.” God’s rest is a rest of heart and conscience from the penalty and power of sin. Don’t miss it through unbelief in God’s Word.

Hebrews 4:11-13 NLT
[11] “So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall.
[12] For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. [13] Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.”

As the Israelites of old, we cannot dodge the scrutiny of God’s Word. God sees and knows the depth of the human heart. He knows when there is unbelief in our hearts that refuses to obey Him. He responds to those who truly believe His Word and trust in the one He sent to deal with our sin.

As David prayed…

Psalms 139:23-24 NLT
[23] “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. [24] Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”

… let us, also, willingly invite the Father’s scrutiny of our innermost being. Then we will enter His rest, escape the penalty of our sin, and enjoy all the benefits He has promised us in Jesus, the author and finisher of our salvation.

To be continued…

THE GOSPEL IN HEBREWS – 5

Bible Study,

Hebrews 3:1-3, 5-6 NLT
[1] “And so, dear brothers and sisters who belong to God and are partners with those called to heaven, think carefully about this Jesus whom we declare to be God’s messenger and High Priest. [2] For he was faithful to God, who appointed him, just as Moses served faithfully when he was entrusted with God’s entire house. [3] But Jesus deserves far more glory than Moses, just as a person who builds a house deserves more praise than the house itself…
[5] Moses was certainly faithful in God’s house as a servant. His work was an illustration of the truths God would reveal later. [6] But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.”

Jesus or Moses? Which one do we trust? Which one is greater? Which one should have precedence over the other?

This was an issue for Jewish believers. They were taught from early childhood to revere Moses and obey what he instructed. Children learned to recite his writings from memory and apply them by tying them to their heads and hands.

Then, there were people who told them that someone greater than Moses had come to fulfill and overwrite Moses’ laws by new commandments. Who were they to follow?

Some followed Jesus but suffered serious consequences. They became part of the hated and persecuted people of “the Way”. Others followed for a while but the cost was too great, so they contemplated retreating back into Judaism, not realising the consequences of the backward step they were choosing to take.

What, then is the real issue? Is there a fair contest between Moses and Jesus?

Our writer lays out the contrast. Moses was a servant in God’s house.

Hebrews 3:5 NLT
[5] “Moses was certainly faithful in God’s house as a servant. His work was an illustration of the truths God would reveal later.”

He served the Lord and His people faithfully as the prophet and mediator between God and Israel. God instructed Moses, and Moses, in turn, instructed the people. God gave Moses the terms of the covenant and the plan of the tabernacle and its worship, and Moses related every detail to the people. The people failed God, and Moses stood in the gap to plead for mercy on their behalf. Moses lost his temper because of their stubborn unbelief, and he took the rap for his failure because of them.

Jesus was not a servant but a son.

Hebrews 3:6 NLT
[6] “But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.”

In the house of Israel, God (the Lord, Jesus) was in charge. Moses was the servant. In the God’s house, His church, (His people expanded to include all people of all nations), again, Jesus is in charge. Which one is greater, servant or son?

Now, the real problem for those who had retreated into Judaism was that they did not understand that they had not only stepped back under Moses’ leadership but they had also gone back into a system that never worked for Israel and…by going back, they had burnt their bridges behind them.

Going back meant that they would lose their salvation from sin, the righteousness of Jesus imputed to them, the everlasting life promised to them through Jesus’ death and resurrection, and all the present and future benefits of life in God’s forever family in fellowship with the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and all God’s redeemed people.

Was it worth it?

To be continued…

THE GOSPEL IN HEBREWS – 4

Bible Study, ,

The writer to the Hebrews has given us an overview of the Father’s plan in chapter 2, for redeemed humans to reign with Jesus forever. Jesus is the head and blueprint of this human family. He became a man and qualified to be an atoning sacrifice for our sin by His perfect obedience to the Father.

Hebrews 2:9-11, 14-15 NIV
[9 “But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. [10] In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. [11] Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters…

[14] Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— [15] and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”

The writer now begins to unpack the salvation, pictured in the Old Covenant, that prepares His sons and daughters to reign with Jesus.

Step one…Jesus had to be fully human both to qualify as an acceptable sacrifice to pay sin’s debt, and a suitable high priest to support us in our times of weakness and temptation.

Hebrews 2:14, 16-18 NIV
[14] Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—…
[16] For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. [17] For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. [18] Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

The writer affirms Jesus’ true humanity as did John in his first letter. (To deny that Jesus was not human is the spirit of antichrist – 1 John 4:2-3). If Jesus was not truly human like us, He would not be qualified to atone for our sin. The animal sacrifices of the Old Covenant, as the writer will go on to explain, have no power to deal with sin and our sin nature. They can only cover ceremonial transgressions. Only the blood of a perfect human can atone for sin.

(How important this is when we consider what other religions offer! Every other religion depends on self-help which can never deal with sin and a guilty conscience. God alone can forgive sin on the basis of the full payment of our debt by a perfect sacrifice).

Step two…Jesus had to suffer to test and prove His perfect obedience to the Father.

Hebrews 2:10 NIV
[10] “In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.”

Hebrews 5:8-9 NIV
[8] “Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered [9] and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him… “

What was the nature of Jesus’ suffering? Was it the suffering of leaving heaven and the Father to live a human life on a fallen planet? Was it the excruciating physical agony of the cross event?

We find the answer in Isaiah’s prophecy and the affirmation in the prologue to John’s gospel.

Isaiah 53:3 NIV
[3] “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain (Hebrew – “choli”, meaning sickness or grief). Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.”

John 1:11 NIV
[11]”He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”

Rejection… The worst that any human can do to another. The Hebrew word for reject… “chadel”, means lacking or vacant. Empty, unoccupied…imagine calling someone “vacant”! The very people He loved, chose, nurtured, protected and gave a land flowing with milk and honey, rejected Him and eventually killed Him.

Our writer also included the suffering of temptation. How did Jesus suffer through being tempted? The gospel reveals the suffering He experienced when He was tempted to give up and go home.

He was tempted in the wilderness to disobey the Father by acting on His own instead of in union with the Father’s will. He countered the test with, “It is written…”

The pressure of His impending death could have turned Him from obeying the Father…

John 12:23-24, 27 NIV
[23] “Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. [24] Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds…
[27] “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.”

Just moments before His arrest and hours before His death, He agonised over the coming horror.

Mark 14:33-36 NIV
[33]”He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. [34] “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” [35] Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. [36] “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

How did Jesus respond to the suffering to which His Father subjected Him?

Isaiah 53:10 NIV
[10] “Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer… “

1 Peter 2:23 NIV
[23] “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”

No anger, bitterness, hatred, resentment, revenge…only mercy and forgiveness…

Naked, bleeding, nailed to a Roman torture stake for no crime but being the Son of God, He cried out…

Luke 23:34 NIV
[34]… “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.”

Did Jesus qualify to be God’s perfect sacrificial Lamb to take away the sins of the world? Was He really human? Was He obedient to the Father to His last drop of blood and His final breath?

Scripture heartily affirms and endorses His qualification as does the entire heavenly host.

Revelation 5:2-3, 6-10 NIV
[2] “And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” [3] But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it…
[6] Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. [7] He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. [8] And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. [9] And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. [10] You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

To those who were contemplating a return to the old system of animal sacrifices, the writer to the Hebrews pleads, “Don’t do it!” No money or animal blood can forgive sin, restore us to the Father, and rescue us from eternal damnation. Only the blood of Jesus, a lamb without spot or blemish, can atone for and forgive sin, make us clean, righteous, and acceptable to the Father, and deliver us from the penalty, power, and eventually, the presence of sin.

1 Peter 1:18-19 NIV
[18] “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, [19] but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”

To be continued…

THE GOSPEL IN HEBREWS – 3

Bible Study, ,

Hebrews 2:5-8 NIV
[5] “It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. [6] But there is a place where someone has testified: “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, a son of man that you care for him? [7] You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor [8] and put everything under their feet.” In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them.”

Although angels have a role to play in God’s realm, God has not assigned to them the place that only humans have in His scheme of things.

God created the human species to replace the “sons of God”, the spirit beings that formed His divine council. These beings were called “gods” who were given power and authority to rule the nations under and for God. Instead of representing God, they rebelled and came under divine judgment.

God designated Jesus, in His humanity, qualified by His death and resurrection, to be the supreme Lord. The Father has assigned to Him all authority and power to be the head and blueprint of the Father’s human family. Jesus shares the role of son with His redeemed people…

Hebrews 2:9 NIV
[9] “But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”

… so that humans, created in God’s image, will fulfill God’s creation mandate to rule.

Hebrews 2:5-8 NIV
[5] “It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. [6] But there is a place where someone has testified: “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, a son of man that you care for him? [7] You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor [8] and put everything under their feet.” In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them.”

So, the writer explains, it is to humans, not to angels, that God has assigned authority to rule. Jesus heads that race and prepares His human family in this life to rule with Him in eternity. In this sense, although humans are “lower” than gods (angels) now, they will take their place beside the Son to rule the earth.

Jesus Himself affirms this relationship of sons and daughters of God, His own brothers and sisters who identify with Him in His death and resurrection.

Hebrews 2:10-13 NLT
[10] “God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory. And it was only right that he should make Jesus, through his suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation. [11] So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. [12] For he said to God, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters. I will praise you among your assembled people.” [13] He also said, “I will put my trust in him,” that is, “I and the children God has given me.”

Immediately after His resurrection, he instructed Mary to tell His brothers that He had risen from the dead and was soon to return to the Father.

John 20:17 NLT
[17] “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

The Father has assigned to Jesus and His brothers and sisters, in this close family relationship, the authority to rule over the nations.

Consider Daniel’s prophecy…

Daniel 7:13-14, 27 NLT
[13] As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. [14] He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed…”

Rulers will rise and fall until, in God’s time,

[27]”…Then the sovereignty, power, and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be given to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will last forever, and all rulers will serve and obey him.”

In this way, God will fulfill His mandate for the human race. Confirmed in righteousness and under the authority of their Head, Jesus, the divine-human Son of God, redeemed humans will rule over the nations in God’s kingdom forever.

When we understand the destiny of God’s people in this context, we will read the story of Israel in the Old Covenant with greater appreciation. Despite the sinfulness and failure of God’s people to carry out His instructions, He persevered with His plan. He was preparing a holy people for their eternal role as rulers of the nations.

The story of the New Covenant, then, is part two in the execution of His plan. Without part one, part two makes no sense. It’s this writer to the Hebrews who puts together the pieces of the puzzle to reveal God’s perspective of the bigger picture.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth and prepared and populated it with creatures and humans. He spent centuries undoing the damage the fallen angel, Lucifer, did by luring humans away from loving and trusting their Creator. God gave His own Son to redeem humans from their self-destruction and to restore His image in them.

Never did the Father abandon His original plan. Through His wisdom, grace and mercy, He fulfilled His purpose, rescued His chosen family, and set them on course to complete what He started.

Through salvation and transformation, He is gathering His family in until the time is ripe for Jesus to return to set up His kingdom on earth. God’s plan will be complete.

Revelation 21:1-4 NIV
[1] Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. [2] I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. [3] And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. [4] ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Revelation 22:3-5 NIV
[3] “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. [4] They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. [5] There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.”

Mission accomplished!

To be continued…

THE GOSPEL IN HEBREWS – 2

Bible Study, ,

The writer to the Hebrews set out to present evidence that Jesus is superior to the Old Covenant in every way. The worship system of priests and sacrifice was God’s method to prepare Israel for His Messiah’s coming. Jesus, God’s Son, would fulfill and replace all the rules and rituals of the Old Covenant.

His readers needed to be convinced of Jesus’ superiority over Judaism to halt any idea that obedience to the Old Covenant and its demands would satisfy God’s requirements for holiness.

The writer first presents Jesus as superior to angels.

Meta AI explains…

“Hebrews 1:6 and the surrounding context don’t explicitly state that Israel worshiped angels. However, the passage does mention the worship of angels as a potential issue.”…

“Hebrews 1:6 says, “And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship him.'” (NIV)

“This verse doesn’t imply that Israel worshiped angels. Instead, it emphasizes that even angels are commanded to worship Jesus, highlighting His superiority.

“It’s possible that the author of Hebrews is addressing a potential issue in the early Christian community, where some individuals may have been tempted to worship or venerate angels (Colossians 2:18). However, this is not explicitly stated in Hebrews 1.

“Hebrews 1:6 does not provide evidence that Israel worshiped angels. Instead, it emphasizes the superiority of Jesus Christ and the command for angels to worship Him.” (Meta AI)

The writer’s presentation sets the scene to present Jesus’ superiority over the entire Old Covenant, the role of Moses, the Law, the tabernacle/temple worship, and the sacrifices which could never be a permanent solution to the problem of sin. Therefore, the writer urges, to go back to Judaism would cancel God’s acceptance of sinners through Jesus and put them back under divine judgment.

The writer first warns them, in case they were tempted, to revere Jesus above angels because He is superior to them as a son above servants.

Hebrews 1:7-8, 14 NIV
[7] “In speaking of the angels, he says, “He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire.” [8] But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom…
[14] Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?”

Jesus is as superior to angels as the Creator is above creatures, as God above serving spirits.

To be continued…