Tag Archives: throne

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…

A Better Sanctuary

Bible Study, , ,

A BETTER SANCTUARY

Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being. Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. If He were on earth, He would not be a priest for there were already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. (Heb. 8: 1-4).

Having established by a careful argument, that Jesus is a superior high priest to the Levitical priests by virtue of His sinless nature and His indestructible life, the writer now moves to the work of this high priest. He does not serve in the earthly tabernacle which is only a picture of the true tabernacle in heaven but in the heavenly sanctuary.

The phrase, “He sat down” has far more significance than that Jesus merely sat next to His Father. The work of the Levitical priesthood was never complete. There were no chairs in the tabernacle. When priests had finished ministering in the Holy Place, tending the lamp, offering incense on the golden altar and replacing the bread once a week on the altar of Showbread, they left the tabernacle because there was no place for them to rest.

Likewise in the outer court there were no chairs. Their work of offering sacrifices was never complete. They had to offer the morning and evening sacrifices as well as those prescribed for every person and situation in the camp. There was no time or occasion to rest. Only when the high priest had sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat on the Day of Atonement and had returned to the outer court did he sit down, signifying that God had accepted the sacrifice offered for the sin of the people for another year.

Jesus sat down at the right hand of God in heaven by invitation and because His work was complete.

The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet’ (Psa. 110:1).

There was special significance in sitting at the right hand of the one who had high rank.  The “right hand” is traditionally the strong hand.  To sit at the right hand of a king was to be given equal authority, equal dignity and equal honour with the reigning monarch.

“The term “God’s right hand” in prophecy refers to the Messiah who is given power and authority to subdue His enemies (Psa. 110: 1; Psa. 118: 16). . . The fact that Jesus Christ is at “the right hand Of God” was a sign to the disciples that Jesus had indeed gone to heaven.”  http://www.gotquestions.org/right-hand-God.html

After the Lord had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and He sat at the right hand of God (Mark 16: 19).

To sit down at God’s right hand meant that Jesus was the Messiah as He claimed; His   once-for-all sacrifice for sin had been accepted; His work was complete; He was given equal authority with God to reign over His enemies. He was, therefore, the true, legitimate and permanent high priest over the house of Israel.

But, as high priest, He had to have a sacrifice to offer. Since His priesthood was superior to that of the Levitical priests, His sacrifice had to be a better sacrifice than those of the Levitical priests. In what way? Better than the blood of animals which could only cover but not remove sin. Better than the blood of animals because they had to be offered over and over again.

His sacrifice had to be the blood of a sinless man and therefore able to remove sin once for all. Did Jesus qualify? Since He was not a priest in the order of Levi but in the order of Melchizedek, He did not offer animal blood in an earthly sanctuary but He offered His own blood in the heavenly tabernacle. Hence even the sacrifice He offered was superior to that of the earthly priests.

Everything Jesus did to deal with and do away with sin took place on a higher level than on earth. What happened on earth was nothing more than a picture of the real thing.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

David Is Dead

Christian Life, , , ,

DAVID IS DEAD

“‘Dear friends, let me be completely frank with you. Our ancestor David is dead and buried – his tomb is in plain sight today. But being also a prophet and knowing that God had solemnly sworn that a descendant of his would rule his kingdom, seeing far ahead, he talked of the resurrection of the Messiah — ‘no trip to Hades, no stench of death.’ This Jesus God raised up. And every one of us here is a witness to it. Then, raised to the heights at the right hand of God and receiving the promise of the Father, He poured out the Spirit He had just received. That is what you see and hear.'” Acts 2:29-36 (The Message).

Someone once said, “Life is lived forward but understood backwards.” The same can be said about prophecy. Until it has been fulfilled, it is obscure and does not make sense. Once it has been fulfilled, it all comes together in an “o-o-oh” moment!

Peter must have been in his element when he preached his first sermon. All the Scriptures that he had memorised as a child came flooding into his mind through the revelation of truth from the Holy Spirit. What was once a mystery was now clear and it came pouring from his mouth in a torrent of declaration and, I guess, worship.

His message didn’t take hours to prepare, writing copious sermon notes and practising in front of a mirror or preaching to the dog! He stood up, opened his mouth and out it came with a fire that burned deep within him. It was graphic, logical and convicting, saturated in the Word and revealing the truth which cut the hearts of his hearers.

Imagine what would happen in our world if those who proclaim the Word of God were energised by the Holy Spirit in the same way as Peter was. His sermon followed ten days of prayer and waiting on God.

Just as the life of the believer is a partnership between us and God, so also is preaching. Sometimes there is so much effort put into the technicalities of a sermon that the result is a carefully structured and crafted work of art which had no heart and no fire.

Peter got his message on his knees. It touched his own heart first before it could touch any other. It flowed from his inner being through his mouth like a river and caught the hearers up with the mighty power of conviction.

Step by step, Scripture by Scripture, he built the throne, not David’s throne which the people were longing for God to re-establish, but a far greater throne, the throne of Jesus, David’s Son, to whom all the prophecies pointed and in whom they were fulfilled.

David was the greatest of Israel’s kings and the model against which every other king was measured. But, like every other mortal, he died and the proof of his death was still with them. David had spoken of a greater king, his descendent, who would not be a victim of the power of death. He died, yes, but death had no grip on Him because He no penalty of His own to pay.

Imagine the energy Peter put into his triumphant declaration, ‘This Jesus God raised up’! It echoed around the building, stunning the people into silence and stabbing their hearts with shock and terror. “We killed Him. He’s alive again. What will He do to us now?” But Peter was not finished with them yet…