Out with the old, in with the New {Hebrews 8}
12:30 AM
Do you struggle with
change? Do you have traditions, rituals
or ways of doing things that just don’t need to be messed with? Satan’s aim at diminishing the supremacy and
all-sufficiency of Jesus is one of his goals.
You can evaluate a teaching or practice by this: If it diminishes the glory of Christ, it is
not of God. Satan has used legalism to
divert Christians to the superficial and external, as opposed to the substance,
which is Christ (Col. 2:16-23). If Satan
can get our focus onto rules and outward observances, we are fooled into
thinking that we are “good” Christians.
But if the person and work of Jesus Christ is not our focus and joy, we
can do all sorts of outward things, but miss the vital thing, which is to
glorify Christ and to know Him (Phil. 3:1-11).
The book of Hebrews can be difficult to follow at times because as a long-time believer, it seems easy to understand that Christ is better than the old way of the Jewish sacrificial system. But we have to remember that this book was written to help the Hebrew Christians and others seeking Christ, to discover that Jesus is supreme.
Here are 2 points I want
to share:
- The Levital priests always stood when they were in the tabernacle, thus their work was never done.
- Jesus has taken His seat at the right hand of God’s throne. He accomplished His work of purification of sins (1:3). He has done all that can be done to accomplish our redemption. As He cried out from the cross “It is finished” (John 19:30). To add any human works or merit to what Jesus accomplished on the cross is an insult to His death as our perfect sacrifice.
It appears to me that the
author of Hebrews is saying that there is nothing compared to where Jesus is at
the right hand of the throne of God! The
yearly ritual was nothing compared to our high priest offering Himself once for
all on the cross, and now serving in heaven on our behalf. His heavenly ministry is much more excellent
than the old earthly ministry ever was.
Why would anyone even consider returning to the old, earthly system that
was a mere shadow?
I read this on Bible.org and it is simply too good not to
share entirely:
(1) Jesus serves in heaven on our behalf—let Him serve you! Our
tendency is to focus on how we should serve Jesus, and there is certainly a
place for that (1 Cor. 15:58). But there
is also a place for pausing from our busy activities and allowing Jesus to
serve us. Do you recall Peter’s horrified response when Jesus took the towel
and basin and washed the disciples’ feet? He said, “Never shall You wash my
feet!” But Jesus countered with, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with
Me” (John 13:8-9). We have to allow the Lord, through the water of
His Word, to wash off the dirt that we pick up from walking in this world. As
our high priest, He ministers on our behalf before the throne of the Majesty.
Take the time before Him to allow His ministry to cleanse your soul.
(2)
The heavenly and spiritual is more real than the earthly and visible—keep
seeking the things above! The author is making the point that the
earthly tabernacle was not the real
thing. The real tabernacle is in heaven, where
Jesus now is seated on our behalf. We are prone to think that the earthly is
real, but the heavenly is less real than what we can experience with our
senses. But Paul tells us, “keep seeking the things above, where Christ is,
seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things
that are on earth” (Col. 3:1, 2).
At the
very least this means that we should meditate so often on the things of God
that they become more real to us than the things on earth. We can only
apprehend the things of God by faith in the truths of His Word. Meanwhile,
we’re surrounded and bombarded by all of the things that we see on earth.
Unless we deliberately and consistently cultivate this heavenly vision, our
priorities will get out of kilter. We will get caught up pursuing the
transitory and missing the eternal. Like the rich man Jesus spoke of, we will
build more storage units to hold all of our earthly goods, but we will be poor
in relation to God (Luke 12:15-21). So
remember, the earthly is the shadow; the heavenly is the real.
“Since
then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where
Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden
with Christ in God. When Christ who is
your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” (Col. 3:1-4)
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