Hebrews 10:11-25
We continue our broad theme on how we receive the Kingdom of God and today we look at it from the perspective of the NT letter to the Hebrews.
We can receive this kingdom of Jesus himself because of his one, perfect and sufficient sacrifice. He is our great high priest forever.
Now, all the NT writers were Messianic Jews, i.e., Jews who believed that Judaism itself has been fulfilled in Christ Jesus.
The writer to the Hebrews is no exception; except that he is writing to practising orthodox Jews, and he demonstrates the messianic nature of Jesus particularly through Jesus’ role as great High Priest forever.
Now, the priest in ancient Israel did two things. On the one hand, he represented the people before God. On the other hand, he spoke and acted for God to the people. The priest mediated between the people and God.
The priest would bring the prayers of the people before the Lord, interceding for them in God’s presence at the tabernacle (tent), then, under Solomon, the temple.
The priest would offer up sacrifices for and from the people to God, many sacrifices all year round. Sacrifices for sins, sacrifices for guilt, thank offerings, fellowship offerings, grain offerings, sacrifices of bulls and goats and lambs and doves and sparrows.
And out of all the priests, there was only one high priest at any given time. His was the highest office in the priesthood, and he had a special responsibility that only he could do.
Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, the high priest would enter into the Holy of Holies (where God lived), and there he would offer up the one comprehensive sin offering for all the people of Israel for that year, by sprinkling blood on the mercy seat, the cover of the Ark of the Covenant.
This atoning sacrifice had power to forgive because God had graciously attached his promise to this and all the other appointed sacrifices.
But even so, built into these sacrifices was the obvious fact that they could never quite do the full job, since they had to be repeated, endlessly, day after day, week after week, year after year.
And so the ministry of Israel’s high priest would have to await a greater high priest who would be able to offer up the once-and-for-all perfect sacrifice, who was to be the promised Messiah, or Christ.
Anything that you and I might offer up to try to atone for our sins cannot do the job. The problem is too deep. It goes to our sinful nature, our lost condition. No, if we are to be forgiven, the atoning sacrifice must come from outside ourselves.
And it must be perfect, without blemish - offered up by a better sort of priest, with a better sort of sacrifice.
The very heart of the gospel is that our great high priest is Messiah Jesus, the Son of God. He offered up the perfect sacrifice when he offered up himself, the lamb without blemish.
When John the Baptist first saw Jesus from a distance he said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The great high priest is both the priest and the sacrifice.
When Jesus died on the cross, Christ entered into God’s presence with the blood that atones for all our sins, not the blood of bulls, goats or sheep, but his own holy and precious blood as God the Son.
Jesus our high priest entered the Holy of Holies in heaven (of which the Temple was a replica), and made atonement for us, once and for all.
He also prays for us as our brother, he knows our weaknesses, and he knows the forgiveness and the kind of help we need.
Okay, if Jesus being our great High Priest sounds a bit too theological for me, what difference does it make in my life?
Great question. Heaps! But first and foremost it means we can draw confidently near to God. Jesus brother James writes that if we draw close to God, he will draw close to us (James 4:8).
Our reading from Hebrews says, “let us approach (or draw near) with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (v.22).”
My dear friends, all our sins have been washed away! Can we truly believe that? We are welcome, more; we are invited, urged and encouraged, to now draw near to God.
We do that every Sunday when we come here and gather in the name of the Lord, which means, in his presence. We draw near when we pray at home, and when we do things in the name of Jesus.
This is the great privilege that we should not take for granted. We draw near with a true heart to both confess our sins to confess our faith. We draw near to hear God speaking to us in his Word.
We draw near to feed on Christ himself in the Lord’s Supper, as asked to do so by Jesus, in remembrance of him.
Because of this perfect sacrifice, God hears our prayers favourably. He invites us to pray to him, and he promises to hear us. So let’s do that, both here in church on Sunday, and throughout the week, wherever we happen to be.
Let’s be a prayer filled church! Jesus is our high priest. We have full and joyous access into God’s presence, because we belong there! Because we belong there.
The writer to the Hebrews then invites us, because of this, to persevere in faith. V.23 says, “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope.”
There are many things in life that could dilute our confession and our hope; sickness, disappointment, shame and failure. We are tempted to say, ‘I give up!’
But friends, Jesus is our high priest. His offering of himself gives us a life that is firm and unshakable. God has promised us this, and his word is sure and trustworthy.
Jesus died for each one of us and rose from the dead because of the great love God has for each of us. Hold on to that. Trust in that.
If you are uncertain that God truly loves you as an individual, ask him in prayer to ease your mind and, I guarantee you he will. If some part of you just doesn’t get it, please come and talk to me.
I’m not going to laugh at you or criticise you. Questions and doubts are actually how we grow! But let’s hold fast to our confession.
Finally, we are urged to encourage one another. Our reading ends (v.24-25) with “And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another’.
Church is not a matter of “me and Jesus.” The church is the family of God. Being a Christian means you are part of a family, and families need to spend time together, to interact with one another.
Our physical presence is an encouragement. The sound of your voice added to the voices of all the rest of us in prayer, praise and thanks, encourages all of us. It lifts our spirits. It is a joy to be here with our brothers and sisters.
And as we get to know one another better, we get to know each other’s needs and delights, how we might be able to help one another. This is what it means to be the body of Christ, all the parts working together and moved purely by the Spirit of Jesus, as Paul would describe it.
Jesus Christ, God’s Son and one with God, is our great high priest. He has offered up the perfect sacrifice for all our sin, so forgiven, redeemed, and sanctified, we have the sure hope of eternal life, and we have confidence to come into God’s presence through Christ.
So let us draw near to God. Let us hold fast our confession. And let us encourage one another. Let’s do all this together whilst being carried along in the great hands of God! Let me pray.