Hebrews 10:1-18
Just a few nights ago I caught the movie Apocalypto, that Mel Gibson did in 2006. I was a little worried about watching it because I knew it was very violent. The story is about a time during the Mayan civilization. A man who lives as a quite farmer in the jungle is captured, along with others from his area, and taken to the Mayan capitol where they are to be sacrifices to the Mayan gods. The scenes are brutal to say the least. The young farmer is horrified at what he sees as he is dragged through the city. The behavior of the people is vile and disturbing. Here, we are witness to such a contrast between great Mayan architectural structures and the repulsive violence as one human being after another is ripped apart and thrown down the steps of the temple. ‘Hideous’ is not even a word that can describe the scene. ‘Pure evil’ might be.
After watching this, I found that I was to write about this passage in Hebrews that deals with how sacrificing animals to God – the one true God—would no longer be necessary after Jesus came into the world. One has to wonder where sacrificing of anything came from, but it appears in all human history and, yes, even in the Bible. What was the purpose of sacrificial lambs, goats or humans? For many civilizations, it was appeasement of the gods. Which means that we as human beings have always desired to execute control over our world.
In today’s scripture, we are given the eyes to understand how “new” the covenant was with God that only Christ could initiate into this fallen world. And we need to start with that premise first: that the world was and is a fallen world. Of course, today, there are many who would argue with this idea. Indeed, our whole culture is quite sure that we are in a progressive, technical world and thus in some recesses of our thinking, we actually believe that we as humans can control things. We see our selves as higher up the ladder of human existence because of our infrastructures, cities, ability to instantly communicate, cure diseases, monitor the weather, and problem solve most anything. Yet, in truth, we are still as vulnerable as the shepherd in Christ’s time out on a field when the earthquakes, or storms take over a landscape. Tidal waves and hurricanes in recent years have left us in awe, that no government or technology can battle the forces that God sets in motion. What a wake up-call it has been to remember who built this earth and this universe. While evolutionists and scientists may clamor that there is no God, God keeps showing us that His power is never relinquished.
Our fallen world is fallen, not because of natural disasters, but because of our behavior towards our fellow human beings and how we live. I do not think that any of us can listen to the news or open a newspaper without being hit in the face day after day and hour after hour without observing the intensity of how crippled with darkness we have become, especially in the last 40 years. The world has always had trouble and history shows us many eras of terrible times, including the one in which Jesus was born into.
But here is the difference. When Jesus came into the world, no one had ever heard of him. His words had not shattered the air of humanity. His death on a cross and resurrection had not occurred. Here, in is this passage in Hebrews, we are given the key to the instruction about what made Jesus different in one more way then all the other prophets, and great teachers and religious men of His time or times that would come. First, because of who he was (the son of God) he could do something no one else could ever do or would do. He changed the arrangement between God and man. Not a small thing.
We all know that the second half of the Bible is the ‘new’ Testament. However, non Christians, non- believers and even some who call themselves Christian yet know very little of the Bible, do not grasp the significance of the “New” part of the New Testament. For most of them it is called “new” because it was written later, after Jesus left this earth and they think it is just the story of Jesus’ life. Let us think again about this. The reason it is called ‘new’ is not that it has nothing to do with the Old Testament, but rather because of the Old Testament, it is the fulfillment of all that came before. It is the pinnacle of what God had to say to us and it is the new contract with God, the new attitude, the new thinking, the new way to approach this awesome God who breathed fire into the world and dusted the earth with oceans. How incredible is that-- to have a God who sacrifices his son so that we can be washed clean of all that we are or are not!
Laurie Erdman
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Friday, November 9, 2007
Purified
Hebrews 9:11-28
As I reflect on the incredible truth of this passage, my best response is a prayer like this. I hope you'll join in this prayer with me.
Father God,
Today I come before you, and I thank you for Jesus' sacrifice for me and all people. I thank you that Jesus did for us what we could not do through our good intentions, our religious ceremonies and traditions, or our best efforts.
I confess that I, like the Israelites in the past, have failed to keep your law. I fail to love your precepts. And even when I come to worship, my praise and thanks and offerings are incomplete. You have asked for all of me, for my everything, but I bring you just pieces. And so I thank you that Jesus came and gave you everything, that he gave his will, his life, his excellence, and his glory so that you would be honored and that we would be saved.
I am reminded of a song, Lord, that says,
" I wanna give You everything
But I've got nothing of my own at all
And if I give what I have not got
Will You fill me up and make me whole"
and I thank you that this passage in Hebrews reminds me that you have answered this cry of my heart. I have nothing of my own to offer you, but you have offered everything I need in Jesus, my perfect sacrifice, my perfect savior, my perfect High Priest. And not only have you offered your Son in my place and satisfied the debt I owe, but you go so far to make me complete and whole, like I could never be without you.
Thank you, Father, for not leaving us to our own devices, our own practices, our own attempts, our own ideas, for you know that there is a way that seems right to men and women, but in the end it leads to death. But your way is right, your way is perfect, and you have opened that way to us in Jesus! Thank you for the redemption and forgiveness that comes only through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus.
I thank you and I praise you, Father God, that, through Jesus' death and resurrection, once for all time, you have removed my shame, that you have made me whole, and that you have made me your child!
May you be glorified in my life, on earth, and in heaven for all time!
In the name of Jesus,
Amen.
As I reflect on the incredible truth of this passage, my best response is a prayer like this. I hope you'll join in this prayer with me.
Father God,
Today I come before you, and I thank you for Jesus' sacrifice for me and all people. I thank you that Jesus did for us what we could not do through our good intentions, our religious ceremonies and traditions, or our best efforts.
I confess that I, like the Israelites in the past, have failed to keep your law. I fail to love your precepts. And even when I come to worship, my praise and thanks and offerings are incomplete. You have asked for all of me, for my everything, but I bring you just pieces. And so I thank you that Jesus came and gave you everything, that he gave his will, his life, his excellence, and his glory so that you would be honored and that we would be saved.
I am reminded of a song, Lord, that says,
" I wanna give You everything
But I've got nothing of my own at all
And if I give what I have not got
Will You fill me up and make me whole"
and I thank you that this passage in Hebrews reminds me that you have answered this cry of my heart. I have nothing of my own to offer you, but you have offered everything I need in Jesus, my perfect sacrifice, my perfect savior, my perfect High Priest. And not only have you offered your Son in my place and satisfied the debt I owe, but you go so far to make me complete and whole, like I could never be without you.
Thank you, Father, for not leaving us to our own devices, our own practices, our own attempts, our own ideas, for you know that there is a way that seems right to men and women, but in the end it leads to death. But your way is right, your way is perfect, and you have opened that way to us in Jesus! Thank you for the redemption and forgiveness that comes only through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus.
I thank you and I praise you, Father God, that, through Jesus' death and resurrection, once for all time, you have removed my shame, that you have made me whole, and that you have made me your child!
May you be glorified in my life, on earth, and in heaven for all time!
In the name of Jesus,
Amen.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Enter In
God has been preparing my heart for today's reading with the help of a Twila Paris CD in my car. For the last 5 days, I have sung these lyrics on my daily chauffeur duties:
The holiest of hearts, the holiest of rooms
We had no right to come inside, until we found the tomb
Now we are not alone, and from your gracious throne
You gently call us home to enter in
Enter in, come into in My Presence
Enter in, come boldly in My Name
I open up the door to life forevermore
Leave all you were before and enter in
The holiest of hearts, the holiest of rooms
We had no right to come inside, until we found the tomb
Now we are not alone, and from your gracious throne
You gently call us home to enter in
Enter in, come into in My Presence
Enter in, come boldly in My Name
I open up the door to life forevermore
Leave all you were before and enter in
The name of the song is Enter In, and like today's reading in Hebrew 9, it instructs us in the "better system" that is in place because of the death and resurrection of Jesus. The old covenant was ordained by God - and it was good. But it had one important limitation. Hebrews 9: 9 says that "the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them."
The way of the old covenant was primarily external. With the list of rules and required mediators, God was far off and unapproachable.
But in Christ Jesus, God came near. The curtain was torn, giving us unlimited access to the Most Holy Place. Under the old covenant, a person could perform all of the external requirements of gifts and sacrifices, but still suffer from an unclean conscience. The book of Hebrews tells us, as believers, that our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean (Hebrews 10:22).
Because of that cleansing, we can now enter in to the presence of God. We don't need another priest - we have Jesus. We don't need another sacrifice - we have Jesus. The entrance to the Most Holy Place is permanently open - because of Jesus.
Are you afraid to enter in? Is your faith life still primarily external, with comfort in rules and ritual? No matter what you "do", is your conscience still unclean? If the answer to any of those questions is yes, take it before the Lord in prayer.
Jesus' sacrifice was complete, and it was for you. You don't have to stay in the outer courts any more, or even in the Holy Place. It's time to enter in....all the way in.
The way of the old covenant was primarily external. With the list of rules and required mediators, God was far off and unapproachable.
But in Christ Jesus, God came near. The curtain was torn, giving us unlimited access to the Most Holy Place. Under the old covenant, a person could perform all of the external requirements of gifts and sacrifices, but still suffer from an unclean conscience. The book of Hebrews tells us, as believers, that our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean (Hebrews 10:22).
Because of that cleansing, we can now enter in to the presence of God. We don't need another priest - we have Jesus. We don't need another sacrifice - we have Jesus. The entrance to the Most Holy Place is permanently open - because of Jesus.
Are you afraid to enter in? Is your faith life still primarily external, with comfort in rules and ritual? No matter what you "do", is your conscience still unclean? If the answer to any of those questions is yes, take it before the Lord in prayer.
Jesus' sacrifice was complete, and it was for you. You don't have to stay in the outer courts any more, or even in the Holy Place. It's time to enter in....all the way in.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Belonging
Keep in mind that the book of Hebrews (the new covenant) relates to and clarifies some of the teachings, ceremonies and commandments of the Old Testament books (the old covenant). “The New is in the Old concealed. The Old is in the New revealed.” The emphasis of Christ Jesus, our high priest is so much greater than the Old Testament high priest. Contrast and comparisons are made in these readings. V. 10 – The Lord says: “I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Isn’t that great? Our calling is to receive and live out the meaning of those words. Notice the emphasis on belonging. Isn’t that what most of us need and want…to belong? Do you belong to the Lord? Have you said it sincerely to the Lord? Consider what it means to belong to the Lord and how that affects your entire life.
Donald E. Pardun
Monday, November 5, 2007
You are a Priest Forever
Hebrews 7:1-17
Well, there was a bunch of head scratching and a few mutterings of "I still don't get it" around the Larson family scripture reading this morning.
So just who is this Melchizadek?!, this kingly-priestly-guy to whom Abraham deferred a cut of his war spoils? And, what of all this pronounced hierarchy of priesthood & tithing & greatness & stuff?!... I'm afraid I did a sorry job trying to explain. Even pastor-dads can have a tough time making Hebrews an understandable blessing to five kids, spouse & self, all within 15 minutes! (Is there some smiling comfort that others from the start must have also complained at the complexity of some of Paul's writing (some think he wrote Hebrews) -- when even Peter admits "some of his comments are hard to understand" (2 Peter 3:16) :^)
But, our reading today IS fascinating! Here is this shadowy priest, Melchizedek, much shrouded in mystery. Scholars have labored to know him, recognizing at least a prefigurement of Christ, if not an outright preincarnate old testament visitation of the second person of the Trinity.
Maybe the reading is meant to be agony! In a way I suppose the vagueness of Melchizedek's personage, the frustration of feeling we need to know more, that our interaction with him is somehow incomplete -- really does underscore the complication & incompleteness of redemption in the old testament! In that time, there were pictures and promise of a far better, simple and wholly complete redemption yet to be realized in the new covenant. But, for the time being, saints of old (and all today who read about them around the breakfast table!) wrestle with the technicalities, the partiality, and the seeming minutiae of a law-based priestly system that just quite simply: never cuts it in making men right with God! The old covenant makes us ACHE, then REJOICE for the simple completeness of the promised One who would be a "priest forever in the order of Melchizedek"!
Oh, this is our Priest Jesus! Ours is a Priest who "achieved the perfection God intended" (v.11)! He is not dead, but lives for us forever! He did not have to first cover his own sins with a string of perpetual sacrifices that never quite covered the rest of us! We have a Priest who is the perfection of all that shadowy Melchizedek hinted at! Yes, it is this great Mediator who truly is in totality "king of justice" & "king of peace" (v.2)! And, He is proven to be such with simple finality at that single intersection of all justice and peace, His cross!
Jesus clears the fog in me.
PPaul
Well, there was a bunch of head scratching and a few mutterings of "I still don't get it" around the Larson family scripture reading this morning.
So just who is this Melchizadek?!, this kingly-priestly-guy to whom Abraham deferred a cut of his war spoils? And, what of all this pronounced hierarchy of priesthood & tithing & greatness & stuff?!... I'm afraid I did a sorry job trying to explain. Even pastor-dads can have a tough time making Hebrews an understandable blessing to five kids, spouse & self, all within 15 minutes! (Is there some smiling comfort that others from the start must have also complained at the complexity of some of Paul's writing (some think he wrote Hebrews) -- when even Peter admits "some of his comments are hard to understand" (2 Peter 3:16) :^)
But, our reading today IS fascinating! Here is this shadowy priest, Melchizedek, much shrouded in mystery. Scholars have labored to know him, recognizing at least a prefigurement of Christ, if not an outright preincarnate old testament visitation of the second person of the Trinity.
Maybe the reading is meant to be agony! In a way I suppose the vagueness of Melchizedek's personage, the frustration of feeling we need to know more, that our interaction with him is somehow incomplete -- really does underscore the complication & incompleteness of redemption in the old testament! In that time, there were pictures and promise of a far better, simple and wholly complete redemption yet to be realized in the new covenant. But, for the time being, saints of old (and all today who read about them around the breakfast table!) wrestle with the technicalities, the partiality, and the seeming minutiae of a law-based priestly system that just quite simply: never cuts it in making men right with God! The old covenant makes us ACHE, then REJOICE for the simple completeness of the promised One who would be a "priest forever in the order of Melchizedek"!
Oh, this is our Priest Jesus! Ours is a Priest who "achieved the perfection God intended" (v.11)! He is not dead, but lives for us forever! He did not have to first cover his own sins with a string of perpetual sacrifices that never quite covered the rest of us! We have a Priest who is the perfection of all that shadowy Melchizedek hinted at! Yes, it is this great Mediator who truly is in totality "king of justice" & "king of peace" (v.2)! And, He is proven to be such with simple finality at that single intersection of all justice and peace, His cross!
Jesus clears the fog in me.
PPaul
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