Jesus of Nazareth is the one who reveals the purposes and fulfills the mysteries of God. Only he is qualified to “interpret” the “unseen God.” In him, all the promises of God find their “Yea” and “Amen.” He is the key that unlocks the Hebrew Scriptures and fulfills the words of the prophets. This principle is presented in the opening paragraph of Letter to the Hebrews and pictorially in the Book of Revelation.
Continue readingHebrews
“Then He Sat Down”
Foundational to the Letter to the Hebrews is the appointment of Jesus as our High Priest, and this was due especially to his obedience “unto death” whereby he achieved the “purification of sins.” In his sufferings, he was “perfected,” and in his resurrection, God vindicated his sacrifice by seating him at the “right hand of the Majesty on High,” where he now sits enthroned interceding on our behalf. The stress is not on his position as the Royal Son, as true as that is, but on his priestly status and ministry for his people.
Continue readingThe True and Greater Temple
Jesus is the true Sanctuary of God that was foreshadowed in the ancient religious structures and worship rituals of the nation of Israel. He is the dwelling place of God’s presence and glory and the true and final mediator between Heaven and Earth. The man from Nazareth was the Temple “made-without-hands” that was destroyed by evil men but restored when his Father raised him from the dead.
Continue readingHold Fast to the Word
The first literary section of the Letter to the Hebrews concludes with an exhortation and an ominous warning. Any would-be disciple of Jesus who fails to heed the far “better word” that God is now speaking in His Son will suffer an even “sorer punishment” than the rebellious Israelites received when they disobeyed the Mosaic Law. At Mount Sinai, the Torah was mediated to Moses by angels. Nevertheless, it was God’s word – He was its source – and therefore lawbreakers were punished severely.
Continue readingUpon These Last Days
According to Hebrews, God has spoken His decisive and superior “word” in His son. Moreover, He did so “upon the last of these days.” This clause refers to the end of the period epitomized by the Levitical code with its priesthood and repeated animal sacrifices, a system of worship that was centered in the Tabernacle, and later, in the Temple in Jerusalem. With the exaltation of the Son to the “right hand of the Majesty on High,” a new and final era of salvation has commenced.
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