Hebrews 12 - REASONS TO ENDURE DISCOURAGING TIMES

Hebrews 12 - REASONS TO ENDURE DISCOURAGING TIMES

A. Look unto Jesus.
1. (Hebrews 12:1) Application of the demonstrations of enduring faith in Hebrews 11.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
a. Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses: The author envisions these previous champions of faith as spectators from the heavens, cheering us on as we endeavor to overcome present discouragement as in an athletic competition.
i. The idea of the heroes of faith in the past being spectators as we live lives of faith has made some think that in heaven, people can and do observe what goes on earth. This single passage may suggest this, but it is inconclusive to prove this.
ii. We rightly think of heaven as a place where people are always happy and untroubled; it would be hard to think that those in heaven could be happy and untroubled if they saw what was happening on the earth. So, it is difficult to saw that people in heaven are actually observing us!
iii. Others consider that these witnesses are not witnessing us as we conduct our lives. Instead, they are witnesses to us of faith and endurance.
iv. “Both the Greeks and the Latins frequently use the term cloud, to express a great number of persons or things.” (Clarke)
b. Lay aside every weight, and the sin: Sin can hold us back. But there are also things that may not be sin (every weight) but are merely hindrances that can keep us from running effectively the race God has for us.
i. Our choices are not always between right and wrong, but between something that may hinder us and something else that may not. Is there a weight in your life you must lay aside?
c. So easily ensnares us: Easily ensnares translates a difficult ancient Greek word (euperistaton), which can be translated four ways: “easily avoided,” “admired,” “ensnaring,” or “dangerous.”
i. Some sins can be easily avoided, but are not. Some sins are admired, yet must be laid aside. Some sins are ensnaring and thus especially harmful. And some sins are more dangerous than others are. Let us lay them all aside!
ii. If such ensnaring sins were really the work of demonic possession or demonic influence in the Christian, wouldn’t this not be an ideal place for the Holy Spirit to address this? Yet we are never given reason to blame our sin on demons; the appeal is simply for us to, in the power of the Holy Spirit, lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us.
d. Let us run with endurance: What is needed is endurance, to finish what we have begun in Jesus Christ - a race that is set before us.
i. God has set before you a race. You must run it; and it will involve effort and commitment. Just being passive never runs a race. God wants us to run the race, and finish it right!
ii. In Acts 20:24, Paul pictures himself as a runner who had a race to finish, and nothing would keep Paul from finishing the race with joy. In that passage, Paul speaks of my race - he had his race to run, we have our own - but God calls us to finish it with joy, and that only happens with endurance.
e. Race is the ancient Greek word agona, a word used for conflict or struggle of many kinds, and a favorite word of Paul (Philippians 1:30, Colossians 2:1, 1 Thessalonians 2:2, 1 Timothy 6:12, 2 Timothy 4:7).
i. Endurance is needed to run that race. Endurance translates the ancient Greek word hupomone, “which does not mean the patience which sits down and accepts things but the patience which masters them . . . It is a determination, unhurrying and yet undelaying, which goes steadily on and refuses to be deflected.” (Barclay)
2. (Hebrews 12:2) The ultimate example: Jesus Christ.
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
a. Looking unto Jesus: The New American Standard Version translates this beautifully: fixing our eyes on Jesus. We can only run the race as we look to Jesus, and have our eyes locked on to Him. He is our focus, our inspiration, and our example.
i. In the ancient Greek, looking unto Jesus uses a verb that implies a definite looking away from other things and a present looking unto Jesus.
ii. We must guard against seeing Jesus as only an example; He was and is so much more. But He also remains the ultimate example of Christian endurance.
b. The author and finisher of our faith: Jesus is not only the author of our faith; He is the finisher of it also. The idea of He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6) is comforting indeed to these discouraged Christians.
c. Who for the joy that was set before Him: Jesus did not regard the cross itself as a joy. But He could look past the horror of the cross to enjoy the joy beyond it. The same mentality will enable these Jewish Christians (and we ourselves) to endure.
d. Despising the shame: One of the most prominent elements of the torture of the cross was its extreme shame. Jesus did not welcome this shame - He despised it! - yet He endured through the shame.
i. This is a stumbling block to many; they will do just about anything for Jesus except endure shame or embarrassment. Spurgeon spoke boldly to Christians who could not bear the shame that comes from the world for following Jesus: “Yet you are a coward. Yes, put it down in English: you are a coward. If anybody called you so you would turn red in the face; and perhaps you are not a coward in reference to any other subject. What a shameful thing it is that while you are bold about everything else you are cowardly about Jesus Christ. Brave for the world and cowardly towards Christ!”
e. And has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God: This speaks of Jesus’ glorification. The same promise of being glorified after our shame (though in a different sense) is true for the Christian.
3. (Hebrews 12:3-4) Consider Jesus.
For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.
a. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin: These Jewish Christians were so discouraged because they were starting to experience significant social and economic persecution (though not yet to the shedding of blood).
b. But they should consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, and be encouraged, not discouraged, knowing that they are following in the footsteps of Jesus. As Paul wrote, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. (Romans 8:17)
c. Lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls: Knowing that Jesus doesn’t ask more of us than what He has Himself experienced, and that He knows exactly what we are going through keeps us from becoming weary and discouraged in your souls.
B. Why God allows difficult times: the chastening of God.
1. Introductory thoughts on the subject of chastening.
a. Hebrews 12:5-11 deals with the question “why does God allow such difficult times as we are going through.” This is a question commonly asked in seasons of discouragement.
b. We must admit that God does allow every thing that happens; so He must at least passively approve of it, because He certainly has the power to stop bad things that happen.
i. Of course, God can never be the author of evil. But He does allow others to choose evil, and He can use the evil choice another makes to work out His ultimately good purpose, even if only to demonstrate His justice and righteousness in contrast to evil.
c. The discussion of chastening that follows should not be regarded as the only reason God allows difficult times, but it is an important one. For example, we know that God allows difficult times so that we can, at a later time, comfort someone else with the same comfort God shows towards us in our crisis (2 Corinthians 1:3-7).
2. (Hebrews 12:5-6) Remember the exhortation regarding the discipline of the Lord.
And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.”
a. You have forgotten: One great reason for the discouragement among these Jewish Christians was because they saw no reason why God would allow difficult times to arise. But they have forgotten principles regarding the chastening of the Lord.
i. How much of the difficulty in our Christian life can be traced back to those three words: you have forgotten! Perhaps it is some principle we remember in our minds, but we have forgotten it with our hearts - and we must remember it again!
b. Which speaks to you as sons: The quotation from Proverbs 3:11-12 reminds us that God’s chastening should never be taken as a sign of His rejection. It is rather a sign of His treating us as His children.
i. Only the most proud Christian would claim they are never in need of correction from God. No one is above this kind of training.
c. God’s chastening can come in many forms; and what may be God’s chastening to endure in the life of one believer may be a Satanic attack to resist in the life of another.
i. This is why James recommends a prayer for wisdom in the context of enduring trials (James 1:2-5). We need to know how to react differently when God does different things.
3. (Hebrews 12:7-8) Chastening a sign of sonship.
If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.
a. God deals with you as sons: Many people claim an inability to relate to God as a loving Father, because they have never known a loving human father in their own experience. Yet, even these can still receive the love of God the Father.
i. We have not all known by experience what a model father is, but we do all know by intuition what a good father is. God is that perfect Father, and He has given us that intuition.
b. God deals with you as sons: God’s correction is never to punish us, never to make us pay for our sins. That was done once and for all at the cross. His correction is motivated only by His love, not by His justice; He chastens us without anger.
c. If you are without chastening . . . you are illegitimate and not sons: Those who fancy themselves “beyond” God’s chastening mark themselves as illegitimate children of God.
d. God demonstrates His wrath when He ignores our sin, allowing it to pass without correction. His inactivity is never due to ignorance or a lack of initiative, as may be the case with a human father.
4. (Hebrews 12:9-10) God’s chastening is superior to that of human fathers.
Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.
a. We paid them respect: We should be even more submissive and respectful to our Heavenly Father’s correction than to an earthly Father’s correction.
b. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of Spirits and live? Therefore, we must never despise God for His chastening, though it is unpleasant. When we resent it, we consider ourselves virtual equals with God, instead of His children.
i. It is humiliating and bitter to be chastened by an equal, but not by one who is legitimately our superior. Resentment at chastening shows how we see God and how we see ourselves.
c. But He for our profit: Human fathers, even with the best of intention, can only chasten imperfectly, because they lack perfect knowledge. The all-knowing God can chasten us perfectly, with better and more lasting results than even the best earthly father.
5. (Hebrews 12:11) Look to the result of chastening more than the process of chastening.
Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
a. Afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness: Our author isn’t trying to deny the unpleasant nature of a “heavenly spanking” (no chastening seems to be joyful for the present). But he does want us to look beyond the process to the result.
b. The peaceable fruit of righteousness: Is this fruit evident in your life? The reason why many live a “one-crisis-after-another” life is because they are either blind to God’s chastening, or are resisting it. They have not been trained by it, and so the peaceable fruit of righteousness is not evident.
i. They never experience the peaceable fruit of righteousness because they have never been trained by God’s chastening.
ii. Trained in the ancient Greek language is a word from the world of athletics; as an athlete is trained by some agony, so are we - as God’s “spiritual athletes.”
c. God has a purpose for training you. Think of David after being attacked by a lion while just he was just a boy tending the sheep. “Why did God allow such a terrible think to happen to me?” He might of thought. “I barely escaped!” But if only David could see ahead, he would see God had a giant named Goliath he was destined to face, and the battle with the lion prepared him ahead of time. God always has a purpose. We can trust Him.
C. Application: Get strong, get right, get bold, and watch out.
1. (Hebrews 12:12-13) Get strong.
Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.
a. Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down: Almost like a coach or a military officer, the author tells the “troops” to get with it. He has given exhaustive reasons to be strong in the Lord and put off discouragement, so now is the time to do it.
b. The pictures here (strengthened hands and knees, “straight-ahead” feet) speak of readiness to work and move for the Lord. This readiness is first to go when one surrenders to discouragement.
2. (Hebrews 12:14-17) Get right.
Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.
a. Get right with both men (pursue peace with all men) and with God (and holiness). Discouragement makes us sloppy and unconcerned with our personal relationships.
i. Regarding holiness, we are told without which no one will see the Lord. A lack of holiness is a critical obstacle to a close relationship with God.
b. Lest anyone fall short of the grace of God: We must get right with God’s grace. So look diligently to keep both yourself and others from a return to legalism in either outward form or inward attitude that falls short of God’s grace, lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble.
i. “A bitter root is a root that bears bitter fruit . . . So it is possible for the seed of bitterness to be sown in a community and, though nothing is immediately apparent, in due time the inevitable fruit appears.” (Morris)
ii. Many are corrupted because of bitterness towards someone they feel has wronged them, and they hold on to the bitterness with amazing stubbornness! What they must do is remember the grace of God extended to them, and start extending that grace towards others - loving the undeserving.
iii. A legalistic attitude will always produce a bitterness that defiles many; its emphasis on what we should do for God before what He has done for us in Jesus puts us (and those around us) in a terrible performance trap.
c. Lest there be any fornicator or profane person: Get right with your moral conduct; remember that there are blessings reserved only for the pure in heart: they shall see God (Matthew 5:8).
i. Like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright: Many Christians today sell a birthright of intimacy with God as cheaply as Esau sold his birthright (Genesis 25:29-34 and Genesis 27:30-40).
ii. Though he sought it diligently with tears: Esau’s birthright wasn’t restored simply because he wished it back. It could never be regained because he despised it.
3. (Hebrews 12:18-24) Get bold.
For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. (For they could not endure what was commanded: “And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow.” And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”) But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.
a. For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire: Exodus 19:10-25 explains what it was like when Israel came to Mount Sinai. The mountain was fenced off; there was no trespassing, on pain of death. They were commanded to wash their clothes and abstain from sexual relations. There was thunder, lightning and a thick cloud. There was the sound of a trumpet, calling forth the nation to meet with God. There was more smoke, like a furnace, and earthquakes; then the trumpet sounded long - until Moses spoke, and God Himself answered. God spoke to Israel from Sinai, but warned them in every way possible to stay away.
b. So that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore: The reaction of Israel was understandable: they were terrified (Exodus 20:18-21). They wanted the experience to stop, not to continue.
i. Did this fear work in promoting holiness among the people of Israel? Did it change the heart of Israel? 40 days later, they worshipped a gold calf, saying it was the god that brought them out of Egypt!
c. But we are in a different place. For you have not come to the mountain: Our relationship with God is not modeled after Israel’s experience on Mount Sinai. We come to God’s other mountain: Zion, the name of the hill upon which Jerusalem sits.
d. Contrasts between Mount Sinai and Mount Zion.
i. Mount Sinai was marked by fear and terror. Mount Zion is a place of love and forgiveness.
ii. Mount Sinai is in the desert. Mount Zion is the city of the Living God.
iii. Mount Sinai spoke of earthly things. Mount Zion speaks of heavenly things.
iv. At Mount Sinai, only Moses was allowed to draw near to God. At Mount Zion, an innumerable company, a general assembly is invited to draw near.
v. Mount Sinai was characterized by guilty men in fear. Mount Zion features just men made perfect.
vi. At Mount Sinai, Moses was the mediator. At Mount Zion, Jesus is the mediator.
vii. Mount Sinai brings an Old Covenant, which was ratified by the blood of animals. Mount Zion brings a New Covenant, which is ratified by the blood of God’s precious Son.
vii. Mount Sinai was all about exclusion, keeping people away from the mountain. Mount Zion is all about invitation.
ix. Mount Sinai is all about Law. Mount Zion is all about grace.
e. But you have come to Mount Zion: The lesson is plain. We shouldn’t come to Mount Zion as if we were coming to Mount Sinai. So put away your hesitation and get bold in coming to God!
i. Of course, the idea of the superiority of the New Covenant is also repeated. How could these Jewish Christians even consider going back and preferring the religion of Mount Sinai over the relationship of Mount Zion?
f. The blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel: The blood of Abel does not mean the blood he shed in his martyrdom. Rather, it was the blood of the sacrifice he made - the first recorded sacrifice from man to God in the Bible. The blood of Jesus speaks better things than the blood of animal sacrifice, the blood of Abel.
4. (Hebrews 12:25-29) Watch out.
See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.
a. See that you do not refuse Him who speaks: If we refuse to get strong, get right, and get bold, we should not remain ignorant of the consequences.
b. They did not escape: There were consequences for rebelling at Mount Sinai. How much more should there be consequences for resisting God’s greater work at Zion?
c. Whose voice then shook the earth . . . Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven . . . things which cannot be shaken: God is shaking the present order, and these beleaguered Jewish Christians felt it. But the things of God and the people of God will remain.
d. Since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace: The kingdom itself will never be shaken. So it behooves us to seize God’s unmerited approval in Jesus, helping us to serve God acceptably.
i. Many wrongly argue that “too much” grace gives license and breeds disrespect towards God. Actually, grace gives us reverence and godly fear. Perhaps those who think grace gives them license to sin aren’t walking in grace at all!
e. Our God is a consuming fire: Since God is in fact a consuming fire, we do best to come to Him on His terms. These are the terms of unmerited approval in Jesus. He will consume all that is outside of that sphere.

Hebrews 11 - EXAMPLES OF FAITH TO HELP THE DISCOURAGED

Hebrews 11 - EXAMPLES OF FAITH TO HELP THE DISCOURAGED

A. Faith defined.
1. (Hebrews 11:1) A definition of faith.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
a. Now faith is the substance: Just as our physical eyesight is the sense that gives us evidence of the material world, faith is the “sense” that gives us evidence of the invisible, spiritual world.
i. Faith has its reasons. We aren’t talking about a “blind leap” of faith. But the reasons can’t be measured in a laboratory, they have to be understood spiritually.
ii. “Faith extends beyond what we learn from our senses, and the author is saying that it has its reasons. Its tests are not those of the senses, which yield uncertainty.” (Morris)
iii. “Physical eyesight produces a conviction or evidence of visible things; faith is the organ which enables people to see the invisible order.” (Bruce)
b. Of things hoped for . . . of things not seen: If you have the substance before you, if you can see it, what use is there for faith? Faith is needed for what we can’t see and can’t touch.
i. Faith does not contradict reason, though it may go beyond reason. I may objectively prove the Bible is the most unique book ever published, and has impacted society more than any other book. But only faith can prove that the Bible is the Word of God. Therefore, this is a belief beyond reason, but not in contradiction to reason.
c. Faith is the substance . . . the evidence: Faith is not a bare belief or intellectual understanding. It is a willingness to trust in, to rely on, and to cling to.
2. (Hebrews 11:2) Faith enabled people in the past to overcome.
For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
a. For by it the elders: The great examples of godliness all had different circumstances and personalities, but they all had one thing in common - faith.
b. Obtained a good testimony: These Jewish Christians had been discouraged, and were thinking of giving up on Jesus and a distinctive Christianity. They needed a good testimony, and so they needed these examples of faith to break them out of discouragement.
3. (Hebrews 11:3) Faith gives understanding to the invisible world.
By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
a. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word: How were the worlds . . . framed by the word of God? It happened when God simply commanded Let there be light (Genesis 1:3). As the Psalmist explains: By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth . . . For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” (Psalms 33:6; Psa_33:9)
b. By faith we understand: We did not see this act of creation; we only know of it by faith. We also know this by reason, because we know the world was created, and created by an intelligent Designer. Again, this is faith going beyond, but not in contradiction to reason.
i. Even in times when it seems when God expects a faith that contradicts reason, closer examination reveals He does not. For example, it might seem contrary to reason for God to expect Abraham to believe that Sarah’s dead womb could bring forth a child. But it is not unreasonable to believe that the God who created life and the womb could do this, and would do it according to His promise.
c. By faith we understand: This text does not say that God created the world with faith. Since God sees and knows all things, “faith” in a human sense is superfluous to Him. If faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, what does God not see? What possibly could a sovereign Being “hope” for?
d. So that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible: Most scientists at the time Hebrews was written believed the universe was created out of existing matter, not out of nothing, not out of things which are visible. But the Bible corrects this misunderstanding.
B. Faith at the beginning of man’s history.
1. (Hebrews 11:4) Abel’s faith.
By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.
a. By faith Able offered to God a more excellent sacrifice: The difference between the sacrifice of Cain and the sacrifice of Abel (Genesis 4:3-5) was not because one was animal, the other was vegetable. The difference was that Abel’s sacrifice was made by faith.
i. “Abel’s sacrifice was preferred to his brother’s for no other reason than that it was sanctified by faith; for surely the fat of brute animals did not smell so sweetly, that it could, by its odour, pacify God.” (Calvin)
b. God testifying of his gifts: How did God testify of Abel’s gifts? It is likely that God showed His pleasure with Abel’s sacrifice by consuming it with fire from heaven, as happened at the dedication of tabernacle (Leviticus 9:24), the temple (2 Chronicles 7:1) and upon offerings made by David (1 Chronicles 21:26) and Elijah (1 Kings 18:38).
c. Through it he being dead still speaks: Right off with his example of Abel, the writer reminds us that faith is not necessarily rewarded on earth. But God Himself testifies to the righteousness of the faithful. Abel’s blood still speaks to us, reminding us of the value of eternity!
2. (Hebrews 11:5-6) Enoch’s faith.
By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
a. By faith Enoch: Enoch is one of the mystery men of the Old Testament being mentioned only in Genesis 5:21-24 as the man who walked with God and he was not, for God took him.
i. Many Jewish and Christian traditions make Enoch the recipient of some spectacular and esoteric revelations. Jude recognizes him as a prophet (Judges 1:14-15). But the value of other prophecies attributed to him is uncertain at the very best.
b. By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death: The writer to the Hebrews assumes that only a man of faith could enjoy close communion with God. Obviously, anyone who had this kind of fellowship with God must have pleased God, and in pleasing God, Enoch fulfilled the purpose for which man was created (Revelation 4:11).
c. But without faith it is impossible to please Him: This is the basic faith required of any who will seek God. One must believe that He is, and one must believe He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. We must believe that God is there, and that He will reveal Himself to the seeking heart.
i. The writer to the Hebrews doesn’t say that it is difficult to please God without faith. He says that it is impossible.
ii. “These two elements seem most simple, but, alas, how many professing Christians act as if God were not living; and how many others, though seeking after Him, are not expecting from Him as Rewarder!” (Newell)
3. (Hebrews 11:7) Noah’s faith.
By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
a. Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen: Noah was warned of something that had never happened before. His faith was shown in not merely agreeing that the flood would come, but in doing what God told him to do regarding the flood - he was moved with godly fear.
b. Prepared an ark: Real faith will always do something. The book of James repeats this theme over and over again.
c. He condemned the world: We shouldn’t think that Noah was a man who preached sermons of condemnation to the world. Instead, the mere conduct of the godly, without any preaching at all, can feel like condemnation to the world.
C. Faith in the life of Abraham and the Patriarchs.
1. (Hebrews 11:8) Abraham’s obedience by faith.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
a. By faith, Abraham obeyed: Abraham did step out in faith, going to a new place God had promised him; but his faith was less than perfect. This is seen by comparing Genesis 12:1-5 with Acts 7:2-4, where it is evident that Abraham first went half way to the place God called him to go, and only eventually obeyed completely. Yet now, thousands of years later, God does not “remember” the delayed obedience, only the faith.
2. (Hebrews 11:9-10) Abraham’s sojourning life of faith.
By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
a. By faith, he dwelt in the land of promise: Abraham lived as a “sojourner” in the land God had promised, never owning any of it except the plots that he and Sarah were buried on. Dwelt is the ancient Greek word paroikos, describing a “resident alien” - one who lives somewhere, but doesn’t have permanent status there.
i. A resident alien or a sojourner is evident. The way they talk, the way they dress, their mannerisms, their entertainment, their citizenship, and their friends, all speak of their native home. If someone is the same in all these areas as the “natives,” they are no longer sojourners - they are permanent residents. Christians shouldn’t get “green cards” for planet earth!
b. Dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob: Because they had no permanent home, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob lived in tents instead of houses. They looked forward to a better city - the city which has foundations, who builder and maker is God.
3. (Hebrews 11:11-12) Sarah’s faith and its results.
By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude; innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.
a. By faith Sarah: Sarah’s faith was not perfect. She first laughed in unbelief (Genesis 18:9-15) and then she learned to laugh in faith (Genesis 21:6).
b. Because she judged Him faithful who had promised: Faith boils down to judging that God is faithful to and able to keep His promises. It was this faith that enabled Sarah to receive strength to conceive seed. God gave the strength, but Sarah had to receive it by faith.
c. Were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude: Because of the faith of Sarah and Abraham, thousands - millions - of descendants were born. Their faith had an impact on more lives than they ever dreamed of.
4. (Hebrews 11:13-16) What the faith of Abraham and Sarah teaches us.
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
a. These all died in faith, not having received the promises: The promise of the Messiah was made to Abraham and Sarah, and they believed the promise. Yet they died having never received it, only seeing it in faith.
i. They saw the promises afar off, willing to look at and consider the promise of God, even though it seemed so far away.
ii. They were assured of them: They carefully considered the promise, and assured themselves that the promise had to be valid because it was God making the promise.
iii. They embraced them: They took the promise and embrace it in faith. How many times in a day do you think Abraham and Sarah thought of the son God promised had them? Many, many times - they embraced the promise.
iv. They confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims: Abraham and Sarah always took the promise with the understanding that this world was not their home; that God had a better and more enduring home for them in heaven.
v. If these examples of faith endured through difficulty and discouragement without having received the promises, how much more should we who have received those promises?
b. They seek a homeland . . . they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Walking in faith is easier when we remember that this world is not our home. It is easier when we remember that on this side of eternity, not everything is settled and every wrong is not righted. That is why they seek a homeland and a better . . . heavenly country.
i. Faith is very difficult when we live as “practical atheists.” This describes someone who may have a theoretical belief in God, but the belief doesn’t matter in what they do from day to day. When we remember there is a spiritual reality - a heavenly home that is our real home - faith is much easier.
ii. The great theme of our time is naturalism, the belief that only what can be found and measured in nature is “real.” Scientists and educators who believe in naturalism may be content to let us believe in God, just as long as we agree that God is a fairy tale - someone not real. But when we believe in the reality of God and of heaven and of His word, it is completely unacceptable to those who live by naturalism.
iii. H.L. Mencken said faith is the “Illogical belief in the occurrence of the impossible.” This would only be true if there is no God, or if He does not matter.
c. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: But for those courageous enough to believe in God, and to believe in Him as real, and heaven and eternal life as real, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
i. We may speak of the fact that we cannot be ashamed of God; but do we often consider that God may be ashamed of us? When we do not regard God and heaven and eternity as real, there can be a sense in which God is ashamed to be called our God!
ii. As the hymn says:
This world is not my home; I’m just a passin’ through
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.
Oh, Lord, you know, I have no friend like You
If heaven’s not my home, then, Lord, what will I do?
The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.
5. (Hebrews 11:17-19) Abraham’s faith was great enough to know God was able to raise the dead, and that God was able to keep His promises no matter what.
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.
a. By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac: The verb tense for offered up indicates that as far as Abraham was concerned, the sacrifice was complete. In his will and in his purpose, he really did sacrifice his son.
b. Offered up his only begotten son: Though Abraham had another son (Ishmael, the son of his fleshly attempt to fulfill God’s promise), God did not recognize the other son (Genesis 22:1-14) - so Isaac could be called his only begotten son.
c. Accounting that God was able: Accounting means in the ancient Greek just what it sounds like in English. It is a term from arithmetic expressing “a decisive and carefully reasoned act.” (Guthrie) This means that Abraham calculated God’s promise worthy of confidence.
d. From the dead, from which he also received him: As far as Abraham was concerned, Isaac was as good as dead, and it was from the dead that he received him back, in a manner that prefigured the resurrection of Jesus.
i. Bruce wonders if this is not the incident that Jesus referred to in John 8:56 : Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day; and he saw it, and was glad.
e. When Abraham was confronted with a promise and a command from God which seemed to contradict each other, he did what we all should do: he obeyed the command and let God take care of the promise - which God was more than able to do!
6. (Hebrews 11:20) Isaac’s faith.
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
a. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob: Isaac was really in the flesh, not in faith, when he first intended to bless Jacob and Esau. He wanted to bless Esau with the birthright for carnal reasons (he liked him as a more “manly” man, and he liked the wild game he brought home), instead of blessing Jacob, whom God had chosen.
b. Yet Isaac came to the place of faith when he discovered that he had actually blessed Jacob instead of Esau, Genesis 27:33 says Isaac trembled exceedingly. When Isaac trembled exceedingly, what was he troubled about? He was troubled because he knew that he had tried to box God in, to defeat God’s plan, and that God had beaten him. He realized that he would always be defeated when he tried to resist God’s will, even when he didn’t like it. And he came to learn that despite his arrogance against God’s will, God’s will was glorious.
c. So, where is the faith in Isaac’s blessing? After Isaac’s attempt to thwart the will of God had been destroyed, when he said of Jacob, and indeed he shall be blessed (Genesis 27:33). He knew that God had defeated his puny attempt to box God in, and he responded in the faith that says, “O.K. God, You win. Let Isaac be blessed with the birthright, and let Esau be blessed after him in his own way.”
7. (Hebrews 11:21) Jacob’s faith.
By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.
a. By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph: Jacob led a pretty carnal life. Yet, his faith could also look beyond death - and he blessed each of his sons.
8. (Hebrews 11:22) Joseph’s faith.
By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.
a. By faith Joseph: Joseph made mention of the departure of the children of Israel in Genesis 50:24, when he said: God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. He knew God’s promise was true!
b. Gave instructions concerning his bones: When Joseph died, he was never buried. His coffin laid above ground for the 400 or so years until it was taken back to Canaan. It was a silent witness all those years that Israel was going back to the Promised Land, just as God had said.
c. All during that time, when a child of Israel saw Joseph’s coffin and asked what it was there for, and why it was not buried, they could be answered, “Because the great man Joseph did not want to be buried in Egypt, but in the Promised Land God will one day lead us to.”
D. Faith in the nation of Israel.
1. (Hebrews 11:23) The faith of Moses’ parents.
By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command.
a. By faith Moses . . . was hidden three months by his parents: Moses’ parents showed faith when they perceived that he was specially favored by God, they took measures of faith to save his life despite danger.
2. (Hebrews 11:24-26) The faith of Moses in Pharaoh’s court.
By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.
a. Refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter: Moses showed faith when he let God chart his destiny instead of letting Pharaoh do it.
b. Choosing rather to suffer affliction: This choice had consequences. Moses knew that to go God’s way meant to suffer affliction rather than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. Sin does have its pleasures; but Moses properly saw them as passing, even if they should last our entire earthly lives!
c. The reproach of Christ: Moses probably didn’t know it, at the time but the persecution he suffered for his choice of servanthood to God and His people put him in the company of Jesus - who suffered to set men free.
3. (Hebrews 11:27) The faith of Moses when he left Egypt.
By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.
a. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: Moses’ natural eyes could see the danger from Pharaoh, and understood the danger in remaining anywhere near Egypt. Yet his eye of faith could see Him who is invisible, and he understood that God was a greater fact in his situation than an angry Pharaoh was.
4. (Hebrews 11:28) Moses showed faith when he led Israel in the Passover, in obedience to God’s command.
By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
a. By faith he kept the Passover: It took faith to believe that the blood of a lamb on the door post would save a household from the terror of the angel of death. But Moses had that faith, and led the nation in observance of the Passover.
5. (Hebrews 11:29) The faith of the nation of Israel when crossing the Red Sea.
By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.
a. By faith they passed through the Red Sea: The difference between the Israelites crossing the Red Sea and the Egyptians who followed them was not courage, but faith. The Egyptians had as much (or more) courage than the Israelites, but not the same faith - and they each had different fates. The Israelites passed through, and the Egyptians were drowned.
6. (Hebrews 11:30) The faith of the nation of Israel when circling around Jericho as God had commanded.
By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days.
a. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down: At Jericho, the people of Israel had a daring faith. There was no turning back, having already crossed the river Jordan at flood stage, which cut off any line of retreat.
b. At Jericho, the people of Israel had an obedient faith. They did not really understand what God was doing, yet they obeyed none the less.
c. After they were encircled for seven days: At Jericho, the people of Israel had a patient faith. The walls did not fall down for the first six days, yet they kept marching as God commanded.
d. At Jericho, the people of Israel had an anticipating faith. They knew God would act on the seventh day when they shouted.
7. (Hebrews 11:31) The faith of Rahab.
By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.
a. By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish: Rahab (Joshua 2) might seem an unusual example of faith, but her trust in God and willingness to identify with His people, no matter what the cost, is worthy of praise.
b. When she had received the spies with peace: When the Hebrew spies came to Rahab, she declared He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath (Joshua 2:11). This was proof of her faith. It was not strong faith, it was not perfect faith, but her faith was commendable nonetheless.
i. Clement of Rome, the earliest Christian writer outside of the Bible, was the first the see a symbol of the blood of Jesus in the scarlet cord which Rahab hung outside her window.
8. (Hebrews 11:32) Other heroes of faith.
And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets:
a. Gideon was a man who boldly destroyed idols, and was mightily used of God to defeat a much larger army of Midianites (Judges 6-7). Yet he was also a man who doubted God’s word to him at first, and repeatedly asked for confirmation.
b. Barak led the people of Israel in a dramatic victory over the Canaanites (Judges 4). Yet he hesitated and went forward only when Deborah encouraged him.
c. Samson was used mightily of the Lord to defeat the Philistines. Yet he never lived up to his potential, and had a tragic ending to his life after being enticed by Delilah (Judges 13-16).
d. Jephthah was used of God to defeat the Ammonites. Yet Jephthah made a foolish vow and stubbornly kept it (Judges 11).
e. David was a remarkable man of faith. Yet he also failed with Bathsheba and with his own children.
f. Each one of these were men of faith, yet had notable areas of failure in their life. Still, Hebrews 11 commends their faith, and lists them in the “Hall of Faith.” This shows that weak faith is better than unbelief, and you don’t have to be perfect to make it into God’s “Hall of Faith.”
9. (Hebrews 11:33-35 a) By faith, some were victorious over circumstances.
Who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again.
a. Some of those who subdued kingdoms: David, Joshua, King Asa, Jehoshaphat, King Hezekiah, King Josiah.
b. Some of those who worked righteousness: Elijah, Elisha, and all the prophets of God, and King Josiah also.
c. Some of those who obtained promises: Caleb, Gideon, Barak.
d. Some of those who stopped the mouths of lions: Daniel, David, and Benaiah (one of David’s mighty men).
d. Some of those who quenched the violence of fire: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
e. Some of those who escaped the edge of the sword: David escaped both the swords of Goliath and Saul, Moses escaped the sword of Pharaoh, and Elijah escaped the sword of Jezebel.
f. Some of those who out of weakness were made strong: Sarah, Gideon, Abraham, Esther, and King Hezekiah.
g. Some of those who became valiant in battle: David, King Asa, and Jehoshaphat.
h. Some of those women who received their dead raised to life again: The widow of Zarepheth, and the Shunamite.
10. (Hebrews 11:35-38) By faith, some were victorious under their circumstances.
And others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented; of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.
a. Tortured in the ancient Greek language has the idea “to beat with a stick or a baton.”
b. A better resurrection: As Jesus said in John 5:29, there is a resurrection unto life, and a resurrection unto condemnation. These worthies received the better resurrection.
c. Trial of mockings: Isaac endured the cruel mocking of Ishmael, and Samson was mocked at the feast of the Philistines.
d. Chains and imprisonments: Joseph was cast into prison for his faith, and the evil King Ahab imprisoned the prophet Micaiah.
e. They were stoned: Zechariah was stoned to death between the altar and the temple, and Naboth was stoned to death by Jezebel’s henchmen.
f. Sawn in two: According to reliable tradition, Isaiah was sawn in two and killed.
g. Were tempted: How does being tempted compare with these other persecutions? Some have thought the text was corrupted here, and the writer to the Hebrews originally wrote “branded” or “burnt alive” or “mutilated” or “strangled.” But for those who have known the pains of temptation, it is not unreasonable to think that the writer to the Hebrews regards overcoming temptation as a true triumph of faith.
h. Were slain with the sword: Such as the eighty-five priests murdered by Doeg, or the prophets murdered in Elijah’s day.
i. Wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins: Such as Elijah, who wore this kind humble clothing and did not mind the humility or the discomfort.
j. Of whom the world was not worthy: The world is not necessarily friendly to people of faith, and the world isn’t necessarily worthy of them either!
i. “The despised and ill-treated group of servants of God was of greater real worth than all the rest of humanity put together.” (Morris)
k. In dens and caves of the earth: David, Elijah, and prophets under the leadership of Obadiah were all forced to flee and hide in caves.
11. (Hebrews 11:39-40) Conclusion: We have even more reasons for faith, more reasons to hold on to faith, than these heroes of the faith did.
And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.
a. Even though they obtained a good testimony through faith, they never saw the promise in the same way that we do on this side of the cross. They did not receive the promise, the testimony of the completed work of the Messiah on their behalf.
b. God having provided something better for us: We have been provided something better (seeing and enjoying the completed work of Jesus on our behalf) have much more reason to hold on to faith, and to not let discouragement and tough times defeat us.
c. They should not be made perfect apart from us: The idea of perfect is “complete.” They could not be made complete until the work of Jesus; they looked forward to Jesus and His work, we look at it from behind - and enjoy the fruits of His work!

Hebrews 10 - HOLDING FAST WITH A PERFECT SACRIFICE

Hebrews 10 - HOLDING FAST WITH A PERFECT SACRIFICE

A. The once for all sacrifice of Jesus.
1. (Hebrews 10:1-4) Sacrifice under the Old Covenant could not truly take away sin.
For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.
a. Having a shadow of the good things to come: The idea that the Old Covenant (the law) is a mere shadow of the substance that is the New Covenant is also communicated in Colossians 2:17 and Hebrews 8:5. Shadow means that the law communicated the outline and the figure of the fulfillment in Jesus, but was not the very image of the things.
i. Shadow isn’t a bad thing. Sometimes a shadow can tell you a lot. But the shadow is not the substance. The Old Covenant and its law were not themselves bad or evil, they are only incomplete and insufficient to bring total cleansing from sin, and to save. The shadow . . . can never . . . make those who approach perfect.
b. Would they not have ceased to be offered? The writer to the Hebrews repeats a familiar argument: the repetition of sacrifice shows its inherent weakness. If animal sacrifice had “fixed” the sin problem, then they could have ceased to be offered.
i. For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year: Every repeated sacrifice was a reminder of sins. It brought the consciousness of sins to the people again and again. But the work of Jesus on the cross takes away sin!
c. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins: Animal sacrifice under the Old Covenant could cover sin. The Hebrew word for atonement is kophar, which literally means “to cover.” But animal sacrifice could never take away sins. Only Jesus, the Perfect Sacrifice of the New Covenant, takes sins away.
2. (Hebrews 10:5-10) A prophetic foundation for Jesus’ perfect sacrifice under the New Covenant.
Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come; in the volume of the book it is written of Me; to do Your will, O God.’“ Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
a. He said: This quotation is taken from the Septuagint version of Psalms 40:6-8 (the Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Old Testament that was the most commonly used Bible in the first century). It shows that prophetically Jesus declared the insufficient character of Old Covenant sacrifice and declared His willingness to offer a perfect sacrifice under the New Covenant.
i. Sacrifice and offering You did not desire: More animal sacrifices, made under the law, would not please God.
ii. But a body You have prepared for Me: Instead, what pleased God could only come through Jesus, the incarnate Son of God.
iii. Behold, I have come . . . to do Your will, O God: Jesus’ submission to God’s the Father’s will had its ultimate fulfillment in His obedience to the cross. This desire to do God’s will was shown in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-44).
b. Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God: The sacrifice of Jesus was determined before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:20; Revelation 13:8). But it was still an act of His will to submit to the cross at the appointed time and by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ.
i. Our sanctification - our being set apart to God - is founded on the will of Jesus, not our own will. It is founded on the offering of Jesus, not on our own offering or sacrifices for God.
c. Once for all: These are the important words of this passage, and the writer to the Hebrews repeats the theme over and over again: once for all.
3. (Hebrews 10:11-18) The finished work of Jesus Christ.
And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.
a. Every priest stands ministering daily: The priests had to stand continually in their work. Their work continued daily and sacrifices had to be repeatedly offered. The priests could never sit down! But Jesus sat down at the right hand of God, having finished His work of sacrificing for sin.
i. The seated posture of Jesus is important. It shows that His work is finished. He doesn’t need to stand ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices as priests under the Old Covenant had to. Jesus still ministers in heaven - He has a ministry of intercession for His people. But that ministry flows from His completed work, so He can adopt a posture of rest - He sat down at the right hand of God.
b. He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified: This makes it plain that the work of Jesus is effective only for those who are being sanctified. The work of Jesus is capable of saving every human being, but it is only effective in saving those who are being sanctified (set apart to God).
c. The Holy Spirit also witnesses to us . . . says the LORD: In this passage, the writer to the Hebrews clearly identifies the Holy Spirit is equated as the LORD, Yahweh of the Old Testament. When the Holy Spirit speaks, the LORD speaks.
d. This is the covenant: In the passage quoted from Jeremiah, the writer to the Hebrews makes note of the promises of the new covenant, instituted by the Messiah.
i. I will make with them after those days: The new covenant is new. It comes after those days.
ii. I will put My laws into their hearts: The new covenant has to do with an inner transformation. God changes the heart of man, and writes His law into their hearts.
iii. Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more: The new covenant offers complete forgiveness. The forgiveness is so complete that God can say that doesn’t even remember our sins in light of the new covenant!
iv. The Christian must endeavor to do with their sin exactly what God has done: forget about it. As well, this reminds us that the believer is in no way on probation. Before God, his past sin has no bearing on God’s present dealing.
e. Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin: Where sins are really forgiven and forgotten (remission of these), there no longer must be an offering for sin.
B. Encouraging the discouraged in light of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice.
1. (Hebrews 10:19-22) Knowing Jesus has opened the way, let us draw near to God.
Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
a. Having boldness: Access has been given to us for a bold approach to God. The point is simple: we must take advantage of this access, and take it with boldness. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest entered the holiest place of all with fear and trembling, but we can enter the Holiest with boldness.
i. We can have boldness because we enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus. If we entered as the Old Testament high priest did, with the blood of animals, we wouldn’t have boldness. But with the blood of Jesus providing a new and living way which He consecrated with us, we really can come into the presence of God with boldness.
b. Through the veil: The veil separated the Holiest from the holy place. To enter into the Holiest, you had to pass through the veil. But this veil separating man from God’s intimate presence is forever opened wide, being torn into two from top to bottom. (Matthew 27:51)
i. That is, His flesh: The writer to the Hebrews makes an analogy between the veil that stood between God and man and the body of Jesus. Jesus’ body was “torn,” and so was the veil, each indicating that now, we can come to God boldly.
c. Having a High Priest over the house of God: We have a High Priest who presides over the heavenly courts to make certain the believer has total access.
d. Let us draw near: With the perfect cleansing available to us, cleansing both the inner man (hearts sprinkled) and the outer man (bodies washed) we can draw near to God in a way never available to someone under the Old Covenant. The work of Jesus makes us able to draw near in a full assurance of faith.
e. So, several issues have been settled. The problem of access to God has been settled. The problem of a perfect High Priest has been settled. The problem of moral and spiritual pollution has been settled. So now, let us draw near!
i. The encouragement to draw near wouldn’t be given unless it was necessary. These discouraged Christians had a problem in drawing near. This was their real problem: they lost their intimate relationship with Jesus, and nothing else is going right.
ii. They may have thought that they had many, many problems - persecution, difficult relationships, hard times with culture or economy. But the real problem was their relationship with God wasn’t on track. They didn’t draw near to God on the basis of what Jesus had done.
iii. Are you in a tough time? Many people have gone through worse times and have had a better attitude, and more joy, than you do now. What is the difference? They knew how to draw near!
iv. Just as importantly, they are reminded that they will never regain that intimacy coming through the institutions of the Old Covenant.
2. (Hebrews 10:23) Let us hold fast to the truth.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
a. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering: Discouragement made them waver from the truth. A renewed confidence in the greatness of Jesus and in the New Covenant will make them stand strong in the faith.
b. For He who promised is faithful: The reason we can stand strong is because He who promised is faithful. It is far better to trust in His faithfulness instead of ours!
3. (Hebrews 10:24-25) Let us pursue the community of God’s people.
And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
a. Let us consider one another: Discouragement has made them avoid community at the very time they needed it most. Jesus meets us in one another to stir up love and good works.
b. Forsaking the assembling of ourselves together: Forsaking fellowship is a sure way to give place to discouragement. This discouragement festers where God’s people are not exhorting one another.
i. Many people go to church if they feel they “need it” at the time. But our motivation for fellowship must be to obey God and to give to others. We can go to church looking to encourage someone who needs to hang in there against a tide of discouragement.
c. So much the more as you see the Day approaching: As the Day of Jesus’ return draws nearer, we should be more committed to the fellowship of God’s people, the assembling of ourselves together.
C. Another warning to endure.
1. (Hebrews 10:26-31) The danger of a willful rejection of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice for us.
For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The LORD will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
a. For if we sin willfully: To sin willfully is defined in Hebrews 10:29. It speaks of someone who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace. It is a knowing, deliberate rejection of Jesus’ great work for us on the cross.
i. Sin willfully: In a sense, every sin is a “willful sin.” But here, the writer to the Hebrews speaks of something much more severe and relevant to these discouraged Jewish Christians who contemplated a retreat from a distinctive Christianity and a return to Judaism with its sacrificial system. This is turning your back on Jesus.
b. There no longer remains a sacrifice for sins: If Jesus’ sacrifice for sin is rejected, there remains no other sacrifice that can cleanse.
c. How much worse punishment: If someone does reject Jesus’ sacrifice, fearful judgment is certain, even more certain than it was under the Old Covenant.
d. When we sin willfully by rejecting Jesus’ work on the cross as sufficient, we have:
i. Trampled the Son of God underfoot: We have disgraced Him by rejecting His greatest work. We devalue Him by devaluing what He did.
ii. Counted the blood of the covenant . . . a common thing: We have considered that Jesus’ blood was of no greater importance than the countless animals that had been sacrificed under the Old Covenant.
iii. Insulted the Spirit of grace: We offend the Holy Spirit, whose purpose it is to present Jesus and His work to us (John 16:8-15) when we reject Jesus and His finished work on our behalf. When we reject God’s free gift of grace and seek to be justified by law.
e. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God: It is fearful indeed to one-day face the God you have rejected and offended so greatly!
2. (Hebrews 10:32-34) Take heart in your discouragement, and remember how you have stood for God in tough times before.
But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated; for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven.
a. But recall the former days: These Christians had suffered for Jesus, being rejected from their Jewish community, and perhaps being counted as dead. This came after they trusted in Jesus (after you were illuminated).
b. The persecution came in many different ways, but it was a great struggle with sufferings. They were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations. They were companions of those who were so treated - including the writer to the Hebrews himself (you had compassion on me in chains). They also had faced economic persecution (the plundering of your goods). But the point is that they had faced these things, and had endured them. They could take a look at their past endurance, and be encouraged to keep standing strong in the future.
c. Knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven: They made it through the time of persecution by keeping a heavenly perspective. The writer to the Hebrews’ point is clear: you can make it through this present time of discouragement as well.
3. (Hebrews 10:35-39) Draw on your past experience to gain strength to endure for the future.
Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: “For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.
a. Therefore do not cast away your confidence: These discouraged Christians were in danger of casting away their confidence in Jesus, and relapsing into an Old Covenant relationship with God.
b. You have need of endurance: They, and we, have need of endurance to receive the promise of God after we have done the will of God. The toughest and most discouraging trials are when we are called to obey God’s will when the fulfillment of His promise seems so far away. This is why we need endurance. Faithfulness during the time when the promise seems unfulfilled is the measure of your obedience and spiritual maturity.
i. This endurance is built through trials, the testing of our faith (James 1:2-4).
c. Now the just shall live by faith: We need to follow in the footsteps of the just who will live by faith, and endure to see the promise fulfilled.
i. Every word in Habakkuk 2:4 is important, and the Lord quotes it three times in the New Testament just to bring out the fullness of the meaning!
ii. In Romans 1:17, when Paul quotes this same passage from Habakkuk 2:4, the emphasis is on faith: “The just shall live by faith.”
iii. In Galatians 3:11, when Paul quotes this passage from Habakkuk 2:4, the emphasis is on just: “The just shall live by faith.”
iv. Here in Hebrews 10:38, when the writer to the Hebrews quotes this same passage from Habakkuk 2:4, the emphasis is on live: “The just shall live by faith.”
d. But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul: This is a confident conclusion. We will be those who endure on and gain the promise of God. We will not draw back into old traditions or into an Old Covenant relationship with God - or any other replacement for Jesus!

Hebrews 9 - THE OLD COVENANT AND THE NEW COVENANT COMPARED

Hebrews 9 - THE OLD COVENANT AND THE NEW COVENANT COMPARED

A. Features of the Old Covenant described.
1. (Hebrews 9:1-5) The Old Covenant’s tabernacle and its furnishings.
Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary. For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary; and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All, which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
a. The earthly sanctuary: The tabernacle ordained by the Old Covenant was planned by God, but planned for an earthly service.
b. For a tabernacle was prepared: The tabernacle was a tent 45 feet long, 15 feet wide, and 15 feet high, divided into two rooms. The larger room (the first part) was a 15 foot by 30 foot “holy place.” Behind the second veil was the smaller room was a 15 foot by 15 foot, called the Holiest of All.
c. The lampstand with a middle stem and six branches stood in the first part and was of an unspecified size, made of pure gold; it provided the only light for the tabernacle (Exodus 25:31-40).
d. The table sat in the first part and was made of acacia wood covered with gold, 3 feet long, 1½ feet wide, and 2 feet 3 inches high. It held twelve loaves of showbread, each representing God’s fellowship with the twelve tribes of Israel (Exodus 25:23-30).
e. The sanctuary refers to the first part, known as the “holy place.” A veil (a thick curtain) separated the first part from the Holiest of All, also known as the “holy of holies” (Exodus 26:31-33).
f. The golden altar of incense was made of acacia wood covered with gold, 1½ feet square, and 3 feet high. It stood at the veil before the “holy of holies,” and was used to burn incense (Exodus 30:1-8).
g. The ark of the covenant stood inside the Holiest of All, and was a chest made of acacia wood covered with gold, 3¾ feet long, 2¼ feet wide, and 2¼ feet high, with rings for polls along it’s side by which it would be carried (Exodus 25:10-22).
i. Inside the ark was the golden pot that had the manna (Exodus 16:33), Aaron’s rod that budded (Numbers 17:6-11), and the tablets of the covenant (Exodus 25:16).
ii. The manna reminded Israel of God’s provision and their ungratefulness. Aaron’s rod reminded them of their rebellion against God’s authority. The tablets of the covenant reminded them of their failure to keep the Ten Commandments and rest of the law.
h. The mercy seat was the ornate “lid” for the ark of the covenant, made with the designs of cherubim upon it; the blood of sacrifice was sprinkled upon it for the forgiveness of Israel’s sin on the Day of Atonement (Exodus 25:17-22).
i. As God looked down into the ark, He saw the symbols of Israel’s sin, rebellion and failure. But when the blood of sacrifice was applied to the mercy seat, His sight of the sin of Israel was covered by the blood of sacrifice.
2. (Hebrews 9:6-7) Priestly service in the tabernacle under the Old Covenant.
Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services. But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance;
a. The priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services: The priests, as appointed, went daily into the “holy place” to perform priestly functions such as tending the lampstand and replacing the showbread.
b. But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year: The “holy of holies” was entered only once a year by the high priest alone, on the Day of Atonement.
c. The high priest went alone once a year, not without blood: His entrance into the second part was not for fellowship, but only for atonement, first for his own sin, then for the sins of his people.
i. Access into the Holiest of All was thus severely restricted, and even when someone could enter, it wasn’t for real fellowship with God.
ii. The ancient Jewish Rabbis wrote of how the high priest would not prolong his prayer in the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, because it might make the people think he had been killed. When he came out, he threw a party for all his friends, because he had emerged safely from the presence of God.
d. The people’s sins committed in ignorance: Sins of ignorance were the specific aim of the Day of Atonement. It was assumed that known sin would be taken care of through the regular sin offerings and the daily sacrifices.
i. In this respect, Jesus’ work is far greater than the work done on the Day of Atonement. Jesus’ work on the cross is sufficient to atone for both the sins we do in ignorance and sins that we know.
3. (Hebrews 9:8-10) The Holy Spirit gives understanding regarding the priestly service under the Old Covenant.
The Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience; concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.
a. The way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing: The old had to pass away before God’s new way could be revealed.
b. It was symbolic for the present time: Symbolic is the ancient Greek word parabole. The tabernacle itself and all that the Old Covenant represented were suggestive of deeper truths, parables of the New Covenant.
c. Cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience: The priestly service performed now (current at the writer’s time) does not make even the priests offering those sacrifices perfect and clean in regard to the conscience.
i. If the cleansing is incomplete for the priest, how much more for the person the priest worked on behalf of!
c. Fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation: The weakness of the priestly service under the Old Covenant was its inability to address the need for inner transformation in man; therefore it was only imposed until the time of reformation.
B. Features of the New Covenant described.
1. (Hebrews 9:11) The superior sanctuary of the New Covenant.
But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.
a. The greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands: Jesus, as our High Priest, ministers in a superior sanctuary - the very throne room of God, a place greater than anything human hands could make.
2. (Hebrews 9:12-15) The superior sacrifice of the New Covenant.
Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
a. The blood of goats and calves was sufficient for a temporary covering of sin; but only a perfect sacrifice could obtain eternal redemption.
i. Jesus’ sacrifice was superior in that it was perfect, voluntary, rational, and motivated by love.
b. For if the blood of bulls and goats . . . sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ: If these imperfect sacrifices were received as sufficient by Israel, how much more should they regard the ultimate sufficiency of the perfect sacrifice?
i. The ashes of a heifer refer to the remains of a burnt offering that was preserved, and sprinkled in the laver of washing to provide water suitable for ceremonial cleansing (Numbers 19:1-10).
ii. This was a shadow, fulfilled and done away with when Jesus offered a perfect cleansing; there is no value in “holy water” used by the Roman Catholic Church.
iii. Reportedly, there is a search for a “red heifer” that can be sacrificed, and its ashes used as part or a restoration of priestly functions for a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem.
c. How much more shall the blood of Christ . . . cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? The sacrifice of Jesus is sufficient to even restore our damaged conscience.
i. Our conscience is a wonderful tool from God. But it isn’t perfect. Our conscience can be seared (1 Timothy 4:2). Our conscience can be defiled (Titus 1:15). Our conscience can be evil (Hebrews 10:22).
d. Cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God: Dead works probably has the thought of sin in general, in the sense of “works that bring death.” But it must also speak to the vain continuation of Old Covenant sacrifice, which is certainly a dead work - and the very type of thing these discouraged Jewish Christians were tempted to go back to.
e. He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death: Jesus’ work as a Mediator is fundamentally accomplished at His death. His heavenly work of mediation looks back to that perfect sacrifice.
f. For the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant: Jesus’ payment on the cross accomplished redemption for those under the first covenant. Every sacrifice for sin made in faith under the Mosaic command was an IOU cashed in at the cross.
3. (Hebrews 9:16-22) The necessity of Jesus’ death.
For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.” Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.
a. For a testament is in force after men are dead: A testament (in the sense of a “last will and testament”) only takes effect when the person making the testament dies. Therefore Jesus had to die for the testament - the covenant - to take effect.
b. Remember that the word that has been used for covenant is actually the word testament. The idea is essentially the same as a covenant, except that it is dictated by one party, not negotiated upon by two parties.
c. Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood: Clearly, death was necessary to the Old Covenant. Virtually every part of the sacrificial system under the Law of Moses was touched by blood in some way or another.
d. An important principle is stated: Without shedding of blood there is no remission [of sin].
i. Modern people think that sin is remitted (forgiven) by time, by our good works, by our decent lives, or by simply death.
ii. But there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood, and there is no perfect forgiveness without a perfect sacrifice.
4. (Hebrews 9:23-28) The perfect sanctuary receives a perfect sacrifice.
Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another; He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
a. It was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these: It was acceptable for the copies of the things in the heavens in the earthly sanctuary to be “purified” with imperfect sacrifices. But the heavenly things themselves could only be purified with a perfect offering.
b. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands . . . but into heaven itself: Jesus’ sacrifice was made on earth, but it is the basis for His continuing work as our mediator and High Priest in heaven. The writer to the Hebrews proclaims it: now to appear in the presence of God for us. It’s not hard to believe that Jesus does appear in the presence of God. But to believe that He appears there for us is glorious!
c. Not that He should offer Himself often: Jesus’ ministry for us continues in heaven, but not in the sense of continuing to atone for our sin. His ministry continues for us in intercession and defending us against the accuser of God’s people (Revelation 12:10). But it does not continue in the sense that He should offer Himself often. His sacrifice was once-for-all, and perfectly satisfied God’s holy justice.
i. This passage and principle is a direct rebuke to the Roman Catholic practice and theology of the mass. In the mass, the Roman Catholic Church desires to repeat - not remember, but repeat - the atoning sacrifice of Jesus innumerable times. This is absolutely indefensible Scripturally, and denies the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. The Scriptures make it plain: not that He should offer Himself often.
d. He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world: If the sacrifice of Jesus were not perfect, then it would have to be continual and constant - even since the foundation of the world. Imperfect sacrifices must be repeated continually but a perfect sacrifice can be made once for all time, and genuinely put away sin (not just cover sin, as with sacrifice under the Old Covenant). The message is clear: He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
i. This principle of sacrifice explains why the suffering of hell must be eternal for those who reject the atoning work of Jesus. They are in hell to pay the penalty of their sin, but as imperfect beings they are unable to make a perfect payment. If the payment is not perfect, then it has to be continual and constant - indeed, for all eternity. A soul could be released from hell the moment its debt of sin was completely paid - which is another way of saying never.
e. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many: Just as certainly as we die once and then face judgment, so Jesus only had to die once (not repeatedly, not continually) to bear our sins.
i. It is not the intention of the writer to the Hebrews to discuss the issue of reincarnation. That is a side issue; he simply brings up the obvious point, it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment. Just as that is obvious, so it is plain that Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. For the writer to the Hebrews, the truth that it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment is an indisputable principle.
ii. Though it was not really the point of the writer to the Hebrews to discuss reincarnation, he certainly and completely denies it here. We do not die and live and die and live and some number of lives down the road face an eternal reckoning. This life is it, and then we face judgment. This means that there are no second chances beyond the grave. Now is the time to choose for Jesus Christ, because when we die, it is simply after this the judgment.
iii. It is important to note that the principle of it is appointed for men to die once is not an absolute principle. There are some unique, remarkable exceptions. Enoch (Genesis 5:24) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:11) never died once. Several people in the Bible were raised from the dead (1 Kings 17:22, 2 Kings 13:20-21, Matthew 9:25, John 11:43-44, Acts 20:9-11), and therefore died twice. Those taken in the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:17) will never die once. Yet these remarkable, unique exceptions do not deny the principle of it is appointed for men to die once; they are exceptions that prove the rule.
f. He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation: The focus of Jesus’ first coming was to deal with the sin problem through His atoning sacrifice. But now, having dealt with the sin problem perfectly, He comes again apart from sin - for the salvation (in the sense of rescue) of His people.
i. To those who eagerly wait for Him: It is assumed that all believers will eagerly wait for Him. It’s a sad case that this assumption doesn’t always play out as true!

Hebrews 8 - A NEW, BETTER COVENANT

Hebrews 8 - A NEW, BETTER COVENANT

A. Jesus, our heavenly priest.
1. (Hebrews 8:1-2) A summary of points previously made regarding Jesus as our High Priest.
Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.
a. This is the main point of the things we are saying: We have a High Priest - Jesus Christ - who ministers for us from a position of all authority in heaven (seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty).
b. Who is seated at the right hand of the throne: Additionally, Jesus is seated in heaven, in contrast to the continual service of the priesthood under the Law of Moses.
i. The tabernacle and the temple of the Old Covenant had beautiful furnishings, but no place for the priests to sit down, because their work was never finished. The work of Jesus is finished - He is seated in heaven!
c. Jesus serves in the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, the original made by God, of which the earthly tabernacle was a copy, made by man (Exodus 25:8-9).
i. Some have supposed the true tabernacle to be the Church, or Jesus’ earthly body. But it is best to understand it as the heavenly reality that the earthly tabernacle imitated.
2. (Hebrews 8:3) Jesus’ priesthood had a sacrifice - and a better sacrifice.
For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this One also have something to offer.
a. Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices: Sacrifice for sin is essential to the concept of priesthood. Jesus, representing a superior priesthood, offered a superior sacrifice. He laid down His own life to atone for sin.
b. It is necessary that this One also have something to offer: Though Jesus never offered a sacrifice according to the Law of Moses, He offered a better sacrifice instead - Himself.
3. (Hebrews 8:4-5) Jesus’ priesthood had a temple - and a better temple.
For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”
a. If He were on earth, He would not be a priest: Jesus is not qualified to serve in the inferior earthly priesthood. There are priests - plenty of them - who were qualified to serve in the priesthood according to the Law of Moses.
b. Who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things: There were plenty of priests who could serve in the copy and shadow on earth. But Jesus is the only One qualified to serve in the superior heavenly priesthood. The earthly service, though it was glorious in the eyes of man, was really only a copy and shadow of the superior heavenly service.
c. Copy and shadow of the heavenly things: Exodus 25:40 makes it clear that what was built on the earth (Moses’ tabernacle) was made according to a pattern which existed in heaven - the pattern which was shown to you [Moses] on the mountain. Therefore, there is a heavenly temple that served as a pattern for the earthly tabernacle and temple. Jesus’ ministry as our High Priest takes place in this heavenly temple, not in the copy and shadow.
i. First century Jews took tremendous pride in the temple, and for good reason: it was a spectacular architectural achievement. However glorious the Jerusalem temple was, it was of man (and mostly built by a corrupt, ungodly man, Herod the Great), and it was nothing compared to the glory of the heavenly temple that Jesus served in.
4. (Hebrews 8:6) The result: Jesus presides over a superior priesthood, with a better covenant, and better promises.
But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.
a. Jesus has obtained a more excellent ministry: No earthly priest could take away sin the way Jesus did, so Jesus’ ministry is far better than the ministry of the priesthood under the Law of Moses.
b. Mediator of a better covenant: Jesus has mediated for us a better covenant, a covenant of grace, not works, which is guaranteed for us by a cosigner (Hebrews 7:22). It is a covenant marked by believing and receiving instead of by earning and deserving.
c. Which was established on better promises: Jesus has for us better promises. Promises to see us through the most desperate and dark times. Promises that become alive to us through the Spirit of God. Promises of blessing and undeserved favor instead of promises of cursing.
d. Jesus is our Mediator for this greater covenant. Mediator is the ancient Greek word mesites, which means “one who stands in the middle between two people and brings them together.” (Barclay)
i. Moses was the mediator of the Old Covenant, because he “brought the two parties together.” Jesus is the Mediator of the New Covenant, a better covenant, bringing us to God the Father.
5. An overview of covenants through God’s redemptive history.
a. There is an eternal covenant between the members of the Godhead that made possible the salvation of man (Hebrews 13:20).
b. God’s redemptive plan was continued through the covenant He made with Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3).
c. The Mosaic covenant was another step in God’s redemptive plan (Exodus 24:3-8).
d. The Davidic covenant was yet another step in God’s redemptive plan (2 Samuel 7:1-16).
e. But the redemptive plan of God was fulfilled in the New Covenant (Luke 22:14-20).
B. The superiority of the New Covenant.
1. (Hebrews 8:7) The mere fact that God mentions another covenant is proves that there is something lacking in the Old Covenant.
For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.
a. It’s in the nature of man to come up with things that are “new” but not needed. God isn’t like that. If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been not need for a second covenant. If God established a New Covenant, it means that there is something lacking in the Old Covenant.
2. (Hebrews 8:8-12) The New Covenant as it is presented in the Old Testament (quoting from Jeremiah 31:31-34).
Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
a. Finding fault: In this passage from Jeremiah 31, God shows that there must have been something lacking in the Old Covenant - because a New Covenant is promises. In the days of Jeremiah, that New Covenant was still in the future, because he says “Behold the days are coming.”
i. In its context, Jeremiah’s prophecy probably comes from the days of Josiah’s renewal of the covenant after finding the law (2 Kings 23:3). This renewal was good, but it wasn’t enough, because Jeremiah looks forward to a new covenant.
b. I will make: The Lord makes it plain that this covenant originates with God, not with man. At Sinai, under the Old Covenant, the words were if you (Exodus 19:5), but in the New Covenant, the words are I will.
c. A new covenant: This covenant is truly new, not merely “new and improved” in the way things are marketed to us today. Today, products are said to be “new and improved” when there is no substantial difference in the product. But when God says “new,” He means new.
i. There are two Greek words that can describe the concept of “new.” Neos describes newness as regards to time. Something can be a copy of something else, but if it recently made, it can be called neos. The ancient Greek word kainos (the word used here) describes something that is not only new in reference to time, but is truly new in its quality. It simply isn’t a new reproduction of something old.
d. With the house of Israel and the house of Judah: The New Covenant definitely began with Israel, but did not end with Israel (Matthew 15:24 and Acts 1:8).
e. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers: This covenant is not like the covenant God made with their fathers. Again, this emphasizes that there is something substantially different about the New Covenant.
f. Because they did not continue in My covenant: The weakness of the Old Covenant was not in the Covenant itself. It was in the weakness and inability of man. The reason the Old Covenant didn’t “work” was because they did not continue in My covenant.
g. I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts: The New Covenant features transformation from within, not regulation through external law.
h. I will be their God, and they shall be My people: The New Covenant also features a greater intimacy with God than what was available under the Old Covenant.
i. Their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more: The New Covenant offers a true, complete cleansing from sin, different and better than the mere “covering over” of sin in the Old Covenant.
3. (Hebrews 8:13) The significance of a New Covenant.
In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
a. He has made the first obsolete: Now that the New Covenant has been inaugurated, the Old Covenant is thereby obsolete.
b. What is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away: The message to these discouraged Jewish Christians, who thought of going back to a more Jewish faith, is clear. They simply can’t go back to an inferior covenant, which is ready to completely vanish away.
i. The system of sacrifice under the Law of Moses soon did vanish away with the coming destruction of the Temple and the Roman destruction of Jerusalem.
Differences Between the New Covenant and the Old Covenant
1. They were instituted at different times. The Old Covenant around 1446 B.C., the New Covenant around 33 A.D.
2. They were instituted at different places. The Old Covenant at Mount Sinai, the New Covenant at Mount Zion.
3. They were spoken in different ways. The Old Covenant was thundered with fear and dread at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:17-24). Jesus Christ, God the Son, declared the New Covenant with love and grace.
4. They are different in their mediators. Moses mediated the Old Covenant. Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant.
5. They are different in their subject matter. The Old Covenant demanded a covenant of works. The New Covenant fulfills the covenant of works through the completed work of Jesus.
6. They are different in how they were dedicated. The Old Covenant was dedicated with the blood of animals sprinkled on the people (Exodus 24:5-8). The New Covenant was dedicated with Jesus’ blood spiritually applied to His people.
7. They are different in their priests. The Old Covenant is represented by the priesthood of the Law of Moses and high priests descended from Aaron. The New Covenant has a priesthood of all believers and a High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
8. They are different in their sacrifices. The Old Covenant demanded endless repetition of imperfect sacrifices. The New Covenant provides a once and for all, perfect sacrifice of the Son of God Himself.
9. They are different in how and where they were written. The Old Covenant was written by God on tablets of stone. The New Covenant is written by God on the hearts of His people.
10. They are different in their goals. The goal of the Old Covenant was to discover sin, to condemn it, and to set a “fence” around it. The goal of the New Covenant is to declare the love, grace, and mercy of God, and to give repentance, remission of sin, and eternal life.
11. They are different in their practical effect on living. The Old Covenant ends in bondage (through no fault of its own). The New Covenant provides true liberty.
12. They are different in their giving of the Holy Spirit. Under the Old Covenant, God did grant the Holy Spirit, but not in the same way and extent that He is given to believer under the New Covenant.
13. They are different in their idea of the Kingdom of God. Under the Old Covenant, it is mainly seen as the supreme rule of Israel over the nations. Under the New Covenant, it is both a present spiritual reality and a coming literal fact.
14. They are different in their substance. The Old Covenant has vivid shadows. The New Covenant has the reality.
15. They are different in the extent of their administration. The Old Covenant was confined to the descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob according to the flesh. The New Covenant is extended to all nations and races under heaven.
16. They are different in what they actually accomplish. The Old Covenant made nothing perfect. The New Covenant can and will bring in the perfection of God’s people.
17. They are different in their duration. The Old Covenant was designed to be removed. The New Covenant was designed to last forever.
“Let us observe from these things, that the state of the gospel, or of the Church under the New Testament, being accompanied by the highest privileges and advantages that it is capable of in this world, there is a great obligation on all believers unto holiness and fruitfulness in obedience, unto the glory of God; and the heinousness of their sin, by whom this covenant is neglected or despised, is abundantly manifested.” (John Owen)