Charley Hooper is a disabled person that cannot speak, walk or see anything beyond light and dark and perhaps the shadowy shape of a face held inches away. As she grew bigger, her parents feared she would eventually become too heavy to take anywhere.
So they came up with a radical solution. The New Zealand couple gave their daughter hormones and had surgeries so that stopped her growth. Charley is now around 4 foot 3 and 53 pounds, and will remain so for the rest of her life.
Our study in the Book of Hebrews is the opposite, it’s a letter to encourage all people to grow and mature.
The writer stated in Hebrew 5:11-6:1 “We have much to say…, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”
Hebrews 6:1 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity.”
In order to encourage the Hebrew believers to grow strong in the Lord, the author of Hebrews assured them that as a High Priest Jesus will never disappoint those who rely on Him.
The main message is that Jesus is a better way than religion, rituals and routines of keeping a list of does and don’ts. Hebrews 8, Highlights the fact that Jesus outshines any religious system, priest, or minister in the world.
Hebrews 8: 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,
To establish the Hebrew believers they needed assurance of the new covenant and the ministry of Jesus. First they are told…
JESUS CHRIST SITS IN A BETTER SEAT.
The religious leaders of the day liked to sit in the best seats in the synagogue. These were seats down front that faced the congregation, and they were reserved especially for those who held the highest honor in the congregation (J. Macartney Wilson, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 1915).
But Jesus sits in an even better seat, a seat of higher honor. He sits at the right hand of God the Father, the highest seat there is! It is the place of all authority, which means that Jesus is the Sovereign Lord of the Universe!
The New Covenant is better because the fact that Jesus Christ sits in the highest honor. And 2nd because …
JESUS CHRIST SERVES IN A BETTER SANCTUARY.
Jesus ministers in heaven itself. They are encouraged to know that Jesus Christ operates in the very presence of God Himself.
Hebrews 8:2 Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.
Skip down to verse 4…
Hebrews 8:4-5 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.”
God gave Moses on Mount Sinai a glimpse of heaven and told Moses how to build the tabernacle. The tabernacle where the Old Testament priests served was only “a shadow” of heaven.
Eventually the tabernacle was an impressive place to worship. The Jews were very proud of their temple in the First Century. In the time of Christ, they were in the middle of a huge remodeling project, which took nearly a hundred years to complete.
I believe that the point of verses 2, 4 and 5 states that Jesus serves in a tabernacle not built with hands. The goal was always about dwelling with God not about buildings! The old covenant emphasis was focused on externals like buildings; the new covenant focused on Jesus Christ!
To establish the Hebrew believers they needed assurance about Jesus Christ, 1st He sits in a better seat; 2nd, to know that Jesus Christ serves in a better sanctuary; and 3rd…
JESUS CHRIST SURRENDERED A BETTER SACRIFICE.
They needed to trust in Jesus who sacrificed Himself on the cross for their sins. They depended on Jesus Christ whose shed blood cleanses from all sin.
Hebrews 8:3 For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this One also have something to offer.
Jesus offered Himself once and for all. All the other priests offered many animal sacrifices, which could only temporarily cover sin. Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself “cleanses us from all sin” forever!
Animal sacrifices could only cover the sin in people’s lives. They could only conceal the sin for a short while, hoping to appease a holy God. But under the new covenant… “the blood of Jesus Christ [God’s] Son cleanses us from all sin” -1 John 1:7. Jesus’ one act of sacrifice sets us free from sin forever!
In 2005, Shin Dong-hyuk, became the only person to ever escape from a “total-control zone” internment camp in North Korea and live to tell his story. Because Shin was born in the prison, he knew no other life. In his mind, the entire world was Camp 14, and there were only two types of people in the world: prisoners and guards. You were born as one or the other, and you lived your entire life that way. He later said that he never considered escape because he always assumed that “the society outside the camp would be similar to that inside the camp.”
Every day, Shin was told what to do and he did it. For twenty-three years, he was always hungry and tired from daily hard labor.
But Shin said everything changed in one day. A new prisoner named Park was brought to Camp 14, and with him came tales of a different world on the other side of the electric fence. He talked about living in cities and traveling to China. But one particular thing Park talked about defined freedom in Shin Dong-hyuk’s mind more than anything else: broiled chicken. Park told him that outside the electrified fence of his world was another world where you could eat broiled chicken—and you could eat it anytime you wanted.
Shin and Park attempted to escape over the electrified fence. Park touched the fence first and immediately died. An untold number of volts coursed through his body and stopped his heart. His body became a bridge over which Shin was able to climb to freedom. That day he became the only person to ever escape from [a “total-control zone” internment camp in North Korea] and live to tell the tale. (Noel Jesse Heikinnen, Unchained, David C. Cook, 2017; original source: C.J. Green, “The Taste of Freedom,” Mockingbird blog, 6-1-17; www.PreachingToday.com)
The good news is that Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself on the cross to purchase freedom from sin. His dead body on the cross became “the bridge” for you into a new life you never dreamed possible, here you can enjoy God’s blessings whenever you want. Every person must cross that bridge by faith.
To establish the Hebrew believers they needed assurance that Jesus Christ sits in a better seat; 2nd, Jesus Christ serves in a better sanctuary; 3rd, Jesus Christ offered a better sacrifice; and 4th, benefits are given because …
JESUS CHRIST SUPPLIES BETTER SERVICE.
Jesus administers a better covenant. Jesus Christ supplies a better way of relating to God.
Hebrews 8:6-9 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. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. 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.
The old way of relating to God was conditional: The law said, “Obey and God will bless you.” However, no one could “continue in that covenant”. That is to say, no one could keep on obeying all the rules all the time, and God would break off the relationship. There was nothing wrong with the rules. It’s just that nobody could follow the rules. God provided for the way to relate to Him. It’s called the “new covenant”, and Jesus administers that covenant, which is much better than the old.
Why? Because #1 the New Covenant provides unconditional blessings. I.e., God promises to bless His people without any stipulations. Look at it!
Hebrews 8:10-12 “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.”
Five times in these verses, God declares what HE will do: “I WILL put my laws into their minds…” “I WILL write them on their hearts…” “I WILL be their God…” “I WILL be merciful…” And “I WILL remember their sins no more.” God promises to do these things without any preconditions, so the New Covenant is NOT based on MY faithfulness to God; it’s based on GOD’s faithfulness to ME! I can’t always count on MY faithfulness to God, but I can sure count on HIS faithfulness to me! That’s why it’s a much better covenant.
In 1997, a young defendant was convicted in court of gunning down another person execution style. The murderer had a bad record, was no stranger to the system, and only stared in anger as the jury returned its guilty verdict.
The victim’s family had attended every day of the two-week trial. On the day of sentencing, the victim’s mother and grandmother addressed the court. When they spoke, neither addressed the jury. Both spoke directly to the murderer.
“You broke the Golden Rule—loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind. You broke the law—loving your neighbor as yourself. I am your neighbor,” the older of the two women told him, “so you have my address. If you want to write, I’ll write you back. I sat in this trial for two weeks, and for the last sixteen months I tried to hate you. But you know what? I could not hate you. I feel sorry for you because you made a wrong choice.”
The Judge wrote: “For the first time since the trial began, the defendant’s eyes lost their laser force and appeared to surrender to a life force that only a mother can generate: nurturing, unconditional love. After the grandmother finished, I looked at the defendant,” “His head was hanging low. There was no more swagger, no more stare. The destructive and evil forces within him collapsed helplessly before this remarkable display of humaneness.” (“Touching the Heart of a Killer,” New York Times, 3-7-97; www.PreachingToday.com)
Unconditional love did for this hardened criminal what the law could never do. It softened his heart. The new covenant is about God’s unconditional love for us. It should motivate us and provide confidence and assurance to receive His forgiveness and mercy.
That’s what Jesus offers us because of His better sacrifice because He is a better servant and because His service is better. We can’t earn God’s love, but we can trust in the unconditional love Jesus offers. He provides a better service than any old religious system. That’s because He administers a New Covenant, which provides the benefits of unconditional blessings.
More than that, the New Covenant provides internal righteousness. God’s law is placed into your heart and mind. It makes God’s character instinctive within you.
In verse 10, God says, “I will put my laws into their minds and write them on their hearts.”
In the Old Covenant, God wrote His law on tablets of stone. In the New Covenant, God writes His law on people’s souls, so that it becomes a part of us, not just something we must do.
There was a graduate-level course at Harvard University, called “Systems of Counseling” where the professor presented a case study in which therapeutic methods were used to help a man uncover a deep hostility and anger toward his mother. This helped the client understand himself in new ways.
The professor was asked by a student how he would have responded if the man had asked for help to forgive. The professor responded that forgiveness was a concept that assumed moral responsibility and many other things that scientific psychology could not speak to. He argued a phycology professional “shouldn’t force their values… about forgiveness onto the patient.”
Some of the other students responded with dismay, the professor tried to relieve the tension with some humor. “If you guys are looking for a changed heart, I think you are looking in the wrong department.” Years later one of those students later wrote in a book about Christian counseling, “the truth is that we should look for a changed heart.” (Tim Keller, Making Sense of God, Viking, 2016, page 15; www.PreachingToday.com)
A changed heart is not something that secular psychology, or any religious system, can provide. Jesus provides a better service in that He administers a New Covenant that changes hearts.
It’s a covenant which provides unconditional blessings and internal righteousness to motivate and empower us to overcome the flesh and sin. Jesus can give you the love you need to love your enemies. Through Jesus we can truly forgive from the heart! That would be great news for these Hebrew Christians suffering under hatred and personal hardship from their family and friends because they are believers in Jesus.
Also, the New Covenant provides a relationship with God. It gives you the opportunity not just to know ABOUT God, but to KNOW God personally.
Hebrews 8:11 “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.”
The New Covenant opens the way for everyone to a personal, intimate relationship with the God of the universe! Feeling afraid of God or keeping our distance from Him, does not need to be anymore. The Hebrew Christians are to remember that Jesus as the High Priest makes intercession for them. When they stumble and fall He doesn’t smite them, He encourages them, corrects them, and comforts them, He will not destroy or abandon them.
A national organization brought in a famous orator to speak; and after the meal, he mesmerized the crowd as he recited poetry and a few selections of some of his famous speeches.
Near the end, he asked if anyone had a favorite selection that they would like for him to recite. An older man stood up and kindly asked if he would mind reciting the 23rd Psalm. The speaker said that he would be glad to do it if, when he was finished, the older man would recite it, as well. He nodded his head and sat back down.
In a beautifully trained voice that resonated throughout the great room, the speaker began, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures…” When he was finished, there was thunderous applause and a standing ovation.
He then looked at the old man and said, “Alright sir, it is your turn now.”
In a trembling voice that was cracked by time, and he began to recite, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…” When he was finished, there was no applause, but neither was there a dry eye in the building.
After the event, someone asked the famous orator, “What made the difference?” The orator replied, “I know the psalm; he knows the shepherd.” (www.heavenlyheartburn.wordpress.com/ 2006/09/26/do-you-know-the-shepherd)
Do you know the Shepherd? Do you know the Lover of your soul personally? You can, don’t look to some religious system with its rules and regulations. At best, that can only teach you ABOUT God. Instead, through Jesus, you can KNOW God personally.
He provides a better service than any other religious leader, in that He administers a New Covenant. It’s a covenant which provides unconditional blessings. It provides an internal righteousness. It provides an intimate relationship with God.
And, the New Covenant provides the forgiveness of sin. It gives you the opportunity to escape punishment for your sin. It makes it possible for you to avoid paying for your own sins.
Hebrews 8:12 “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
When God chooses to forget your sin that means He chooses to forgive. I like the way Corrie Ten Boom once put it. “He casts our sins into the deepest sea, and He posts a sign: No Fishing!” –Tramp for the Lord.
Romans 8:1 states, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Jesus indeed provides better service than any old religion. That’s because He administers a New Covenant. It’s a covenant which provides unconditional blessings. It provides internal righteousness. It provides an intimate relationship with God, and it provides the forgiveness of sins.
Hebrews 8:13 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.
While the Old Covenant is obsolete, Jesus obtained a more excellent covenant.
Because Jesus Christ sits in a better seat; 2nd, Jesus Christ serves in a better sanctuary; 3rd, Jesus Christ offered a better sacrifice; and 4th, Jesus Christ provides better service.
For the Hebrew Christians and us today, Jesus as the High Priest assures us of the fact of being able to draw near to God anytime, anyplace and in any condition. They needed to know that then and we need to know that now to grow stronger and become mature Christians in order to live a life in victory.