LEARNING DAILY

 

Hebrews8:1-2, 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.

 

Stay with me today by opening your Bible to Hebrews 8 in order to follow along. Once Jesus Christ had victory over death and sin, He entered into heaven as the Great High Priest to serve in the presence of God on behalf of all who would believe in Him. No longer would people have to go to the priest with their animal sacrifices to be forgiven of their sins. He had become the perfect sacrifice for each person who confesses their need to be forgiven, recognizing that the shedding of His blood and dying in the place of each sinner (each of us) is sacrifice enough (the meaning of the verses above).  This is the new covenant.

 

This is significant because the old covenant known as the Mosaic Covenant could not be kept by anyone. Exodus 19:5 “If you obey and keep My covenant, then you will be a special treasure to Me” is an if you do this I will do that statement. The Mosaic Covenant consisted of commandments revealing God’s will and regulated the religious life of Israel (from the DJSB notes). Read verses 8-13. The Mosaic Covenant was never meant to be permanent; God promised a second covenant that would replace it.

 

These verses contrast the old covenant with the new. Through the old covenant a sinner could never fully and finally be forgiven. “Through this covenant, salvation and a relationship with God came through a faith expressed by obedience to His Law and its sacrificial system” (notes from LSSB). Sins could not be fully removed because these sacrifices did not produce an inward change for individuals. The sacrifices required pointed to a greater sacrifice; Christ’s perfect sacrifice for the sins of the human race. What Jesus Christ did when He took your rightful place and my rightful place on the cross was forgive every sin you and I have committed, do commit, and will commit. That’s the Good News for whosoever will ask Him to forgive them of their sins, give Him their lives, and ask Him to change them. No one can be good enough, follow enough rules, give enough money to earn their way into heaven.

 

Jesus Christ is now our High Priest in heaven before God, the Father. What does that mean? It means He is not only Savior but He is doing the work of the priest who made the sacrifices under the old covenant. Because Jesus is our High Priest we have access to God who hears our prayers. It means that He gives the grace of God to those who believe in Him. When you and I are being accused by Satan of being sinful and no good, Jesus Christ is our Advocate reminding that you and I believed in Him on such and such a day. And God’s forgiveness is poured out on us. Being our High Priest means that He knows every temptation we face and provides the strength we need to walk on the narrow way to His kingdom. And it means He is providing for every need we have to bring our salvation to fulfillment whether that be when we die or when the rapture of His true Church occurs.

 

Everything the old covenant pointed to, Jesus Christ fulfilled. I am so glad He is not only my Savior but my High Priest before the Father!  

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.  I have added Jimmy Swaggart’s Expositor’s Study Bible to be referred to from now on as JSESB.