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- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
Heb. 7-8
I find the book of Hebrews to be super useful in demonstrating how to interpret Old Testament scriptures. I have actually mentioned this the past couple of days, noting how the author’s use of those scriptures confirms to us that they foreshadow Christ. Well, he confirms it again in today’s reading. In writing about the tabernacle and the system of the priesthood, he says, “These serve as a copy and shadow of the heavenly things” (Heb. 8:5a).
The author also makes it clear that Jesus is something new, and that He is far superior to all that was before. It’s not that the original system didn’t do its job, though – it did. But we need to understand that its job was never to save, make righteous, or reconcile to God. Its job was to teach us about God, convict us of our need for Him, and to prepare us for the coming Promise that would do what it couldn’t.
So Jesus isn’t “new” in the sense that He replaced all that was before. As He said, “Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.” (Matt. 5:17). Rather, He is “new” in the sense that all that was before was a model of Him, who is the real thing. From the start, He was the One who would save, make righteous, and reconcile us to God.
Heb. 9
I had several thoughts reading through this chapter this morning. The one I want to comment on, however, came from reading the last verse. “And just as it is appointed for people to die once – and after this, judgement – so also Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him. (Heb. 9:27). The thing that jumped out at me was that Christ is bringing salvation at His second coming. With His first coming, He brought forgiveness of sin by presenting Himself as our atoning sacrifice.
What this verse tells me is that, technically speaking, we are not yet saved. Bear with me here, though. The verse indicates that what Jesus saves us from is God’s judgment. Thus, we are not yet saved because God’s judgment has not yet come. However, just as God promised the Israelites in Egypt that His judgment would not fall on those who placed the blood of the lamb on their doorposts, so He promises us that His coming judgment will not fall on those who place their faith in the sacrificed blood of Jesus Christ. The Lamb has been sacrificed; we have His redeeming blood. So the reason we can say that we are already saved is because we have faith that God’s promise is sure and true and cannot fail. That is why Jesus said, “But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matt. 24:13).