Heb.8:1- We have such a High Priest
INTRO: V.1a -
Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest
A.) The main point / the Focus of Hebrews is on
our High Priest
B.) What kind of High Priest is He? What seen thus far?
1.) Compassionate High
Priest: chapter 2:17
2.) Crowned High
Priest: King and Priest - chapter 7:1
3.) Continuing High Priest: v.20 - Ministry forever - never stops
ministering on your behalf! Never takes a break/ vacation
C.) Capable
High Priest: v.16, - Ministry is after the power of endless
life - constant flow - His life, His power
1.) v.25 - Able to save completely - something Aaron's
priestly order could
not do
D.) Consecrated Priest: As A man/ sinless, holy, blameless
Chapter
8 is a transitional chapter: Meaning the writer states a few things here he
will go into in detail in following chapters
A.) Better Minister
/ ministers in Better place / He
offered a Better sacrifice / He established a Better
covenant - based on Better promises!
B.) If there was any doubt in anyone's mind -
concerning Jesus
being a better Priest - and replacing
Aaron - this should cure it!
C) Now The primary focus
of Hebrews 8 is on the New Covenant. But as an
introduction to his discussion of this New covenant
1)the writer first mentions two more
indications of Jesus’ superiority as the
High Priest of this covenant:
D)(1st) His seat
at God’s right hand / 2nd
His heavenly sanct./ Rd v.1,2
First
lets consider the significance of Jesus being seated: Note 2 things 1st
Why He is seated / 2nd
Consider where He is seated !!!
A) Being a Priest in
O.T. was a tough job/ his work was
never done, because sacrifices offered
were never permanently effective!
B) And so They had to be
repeated over and over again/ In his ministering at the altar, no
priest ever rested - always continual
fire burning - never through
C.)So He was always working –
always offering sacrifices or ministering in the Holy Place.
1.) no place was provided in all the tabernacle or temple for the
priest to sit down/ no need to sit they
were always working
D) But here we are told
in v.1 that Jesus our H.P. is seated !!! Hebrews 1:3
"Who being the brightness of His
glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word
of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high"
He
sat down! Why? His work wads done it was complete! He was qualified to sit down – opposite of the
Levitical Priest
A)From cross - It is
finished! / No need for anymore sacrifices!
B.)Now we don't have
altars in backyards not sacrificing bulls, goats - but we can still fall into
trap of seeking to offer sacrifice -
1) Performance treadmill/ We can still try to do things - earn acceptance!
A young man once studied violin under a
world-renowned master. Eventually the time came for the student's first
recital. Following each selection, despite the cheers of the crowd, the
performer seemed dissatisfied. Even after the
last number, with the shouts louder than ever, the talented violinist stood watching an old man in the balcony.
Finally the elderly one smiled and nodded in approval. Immediately the young
man relaxed and smiled with happiness. You see, the man in the balcony was his teacher,
and thus the applause of the crowd had meant nothing to him until he had first
won the hearty approval of his master.
Guys
we need to realize that the master is smiling / but it has nothing
to do
w/ your performance - but the performance of Jesus!
A) His performance covers you ! is
applied to you / Even the bench warmer gets a ring!
C.) Hey listen : Our High Priest is seated! He
did it all. Just respond!
1.)
Realize the saving effort of our Lord
cannot have anything added
to it! -
D.) He is seated. He is at rest!
Therefore He can offer rest
1.) MAT 11:28-30 "Come to Me, all you
who labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest. "Take
My yoke upon you and learn from
Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. "For My yoke is easy and My burden is
light."
2.) " Rest is not a hallowed feeling that comes over us in
church; it is the
Tranquility
of a heart set deep in God."
E) Now the Priestly ministry of Aaron
couldn't accomplish that/ it
couldn’t offer real peace/ Real rest / Be Jesus CAN & DOES
1) So that is why He is SEATED
But
Notice 2nd, where He is seated! Right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens.
A.) The Right hand of a
Monarch symbolized a place of honor, exaltation
and power
B.) To stand at his
right hand was an Honor / but to sit was a SUPREME
HONOR/ Jesus is sitting at the
Right hand of the Almighty God
1)
the Place of Supreme
Honor !!!!
C)
Now this idea of sitting at the right hand may
have reminded some Jews
of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council / 70 elders.
1.) Group had both
civil and religious authority - they acted administratively
as well as judicially
D)
Now When the members sat in judgment, a scribe, or
secretary would sit on
each side of the presiding judge
E)The scribe on the left side was responsible
for writing condemnations
1.) The scribe of the
right side was responsible for writing acquittals.
Which side is Jesus on? The right side!
A.) He sits in the seat of honor, of power, but
it is also a seat of Mercy!
Hosea 6;6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, God is
speaking desire to show Mercy And the knowledge of
God more than burnt offerings.
B) Now this really is
the crowning argument in Heb. for the superior priesthood of Christ
1) It is seen in His exaltation into heaven
to sit at the Father’s right hand/
that place of honor, mercy, and intercession
A
tragic but beautiful story from the book of Acts comes to mind in regard to
Jesus’ sitting at God’s right hand.
A)Acts 7 - Stephan -
stoning him - given a vision of heaven
"I see
Jesus standing at right hand of
Father"
B.) He wasn't
sitting but standing - why? Well, He is seated in regards to redemptive work - It is
finished / No more sacrifices of sins!
C.)But when one of His
own falls into trouble, He stands up, taking position of action.
1) His power & His energy are immediately activated on behalf of His
beloved.
D)He
is seated as our Redeemer, but is standing as our Helper in time of need.
1) PC Stood to welcome Stephen Home
Q. this aspect of our Lord’s Ministry: The fact that Jesus Christ, in all His glory, in all
His magnitude, in all His exaltation in heaven, is still preoccupied with
ministering to us is awesome, wonderful, and humbling. He
is always serving. He condescends even in His glory now on the throne of
God to stand up & minister in our behalf whenever we need Him. He did not
receive His majesty as something to be selfishly enjoyed. It is in Jesus Christ
that majesty & service are perfectly joined
So
first of all we Notice His Position Seated / Where at the right hand
2nd
We notice His Place of Ministry v.3-5
A)The word true here is not used as the opposite of false but is connected to the idea in v 5 of a Shadow
B) A shadow has no
substance in itself,/ it has no
existence or meaning apart from what it is a shadow of
1.) It only exists as
evidence of the real thing
C)The heavenly sanctuary
is not an enhanced improved version of
the earthly!
1) Just the opposite: The earthly
tab & temple were a shadow of heavenly
D) That is why Moses was
instructed in the Book of Exodus to make sure that He followed the pattern /
don’t Deviate
1) Because the OT pattern was a copy of the Heavenly Pattern
E) Now a copy can be
helpful: Example copy of contract. Check, names, dates, etc. - but only real
thing hold up in court.
1)
A Copy is good for
checking terms but only the real contract can enforce them.
So
here is his point - Why, should anyone be satisfied with a copy when he can
have the real thing?
A)Why should a Jew be
satisfied w/ the old priesthood & the old sacrifices-which are only copies
& shadows of forgiveness & reconciliation.
B)Why be satisfied w/ the shadow when he can have real
forgiveness and real reconciliation in Jesus Christ?
1)
My kids when I come
home from a trip run out & hug my shadow
C) I wonder how many
believers are so caught up in all the regulations & rituals – in a sense
are hugging the Shadows
D) Jesus is a Superior H.P. because He is seated at
the Right hand of the Father And Because He Ministers
in the True Tab. The heavenly Tab
1) AND
BECAUSE HE HAS ESTABLISHED THE N.C. V.6
Now
everything that we have seen in the Previous 7 Chapters talking about who Jesus
is & His faithfulness
A)Everything that He has been saying up to this point concerning the Superiority of Christ over the Angels /Prophets / Moses/ Joshua/ Lev. Priest
B) It has all been leading up to this – His establishing of a New Covenant
C) The Purpose of a Covenant Is to establish the terms of a Relationship between 2 parties
1)
There are several
Covenant That God established w/ man that are recorded in the O.T.
We
read of the first in the book of Gen. 9 Noahic Covenant – Covenant That God
made w/ Noah
A)The Noahic Covenant
establishes principles whereby man is to rule over God’s kingdom on earth. / Be
fruitful & Multiply
B)In Gen.12 God
made a Covenant W/ Abraham – to bless Him &
make Him a great nation / from his seed all
the nations of the World would be blessed
1)
This Covenant That God
made w/ Abe was Unconditional Covenant It
wasn’t based upon anything that Abe would do to deserve it
C) It was a Covenant
That was Abe –simply embraced by faith – Accounted to him as Righteousness
Later on in
the book of 2 Sam. Ch.7 God makes a Covenant W/ David
A)A Covenant Where God
promised David the following: “(1) David is to have a child, , who would
succeed him and establish his kingdom.
B)(2) This son (Solomon)
shall build the temple instead of David.
(3) The throne will not be taken away from
him (Solomon) even though
his sins justify chastisement.
(4) David’s house, throne, and kingdom
shall be established forever.”7-1
These
were all major Covenant That are seen in the O.T. – but there is one more / it
is the one that the writer of Hebrews is referring to O.C.
A)The Law the 10 commandments that God gave to Moses in Ex. 20 / main Covenant Because it was made w/ the nation / not just individual
B) The Covenant That God made w/ Noah / Abe/ David were Covenant That were made to individuals but that had national implications
1) The O.C. – was made w/ the nation of Israel
C) The O.C. was purely
conditional – God said that if they kept his commandments that He would bless
them & lead them into the land
1) But there was a Problem w/ this Covenantv.7-9
D) No problem there wouldn’t have been a need for another
1) The team that wins the super bowl doesn’t fire its O & D Cord.
E)Problems as we noted
on Sunday was w/ man’s inability to keep it
So
the Lord says that I am going to establish a New Covenant That is based upon
Better Promises
A)First was conditional – Your Performance / the N.C. unconditional based solely on the performance of Christ
B) Now v.8-12 are a
direct quotation taken from Jer. 31 . The Lord spoke of this coming Covenant
During the time that Josiah was king in Judah
C)
After yrs of Rebellion from the Lord – Josiah
became King of Judah when he was only 8 yrs old / Josiah loved God / Good King
1)
He reigned as King for
31 yrs
D) Well when Josiah was
26 yrs old he came upon a copy of the law of God
1)
That is how removed
they were the Law wasn’t even around
Wasn’t
hanging in their houses / wasn’t posted in their schools /
A)When ever a people or nation forsakes the law of God – wickedness will be the RESULT
B) Josiah upon finding the law seeks to enact it – calls the nation back to repentance & there is this – Momentary Revival / short lived
1)
Josiah is Frustrated
at He & the people’s inability to keep the law of God
C) And it was during
this time of frustration that the Lord spoke thru Jer. The Prophet concerning
this N.C. He was going to send .Rd. v.10-12
D) House of Israel &
Judah ( Divided Kingdom )– Prophetic
implications to Israel / that will be fulfilled in the Millennium
1)
But it has Present
Applications to the Church / Jesus N.C. in my Blood
Now
we began to look at this Covenant In detail on Sunday morning and we are going
to spend several Sun. am’s considering it
A)Key to N.T Living – tonight briefly mention the 3 components
B) First is seen in the first part of v.10 – The Lord says I am going to do an Internal thing – write my will on Your heart
1)
O.C. was purely
external rules & Regulations
C) The N.C. is God doing a work on the Inside / Ezk. 36 New Heart / place my spirit in you cause you …….. focus on Sunday .
The 2nd
aspect of this N.C. is found in the 2nd part of v.10 & in v.11
described as a New Part – ( Focus this Sunday)
A)The Lord says that
they shall be my people / and all of You shall Know me
B) This was impossible under the O.C. – No one could know the Lord in a
personal & intimate way
1)
Only the H.P. could
even approach that place where God’s presence dwelt & that was only once a
yr./ day of Atonement
C) The Priest were the teachers – but now everyone could teach / because of the
Access that Christ made for us
1)
Because of the
Presence of God’s spirit w/ in us
3rd
Aspect of this N.C. is what I would call a New Start v.12
A)Sins forgiven & forgotten by the Lord
B) I want talk at length
of these things in coming Sundays but that is it in a Nutshell
C) That is what the Levitical priesthood
couldn’t accomplish
1)
Couldn’t accomplish
complete forgiveness & cleansing / couldn’t accomplish
intimacy w/ God
D) And it didn’t provide
any POWER TO LIVE THE LIFE
1)
But the New Covenant
does all of that !!!!!!
One
last thing v.13 the New makes the Old Obsolete / does that mean that we don’t
have to pay attention to the Law / Ignore it
A)First of all the Old is not obsolete to those who are not believers
B) Gal. 3:24 – Tutor
C) 2nd
For Believers the OC is obselete in this sense it is no longer the way that we
try to earn favor w\ God –
1)
We now accept it by
faith – thru Christ
D) But it is Valid in
the sense that every Commandment is mentioned in the N.T. in way form or
another
1)
Jesus said all of the
commandments are summed up in these 2 love God & Love each other
E) And that is what the
H.S. is writing in our Hearts / that is what the H.S. is seeking to convict us
about
1)
Wants to enable us to
do
Be a people who love God w/ all that we have / then shows his love to others