Day 77: The Better Priest, the Better Sacrifice

That is what the author of Hebrews calls Jesus:  the better sacrifice.  He intentionally sets Jesus up against the priests of the old covenant, and the sacrifices of the old covenant, and declares Jesus to be better, more effective, good Forever.  Because he is perfect (unlike any other priest), he is able to save completely; because he died and rose and is now seated at God's right hand, he able to intercede continually for us.  That is one of his jobs.

And this kind of priest, and this kind of covenant was foretold, by Jeremiah, who wrote, "Look, the days are coming when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel...I will place their laws on their minds, and write them on their hearts....."  So God always intended for this old covenant to become real.

Some people think that this letter is written to Jewish Christians, who were considering abandoning their new faith, and returning to pre-messianic Judaism.  Sometimes the rhetoric makes me think so.  While I am one who holds fast to the new covenant given and sealed by Jesus (remember the idea that the death of the signee makes the well effective?), I also struggle with some of the words of this letter that seem to say that Judaism is now obsolete and is going away.  Is that what the letter writer is saying?

Jesus in Hebrews is not only the Better Priest, he is also the perfect sacrifice.  His sacrifice on the cross is not again-and-again, but once-for all, so no longer do we need to make sacrifices of animals to be reconciled with God.

On the other hand, if we fall away once we know the truth, this letter has harsh words for us: 'if we make the decision to sin after we receive the knowledge of the truth, there isn't a sacrifice for sins any longer."  What do you think of this?  Do you think that the author of Hebrews is referring to ordinary "sins", or something more encompassing?

Tomorrow we are on to the some of the most well-known passages of this letter.

What is faith?

Day 76: Jesus, our Sabbath Rest; Jesus, our High Priest

So, in his (or her) encouraging way, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews continues to encourage and to chide and to remind the congregation of the superiority of Jesus, of the benefits of knowing Jesus and following Jesus.

First he reminds them of the story of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness, and the promise of sabbath rest.  But there's more to the story than meets the eye.  Sabbath rest is about a literal rest from labors once a week, it's about entering God's rest, it's about trusting the faithfulness of God, whether in the wilderness or the promised land.  So ultimately Jesus is God's Sabbath rest -- the One who trusted God perfectly also offers us a Sabbath when we trust him.

Then, he points out Jesus as a high priest:  and not just any high priest, but a high priest "after the order of Melchizedek."  What does that mean?  Melchizedek is a sort of shadowy figure from the book of Genesis, who appears mysteriously to bless Abraham, and then disappears again.  He is not part of the formal line of priests.  He is prior to the levitical priesthood.  In fact, he does not even appear to be an Israelite.  But he is unique, like Jesus.

Jesus is a priest, our high priest, which might seem a strange thing to our ears.  What do we need a priest for?  A priest is a mediator, an intercessor, someone who pleads for someone else, and most of us don't think this way.  What do we need a mediator for?  What do we need an intercessor for?  What could we be guilty of?  We're pretty good, aren't we?  Maybe we make mistakes sometimes, but nothing we have to worry about.

But the author of Hebrews and his/her congregation do believe they need a mediator.  They know that they fall, and they want to be reconciled to God.  Jesus is a good reconciler because as a human being, he sympathizes with our stumbling ways, but he always has the ear of God.

But what about us?  Is it good news to us that Jesus is rest, or that Jesus is a high priest?  How would you describe the good news of Jesus?