Posts from December 2020
Hebrews 12: Persecution is Coming
As the author made his way through “Faith’s Hall of Fame” in chapter 11, he made a noted change in emphasis regarding those who live by faith. He began with two examples of “simple” faithful living in Abel and Enoch. He then moved to Noah, Abraham and Sarah, who obeyed God when nothing God said to them made any sense in human reasoning. From there he moved to the accounts of great deeds done by faith, notably Moses and the…
Hebrews 11: The Just Shall Live by Faith
Hebrews 11 is often called “Faith’s Hall of Fame,” as it chronicles the lineage of those who obeyed God in faith. Beginning with Abel, who by faith offered a better offering than Cain, and continuing through the judges, kings and prophets, we have illustrated what it means to have faith in God. Hebrews 11 is the perfect picture of James 2:18, “But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and…
Hebrews 10: “Let Us” Help One Another Get to Heaven
Hebrews 10:19 marks a transition from the reality of the New Covenant (Heb 7-8) and remission of sins through the perfect blood offering of Jesus (Heb 9:1-10:18) to the necessity of human response and the work of obedient faith: “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus… and having a High Priest over the house of God,” with a series of “Let us” statements. These statements help us to see how we can help one…
Hebrews 9: Symbolism Over Substance
American politicians (and I guess politicians everywhere) love symbolism. Symbolism makes people feel good without actually doing or changing anything. With the sacrifice of Jesus, the symbolic (note the change in terminology) items and deeds of the Law were done away with. I call them symbolic because they only pointed as a shadow to the perfect and final covenant which was to follow in Christ (cf Col 2:16-17). Once the substance of the symbolic is come, blind adherence to the…
Hebrews 8: He Has Made the First Obsolete
The gospel of Christ is God’s final and for all covenant with man. After speaking specifically of the need to change the law (7:12), it seems the author wants to reassure his readers that the new covenant isn’t totally unrelated to the former. Continuing his discussion of the high priesthood, I cannot help but think of the dilemma facing the Jews of that day. The high priesthood had become diminished and tarnished by the politics of the Idumeans and their…
Hebrews 7: A Change in the Priesthood Requires a Change in the Law: Back to Melchizedek
When one thinks of all-time great Bible characters, I doubt Melchizedek comes to mind for most. However, given what Hebrews 7 tells us of this man, (and he was a man), we may need to rethink our estimation of this great character. The author begins by noting the marvelous titles of Melchizedek, “king of righteousness” and “king of peace.” I think we can see where he is going with this. Then the author continues with this statement: “Now consider how…