HEBREWS 7:8-21
HAVING HEALTHY HOPES HELPS
HURTING HUMANITY
I. THE HAPPENINGS:
A. Humiliated.
B. Hated.
C. Hungry.
II. THE HEALINGS:
A. Hurts.
B. Hindrances.
C. Hollowness.
III. THE HORIZON:
A. Harmony.
B. Happiness.
C. Hope.
The writer to the Hebrews picks up the theme of proving that Jesus is better than the Law by telling his readers that the Law did not make anyone or anything perfect. The only “perfect” thing it did was bringing in a “better” hope for mankind.
However, before he gets to his main point of proving that Jesus, the better One, is the fulfillment of the Law, it is necessary to examine the previous verses regarding the law, the Priesthood, and the ways of old Judaism. Couched in his writing of the former ways of living under the old system is the indirect references to all that the Jews endured in times past. As they stubbornly clung to the former ways, the Jewish people paid a heavy price as they endured their way of living and worshipping. While they looked forward to the Perfected Priest who would be a Priest forever as envisioned in the story of Melchisedec, the people endured hardships that were beyond endurances. All of their endurance of life was due to their hope that the Messiah would come and would deliver them from the oppression they endured for so long. Take away the Priesthood, its meanings, its symbolism and nothing was left. The very forms of worship as they were centered around the Priesthood made them observe an imperfect Law, yet that Law-with all of its flaws-was what held them together for millennia. Now, the writer says that that Law, as imbedded in the Priesthood was only pointing to something better and that which it pointed, has come and it has replaced all of that which went before it. The new day has dawned, the Old Law with its Priesthood, sacrifices, and ways of living are gone-a new and a Better Way has arrived. With its arrival, there is now a new hope for mankind and especially the Jewish people who have endured so much because they were Jews and because they had the Priesthood.
To begin my sermon, I first look at THE HAPPENINGS of the Jewish people from their history and even into the present time of this writing, as they waited for the fulfillment of the Priest that would come in the order of Melchisedec. The next thing I note is THE HEALINGS this better hope brought to the Jewish people and to the world of suffering humanity. Then, I look to THE HORIZON for all of mankind as this Better hope makes His appearing into the human race.
I. THE HAPPENINGS: The items which we could list under the word, “happenings” are those things that had taken place among the Jews as they waited for the “better” hope for a better tomorrow. These events marked the Jews as being among the most hated and reviled people of all times. Each occurrence of pain and degradation was just one more reason to hold out hope that their Messiah would someday come and rescue them.
The first item I list under the heading of THE HAPPENINGS has to be among the worst that can beset any group of people and that is to be constantly Humiliated. There has never been another religion, nationality or group of people that have suffered more humiliation than the Jewish people. They seem to have suffered every form of humiliation that is imaginable to mankind. Even when the writer was writing this letter to the Jewish people in the first century, they had already endured centuries of humiliation at the hands of the Egyptians, the Babylonians and the people of Nineveh in the time of Jonah. The Holocaust was centuries in the future and these Jewish people have suffered every form of degradation known to man.
What lay behind this terrible blight upon them? It was none other than their race and their Religion. Instead of accommodating the oppressors and discarding their form of worship and doing away with the Old law, they tenaciously clung to their way of life and living. They kept the Priesthood and constantly longed for their Deliverer. The Priesthood tied them together and they survived under the cloak of their religion, while waiting for the fulfillment of the Priest that would come in the order of Melchisedec.
Not only did the Jewish people suffer great Humiliation, but they also suffered abject Hatred by their neighbors, their captors and those who sought to extinguish them. So often they were misunderstood because they were different and standoffish. Their belief in the Law and the Priesthood of their religion branded them as traitors, spies, subversives and a host of other epithets, all because of their firm belief in the Old Law with its Priesthood and way of living. The Jews were merely disliked-they were hated. They were banned from towns, villages and countries. They were hunted, killed, slaughtered and maimed because of their beliefs in the God of the Old Testament and for strick adherence to the Law. Yet the Law was not perfect-it pointed towards a Perfect One, a Better One. This imperfect Law became a vital part of their lives and they endured so much due to their upholding an imperfect Law which could never make them perfect.
Besides THE HAPPENINGS that enveloped the Jews, the imperfect Law made them Hungry for the completion of what the Law promised: a Priest that would come who would be better than Abraham and One who would be the fulfillment of the Melchisedec Priesthood. The old prophets promised a Better One, a Perfect One, that would come someday to the Nation of Israel. This fulfillment of that One would be the One who would satisfy their longings for inner peace and perfection. This hunger seemed to grow as the nation moved farther away from its roots. The yearly, monthly, and weekly orders of worship only seemed to make their hunger grow for that One who would be the fulfillment of the Old Law. Even though the Law could point to that One it could not deliver that One, and so the hunger for a “Better One” was constantly growing within the breast of the Jewish conscience and their collective heart.
These Happenings, these events that marked the Jewish people and race were the results of them clinging to an imperfect manner of living and of serving a true God. While the Law could not stop the humiliation, nor stem the tide of hatred towards these Jewish people of old, it only made them grow hungrier for the final fulfillment of that “Better One” that was going to arrive someday and change all for the better for the people of God. The imperfect Law was good for one thing and that was the preparing the Jews and the people of the world for a Better Person-Christ. It could not change the hearts of the masses of people, it could prove to a perfect precursor to the Son of God who was coming someday for the Jewish people. The writer of the Hebrews says that that time has now come.
II. THE HEALINGS: Since so many negative events followed the doers of that Old Law, the writer slowly begins to build his case that the coming of a “better” way for all the Jews and for mankind was found in Christ. Since the Law was not perfect in solving the sufferings of the Jewish race due to the strict adherence of that Law, the one perfect thing that Law did was to point to a better time to come. That time, according to the writer, was now with the advent of Jesus. But just what were the “better” things one could anticipate with the “better” way of Jesus? Although not stated, the “better” things of Christ has proved enduring. The writer had an inkling that Jesus was “better” than the Law, but he had no complete knowledge of what history has proven just how “better” life has become for those who have embraced Him as the replacement of the former way of serving God. Some of those “better” ways are listed below.
I have not listed all of the “better” things that has evolved under the reign of Christ, but the first one I list is that Christ has been able to bring great healing to those that have been Hurt in various manners. Again, I refer to the Jewish race in particular. The Old Law brought with it the many regulations of the “does” and the “don’ts” that had characterized its way of service to God. With all of its regulations from the Priesthood to servant hood, the Law had specific guidelines for just about every facet of the human condition. With all of the laws for outward actions, the Law could not address the inner heart with its aches and desires. The Jewish people hurt-both physically and spiritually. Sins committed against one self and others resulted in much hurting. The Law had a formula for solving these hurts on the surface but not of the inner heart. All the imperfect Law could do was to take care of the outer man. However, the imperfect law pointed to a time when the Hurts of mankind would be healed by a “better” way, a “better” Person. The Law with its Priesthood, with all of its imperfection pointed to the coming of a “better” way of serving God and with this “better” way, the hurts of all of man’s ills and heartaches would be healed by this “Better Person” Jesus.
The writer to the Hebrews knew that the Priesthood and the Law could not heal the hurt but he knew that Jesus could. He may have known that serving Jesus would be better but he had no idea just how complete the “better” way would become as Jesus began and continues to so do-the healing of mankind’s Hurt.
Not only did the Law with its establishment of the Priesthood as a symbol for all of that for which it stood, was not able to heal the inner hurting of its adherents, that same Law, that Priesthood and all of its symbolism could not erase the Hindrances that stood between man and God. The imperfect Law, with its imperfect Priesthood and its imperfect form of service to God could only go so far to remove the outer obstacles of separation between God and man, but was limited to remove any and all inner barriers between these two entities. Yet, the writer to the Hebrews sensed that with the coming of the “better” way of serving God, these Hindrances would be healed and removed. He knew in part, but his statement has stood the test of time that Christ was the “better” way and with His coming, He brought HEALINGS to the Jewish race and to mankind in general by His shed blood which has healed the Hurts and erased the Hindrances between God and man. The imperfect law could only point to that One that did come and with His coming, the writer states that there is now a “better” way of serving God. Part of this “better” way was the acknowledgement that Christ only could heal and remove all obstacles between God and man.
Besides the Hurts and the Hindrances being healed by this “better” way of serving God, the writer to the Hebrews could note that this imperfect Law could point to the fact that this “better” way would heal the Hollowness, not only of the Jewish Priesthood and way of serving God but the also THE HEALINGS of mankind’s emptiness of trying to reach God and falling short in his efforts.
The writer to the Hebrews knew that with the advent of Jesus, the void of the Jewish form of worship would be breached and healed. He also knew that the gulf of emptiness of mankind’s efforts to placate God would be bridged by the “better” way found in Christ. “The Balm of Gilead” could now be applied universally to all of mankind and the Hollowness of all of man’s religions would be healed by this “better’ way found in Christ. He knew then when he wrote these words that a “better” way was now made available to all at that time, but he had no clear concept of just how far this healing of Jesus’ blood would reach on into the future. Little did he know then that this “better” way of Christ’s healings of man’s hurts, his hindrances and his hollowness would eventually encircle this globe. He knew that Christ was the “better” way over against the Jewish and pagan rituals of his day. He knew that the imperfect Law could only do so much and then stop. He knew that the imperfect Law was perfect in its pointing to a “better” way for all of mankind, yet he did not know just how much “better” this new way of serving God was to become. It was as if the words of Paul were being fulfilled in his writing: “we know in part” and “we see as through a glass darkly” but then the light will shine and we will know the truth in its fullness someday. The writer to the Hebrews knew in part then, but oh we know so much more now as we realize that Christ is the “better” way over the Priesthood and the old Jewish system that brought so much humiliation to its adherents; that fostered so much rampant hatred against the Jewish people and their religion; that made them hungry for relief. Then when Jesus did come, He was the “better” way that brought healing to their hurt; His coming removed all hindrances between man and God and He healed the hollowness of lost man’s inability to reach God. All of this hope fostered by an imperfect Law was realized in the coming of Jesus and with His advent, man had a better hope for the tomorrow.
III. THE HORIZON: The “better” way of serving Christ rather than the Old Law promises things which the Law could not do. The Law with its Priesthood and rituals could not promise that tomorrow would be better. It prepared the way for the Son of God, the High Priest that was to come after the similitude of Melchisedec, but it could not lift its followers to expect anything “better” other than what it already had. This imperfect Law could point to a “better” way to come but it could not bring it to fruition.
The one thing humanity has longed to accomplish is the need for Harmony among man in all of his living and dying. The imperfect Law could never bridge that chasm, it could only hope that the nation of Israel would follow the dictates of its many rituals which would promote peace among the Jews but it could never branch out beyond the borders of the Promised Land to bring peace and accord to all of mankind. Even though Melchisedec was a forerunner of the One to come, he could not bring harmony and tranquility to the world. The Law with its Priesthood and rules could never accomplish this impossible task. Yet, the writer to the Hebrews sensed that the coming of Jesus was the One who would be bringing Harmony to mankind. It is no wonder that he was able to say with all certainty that the new found faith which Jesus brought was indeed “better” for all. This hope, this aspiration, certainly broadened THE HORIZON of the early Christians. That vista has continued to grow through out the centuries as the realities of the hope in the “better” Priest has been made evident to His followers and to the world.
Not only did the vista look “better” with the coming of Christ regarding the possible attainment of Harmony among mankind, but also THE HORIZON looked better with the prospect of human Happiness. Human nature has been plagued by sadness ever since the Fall of Man. The search for contentment has consumed man ever since that fateful day in the Garden of Eden. The more Man searches for Happiness with out Jesus the farther he falls away from that elusive goal of being happy.
The imperfect law could not bring Happiness to the adherents of that religion. The giving and the receiving of tithes, and offerings could not bring about that elusive charm called Happiness. Yet, the writer to the Hebrews seems to have had a hint of the real “better” deal for mankind when he wrote that all of the imperfect Law could not do, the coming of Jesus could do. The Priesthood and the system of law could not make the inner man content with himself for ever. There was the constant bringing of sacrifices, offerings ritualism that only sustained the worshipper for the moment, but once the offering, the sacrifice were given, the sadness of the dire situation returned. However, with the “better” worship of Jesus, THE HORIZON brightened with the prospect of earthly and then eternal Happiness found only by coming to Jesus. The old Law was abolished with the coming of the “better” one and the landscape of life seem to glow brighter and brighter with the salvation offered by Jesus.
Last, and certainly the greatest thing that appeared on the new sights for mankind was the prospect of not only a “better” way of living here on this Earth, but also of gaining Heaven. The old has passed away with the coming of the “better” One and the way into God’s eternal Home was now assured through the saving merits of Jesus. This was something that was missing from the imperfect Law. It could tell man how to worship the God of the Old Testament, but it could not grant assurance of a home in Heaven.
From the sufferings of the Jewish people and even the Christian converts of the first century to the prospects of inheriting an eternal home with Jesus, the writer tells his readers that Christ is indeed the “Better” of all faiths and religions. What he intimated in his epistle, has now been made more clearer to His followers as we gain new and every deepings insights into the bountiful blessings of this “Better” way to serve God.
