There’s no doubt that we as humans like the comfortable and the familiar. Especially when presented with challenges - we like what we know. My dog is like that. She knows that when we are finished exercising on Saturday morning that it’s time for her walk. And at a certain time in the evening - she grabs her cloth bone and heads to bed - whether we’re coming with her or not.
When we come out of the world and into the kingdom of God, we are leaving the comfortable world we know. Slavery to sin is all we knew - and we were comfortable with it. Leave to the Holy Spirit to upset the apple cart and bring us into a new family with a whole new reality.
That’s fine as long as things are going well - but when we face temptation, persecution or trials in this new reality- suddenly the comfort level drops and we long for a time when we didn’t have to worry about sin and salvation.
Such is the case with the writing of Hebrews. The book was written to Jewish Christians who were facing problems - and were really starting to wonder if their choice to leave Judaism was a good one. They were tempted to go back to the comfortable and leave Jesus behind. Or they wanted a sort of mixture of the two - belong to Jesus yet make sacrifices according to the Levitcal system. So this book attempts to show them that you really can’t go backwards - that it might seem comfortable, but is really no comfort at all in the old ways.
Who wrote Hebrews?
Possible authors: Luke (Clement of Alexandria), Paul (Catholic view), Apollos (Luther), Barnabas (Tertullian around 200AD).
Probably not Paul - no personal references, no signed name, language too pure Greek and sentence structure different, missing key Pauline doctrine.
Written about 60AD (before the fall of Jerusalem - no reference to it)
In a nutshell - Hebrews is about which way is better - the old or the new. In chapters 1-10 the author says that Jesus Christ is better - better than the angels, better than Moses, better than the Old Testament priesthood and that the New Covenant is better by far than the Old Covenant.
Then in chapters 10 through 13 the author tells us that faith is better than life without God, better than the Law, the Sacrificial system, works, and better than self determination and self improvement. Some think that Hebrews was actually a sermon set to written form and intended for a small group of teachers that the author knew.
Today we are going to go through most of the book - well, okay, only two verses - but they hold the key to the entire book of Hebrews so I want to take time with it.
1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
In marketing there is an axiom - get the right message to the right people the right number of times at the right price. Now, I’m not saying that God created a marketing plan for Jesus Christ - but really, marketing is nothing more than educating people about something they need to make a decision about.
God has something that will benefit every human - and He wanted to make sure every one of us got the message when we needed it - so He did something else that is important in marketing - media-mix. If you hear a message on the radio, then see a billboard and get something in the mail and see it on TV - it registers in your brain more effectively. So God also spoke - "in various ways" it says - because we humans need to hear His message over and over and coming at us from all angles before it finally works it way through our thick skulls!
There is no doubt that God did speak - the Old Testament has great value for us as it points us to Jesus. We shouldn’t discount it or throw it away. God’s final revelation given to man was given through Jesus Christ. Up until then the revelation was misunderstood and incomplete. Jesus is the ultimate understanding of God.
It is superior to all other revelations.
Forefathers
In Genesis, God spoke first to Adam and Eve - telling them that after the fall, one would come who would "crush" the head of the serpent (Gen 3:15).
Later he spoke to Noah - telling him that he would be saved by going into the ark - then later to Noah’s descendant Abraham. God made a covenant with Abraham, through whom God promised to bless every nation.
In Exodus God spoke to Moses, telling him that He was sending a prophet (Deut 18) who would speak God’s word.
And so Jesus came - the Word of God (John 1), who said "I am the Way the Truth, and the Life - no man comes to the Father but by Me." (John 14:6).
He became the ark of salvation for everyone - (Math 20:28) - a sacrifice, a ransom to rescue us (that’s what the word "salvation" means).
And in becoming the ultimate sacrifice he "crushed" death and defeated that serpent, Lucifer (1 Cor 15:55).
And in doing so He brought blessing to every person who receives him among all the nations of the earth - the blessing of eternal life. (John 3:16).
The Jews thought that God had chosen them - that something in them was special. But God had chosen to work through them to bring the Savior to the entire world.
John 5:39-40 You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
Prophets
After Israel came into the land God still spoke to them - not directly, but through prophets. They were men and women, rich and poor, powerful and weak, kings and farmers and priests and shepherds, and scholars.
They spoke in various ways - sometimes with fire from heaven, sometimes with dung burning in a campfire - through whom they married to how they named their kids - with props and with scrolls - God was very inventive and multimedia in how he spoke to man.
Many times when they spoke, they spoke about a coming ruler - a Messiah - who would be a man of sorrows, and a mighty warrior - a quiet man and a man whose words would destroy armies.
See here for a list of 60 such prophecies and their fulfillment.
http://www.jcsm.org/biblelessons/FMP.htm
The Jews knew they were looking for someone - but because they were so myopic in their viewpoint - looking for a political king instead of a Spiritual Savior - they missed the fulfillment of every one of the prophet’s words: Jesus Christ.
In various ways
Not only did the prophets employ various methods to get across God’s truth - but God Himself used various ways to point to the Messiah, Jesus.
The Law
The Law says: "do this and live, do this and die." If we could follow it we’d be perfect - but we can’t - we were born not able to follow the Law. But it does speak to us of what perfection might look like - so what is its purpose?
Galatians 3:19-25 What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. 20 A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one.
21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
23 Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24 So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.
Problem: If you focus on the Law without Christ you end up in legalism - trying to please God with your own efforts - and failing.
The Priesthood
The people of Israel looked to the priests to be their representatives to God. They performed the sacrifices and duties then came back to say it was all right - God’s wrath had been assuaged.
But a priest approaching God for the people was only a temporary solution - not a permanent one.
Hebrews 7:23-25 Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; 24 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
Problem: If you focus on the priesthood without Jesus you end up looking to man as the source of your salvation and comfort instead of Jesus our high priest - and you run into the danger of idolatry.
So Jesus as our high priest is the only one to look to - the permanent solution - the complete salvation.
The Sacrificial System
The sacrificial system was complicated and repetitive. It made us feel good to sacrifice - something tangible we can see and feel and experience. But make one mistake and "poof" you were dead. That’s why they had bells around the bottom of the priestly garment when they went into the Holy of Holies - and a rope tied around the priest’s ankle. That way if he didn’t do it right and was stuck dead, they could pull him out without having to go in after him and having all those bodies pile up.
So what was really going on with all those sacrifices?
Hebrews 8:3-6 Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. 4 If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already men who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. 5 They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain." 6 But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises.
Every sacrifice, every offering, every piece of Tabernacle furniture - all speaks of God’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ.
These things were patterns or shadows of the reality to come. So why do we sometimes choose the shadow rather than the real thing?
Problem: If you focus on the sacrificial system for your salvation (the shadows) - you will never feel free from sin - never satisfied and never at rest, but always trying to do things to please God instead of realizing that what He did for you was sufficient.
God also spoke in various ways like through dreams, visions, marriages, fire and cloud, the Urim and Thummim, or even in person - but something huge changed that night in Bethlehem.
Verse 2 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
After Jesus came - following the last prophet: John the Baptist - prophecy as they Jews had known it ceased to exist. That’s because no longer was there a need for someone to foretell the Messiah - He Himself came and spoke the Words of God.
There was a great separation, then, between John and Jesus. John marked the end of the old way - the Old Covenant.
Not only is Jesus the Word of God - He is also the "heir of all things."
Jesus is the most important and powerful person in the universe. He isn’t just a prophet, or a priest, or a good man who followed all the Law. He doesn’t just know God - He IS God.
More than that even - Jesus was the originator of creation. Jesus was the agent through which everything was made. If Jesus made everything then He also can speak through creation. In fact, He does.
Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
But:
Romans 1:25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator - who is forever praised. Amen.
That’s our problem - we don’t look high enough - but stop on the creation rather than the creator. That’s why there is the evolutionary theory, why people worship things and systems on this earth.
Everything really speaks of Jesus and is Jesus speaking.
In gravity it speaks of the reality of consequences
In the rainbow it speaks of God’s faithfulness
In DNA it speaks of God’s complexity and flexibility
In the sun it speaks of His provision and power
In the snow it speaks of God’s foreknowledge (water for the summer)
Even in the force that holds the atoms together it speaks of His love and care
Conclusions
There are many voices speaking - which are you listening to?
Some of the voices in our culture even claim to speak for God. The voices say that all ways to God are equal and that the way of Jesus is simply too restrictive to be considered.
But what if His voice is speaking truth?
The voice of rationalism is especially loud in our world today - the voice that says "unless I can see and count and touch and prove to my satisfaction - then it cannot be true."
That’s why things like the priesthood and the sacrifices are so alluring - like rationalism, it is something we can feel and smell and hold and view.
But like Abraham - we must hear God’s Word, then believe it - on faith.
Jesus is better than rationalism - He is superior to it and more real than it. He might have been an unassuming figure when He came to earth the first time - but in all the visions of the risen Christ He is a force to reckon with and the most powerful and important person ever.
God has spoken, but are you listening to Him?
The right message - Jesus is the ONLY way to eternal life - ignore the rest of the clutter.
The right people - God wants all men to be saved - but you have to want it too
The right time - Today is the day of salvation - are you ready?
The right cost - Jesus gave up everything for you - it cost Him everything
For an audio copy of this message be sure to visit our website: www.CalvaryChapelNewberg.org
