Missions Paul

The author is almost repeating the themes he has already written but if he does then it is needed. The believers are thinking of walking away from being followers of Jesus to going back to Judaism with its religious practices. And you might say this doesn’t apply to you. However the temptation we always have is to begin to try and do good works as a means to feel we are right before God. If I’m praying, reading the Bible, going to church, doing acts of kindness then that shows I am good. But of course that is also how we feel when the opposite happens. When I sin again, when I am not nice and am unkind, selfish then that shows I am a bad person and God most probably doesn’t like me and will judge me.

It is of course faulty thinking. It isn’t the truth.

“It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.” (Hebrews 9 v23)

Don’t let anyone lead you to believe that heaven in some way needed purifying. There is no physical tabernacle with all of its furniture in heaven. It is us who needed purifying and it called not for earthly sacrifices but something far better. This of course was His once-for-all-sacrifice. We are the heavenly things, we are the people who God lives within and the only way He could enter within was His own sacrifice and nothing of our good works.

So why go back to good works as a means to gain favour with God when the ultimate work has already happened for your life. You have been purified through Christ’s blood. Why not simply accept that truth. There is nothing that you can do to make what He has done better. This is a better way to live.

The blood was needed for the old covenant. The blood of animals was used on that day that sealed that covenant and the outworking of it before the altars over the generations to come. Everything in the tabernacle, all of the furniture and the tabernacle itself was sprinkled with the blood of the animals. Everything that needed cleansing needed the blood of animals. The blood brought the forgiveness. The author/pastor helps us to see this:

“This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. ¹⁹ When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. ²⁰ He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.” ²¹ In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. ²² In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” (Hebrews 9 v 18-22)

To move from the old to the new covenant it wasn’t the blood of anything else except that of Jesus which made it possible.

To move into the new season of being cleansed and being forgiven again it wasn’t the blood of anything else except that of Jesus which made it possible.

Here’s the thing. The sooner the Church realises that only the blood of Jesus should be found on its floor the better. Divisions can happen in seasons of transition and there can be the blood of people that is spilled figuratively.

The transition between the old and new helps us to see the model for our mission today.

Let the world only see the blood of Jesus in the Church.

Recently I have been seriously looking at how old I am. There’s just nothing I can do to stop these years from being added on. How did I get to this age?

Inevitably one day I will be entering into the day of my death. It is there for us all. Death is part of life. We cannot avoid it though we try through all kinds of ways to give ourselves just a bit longer.

It should not be feared but it should lead us to appreciate the time we have.

In many areas of life death is necessary and that is certainly what our author is saying to us in the next 2 verses about Jesus.

^“In the case of a will,it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, ¹⁷ because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living.” (Hebrews 9 v 16-17)

How is an inheritance/ a will gained? A death.

What brings about the end of what was old? A death.

What brings us into the new? A death.

What takes us from the old ideas into the new ideas? A death.

What moves us into a new season? A death.

The Christian gospel is that of the power of the death of Christ on the cross. We must never forget that this is the model for our life here and especially if we are in a leadership capacity. The New Testament is full of this message. Death to self. Dying to our sinful nature. Laying our life down for others.

It seems to me we do a lot of proclaiming about how alive we are when God is desiring we die first! We are so good at promoting where we are going that we take our eyes off the cost, the price that will need to be paid, who is going to die to self? Within the church it is always the shepherd that needs to lay their life down for the sheep. But let’s not just leave it to the shepherds, we are all shepherds in some way. Vision is never realised without a death.

D:Ream, a Northern Irish pop group had a number one song in 1994 with the title ‘Things can only get better’. I am sure if you know the song you have started to hum the tune right now!

I love these kind of opportune songs. The start of political conferences or presidential runs there are usually these kind of upbeat visionary songs that indeed things can only get better. The above was because ‘I’ve found you’ though they are usually played to firmly suggest ‘you’ve found me’!

Every Pastor and Church are familiar with vision statements, looking ahead to see what is before us, a time to imagine the impossibility becoming possible.

But crucial to anything you hear from any leader, politician or from the pulpit is the second of my 2 titles: What and How?

A vision and great ideas are fairly easy to come by. But the method, the strategy, how we get there is a different thing altogether!

The old covenant was calling over many generations for something new. It heralded through the prophets for a new covenant to come.

The author in one verse lays not only the purpose but also the method. This is what the vision is but then this is how it will be fulfilled. Remember Hebrews 9 v 15. Let it become the backdrop of your life and the guide. Let it be your foundation not only for what it says because that in itself is so powerful but the model that our Lord Jesus Christ lived by and calls us all to do also. Here it is.

“For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.” (Hebrews 9 v 15)

The NIV separates the verse with a dash. It helps us.

We all long for the promises, even the ones all the way back to Abraham’s day. The promises that we will discover in the chapter of faith (11). We are people who are ready to ‘receive the promised eternal inheritance’. This is the what?

But the how? This is critical to the what.

The promises have come to us because of the sacrifice of Christ. He paid the price.

He set us free from the sins of the first covenant and not only that one. It just wasn’t working. So what was needed was not a whole new set of rules to replace the defunct ones. No. It was the cross, sacrifice, He laid His life down, He gave up; He submitted, He made Himself less, He humbled Himself.

That’s the Shepherd way. That is our leader showing us how to do life.

If there is no sacrifice be very careful what is being sold to you.

1. So if the tabernacle made by man helped generations waiting for the Messiah then how much greater is the heavenly tabernacle.

2. So if the unwilling animals that were sacrificed helped generations to feel outwardly clean then how much more did the willing High Priest shed his own blood to give him access into the Most Holy Place.

3. So if for Israel this imperfect sacrificial system was sufficient temporarily then how much more is the ultimate sufficiency of Christ’s perfect sacrifice.

“How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!“ (Hebrews 9:14)

How much more …!

4. So if the sacrificial system meant there was a continual need to get right before God through ‘’acts that lead to death’ then how much more does the death of Christ cleanse our own consciences from being tempted to go back to that kind of servitude. We serve the living God without the fear of reprisals.

Let’s look at those points above again:

1. Some church buildings are simply wonderful and the atmosphere that the ‘eternal Spirit’ brings only points to a greater eternal place.

2. Religious acts of service can have wonderful feel-good experiences that God is pleased but only Jesus brings us into the presence of God.

3. Righteous acts and efforts to be good actually may make you look like a better person but it is only His act of righteousness that makes you a new creation.

4. No matter how good you are today by your own efforts tomorrow you will have to do it all over again. But only a relationship with Jesus can remove that desire to perform and to rest in what He has done so that you can serve God through Him.

The central focus of the Bible is on the blood of the sacrifice – the redemptive transaction.

The author is writing to a people who are being tempted to turn back to Judaism because of the persecution they are facing. To turn back is pointless because the practice of Judaism was always only ever pointing to what is here now, their relationship with Jesus Christ.

The blood of animals was used to atone for the sins of the people. But God did not cover/forgive them because of the blood of animals. That is not what made them new. God covered them because of the perfect sacrifice to come – His Son, Jesus Christ.

“But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here,he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. ¹² He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtainingeternal redemption. ¹³ The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. ¹⁴ How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death,so that we may serve the living God!” (Hebrews 9 v 11-14)

The blood of the animal covered their sin. But the blood of Jesus does more than that. It is able to break the power of sin, make the person a new creation and cleanse the person from guilt and shame.

Crucial to our understanding is this: sin and death was not overpowering Jesus on the cross, Jesus was overpowering sin and death.

The blood of Jesus overpowered all fear.

The blood of Jesus justified us.

The blood of Jesus redeems from the hand of Satan.

The blood of Jesus totally forgives.

The blood of Jesus gives access to God.

That’s the scene: the overcoming of all fear, justification, redemption, forgiveness, access, freedom. Do you live in the knowledge of that?

Two families lived side by side and that day they had both placed the blood of the Passover lamb over their house. They had been careful to mix the herbs and spices. The first family were ashen faced, they were trembling inside. They were in fear for their babies. “Let us call out to God, in a few hours the death angel will pass over and perhaps we have grieved God somehow. I’ve not heard from God, maybe I have upset Him. Perhaps I have done wrong. The blood is there, but perhaps it is not enough?!

Next door music is taking place. There is a party. Everyone is excited about leaving Egypt. The atmosphere is security. “Son, do not worry, you are safe for the Blood is over the door. God will pass over. The destroyer will not come. He cannot come in. All will be well.

Which house was safer? Both.

But who enjoyed their safety the most?!

When a child of God knows the benefits of the blood then they walk a more confident life. They live victoriously, confidently and others are impacted by them.

There is power in the blood of Jesus!

The author is pastorally explaining to a community of believers who feel compelled because of persecution to return to Judaism that there isn’t anything to go back to. At the time of writing the Temple was probably still functioning even after the work of Christ on the cross (which tore the curtain in two). Instead of it being an option to return to the Pastor is saying it continues to be a disappointment because it does not satisfy the longing of our hearts.

^“The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. ⁹ This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. ¹⁰ They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order.” (Hebrews 9 v 8-10)

The High Priest entered the Most Holy Place once a year on behalf of the people and was careful to follow particular instructions to carry out his duty. Every year it failed to satisfy the needs and the desires of the people. We now see that it was designed to do just that, fail.

The Holy Spirit was declaring:

• There was a better way into the Most Holy Place and it was the way that Jesus took.
• The old way of service had to stop for the new way to commence.
• That the external never deals with the internal state of our soul.
• That the Tabernacle was an illustration of the presence of God being an impossibility.
• The conscience of the High Priest was never cleared and so neither was that of the people.

And for us today?

• There is a better way and it is not ritual, duty, trying to be good, it is Jesus and relationship with Him.
• We cannot try good works and religious duty and at the same time experience the new way.
• No amount of religious duty will deal with our troubled soul.
• Entering into His presence through effort is impossible.
• Only Jesus and His work can clean the inside of our lives.

You have moved beyond the second curtain. What happens with you at the altar is crucial. It is never only about you, it is always for a bigger purpose.

“When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. ⁷ But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.” (Hebrews 9 v 6-7)

The High Priest had passed through the veil into the holy of holies in the Temple. This was a no entry place except for this day, this moment. It is difficult for us to appreciate the hallowed atmosphere. It was possible to die here if you had the wrong motive (Leviticus 16:13). But it was here that God had said He would be met when the incense was poured out (Exodus 25:22).

The High Priest alone in the place of sacrifice. He pours the incense on the altar. The place is filled with a beautiful fragrance.

Moses had heard from God, “Take fragrant spices—gum resin, onycha and galbanum—and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts,and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred. Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the Ark of the Covenant law in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves; consider it holy to the Lord.Whoever makes incense like it to enjoy its fragrance must be cut off from their people.” Exodus 30:34-38

The incense was not for the enjoyment of the people it was for God. But the beautiful smell was the signal that God was there meeting with them and it was then that they would pray. Maybe they thought the incense attracted God to them, a sign for Him to come?

He is alone, He is being careful to do all that the priest should do. He has poured the incense on to the fire. Symbolism is all around him. He has prayed for the protection of Israel and for the coming Messiah. What he doesn’t realise is that all the artefacts around him have their central meaning in Christ, the whole of the Temple was a picture of Jesus.

Outside of the Holy of holies people would be praying, the fragrance of the incense has reached them. Inside, alone, is a man chosen by God having the experience of sacrifice.

Of course we have a High Priest who has gone this way. He is our Shepherd who lays his life down for His sheep. He is Jesus. He is not in a Temple made by man but He has ascended to Heaven’s Temple and is appearing on our behalf. (Hebrews 9:24) What is Jesus doing right now? He is taking the prayers of His people, yours and mine (Revelations 5:8). He was the sacrifice. He paid the price. He took the cup of suffering. He was obedient to God’s plan.

A strange title I admit but you will see why.

The author is contrasting what we have now with what was before. He is trying to convince the community of believers not to go back to Judaism. That the law written in their hearts is better than the law written on stone. That the new covenant far outweighs the old and the glory of God in their lives is greater than the past glory. He seems to linger on the temple furnishings and yet not enough: I wish he had time to tell us more.

“Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. ² A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. ³ Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, ⁴ which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. ⁵ Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.” (Hebrews 9 v 1-5)

The Holy Place

The lampstand: I wish we could discuss how it represents not only the light of God but His presence and the oil on the lamps the anointing of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

The table with the consecrated bread: I wish we could discuss how it represents Jesus the Bread of Life.

Second curtain: I wish we could discuss how it represents entrance into the Holy presence of God and a longing for it to be torn in two giving access for such.

The Most Holy Place

The golden altar of incense: I wish we could discuss how it represents the prayers of God’s people rising to heaven.

The gold-covered Ark of the Covenant: I wish we could discuss how it represents the presence of God, for some it literally contained His presence within the Ark.

This ark contained the gold jar of manna: I wish we could discuss how it represents the provision of God for our lives.

Aaron’s staff that had budded: I wish we could discuss how it represents God’s fruitfulness and authority working through our lives.

The stone tablets of the covenant: I wish we could discuss how it represents God’s guidance of His Word for our lives.

Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover: I wish we could discuss how it represents God’s voice speaking between the cherubim and above the seat of mercy, the combination of Voice, Glory and Mercy!

I wish he had time to tell us more. “But we cannot discuss these things in detail now” v5.

We just glimpse with imagination into a culture, a time and place which is alien to us and yet carries a symbolism that we are thankful and cry out for today.

The author takes the community of believers back to the time of their prophet Jeremiah. He knew that trouble was coming and it came. Babylon wiped out Judah, its cities and the people. Devastation and exile. People longed for their covenant of sacrifices, the temple and artefacts. But Jeremiah longed for the day of a new covenant when nothing could be lost again because something would be written in their hearts. The old covenant demanded a lot from people. It was the call of ‘if you do this then I will do that’. But the new covenant was simply this, ‘I will’. As we read these verses we can see how this new covenant carried the promise of uniting (Israel and Judah who previously were divided), enabling us to walk with God by placing the new covenant in our hearts and forgiving us for when we get life wrong. Let us read:

“For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. ⁸ But God found fault with the people and said: “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. ⁹ It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. ¹⁰ This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. ¹¹ No longer will they teach their neighbour, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. ¹² For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” ¹³ By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.” (Hebrews 8 v 7-13)

This was not Moses carrying the demands for works but Jesus who fulfilled those works by His own work, not by the blood of animals but by HIS BLOOD.

I will make a new covenant, v8. God made it. It had nothing to do with the performance of man. It still hasn’t. This is not about how good you are but how good HE is.

I will establish, v10. God didn’t just make the new covenant but He established it. He made sure this was long lasting, a forever covenant, the old was always paving the way for the new. It is lasting here now in 2024.

I will put this new covenant in their hearts, v10. Trying to do the right thing is not the same as being transformed from within and allowing God’s law to work through our lives.

I will forgive and not remember their sins, v12. The old was hoping the good works outweighed their bad works, the new completely removes the bad, it is called forgiveness and blotting out sin completely.

I will make the covenant of works obsolete, v13. The old is out of date, the new is as important in 2024 as much as 33 AD.

Take one or all of these ‘I WILL’ promises and thank God for them and how it applies to you today.