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Tag: Jesus

  • Hebrews 6-Our Inheritance through Faith & Perseverance

    I will indeed bless you, and I will greatly multiply you.

    Hebrews 6:14; Genesis 22:17

    What an inheritance we expect from God! A blessing passed on from generation to generation, then unto us and eventually to our heirs. No chosen people can claim any inheritance like the Jews.

    From a detailed Commandment and covenants of scripture the LORD makes wondrous promises of inheritance to the generations. Trouble is, none of us are faithful – no not one. For we all sin against God and must often repent. This is reason enough for our sacrifice as part of our worship. It goes back to Genesis, the faith of Abraham in the beginning.

    Faith beyond traditions

    “THEREFORE,” begins the writer of Hebrews in this important transition of his letter, leave elementary school. And learn the important things of our faith beyond the obvious traditions and practices.

    Two dangers confront believers.

    • We stand where we are. We are chosen by God, we are ‘in,’ we were born into the right religion and family line. Heaven is assured for us (but not others) and God blesses me because of who I am.
    • Or we turn back from where we ought to be. Call it ‘intentional sin,’ for we want nothing to do with God. No repentance, ever. And who cares about God’s inheritance?

    The writer of Hebrews begins by asking us not to stand still in our elementary look at religion. We must repent of our ‘dead works,’ which we think ought to earn us a fair judgment.

    Hebrews 6:

    Therefore, let us leave the elementary teaching about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, faith in God…

    Hebrews 6:1 CSB

    Why do we need perseverance in our faith? Because just following the rules does not assure us eternal life.

    2 teaching about ritual washings, laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

    Basics. These are the foundation of our elementary school. We know these practices, but these ritual works are not the steps of faith which lead to our inheritance.

    4 For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, who shared in the Holy Spirit… and who have fallen away.

    Listen, here; for you know these who claim to be ‘christians.’

    … they are recrucifying the Son of God and holding him up to contempt.

    Hebrews 6:6B CSB

    Beloved believers, he speaks of Jews who have come to know the Messiah and received the Holy Spirit. Yet they turn away from an inheritance of their eternal promise to stand on their own right works.

    And dear Christian brothers and sisters, who does not know one recrucifying Christ with easy teachings denying Christ’s commandment?

    Many despaired that Jesus did not come to the Jews taking the Throne of the Temple victoriously. Even now many Christians lament the same.

    Christ came not to conquer a throne of Jerusalem, but to conquer sin and death upon the altar of sacrifice. For זָבַח the sacrifice is that which is given, slaughtered in divine judgment.

    God’s love for the world

    Who receives the blessings of God? John’s gospel also points toward this.

    He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be[e] children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born, not of natural descent…

    John 1:11-13a CSB

    God blessed the Jews, but also blesses the gentiles. The writer of Hebrews uses the blessing of God’s rain as illustration. God’s blessing falls upon the good and the evil. (What will you do with this same blessing?)

    7 For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; 8 but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.

    He says, “We are confident of better things in you. God is not unjust and will not forget your work. He remembers your labors of love toward Him and toward the saints. (NOT Saints, revered examples of the faiths with a capital “S,” but saints, our beloved fellow followers of Christ.)

    Ministering to the saints

    For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

    Hebrews 6:10 NKJV

    We show our love of God through ministering to others who grow in His love. These saints in our midst receive the same rain by which the Lord blesses us.

    Let us not become the thorns to be sifted into the fire of judgment.

    He asks us to demonstrate the same diligence for the full assurance of your hope until the end. Do others receiving rain turn against us? Or do they rail against the Lord, even persecuting some proclaiming Christ even to death? Yes, but death only of this flesh of dust, which has received the water and the Spirit.

    We minister to our fellow saints,serving the Lord’s Holy messengers of the Spirit, fellow failing flesh given eternal life. And the writer gives us the reason.

    12 … so that you won’t become lazy but will be imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and perseverance.

    These saints some churches capitalize, “Saints,” as examples for us. Yet the call of Christ and scripture is to minister to the many ‘saints’ among us. For we are the church, saints in the flesh, are brothers and sisters of the Lord by the Spirit.

    God’s Promise through Abraham

    The writer of Hebrews makes clear that not even all followers of Moses received the promise. He now mentions how God guarantees His promise, referring back to Genesis 22.

    God swore it; Abraham waited; his heir waited. And for what reason did the LORD swear this oath to Abraham of the promise?

    That we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us. [v.18]

    We still expect God to act for us NOW. (Nothing has changed since Abraham and Moses.) Yet the LORD has purpose in blessing different generations with His more perfect will of eternal promise.

    How does the writer of Hebrews link Abraham and the Messiah Jesus? Once again, he returns to the most symbolic Holy of Holies, which Moses later built.

    This Hope as an anchor of the soul

    19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.

    It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain. 20 Jesus has entered there on our behalf…

    As our hopes and fears leave us tossed about in the depth and vastness of eternity; yet like a ship held secure, Christ holds us in place. He makes the most certain intercession for our soul in the Holiest place before God the Father.

    20 Jesus has entered there on our behalf as a forerunner, because he has become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

    Once again, the writer of Hebrews compares Jesus Christ to Melchizedek. He will follow this mature teaching through scripture in his next chapter.

    To be continued...

  • Hebrews – 3 – Jesus, our Apostle & High Priest

    Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession.

    Hebrews 3:1 CSB

    Why a Priest?

    What do you think of when someone mentions a priest or a high priest?

    • GALI TIBBON/AFP/Getty Images)
      Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem

    • Alexander I – Bishop of Jerusalem c. AD 107-225
    https://davidfowlerpreacher.com/2014/06/08/pictures-of-the-holy-spirit/
    Exodus 21:5-7

    A religious ceremony? A regal religious robed man in charge?

    As mentioned previously in Hebrews 2, an anointing or separation of a priest from common impurity symbolizes holiness, a perfection by which he may approach the Lord.

    וְכִפֶּר הַכֹּהֵן אֲשֶׁר־יִמְשַׁח אֹתֹו וַאֲשֶׁר יְמַלֵּא אֶת־יָדֹו לְכַהֵן תַּחַת אָבִיו וְלָבַשׁ אֶת־בִּגְדֵי הַבָּד בִּגְדֵי הַקֹּֽדֶשׁ׃

    Leviticus 16:32

    Again, returning to a Jewish understanding of the Priesthood, the writer of Hebrews points to Jesus the Messiah as a High Priest. G_d the Father appointed Jesus, just as Moses and Aaron were anointed by the LORD.

    5 Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s household, as a testimony to what would be said in the future.

    but Messiah is faithful as a Son over his house; whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the glorying of our hope firm to the end.

    Hebrews 3:6 Hebrew Names Version

    Moses was… but the Messiah is. The author will make this point again later in his letter to the Hebrews concerning Abraham.

    Jesus is priest of God Most High, a Priest everlasting and perfect Sacrifice before the LORD.

    Jesus is our Apostle sent from God the Father as our High Priest of perfection.

    Do you believe Scripture?

    Once again the author points back to Hebrew scripture in his ‘therefore, watch out’ conclusion of this section of his letter (Hebrews 3).

    7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says:

    Today, if you hear his voice,
    do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.

    קָשָׁה qashah לֵבָב lebab

    Psalm 95:

    “Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness,” a direct quote (KJV) from Psalm 95:8 reiterated for emphasis also in Hebrews 3:15.

    Do you claim Scripture – the very Word of the LORD?

    Listen up! so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.

    Was God angry for forty years? The bodies of those who sinned – those who did not believe – fell in the wilderness. Who will not enter God’s rest?

    κατάπαυσις – the heavenly blessedness in which God dwells

    Will you, my fellow Hebrews, enter into rest? This, through Scripture, is what the author asks his readers.

    So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)

    Hebrews 3:11 KJV

    And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?

    Hebrews 3:18 KJV

    19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

    Do you believe the scriptural evidence that Jesus is the Messiah?

    Will you enter into God’s perfect rest? Or do you persist to rebel in the wilderness of sin in these last days?

    To be continued...

  • Hebrews – 2 – Pioneer of Perfect Salvation

    In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.

    Hebrews 2:10 NIV

    But we see Jesus… Hebrews 2:9a

    The author begins his letter to his Jewish brothers stating that G_d’s final word is through the Son, not angels or prophets.

    Previously the author of Hebrews has made a case through scripture that Jesus, the Son of God, is higher than the angels.

    Heir of all things

    Who has ascended into heaven and descended?
    Who has gathered the wind in His fists?
    Who has wrapped the waters in His garment?
    Who has established all the ends of the earth?
    What is His name or His son’s name?
    Surely you know!

    Proverbs 30:4 NASB

    Continuing in our study of Hebrews, a letter authored to first century Jews, we now continue the second chapter after what we covered previously in the beginning verses 1-9 in Hebrew 2 – Pay Attention.

    Fitting and proper perfection

    Are you a perfect Jew?

    Or more to a personal point, am I a perfect Christian?

    Of course not.

    So how do we have any chutzpah outside of the Messiah Jesus to say that we may be accepted into eternal life by the Lord? This is the issue of salvation the writer of Hebrews takes on here.

    Hebrews 2:

    For it was bekavod (fitting, proper) for him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, in bringing banim rabbim (many sons) to kavod, to bring to shleimut (perfection, completion) the Rosh (Head) and Mekhonen (Founder) of their Yeshua’at Hashem through yissurim (suffering).

    Hebrews 2:10 Orthodox Jewish Bible

    Most Christians lack a full understanding of many terms of Hebrew origin like perfection, author, purification and redemption. I am neither a Torah trained Rabbi nor Messianic Jew, but further readings of Paul‘s letters will help you to understand an academic Jewish approach to some of these terms.

    10 – It was fitting for Him

    Various translations of πρέπω read: it became Him, it was bekavod, it was fitting, it was entirely appropriate – the concept that God does what is right and perfect. Jews and Christians must agree that man has a tendency to weigh perfection incorrectly.

    כָּֽל־דֶּרֶךְ־אִישׁ יָשָׁר בְּעֵינָיו וְתֹכֵן לִבֹּות יְהוָֽה׃

    עֲשֹׂה צְדָקָה וּמִשְׁפָּט נִבְחָר לַיהוָה מִזָּֽבַח׃

    Proverbs 21:2,3

    in bringing many sons

    “Many sons – πολύς υἱός speaks of multitudes and not specifically men (as opposed to women) or of a specific son. Think of the beneficiary as humanity, rather than all creation or even the Creator Himself. And what is the benefit – what is our reward?

    unto glory

    “εἰςδόξα – eis doxa – To glory or toward glory.

    Gloria Patri

    Now glory means many things to different people, so let’s be clear in our completed understanding of doxa, as in ‘doxology.’ Yes, praise of God or of a man.

    Glory becomes a Biblical description of the brightness of God, or of the sun, moon, stars, angels or an object; implying magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity, grace and majesty.

    God is unsurpassed glory! A higher indescribable brightness. Yet the glory of God has a contrasting glory of which we seldom speak.

    Doxa in Greek translates as an opinion, judgment, view; therefore our human opinion or estimate of someone or something, whether good or bad, is a glory or judgement – Biblically of God, a Most High Glory.

    to perfect

    τελειόω – to complete (perfect), to bring to the end (goal) proposed, to accomplish or bring to a close, a fulfillment by event of the prophecies of the scriptures.

    לָכֵן אֲחַלֶּק־לֹו בָרַבִּים וְאֶת־עֲצוּמִים יְחַלֵּק שָׁלָל תַּחַת אֲשֶׁר הֶעֱרָה לַמָּוֶת נַפְשֹׁו וְאֶת־פֹּשְׁעִים נִמְנָה וְהוּא חֵטְא־רַבִּים נָשָׂא וְלַפֹּשְׁעִים יַפְגִּֽיעַ׃ ס

    Isaiah 53:12

    their head and founder

    We must, at some point in our lives, confess that some have authority over us. (This is assumed in a Biblical-based Hebrew culture.) Current authority, previous authority and a succession of authority all come into play.

    Abraham, Israel, Moses, David and family patriarchs may all be mentioned as a head or founding father of Jews. The Lord granted both His Authority and succession through them. Here the author of Hebrews points to their Higher Authority.

    ἀρχηγός – archēgos implies one that takes the lead in any thing and thus affords an example, a predecessor in a matter, pioneer. Jesus, therefore, becomes a captain or founder, a chief leader or Prince over these who followed.

    Within the same verse His origin was established as ‘Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things’… or other translations read: ‘God—for whom and through whom all things exist—...’ Clearly, the Son of God IS God! Jesus IS before all founders and over all authority.

    of their salvation

    Two questions come immediately to mind:

    1. What is salvation?
    2. Whose salvation? (Or who can be saved?)

    σωτηρία sōtēria –Salvation, in Greek, the common language of first century Judea and much of the Roman Empire, refers to deliverance, preservation, safety, even from molestation by one’s enemies. A Roman understanding of sōtēria could have viewed a “savior” as a threat to their own authority.

    In an ethical sense, that which concludes to the soul’s safety, of Messianic salvation.

    יָשַׁע – yasha` is the Hebrew concept. Isaiah asks,

    פָּגַ֤עְתָּ אֶת־שָׂשׂ֙ וְעֹ֣שֵׂה צֶ֔דֶק בִּדְרָכֶ֖יךָ יִזְכְּר֑וּךָ הֵן־אַתָּ֤ה קָצַ֨פְתָּ֙ וַֽנֶּחֱטָ֔א בָּהֶ֥ם עֹולָ֖ם וְנִוָּשֵֽׁעַ׃

    How can we be saved if we remain in our sins?

    Isaiah 64:5 CSB

    The question of who can be saved is one of some debate, which we will not take on today. Since the writer of Hebrews refers to the Son, the Messiah, as God in this introductory passage, we will briefly examine His own answer to this question.

    When the disciples heard this, they were utterly astonished and asked, “Then who can be saved? ”

    Matthew 19:25 CSB

    The Jewish Apostle and tax collector relates consecutive stories about money, the rich and salvation, asking the Messiah who can be saved. Hear His answer:

    26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

    Matthew 19:26 CSB

    Not even an Apostle or rich ruler can earn salvation or buy perfection. Yet God the Father has made a way for the completion of sinful man.

    through sufferings.

    διά dia πάθημα pathēma

    We hesitate here, even that the Messiah must suffer, let alone that we must in death. Yet the meaning is clear: that which one suffers or has suffered. We shrink from some of the descriptions of sufferings: misfortune, calamity, evil, affliction.

    Many of us have experienced some of the afflictions which Christians must undergo. And we know we cannot endure that with the Messiah suffered for our sins as a Sacrifice painfully crucified on the Cross.

    Hebrews and gentiles know that in perfection a price must be paid for sin.

    Sanctification – ἁγιάζω

    To sanctify is to purify, separating from the profane and dedicating or consecrating to a Holy God.

    How can a sinner be consecrated to the Lord God?

    The author of Hebrews continues by assuring us that the Messiah Jesus completed our sanctification and He, the crucified Son of Man calls us brothers (or sisters). What undue grace and love of those of the world. And grace for both Jew and gentile, grace for those of the first century and sinners of this twenty-first century.

    Once again the writer of Hebrews quotes familiar scripture, even the very song
    from Psalm 22 יְהוֹשׁוּעַ Yĕhowshuwa` cried out from the cross! He also quotes the historical record of Samuel and the prophet Isaiah.

    Again, I will trust in him. And again, Here I am with the children God gave me.

    Hebrews 2:13 CSB

    The Lord God has become a personal God on the Cross!

    וְה֥וּא כֹהֵ֖ן לְאֵ֥ל עֶלְיֹֽון׃

    a Priest of G_d Most High

    The writer of Hebrews closes this section about Jesus becoming our Pioneer of Perfection with explanation why the Son of Man became a High Priest for us.

    17 Therefore, he had to be like his brothers and sisters in every way, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in matters pertaining to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people.

    More about atonement and our need for this Priest in Hebrews 3.

    To be continued...