Talk of JESUS .com

Tag: ministry

  • Hebrews 9- Covenant Ministry

    Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.

    Hebrews 9:15B NLT

    It’s not an exact translation from the Greek, but the heart of the author’s message from his letter to the Hebrews. He now proceeds from the main point in Hebrews 8 that Christ is our High Priest to the nature of a new and better covenant.

    Old Covenant Ministry

    Priest before Tabernacle
    High Priest in Holy of Holies

    Remember how the sanctuary is a holy place to the LORD, separated from the sin of the world. Only the priests may enter as the worshipers stand near and the unclean kept distant. To think of the sanctuary as ‘only a tent’ would be contemporary error, for it is the Tent Altar where the LORD meets with His worshipers, hopefully accepting their sacrifices through the appointed priest.

    Hebrews 9:

    Now the first covenant also had regulations for ministry and an earthly sanctuary. 2 For a tabernacle was set up, and in the first room, which is called the holy place, were the lampstand, the table, and the presentation loaves.

    He continues with description of the holy place familiar to all Jews from scripture.

    6 Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God.

    The High Priest alone enters the Holy of Holies, the inner room of the sanctuary, and that just once a year. (A special place to meet the LORD, within the confines of a Tent or Temple.) Then this author of the letter to the Hebrews points to the holy sacrifice.

    And he always offered blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.

    Hebrews 9:7B NLT

    A Revelation of the Holy Spirit

    We do not preach much about the Person of the Holy Spirit, once called the Holy Ghost. He is a revelation of the New Testament (or new covenant), which the writer of Hebrews unwraps here as when Christ is revealed.

    τοῦτο δηλοῦντος τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ ἁγίου μήπω πεφανερῶσθαι τὴν τῶν ἁγίων ὁδὸν ἔτι τῆς πρώτης σκηνῆς ἐχούσης στάσιν

    Hebrews 9:8 Greek NT
    • The Holy Spirit makes this the way into the Holy place.
    • The path into the Holy place had not been revealed while the outer or first Tabernacle was still standing. [This would also be evident by the succession from Tent to Temple to rebuilt temples made by man for worship of God.]
    • The author tells his first century Hebrew readers “[the first Tabernacle] is
      a symbol for the present time [the first generation after Christ’s anointing.]
    • Neither gifts nor sacrifices offered can make the worshiper perfect in conscience.
    • Since offerings [gifts or sacrifices to the LORD] are physical regulations and only deal with food, drink, and various washings.
    • God imposed ceremonial ordinances only until the time of reformation.

    This reformation of worship revealed by the Holy Spirit creates a new covenant with the Lord.

    But when the Messiah appeared as cohen gadol of the good things that are happening already, then, through the greater and more perfect Tent which is not man-made (that is, it is not of this created world), he entered the Holiest Place once and for all.

    Hebrews 9:11-12A Complete Jewish Bible

    I like this translation, for it provides a contemporary context to the readers of Hebrews. The Messiah appeared, the Tabernacle is a less perfect Tent and Christ entered the Holiest Place once and for all.

    Just a contemporary reminder for 21st century readers:

    “Christ” is not Jesus’ last name. For in Greek, the common language of the Roman Empire, Χριστός Christos is the anointed Messiah of God. We sometimes forget that faithful Jews had expected our Messiah for centuries ‘before Christ.’

    New Covenant Ministry

    Christ (the Messiah) appeared as High Priest. And He entered the Most Holy Place once for all time.

    Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood…

    Hebrews 9:12A KJV

    Think of the ritualistic sacrifices of the Old Covenant. Are we not repulsed by the slaughter and blood at the alter of sacrifice?

    Christ brings a cleansing of blood by His own Sacrifice!

    By His own Blood Christ obtained eternal redemption for the worshipers of God.
    פָּדָה Redeem your soul from sin through our Savior’s blood.

    then how much more the blood of the Messiah, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered himself to God as a sacrifice without blemish, will purify our conscience from works that lead to death, so that we can serve the living God!

    Hebrews 9:14 Complete Jewish Bible

    Jesus, our Mediator

    15 Therefore, he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance..

    [Don’t miss this:]

    .. because a death has taken place for redemption from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

    The writer of Hebrews now presents a legal case for dissolution of the old covenant.

    • a death has occurred
    • a will exists and is valid because of the death
    • (for a will is never in effect while the one who made it is living.)
    • Moses initiated the first covenant by blood (quoting Exodus 24)

    Moses took the blood, splattered it on the people, and said,

    “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you concerning all these words.”

    Exodus 24:8 CSB

    The writer of Hebrews words it as a vow or covenant reminiscent of marriage.

    20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. – KJV

    21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. – KJV

    In fact, according to the Torah, almost everything is purified with blood; indeed, without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

    Hebrews 9:22 CJB

    Copies cleansed

    23 Therefore, it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves to be purified with better sacrifices than these.

    Christ entered heaven itself (not a copy). He appeared on our behalf in the very presence of God. Once, not many times like a priest on earth.

    … But now he has appeared one time, at the end of the ages, for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of himself.

    Some versions translate this as the consummation or completion of the ages. Jesus speaks of the ages as both ending and forever. Believers would do well to consider it.

    And just as it is appointed for people to die once

    —and after this, judgment

    — so also Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many,

    will appear a second time, not to bear sin,

    but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

    Hebrews 9:27 CSB

    Do you look forward to the judgment? Have you considered the love of God to offer the Blood of His only Son to bear your sin? And do you await Christ’s completion of God’s new covenant?

    The writer of Hebrews continues with more good news in Christ’s sacrifice.

    To be continued...
  • Who Welcomes His Ministry? – 2

    Who Welcomes His Ministry? – 2

    Returning now to the Gospel of Luke, we look back from Jesus’ move to His fast-growing early ministry in Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee to His hometown of Nazareth and the event of His departure.

    Luke 4

    English Standard Version (ESV)

    15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

    22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” 23 And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself.’

    What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.”

    24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.

    Let us pause here to speak of an earlier Prophet of the Old Testament (approx. 850-870 B.C.): Elijah.

    1 Kings 16:

    old israel n kingdom map21 Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts. Half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king, and half followed Omri. 22 But the people who followed Omri overcame the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath. So Tibni died, and Omri became king. 23 In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri began to reign over Israel, and he reigned for twelve years; six years he reigned in Tirzah. 24 He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver, and he fortified the hill and called the name of the city that he built Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.

    25 Omri did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did more evil than all who were before him…

    NOTE the proximity of this area in the two maps between this area of divided Israel and the beginning ministry of Jesus in Nazareth.

    Ahab Reigns in Israel

    29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri began to reign over Israel, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. 30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him.

    (It’s an ongoing theme in scripture: ‘And __ did evil in the sight of the Lord.’

    Against this the Prophets called all to repentance. 

    Elijah Predicts a Drought

    elijah map17 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives,before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” 2 And the word of the Lord came to him: 3 “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.

    7 And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

    The Widow of Zarephath

    8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” 13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said.

    Returning now to Nazareth and Jesus’ mention of this Prophet after His hometown asked for miracles:

    Luke 4

    24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.


    divided israel and syriaAnd of successor to  Elijah, the Prophet Elisha, Jesus said:

    27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

    Yes, Jesus is preaching an active and insistent call to the people of Nazareth: REPENT!

    And Luke continues to tell us how well Jesus’ call to his own best known and most beloved neighbors responded to His call to repent:

    28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath.

    Angry at the hometown Messiah? (Think of the tourist possibilities… Well, maybe in a few centuries we can whitewash the truth of Jesus reception in Nazareth.)

    29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.

    old nazareth wall above cliff30 But passing through their midst, he went away.

    What people would welcome the ministry of one of their own by seeking to kill him?

    Does Jesus’ ministry and call to repent not meet with the same reception in our own town in these last days?

     

  • Who Welcomes His Ministry?

    Who Welcomes His Ministry?

    Luke 4:

    Jesus Begins His Ministry

    nazareth zabulon map14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

    Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

    16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up.

    Generally, Doctor Luke provides us with great detail of proof from eye witness accounts of Jesus and the Acts of the Apostles; however in this chronological glance at the beginning of Jesus’ three-year ministry on earth after being led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit a look through the eyes of the Apostle Matthew is more helpful.

    Matthew 4

    English Standard Version (ESV)

    Jesus Begins His Ministry

    capernaum from se12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali…

    Jesus of Nazareth, as He was known, then moved to and lived in Capernaum by the sea of Galilee.

    17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

    Let us speak to the vocation and mission of the Prophet for a moment.

    To begin, God appoints Prophets, generally separate of the Priestly office and official leadership of God’s own people. Prior to John the Baptist, the Prophet spoke and wrote to and of the fallen Nations: Israel, Judah and the gentile nations who God used to humble and punish His own people into repentance.

    Isaiah was probably an aristocrat with influence of kings. He lived about 700 years before Christ.

    Jeremiah and Daniel ( both about 600 B.C.) were both young when God used them as prophets to their own people and both older as God used them to show His glory to the rulers of conquering gentile nations. Ezekiel is also an exile around the same time.

    These men are not in charge; yet all, through the voice and power of God, call men to repentance.

    Amos is just a farmer and a shepherd in Judah (about 800 B.C.) who God uses to announce the fall of the northern Kingdom Israel. Micah was just a countryman in Israel who lived near the Philistine border about this same time.

    Hosea gets his marriage advice from God who instructs him to marry a whore, as His people have become. Jonah did not even want to be God’s Prophet and ran away (though God pursued and saved him.) We know almost nothing about the Prophet Joel.

    Although Zechariah and Haggai were connected to the office of Priest, it was at a time after repentance during the rebuilding of the Temple by Ezra and Nehemiah (about 500 B.C.). Malachi warns of too casual of an attitude toward worship of God (about 460-430 B.C.).

    The Second Temple is destroyed.  God keeps silent for over 400 years – 20 generations!

    Herod the Great, by alliance with gentile Rome, builds yet another Temple in captured Jerusalem.

    Along comes John the Baptist telling another Herod, Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes, Temple authorities and the people everywhere: REPENT!

    He dresses and acts like a madman and lives in the wilderness; but the people believe and follow John. He baptizes and witnesses that Jesus of Nazareth is the one on whom the Spirit of God descends. He IS the Promised One.

    Now Jesus, who they all knew since boyhood, a man raised as a carpenter moves away from His hometown. He travels a few miles, moving His belongings to a little inland fishing village, Capernaum. And what was Jesus’ first message to his new hometown?

    Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

    Jesus left His mother and brothers and family, their carpenter business and comes to a fishing village. Jesus doesn’t look like the wild Prophet John. He is gentle. He looks like his new neighbors. He dresses like them. He eats with them. And Jesus worships with them.

    Why would Jesus have that same crazy message for these new neighbors and new friends as He had for his family back home in Nazareth? Repent, you of Capernaum (also known as Chorazin). Repent Bethsaida (a neighboring fishing town on Chinnereth (the Sea of Galilee.)

    Jesus calls His Disciples to leave their fishing businesses to follow Him. They do. And among them another local resident, resented by almost every working man: Mathew Levi, a tax collector, who continues his narrative Gospel:

    Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds

    23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

    We, too, focus on these wonderful miracles witnessed by many and refuted by none. We look to follow this Jesus;He IS the same Jesus who comes to us, as did John the Baptist, saying: Repent!

    To be continued…