Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters. I again ask for your continued prayers in the areas I’ve mentioned as I work on overcoming fears and learning to be more loving and be the man that I ought to be. There’s a lot I don’t post about here, but God knows the needs. Anyway, we are now going to continue through our Trinitarian Commentary and tonight look at the eighth chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews. Tonight, we’ll be in chapter 8 and viewing verses 1-6:
1The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,2and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man.3Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. 4If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already men who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. 5They 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.” 6But 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.
In our last blog, we spoke of the nature of the high priest that Jesus is as the true Melchizedek priest. While Melchizedek was a type of the Christ who was to come, in reality, we do have the real deal. To go with the idea of Melchizedek is to go with a type over the actuality.
Our writer reminds us of what Jesus did in the first chapter of his epistles. When Jesus was done, he sat down at the right hand of the throne of Majesty. Other high priests could do no such thing. They were always working. Jesus sat down because his work was done.
Jesus is not only a superior priest, but he serves in a superior sanctuary. Moses was told to make everything according to the model. The earthly sanctuary was to be a mirror of the heavenly one. While I am not saying I believe there is a literal sanctuary in Heaven, I believe there is a model of some sorts.
The writer wants us to know that the covenant is also superior. Now I haven’t quoted that passage, but it’s the longest quotation of the OT in the NT. In this passage, the writer points out that the old covenant was getting ready to disappear and Jesus is the bringer of the new covenant. The writer wants the readers to know about the superiority of Christ in all areas. He is bringing a superior covenant into a superior sanctuary because he is superior to all other mediators. He is not just a priest, but he is the very holy one himself. The only one who could truly make intercession for us is YHWH himself, and this he did in Christ, who bears the nature of YHWH.
We shall continue our study of Hebrews tomorrow.
Support Deeper Waters on Patreon!
