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THIS WEEK’S BIBLE INSIGHTS ARE BY:
Derek Tidball and are based on Hebrews 8 (NIV)
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ MORE ON THIS WEEK’S MAJOR THEME:
Ezekiel 36:24-27; Romans 4:1-25
1 Now the main 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, 2 and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.
3 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 priests 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 in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.
7 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.”
Sunday October 13 - The main thing
We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven... Hebrews 8:1
I fear asking some people a simple question because I know their reply will meander through their life history, tell me all sorts of unnecessary details, and circumnavigate the world before getting to the point. By then, I’ve forgotten the question, and any answer is smothered by irrelevancies. Hebrews doesn’t fall into that trap! In case the readers got lost in thinking of Christ as a priest ‘of the order of Melchizedek’ (in chapter 7) the author reminds them of the key point.
They, and we, have a high priest who is thoroughly qualified and utterly trustworthy. People commonly look to priests as intermediaries between their own finite and sinful beings and their gods. We have a priest who is superior in every way, in a class of his own, and he is effective. How do we know? Because ‘he sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven’. Hebrews repeats that four times (1:3; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2) and says the same in other words elsewhere (2:9). The point is that this priest has finished his work; the sacrifice to end all sacrifices has been offered. His sitting down shows that his sacrifice has been accepted. Forgiveness now flows freely from God himself. His enthronement in the cosmic control centre means that he speaks to God on our behalf and prepares for God's ultimate reign. Keep the main thing, the main thing!
Reigning Lord, today may I keep my eyes on him who is my victorious high priest. Amen.
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PRAYER FOR TODAY