Hebrews 8:1-9:14
Passage Hebrews 8:1-9:14
Speaker Ben Tanner
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8 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.
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 neighbor,
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13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.
9 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.
6 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. 8 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.
11 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 obtaining eternal 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!
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This transcript has been automatically generated, and therefore may not be 100% accurate.
This is from Hebrews, chapter eight. Now, the main point of what we're saying is we do have such a high priest who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven, and who serves the sanctuary, the true tabernacle, set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being. 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. If he were on earth, he would not be a priest.
For there are already priests who offer gifts prescribed by the law. 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. 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.
For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 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. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hands to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenants and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. 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.
No longer will they teach their neighbours or say to one another, know the Lord, because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.
By calling this covenant new, he has made the first one obsolete. And what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.
Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. A tabernacle was set up in its first room, where the lamp stand and the table with its consecrated bread. This was called the holy place. Behind the second curtain was a room called the most holy place, 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.
Above the ark were the cherubim of the glory overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now. When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. 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 of the people had committed in ignorance. 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. 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 worshipper.
They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings. External regulations applying until the time of the new order. But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greatest and more perfect tabernacle, which is not made with human hands. That is to say, is not a part of this creation. 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. So obtaining external redemption. The blood of goats and bulls. And the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonial and clean, sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the external spirit, offered himself unblemished to God.
Cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death. So that we may serve the living God? This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Thank you so much, Catherine.
A long reading, but a good one. Do keep your bibles open to page 1206. We're going to dive into that passage in just a moment. Just a couple of quick things as I start, though. First is to say, remember this afternoon, there's the soul roots celebration.
So do come along to that if that's a ministry that you've been involved with or benefited from in the past. Second thing to say, you might have noticed our friend Kate, who normally was around. She had the cats Nancy and Benji, isn't with us today. And the reason for that is Kate's actually moved. She's moved to a place elsewhere in the country.
She asked me not to mention it until after she'd gone. But she did ask me to pass on her thanks to us as a church family. For the support and care that we gave her while she was with us. And of course, it would be good to pray for Kate. As she settles in to her new home.
Moreover, it would be good to publish some bans of marriage, and I'm going to do that now. So I published the bans of marriage between Joshua Roaf and Sarah Marie Pugh, and also between Jack Haig and Eleanor Field. All of this parish, all for the third time of asking if any of you know any reason in law why they may not marry each other, you're to declare it. Brilliant. Well, let me lead us in prayer for them and for Kate and for us as we come to God's word.
Father, thank you so much for the gift that Kate was to us here in church. We pray for her, that she would settle in well as she moves on and moves home. We pray for peace and support and that she would quickly find a church family there in her new abode. Father, I pray for Joshua and Sarah and Jack and Eleanor. Today we're going to be thinking all about covenants, oaths that secure relationships.
Father, I pray as they make oaths to one another that secure their marriage relationship, I pray you would bless them in that. Would they grow. And, Father, might it be that their marriages would somehow emulate even some of the stuff that we're talking about today? And so, Father, help us now, by your spirit, help us to see Jesus, to enjoy him. Perhaps in some obscure bits of the Bible, might we find true freedom and enjoyment of our saviour.
Amen.
Fantastic. I actually want to start with a bit of a confession, I think, trending on 100% of my knowledge of the politician and very influential american, Alexander Hamilton. My knowledge of that comes from the play Hamilton. And if it's not too bad for me to use the pulpit as a confessional, I'm afraid that a good 85 to probably 90% of my knowledge of the life of Eric Liddell comes from chariots of fire. The film or the play.
That's often the way, isn't it? Those are great plays and films and they show us all sorts of amazing historical events. But of course, there's a difference between Alexander Hamilton and the actor who plays Alexander Hamilton. There's a difference between Eric Liddell, the runner, and the actor who plays Eric Liddell in Chariots of Fire. We're in the book of Hebrews at the moment, and the Book of Hebrews is written to christians from a jewish background.
And they're sort of tempted to go back to all of that kind of ritual and that outward kind of religious stuff. They're tempted to come of go the easy way. And the book basically says, jesus is better. Three words. If you want Hebrews in three words, Jesus is better.
And recently he's been saying Jesus is better because Jesus is a better high priest. In the old days, you guys had high priests that were descended from a dude called Levi. But Jesus is a high priest and he's a high priest, a bit like this guy called Melchizedek. He's a kingly priest, and so he's better. And of course, the question might well come, okay, writer to the Hebrews, but here's the thing.
We've read the gospels, and it's all very well saying that Jesus is a high priest, but I kind of remember when he interacted with the temple and it didn't seem to go so well. He doesn't really kind of seem all that high priestly. He doesn't seem to have the robes or any of the kind of sacrifices. How does this work? What's going on and what we're going to see today is that Jesus is a high priest of a true tabernacle and a new covenant.
And if we get it, it's going to change everything, everything about how we relate to our God. So he says to start off with that, Jesus is a high priest in a true tabernacle. Just cheque out with me. Verse two, chapter eight. Or just before that, he sat down at the right hand of the throne of majesty in heaven.
And who serves at the sanctuary? The true tabernacle, set up by the Lord, not by mere human beings. Or skip down to little number five, verse five. There they serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and a shadow of what is in heaven. That 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. What's going on? Those of you who were with us when we did the Exodus series back in February, we saw that God saved his people out of Egypt. And then he met with Moses on the mountain, and he basically set up this kind of tent. A tent.
And it looked a bit like this bad boy. But the thing is, I've taken the different bits of furniture out because otherwise I can't hold it up. But what basically happened is it showed how people would get to God. God dwelt in this bit. It was called the holy of holies.
And once a year, a high priest would come and he would sacrifice something on the altar and he would take the blood and he would come in, and eventually, through washing and all sorts of other things, he would be able to spend just a few hours in this place with God. Now, what's really cool. Is that what God does? Is he says to Moses, when you make this, what I want you to do is to look at what's truly there in heaven, and I want you to make a model of that for you to use in the world. It's a bit like this.
If you go and see Hamilton at the west end, you will go. And people have spent a lot of time, and what they've done is they've looked at what it was really like to be there in New York, in America, and they've said, how is it that I can take people who are in 21st century London and I can move them to be looking at something that happened in George Washington's house in 1776? And they put a whole lot of effort into making the set on the stage, don't they? And that's really useful because it helps us to imagine what it is. The tabernacle is a bit like the set on a stage.
It shows us real, true, wonderful things, but a model of those real, true, wonderful things later on in chapter nine. I love that bit where it's like, oh, I wish we could talk about all the different bits of furniture in the tabernacle a bit more. I'm like, so do I. That would be really cool to read that. We did that, actually.
So if you want to kind of listen back, do go on our website, go to resources, and then listen again. And then I think it was the 26 February somewhere around there, we actually did that, the tabernacle. And there's pictures on there that you can see and you can work through, and it shows us all sorts of things about how people come to God. But here's the big difference. The set isn't the real thing.
It's an amazing thing to go to the set, isn't it? You can pay money to go and see some of the sets that people use for some of these musicals, and you can go. And it's fascinating, and not many people do it. It's quite exclusive, but it's not the real thing. Why is it that Jesus didn't look like he was sacrificing animals and doing things in the temple?
Well, we saw a little bit of that, didn't we? We saw that. In fact, it says here in our passage that Jesus doesn't do that. If he was on earth. Verse four.
If he were on earth, he would not be a priest. There are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed in the law. Jesus wouldn't be a priest on earth because that's just the set. It's an amazing thing to go and see it. But it's not being in the room where it happened.
It's not actually being there with George Washington. What's more, think about it this way. Imagine I had the real Alexander Hamilton here. Would he be rapping on the stage of Broadway? No, he would be in ten Downing street, wouldn't he?
Because he was a politician. The actor raps on the stage, the actor plays that part. The real one does his politicking. Imagine I had the real Eric Liddell. He wouldn't be listening to that.
He wouldn't know what that tune was, would he? He wouldn't be doing that. He'd be out running, because he was. In fact, if we had the real Eric Liddell, he'd be sat in here in church, wouldn't he? Because that's the whole point.
But you see, the actor acts. The real person does the real job. Jesus wasn't sacrificing animals because he was the real thing with the real heavenly tabernacle. And that's important because the physical thing. And the actors, they're very good at kind of doing the outward work.
But they're not very good at sorting out the inward heart. Did he see that there? Verse nine of chapter nine. It says, this is an illustration from the present time. Indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshipper.
They're only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings. External regulations applying until a time of a new order. You see the outward, the visible. The model can only deal with the outward and the visible and the modelling. It can't truly cleanse the conscience.
For that we need something more.
For that we need a new covenant. A covenant oath which secures a relationship like a marriage.
It might be that as you're listening to all this, you're like, okay, you see, this is the problem with churchy types. I've come in here, we've talked about tabernacles and Melchizedek and priests and sacrifice and covenant. All these old words. And frankly, it just feels a little bit outdated. Maybe you've heard that.
Maybe people have said to you, do you know what, Christianity, it's just a bit outdated. What you believe, it's just a bit old fashioned. And yet we live in this kind of huge irony which is that our world today actually much more similar to the kind of rules and regulations that the passage says is outdated. What do I mean? Flick with me back to chapter eight and we'll just have a very quick look there at verse seven.
It says this. For if there had been nothing wrong with the first covenant, the agreement that the way in which they would live with God, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said, the days are coming. There was a problem with the people. That meant that the first covenants, the idea of relationship with God on the basis of obedience, didn't work.
In fact, it says that in verse nine, he says that the new one won't be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.
Do right and be in. Do wrong and be out. That's how they saw the old covenant. We live today, don't we? In a cancel culture, it's been talked about many times and there are some really good things that have come from that.
A cancel culture, we're told. This is Doctor Brad Brenner says at its core, the culture represents a form of social ostracism, where individuals or groups are thrust out of societal or professional circles, either online or in the real world, or both. It's a phenomenon that's been accelerated by social media, leading to rapid and widespread public judgement and reactions. So the idea being that if a person or a celebrity is doing the right thing, that's fine. But if actually they have been in some way to be doing the wrong thing, then all of a sudden it's no platform, no aggressive social media trolling.
And the response to that is that the experience of being cancelled, I quote, can have significant mental health repercussions. Individuals who find themselves at the centre of a cancel culture storm often report feelings of anxiety and depression and a sense of social isolation. The idea that if I don't say what is right, or if somebody looks up and sees something I've said in the past and it's taken out of context, or it's taken in a way I didn't mean, all of a sudden I can be cancelled with huge repercussions. But the article goes on, cancel culture doesn't just affect those who are cancelled and the cancellers. It can also wreak havoc on onlookers mental health.
After seeing so many people cancelled, some bystanders are plagued with fear. They become overwhelmed with anxiety that people will turn on them if they fully express themselves. This can cause them to keep their thoughts bottled up instead of talking about it, and instead of working through their opinions and emotions bystanders might also worry that others will find something in their past and use it against them. Or they may fear that every word they say or write is going to be examined under a microscope. And if construed as offensive, even if it wasn't meant to be, they could be cancelled.
We live in a world that is quick to say, look, do right, it's okay. Do wrong, and there are consequences. Why is it that young people nowadays are so risk averse, at least in part because they know somebody might be there with a camera or a mobile phone, and all of a sudden, what's taken there could be used eternally against them? We live in a world that feels quite like Old Testament. If it's right, I'm in.
If it's wrong, I'm out of. And yet that's our world. But it can also be us as a church. You see, sometimes some of the drawback to the Old Testament way of doing things is precisely because it is external and physical. I can look really good by doing the right sort of stuff, can't I?
So sometimes I like to think, oh, actually, I can curry some favour with God. I can be in the right place with Goddesse if I do the right sort of things. Maybe we think, I'm having a really hard week, but do you know what? It's okay, because I know on Thursday I'm going to be one of the people who's going to go, and I'm going to get the tables out for natter group. Aren't I doing good?
Or actually, on a Sunday morning, I'm not going to be in church, I'm going to be down with the children's work. Actually, I'm doing all right. Maybe actually, when we think, oh, man, christian life's hard, we think, oh, but it's okay, because every time I look at my bank statement, I see, look, I'm giving 710, 20% of my income to the church. Wow, look at that. Now, all of those things, I purposely pick things that are good and wonderful things.
If you're serving at NATA or in the children's group or giving money, all of those things are actually signs of spiritual life, if taken rightly. But if I'm looking to those things to think I'm somehow better with God because of those things, well, that's a really dangerous place to be, because if I'm wanting to go back to the old system of things, then I need to be perfect or cancelled. And so if I'm thinking, hey, I'm right with God, because, look, at my giving, then I need to ask myself, am I even perfectly giving? Do I ever resent the fact that I can't get that car or go on that holiday because of the direct debit that's coming out? Do I give with joy?
Do I serve with joy? As I'm getting those tables out at fanatic, am I thinking, why isn't somebody else doing this? Or frankly, I'd just rather be at home today? Am I serving out of heart that's overflowing with the kids work? And again, I picked good things there because the danger is that we take good things and we think I'm right with God because of these things.
And the problem is it's never actually going to cleanse my conscience. I might look good for a few moments, but because I know I'm not perfect, what do I do? Well, I'm like with cancel culture, I'm trying to hide any imperfections. I'm not going to be open with my growth group about sin. I'm going to hide that because I've got to be right with God.
I'm not going to be open about the fact that I resent this, that and the other. I've got to be right and I'm going to hide the past lest I feel myself guilty before God. So what then is the answer? Well, the answer is a new covenant. The Holy Spirit is spoken of and it says this in verse ten of chapter eight.
This is the covenant I will establish with the people after that time to come, declares the Lord. I'll put my laws in their minds, I'll write them on their hearts. I'll be their God, they'll be my people. No longer will they teach to their neighbour, saying to each other, know the Lord, because they'll all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. And I will forgive their wickedness and I will remember their sins no more.
What do we do between verse ten and verse twelve?
That's right. Nothing. We don't do anything. God will. God will.
God will forgive. God will forgive.
And so what happens then is obedience goes from being something that I need to do to be right with God to being something that I get to do because I am right with God. No longer am I working my way to God, but he has, he has cleansed my conscience and forgiven me. And that makes for a very different way of serving, doesn't it? It means that I get to serve on a Thursday morning or on a Sunday morning. I get to give.
Holiness is something I get to do last night I was sat with some friends of ours.
They picked up on the fact that they've known us for many, many years. And they picked up on the fact that when Rachel and I were dating before we got married, one of the things that we decided to do is we decided we weren't going to kiss one another. This might be a neighbour share, but we decided we weren't going to do that because one of the things that we knew was that we wanted to wait until we were married to have sex. The Bible teaches that that's the place. And so we said, that's what we want to do.
And I remember in just chatting to the people last night, I brought it all back, the number of conversations I had with my friends who would say to me, look, is it really right that if you sleep with Rachel that you're going to go to hell? And I said, no, no, no, you're getting it totally wrong. You're getting it wrong. It's not like that I get to be holy in this place. It's not that I earn that somehow by years of chastity, it's that I get the benefit of those years and of saving that for within the marriage context, that's really important.
It's really important if actually that's not true of you, because there are all sorts of ways in which we sin all the time. We don't have a clear conscience because we don't sin. Now. We have a clear conscience because of what Jesus has done for us. But that means that instead of working our way to God, we get to enjoy relationship with him.
Why? Well, because the true high priest has gone to the true holy of holies. And because therefore, he has gone spiritually to the spiritual holy of holies, the place where God lives. He could spiritually work in me so that he begins to help me to begin to know and love the Lord and follow his laws in my own heart.
The blood, verse 13 of chapter nine. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremony unclean, sanctify them so that they're outwardly clean. The outward physical stuff cleans on the outside. Verse 14. How much more than 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 says, look, if the actors on the set cleanse the outward, then the true one in the spiritual holy of holies can cleanse us internally.
So as we finish. Let me lead us in a prayer and let me just ask us some questions as we go through.
Heavenly Father, by your spirit now I pray that you will draw our hearts to your son. Father, later on we're going to take communion and we're going to eat bread and wine. It's going to remind us physically of a spiritual truth that we are seated with Christ in that heavenly holy of holies.
So, Father, show us now, please show us where are those places where we're relying on the physical, on the things of here and now to bring us to you Father, show us by bringing to mind where we run to at the end of a hard day.
Show us, I pray, by where our minds go to when we are disgruntled and unhappy.
Father, show us where we would rather cover up sin I than confess it to you or talk about it with any other christian father, show us where our consciences need to be cleansed once more by Jesus blood.
For I ask this in Jesus name. Amen.