Our Perfect Savior

 

Hebrews 5:7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

Jesus Christ was the better revelation of God than the angels, prophets, or Moses.  He was also the best possible priest.  He understood both God's side and man's, making Him the perfect intercessor.  He already knew what it was to hear man's prayers; now He experienced what it was to offer prayers to God.  He already knew God's perfect will; now He learned what it cost to submit to it.  He came to know what it was to both receive and offer sacrifice for sin.  In one sense He did not HAVE to do so, being He was God and could do anything He wanted, but in another sense, this was the way He could say: "I did it all for you."

Connecting the Dots...

 

Hebrews 4:11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

One of the drawbacks of doing a brief devotional with short passages is the possibility of losing context. That could happen here, where we often forget these two great passages are from one and the same place. The writer continues his theme of "entering God's rest" which we talked about yesterday, then tells us how. It is by being in the Word of God and calling out to Him in Jesus name for His grace to enter into this rest that He has promised.  

Missing out on REST

 Hebrews 3:12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. 15 As it is said,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

This chapter opens with the writer comparing and contrasting Jesus with Moses.  Both were used by God to reveal His person and His plan, but Jesus was by far the greater revelation, being God's very Son.  With that being the case, rejection of His revelation would have even greater consequences. With all that the people of Israel had seen in the Exodus, they still rebelled against God, refusing to obey, and ended up dying in the wilderness wanderings. They did not enter the promised rest. How much more we will lose out on if we turn our backs on all God has revealed in Christ. 

Why Did He Have to Suffer?

 Hebrews 2:14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

As we saw Friday in our study in chapter 1, Jesus came as the greatest revelation of God and His will, as He Himself is God the Son.  That says a lot about Who Christ is; this chapter says a lot about why He came.  To begin with, angels - messengers of God, were not sufficient to do what needed to be done for our salvation.  The Savior had to have the same power as the Creator of the universe, including man. He also had to become one of us. In order to lead men triumphantly out of the kingdom of darkness, He had to have the authority to do so.  But what He came to do also required empathy and identification. This was no mere physical bondage we were it; it was far deeper, to our souls.  He had to come suffer all we do, and even more, experiencing what it is to struggle with sin and its dire effects on our lives. This way He not only defeats sin and its power; He becomes our strength as we continue to endure its effects in this life. 

The Voice

 Psalm 28:6 Blessed be the Lord!
    For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
    in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
    and with my song I give thanks to him.
8 The Lord is the strength of his people;
    he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
9 Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!
    Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Psalm 29:Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,

    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;

    worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.

3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters;

    the God of glory thunders,

    the Lord, over many waters.

4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;

    the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

Psalm 28 begins with David calling out to God for mercy - so that He will not bring judgment on him along with all the wicked around him. As shown above, he then shares that God had answered his cry. David then applies this to all of God's people, asking God to bless them also.  This leads to Psalm 29, where David asks God's people (and the angels) to join Him in worshipping God. He focuses on the power of God's voice. His voice is totally unique and powerful. He can call into existence things none other can: storms, thunder, fire and lightening, the destruction of nations - even the birth of the young.  We should use our voice to praise the voice of God. 

Desiring His Presence

 

Psalm 26:8 O Lord, I love the habitation of your house
    and the place where your glory dwells.
9 Do not sweep my soul away with sinners,
    nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
10 in whose hands are evil devices,
    and whose right hands are full of bribes.

Psalm 27:4 One thing have I asked of the Lord,
    that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
    and to inquire in his temple.
5 For he will hide me in his shelter
    in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
    he will lift me high upon a rock.

Psalm 26 begins as many of David's psalms: with him crying out to God for deliverance, on the run from those who sought to destroy him.  But as he pleads his innocence and makes his case, he gets real with God and says: "What I really want is to be with you in the house of worship. It is not very far into the next Psalm above, with those familiar opening verses, that David once again reveals this same deep desire of his heart: to be with God in His house.  We find the same desire mentioned in the conclusion of Psalm 23.  Is David's desire our desire, no matter what is going on in our life? 

Holy Conversation

Hebrews 1:6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,
“Let all God's angels worship him.”
7 Of the angels he says,
“He makes his angels winds,
    and his ministers a flame of fire.”
8 But of the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
    the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has anointed you
    with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” 

The passage above is one of the most fascinating conversations in scripture. The writer records God the Father speaking, first about, then to God the Son.  In context, the writer is telling how the revelation God the Son, Jesus the Christ has given us is far superior to anything else we have received, beginning with His incarnation. He then goes on to quote God the Father as He speaks to the Son, calling Him God, yet at the same time calling Himself God. When He came, Christ did reveal to us what God is like, what His plan is, and how He wants us to be a part of their family.