Thursday, September 8
Better, better, better
Scripture: Isaiah 15-16, Hebrews 8
Hebrews 8:1 Now the main point of what is being said is this: We have this kind of high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens…
Observation
The author doesn’t want them to miss the main point, so he announces it: “We have this kind of high priest.” What kind? Go back to 7:26-28—a high priest who is perfect and doesn’t need to offer daily sacrifices for his own sins, but offered himself once for all for us. Also compare 2:17-18 and 4:14-16.
Later, he writes, in verse 6, “But Jesus has now obtained a superior ministry, and to that degree he is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been established on better promises.”
Better, better, better. This is why the first covenant is obsolete and passing away (v. 13). Jesus is the high priest we need. Jesus is what we need!
Application
Imagine someone existing on a subsistence diet of rice who is then taken to an American supermarket and told, “It’s all yours. You can eat anything you want anytime you want for as long as you want.” Life changing!
Then imagine that person after awhile saying, “I’m going back to rice.” Back to subsistence, struggle, starvation. Hard to imagine.
That’s what was happening. The author was writing to Jewish Christians who were in danger of abandoning Jesus to go back to the old covenant. The author of Hebrews is writing to convince them that Jesus is better, better, better in every way.
Today, the danger for most is not going back to the old covenant (although some Christians try to live in both), but in going back to the old life, the old habits. This letter screams at us: JESUS IS WHAT YOU NEED! JESUS IS BETTER, BETTER, BETTER! DON’T GO BACK!
My Jesus life is unimaginably better than my BC life. I try to imagine where I would be if Jesus hadn’t found me…and I shudder. My life is better, better, better. It’s charmed, graced, blessed…and I’m
GRATEFUL!
Prayer: Lord, I’m so grateful for the full life You’ve given me in Christ. I want everyone to experience it! And I pray for those who are living on the edge of going back—please help them see what they’ve got in Jesus!