Hebrews presents the most complete and fully integrated theology of worship in the New Testament. All the important categories of Old Testament thinking on this subject – sanctuary, sacrifice, altar, priesthood and covenant – are taken up and related to the person and work of Jesus Christ. More than any other New Testament document, Hebrews makes it clear that the inauguration of the new covenant by Jesus means the fulfillment and replacement of the whole pattern of approach to God established under the Mosaic covenant. The writer proclaims the end of that earthly cult, by expounding Christ’s work as the ultimate, heavenly cult.
The ministry of Christ – past, present, and future – is portrayed in Hebrews as the only basis on which we can relate to God and offer Him acceptable worship. What others mention briefly, Hebrews makes central to its message. Since Hebrews is based on an intimate understanding of Old Testament cultic ritual, cultic imagery is used to stress the immediate benefits available to those who draw near to God through Jesus Christ and to indicate the response we should make to the gospel in our everyday lives. Thus and understanding of the categories mentioned above – priesthood, covenant, sanctuary, sacrifice, and altar – become essential for our appreciation of those benefits.
Consider Jesus! Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. (Heb. 3:1) Consider Jesus as the great, merciful, and faithful high priest who has made atonement for the sins of the people (2:17, cf. 1:3, where it is briefly mentioned that the Son of God made purification for sins). Why is such a high priest necessary? Because in the Old Testament imagery an high priest was necessary to make atonement for the defilement due to sin. Jesus has provided the purification necessary to enable those corrupted and stained by sin to draw near to God in His holiness.
When we think of Hebrews and worship we are faced with the reality that Jesus Christ is our great, merciful, and faithful high priest who removes sin and makes it possible for sinners to draw near to God. Because He offered Himself as a perfectly obedient and unblemished sacrifice to God His death has atoning significance (cf. 5:7-9; 7:27; 9:14,28). As a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 5:4-6), Jesus Christ has an eternal and heavenly priesthood, guaranteed by God’s oath, transcending and replacing the levitical priesthood of the Old Testament (7:20-25). As the messianic or eschatological priest, who reigns at God’s right hand, Jesus is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them (7:25; cf. Rom. 8:34; 1 Jn. 2:1-2).
Through faith in His atoning work on the cross we also have become priests to serve the true and living God. He has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father. Thus was can sing: to Him who loves us… to Him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. (Rev. 1:5-6) Peter reminds us of these same things in 1 Peter 2:9: you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
The exposition of Christ’s heavenly priesthood in Hebrews 7 leads into the portrayal of His work as a sacrificial liturgy performed with reference to the heavenly sanctuary in Hebrews 8-10. Jesus is a minister of the sanctuary, the true tabernacle, set up by the Lord, not by man (8:2). As such, His ministry is superior to that of earthly priests (8:6), since they serve only at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven (8:5; cf. 9:24; 10:1). The priestly ministry of Jesus is superior because it involved the offering of Himself as a perfect sacrifice to God (7:26-27) and because it inaugurates the new covenant, which is founded on better promises (8:6).
The prophecy of Jeremiah 31:31-34, which is cited fully in Hebrews 8:8-12 and then in an abbreviated form in Hebrews 10:16-17, is the controlling text in the argument of chapters 8-10. Although Jeremiah 31:31-34 says nothing about a new priesthood or a transformation of the worship of God’s people, it is clear that the final and foundational promise of that prophecy implies some definitive act on God’s part to deal with the problem of sin: For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. Even before that prophecy comes into focus, it is stated that a change of priesthood necessitates a change of the law (7:12) and this implies a new covenant.
When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, 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, having obtained eternal redemption. 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. 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! For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance-- now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. (Heb. 9:11-15)
The writer of Hebrews’ argument is that, since the blood of Christ has cleansed our consciences, we may now serve – worship – the living God! This is only possible because Christ is the mediator of a new covenant. So then, we should worship the only mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5).
The primary focus of Hebrews is on the perfect worship that Jesus offers to the Father in His life, death and heavenly exaltation. On the basis of His high-priestly work, however, Christians themselves can draw near to God and serve Him in a way that fulfils the promises of the new covenant. In two important passages of exhortation, preceding and concluding the main doctrinal argument, Hebrews issues the challenge to hold fast the Christians confession and to draw near to God with confidence (4:14-16; 10:19-23). In both cases, the appeal is based on the fact that Christ is the perfected and enthroned high priest, who has entered the heavenly sanctuary by means of His sacrificial death and heavenly exaltation and opened up a new and living way into that sanctuary for us. This challenge brings us to the heart of the writer’s concern.
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-- and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Heb. 10:19-25)
Truly we are privileged people as priests of the living God! We have the joy of pleasing God with the sacrifice of praise through Jesus. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire." (Heb. 12:28-29)
Hebrews is truly essential reading for those who would establish a Christian theology of worship. The writer takes up a number of Old Testament themes and show how they remain an essential foundation for out thinking. In a variety of ways he demonstrates that acceptable worship is only possible on God’s terms and in the way that he makes possible. God initiates and sustains a relationship with his people on the basis of the covenant he makes with them. His chosen sanctuary is a focus-point for that engagement, but genuine worship will be offered in every sphere of life. A God-ordained priesthood, authentic sacrifices, and effective cleansing and sanctification must be provided for those who would draw near to God and serve him.
The writer also shows us, however, how these foundational Old Testament themes must be re-interpreted in the light of their fulfillment in Christ. Indeed, our understanding of the person and work of Christ can be greatly enriched by viewing the central truths of the gospel in terms of transformed worship categories. The perfect sacrifice of Jesus provides the basis for relating to god under the new covenant. His high-priestly work secures a once-for-all atonement for sin, the cleansing of our consciences and continuing right of direct access to God. Expressed in other terms, this means participation by faith now in the joyful assembly of all God’s people in the heavenly Jerusalem.
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