Archive for December, 2021

Jesus Baptism and His Fully Divine and Human Identity

December 27, 2021

We are now on the verge of the new year, and I have decided not to move on from Hebrews to other parts of Scripture. Over Christmas time, we were reminded that in Jesus we see God taking on human form. In other words, Jesus was not a pretend man but a real man. Yet in another sense he is fully God and Fully man. We accept this by faith. Not much is said about Jesus apart from when he was 12 years old until he turned 30! John was sent in the tradition of the Prophets, and he prepared the peoples hearts for the coming of the Messiah. Jesus was baptized by John the Prophet in order to fulfil all righteousness. We know the story; Jesus was baptized and at this public ceremony The Holy Spirit took on the form of a dove that landed on Jesus while God the Father spoke of Jesus being his beloved Son. Here we have a picture of the Triune God:

Matthew 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” 15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. 16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:13-17


Mark 9 It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. 11 Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Mark 1:9-11Luke 21 When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. 22 And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.” Luke 3:21-22

As you can see this story is found in all the three of the synoptic Gospels. All three Gospels talk about the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus. This is true also in John:

“32 John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.” John 1:32-34”

There is a fourfold public agreement on the offices Jesus was called to do. As we saw in the Book of Hebrews Jesus is Prophet, Priest, King and the ultimate sacrifice for our sins as well as being the 2nd Person of the Trinity, so that we can have eternal life.

“Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” 15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. 16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:13-17

The Greek text here is moving very fast and the verbs are either in the present or the aorist. The aorist does not exist in the English language, but it is an event that is punctiliar. It happened and that is it.

Verse 13

Jesus coming from Galilee (present tense). He is already there by the river Jordan. This event is happening and being recorded on the spot.

Verse 14

John the Baptist felt so unworthy that he tried to prevent Jesus’ baptism because he felt it should be the other way around. This event was a lot bigger than John because it was a sign to the world that Jesus indeed was sent from God. Jesus is God’s message to the world.

Verse 15

The rationale for the baptism is that God had planned this from eternity. This moment has historical significance for God’s justice and righteousness.

Verse 16

As soon as Jesus came up from the water ‘immediately’ God spoke. God’s authority rested on Jesus. The Holy Spirit descending on Jesus as a dove has a fourfold lock on it. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John have all verified that this took place. In any law court of any time and place this evidence would be taken as fact that it actually happened. Obviously the character of the witnesses ought also to be looked at. In any case they were willing to die for Jesus. This would validate the facts even more.

What about the character references of these Apostles:

  • Matthew (Levi): Martyred about 60 AD by being staked and speared to the ground. Preached the Gospel in Ethiopia (Africa) and was killed for questioning the morals of the king.
  • Mark (John Mark): Was dictated to writing the Book of Mark. Martyred – dragged to death.
  • Luke: The Physician. Wrote Luke and The Acts. Was hanged on an olive tree.
  • John (The Beloved) (son of Zebedee / brother of James) : Natural Death The only apostle who did not meet a martyrs death. Banished by Roman Emperor Domitian to Isle of Patmos where penned Revelation, the last book in the Bible. Was later freed & went to preach in Turkey and died at 100.

(I got this information from “…csmedia1.com/thexenaproject.org/week-01-how-the-disciples-died.pdf”)

Jesus has his vindication that indeed he is the Son of God. He is then sent to be tried and tested in the desert like Moses and Elijah were.

THEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION

Historically something was happening at the time of Christ in the area of Israel and the surrounding districts. The time was ripe for the Messiah to come. I think one of the main questions would be:

What would the Messiah be like?

We do know that the dead see scrolls looked for a powerful leader. We know there was a cultus that was an alternative to the Temple of Jerusalem with serious washing facilities discovered by archaeologists!

https://www.britannica.com/place/Qumran#ref259042

This does not surprise me because the Romans chose corrupt leaders to do their dirty work for them. Herod is a case in point and then his children took his place. Part of this Judaic community opted out of this decadence for simple obedience for the God of Israel. They knew that the Messiah the true king of Israel would come into the world to save them. From a Christian perspective they looked in the wrong place. They looked for a powerful king who would trample their enemies into the ground.

Jesus did not come into the world as this powerful king who would trample their enemies into the ground. No! He was the ‘prince of peace’ born outside of any comforts and shared an area with the farm animals in a shed sleeping inside the feeding trough for the animals. How humbling how different to human logic. God’s logic is always greater than human logic as Paul explained in 1 Corinthians.

Jesus was indeed the Messiah:

7 “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD:

He said to Me, ‘You are My Son,

Today I have begotten You. Psalms 2:7

And then again in Isaiah

1 “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold:

My chosen one in whom My soul delights.

I have put My Spirit upon Him:

He will bring forth justice to the nations. Isaiah 42:1

How do we know this?

Only look at the story of King Saul and king David. Saul was the people’s choice. He was tall, good looking and he could fight.

Look at David! He was but a youth but had a heart to obey God. When he made mistakes, he would repent and be sorry for his sins.

Moses as well is recorded somewhere that he was the humblest man in all the world even though he was a leader.

REFLECTION

From what I have said Jesus is indeed the king of Israel and the world. Jesus was there at the creation of the world with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Yet Jesus did not come into the world with all of the regalia but rather the opposite. He humbled himself to sharing space with farm animals and died on a cross like a common criminal. This is seriously humbling. Yet death could not hold him and he was resurrected from the dead which gives us hope in the face of death that we too can be resurrected like him and live forever in God’s presence.

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Regeneration and the New Birth in Christ and the doctrine of Election part 2

December 12, 2021

Some birds in my garden feeding.  

Bavinck earlier looked at preparations to the new Birth (born again).    Last time we looked at man’s problem that he is ‘spiritually dead’.  Today though we are focusing on the ‘struggle to rebirth’.  This is how Bavinck starts this section on page 258:

(“However, after one receives these preparations, the process can go in two directions. After all, with such a preparation there will be a struggle between the convicting Spirit in one’s conscience and the flesh. The Spirit knocks on the door of one’s heart and calls to conversion, to distance oneself from the world and its allurements. Even imperfect desires to be converted arise within the person. They would want to be converted, but the flesh and the world are opposed; they would have to surrender so much pleasure, so much sweetness, and sacrifice advantage. The flesh advises keeping the door of the heart closed. In this way, a struggle ensues, anxiety, doubt.”page 260)

Before we got to this point somewhere Bavinck said that the Christian has two natures. 

  1. ·        The natural man who by nature was created
  2. ·        The spiritual man who yearns for God

The natural man is interested in the things and pleasure of the world.  The spiritual part of us yearns to go home from whom we owe our existence.  So for Bavinck then there is a ‘tug of war’ for who will be our master.  The effects of this is that; if the natural man was to submit to the Holy Spirit then he would have to give up the pleasures of the world and ‘sacrifice advantage’ (page 260).

He goes on to say that some people who profess conversion turn back to the pleasures of the world and Bavinck quotes the words of Peter:

22 It has happened to them according to the true proverb, “A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.” 2 Peter 2:22

The love of the sinful things of the world is opposed to God’s nature as he is holy.  So having tasted God’s goodness somehow it is equivalent to this. As he continues in Timothy by saying:

“for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica… 2 Timothy 4:10”

Bavinck goes on and says that some people don’t go completely back into the world because they like some of the trappings of the Church.  They are not born again and the Scriptures puts them in a particular category (Hebrews 6  1-8, Psalm 582-5).  They use ‘preparatory standards’ towards being born again and remain ‘half baked’ (Hosea 7 8). 

In contrast the elect (those who are truly born again, anew) may stay in a state of preparation for a long time before being born again but when it happens it is not half baked.  It is genuine and it is not full of hypocrisy.  This rebirth, regeneration, whatever you like to call it is a complete mystery to us, but it happens (John 38); “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:8” (page 262)

In Christ by the Holy Spirit, we are kept from falling away from God.   The elect are a ‘new creation’.  The spiritually dead to the things of God are made alive to the things of God.  It is God who makes this possible.

As Bavinck says:

“Without any cooperation on our part, God begins this regeneration in us by his irresistible grace, penetrating our conscience through to our heart and pouring into us a new life-principle. This enlightens our understanding, judgment, conscience, and memory so that the darkness disappears, and we evaluate ourselves, God, and Christ differently.” (Page 261)

 

The effect of this for Paul was that the scales fell from his eyes:

And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; Acts 9:18

The effect for Lydia was that the Lord opened her heart:

 A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. Acts 16:14

The new situation then being in Christ is that we are indeed a new creation, ‘a new person’:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17

A dead twig cannot bring itself to life therefore the initial work of rebirth is done by the Holy Spirit.  The spiritual act and gift of faith flows from this beginning:

“Mystical union arises (logically) after regeneration, simultaneously with and through faith. Becoming one with Christ, we therefore already have the organizing principle of life. But this life-principle now draws, as it grows, all its power, strength, and nourishment from Christ. And in order to be grafted into him who is the olive tree, we must already be living twigs. One does not ingraft dead branches.” (Pages 262-263).

Reflection

As we have seen we were spiritually dead towards God, and we were alienated from the promises of God.  The big ‘I’ was the controlling factor in our lives.  Even though creation itself was perfect the Fall marred this creation and sin entered into the world.  God had to make a completely new creation in us.  Christ came into the world and did what he had to do in order that it would be possible for us to be brought into the life of God.  This is only possible in Christ. 

Election and reprobation are in the hands of God.  I don’t think we should focus on that and look at this problem logically because then we can come to some conclusions that don’t make sense.  Rather, this only makes sense when we realise that as well as God being Judge, he is also the lover of our souls and He in Christ by the Holy Spirit wants us to come into fellowship with him. 

Christians have various views on election, and some want to give us the decision and not God.  Of course, there is reciprocation but at all times I think it is important to allow God to keep His Sovereignty. 

Even when we talk about a natural birth there are many factors.  It is a miracle.  How much more of a miracle is it when we are ‘spiritually dead’. Calvin came to the conclusion of double election:

  • ·        The elect elected to eternal life
  • ·        The reprobate elected to eternal damnation.

This sounds very harsh and on the face of it a lot of theologians cannot accept this either.

Karl Bart tried to find a way around this by saying in the ‘Judge Judged in our place’ that Christ also paid the complete price for the reprobate.  Some have accused Barth of universalism.

I don’t think that theologians have arrived yet at a proper formulation of the doctrine of election.  Every viewpoint has its fault.  I think the reason for this is because our knowledge is limited whereas God’s knowledge is infinite.  God loves his creation because he told us in Genesis, and it is no accident that the Logos as God working in the creation is found in Johns Gospel.  We need to remember that it was the sin of Adam that led to this problem.  God is not to blame.  In fact, God became a man in order to sort this Fall problem out.

For these reasons and others, I speak of election as ‘mystery’ and because of this it is very apt that Jesus said:

“Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:7-8”

Having said that we need to respect God’s holiness, justice, mercy and love.  Bavinck holds all these elements in place.  It is the Lord Jesus Christ who did the work so that we could be saved.  The Holy Spirit as he who breathes new life into humans. He ought to be seen as the one Who turns the salvific key in us so that new birth can take place. 

Dictionary

Salvific = saving, salvation

Regeneration = born again, new birth

Bibliography

Reformed Ethics; by Herman Bavinck; edited By John Bolt; pages 258-263

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Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord

December 10, 2021

God-pleasing Sacrifices

15 Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. 16 And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. 17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.

18 Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honourably in all things. 19 And I urge you all the more to do this, so that I may be restored to you the sooner.

Benediction

20 Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, 21 equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

22 But I urge you, brethren, bear with this word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly. 23 Take notice that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom, if he comes soon, I will see you. 24 Greet all of your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you.

25 Grace be with you all. Hebrews 13:15-25

As well as loving God we also ought to love one another as Christ commanded.  Let us also stay appreciative to the fact that while we were still in our sin Christ died for us and in his resurrection, we have the certain hope of eternal life by the Holy Spirit.

Verses 15 and 16

15 Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. 16 And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

We ought to praise and worship God in season and out of season.  This is not only dependent on our feelings but it also dependent on the objective historical truths that Christ died and rose again from the dead.  This gives us certain hope for our salvation.  A correlate of this is to share our love in practical ways as well by sharing with others from what we have.  As Bavinck would say, the fruit of faith is works. (See his Reformed Ethics volume 1).

Verses 17, 18 and 19

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.

18 Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honourably in all things. 19 And I urge you all the more to do this, so that I may be restored to you the sooner.  19 And I urge you all the more to do this, so that I may be restored to you the sooner.

Again, Apollos commands the believers to obey their parents. Don’t go against the grain by being negative towards their leadership when there is no reason.  We also have the correlate of the importance of the leaders who are expected to conduct themselves ‘honourably’ in the office that they were chosen to be in.  Even Apollos talks about being restored to the Church!  We can see lots of prison sentences going on in the background.  Perhaps Apollos at times was also taken away from the Church by force (By the authorities).

Verses 20-21

20 Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, 21 equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Near the end Apollos gives a blessing to these believers in Jesus Christ.  He finishes with an Amen.  But I am asking, why it has come now near the end of the letter but not the end.  Perhaps Apollos finished his writings and he forgot to mention Timothy.  I don’t need to know the reason because this is such a fantastic and beautiful benediction.  

‘Now the God of Peace’

This is an interesting phrase.  As you know the style of the book is not Pauline, but the theology certainly is.  The term ‘God of peace’ comes up in other Scriptures:

Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. Romans 15:33

Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 2 Corinthians 13:11

The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:9

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23

Then the idea of ‘Shepherd’, Peter uses this:

25 For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls. 1 Peter 2:25

It is also found in Isaiah:

11 Then His people remembered the days of old, of Moses.

Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of His flock?

Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in the midst of them, Isaiah 63:11

The Eternal Covenant

3 “Incline your ear and come to Me.

Listen, that you may live;

And I will make an everlasting covenant with you,

According to the faithful mercies shown to David. Isaiah 55:3

In verse 20 then we see a picture of the Trinity directly or indirectly.  We have God the Father of love and peace sending his Son the great Shepherd of the Sheep into the world to reconcile His church to the eternal covenant by the blood of Christ.  In one of the references in the Old Testament we see the Holy Spirit in the Midst of His people. 

Because of verse 20 then when we reach verse 21 the Church is equipped to do God’s will because of Christ:

equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Hebrews 13:21

Notice the ‘Amen’ (so be it! / Let it be!).

Apollos however wanted to add some extra stuff to his letter.  Like we sometimes do by saying PS.

Verse 22

In this verse Apollos reminds his readers that he wrote this magnificent treatise as a ‘brief letter’:

But I urge you, brethren, bear with this word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly. Hebrews 13:22

As we have gone through this letter, you would have noticed that these believers were going through various trials and prison sentences.  To hear that Timothy is out of prison would have been a great encouragement for these believers.  Not all the leaders were dead.  The batten of the Gospel of Hope and life was being passed down from generation to generation:

Perhaps Paul was dead at this time by beheading, (Roman form of execution for Roman citizens) but Timothy and Apollos as faithful witnesses continued to spread the Gospel:

Take notice that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom, if he comes soon, I will see you. Hebrews 13:23

Those in Italy greet the Church to whom Apollos was writing (Perhaps Jerusalem (my view)):

Greet all of your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you. Hebrews 13:24

Verse 25 ends with the blessing of grace.  This is also found in the Pauline letters:

Grace be with you all. Hebrews 13:25

For example:

18 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my imprisonment. Grace be with you. Colossians 4:18

Reflection

We have now completed reading and studying the book of Hebrews.  It is an incredible piece of literature in the New Testament that is artistically and theologically a masterpiece.   From my point of view there is only one Gospel, but it can take on different forms.  Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are four Gospels written by four different people but influenced by one Holy Spirit.  For me Revelations is not just an Apocalypse following the Ezekiel tradition, but it is also explaining to us the authority of Jesus and what he did for us at the cross and it’s working out in human history.  The book of Hebrews is also about the Gospel message, but it takes a form of high Alexandrian Greek.  The message is the same and spells out who this Jesus is and those who reject the message reject God’s offer of salvation (although for humans it is a mystery because our understanding is finite). 

Here you have some Jewish Christians being persecuted for their faith.  Apollos writes into this situation, and he starts by placing the God-Man Jesus Christ at the heart of the Trinity:

“In these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. 3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.” Hebrews 1:2-4

  • Not anyone can sit at the right hand of the Father except the Son. 
  • He is also ‘greater than the angels’
  • ‘He is greater than Moses’
  • Although he is God, he took on human form as a real human being and humbled himself on the cross
  • Jesus is the High Priest in the heavens the earthly one is only a shadow
  • Jesus is the Perfect High priest the earthly ones only stay in place for a short period.
  • Jesus’ priesthood is like Melchizedek’s that lasts forever.
  • One sacrifice of Christ is all that is needed.  In the Temple animals needed to be sacrificed all the time.
  • We have a choice to choose Christ or judgement.

Thanks for taking the time to follow this blog.  I have enjoyed writing it and I get pleasure when I see people taking God’s word seriously.  Before moving onto a new Biblical project, the book of Hebrews gives us a question to ponder.

Who is Jesus?

But also, who is Jesus to you personally as a human being?

The Nature of Jesus

At this time of year with Christmas just around the corner John’s Gospel explains to us the nature of the Christmas story:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. John 1:1-5”

John starts from the ‘beginning’ (creation). Jesus was actively involved in the creation of the world with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  Before the Fall the creation is described as ‘good’.  God loves his creation so much that in Christ there is a renewal through faith.  We have a choice with the help of the Holy Spirit, light or darkness.  People cannot comprehend the message because they are spiritually dead.  Christ came to save this lost humanity. 

who is Jesus to you personally as a human being?

We are sometimes blinded by our own self centredness.  Christ’s message goes out to the whole world.  In the book of Hebrews, we are all confronted by the message of Jesus.  Do we continue walking along our own path and end up nowhere or do we in Christ return to the lover of our souls.  Every religion and every person will be confronted by this message and they and us will have to make a decision about the Gospel message.  As Christians we are supposed to be ambassadors for Christ.  When an ambassador goes to a foreign country that particular country will look at the way the ambassador lives.  As ambassadors for Christ let us be ‘living letters’ to those who meet us.  Unfortunately, a lot of the time we are anything but ambassadors!  We are not perfect but we are being made perfect in Christ Amen.

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We have confidence in Christ because he is the same Yesterday, Today and Forever! Hebrews 13.7-14

December 5, 2021

Confidence is a very important word.  We use the word in our daily lives.  When we set the alarm at night-time, we are confident that we will hear it the next day.  In order to go to work we confidently put the key into the ignition.  When we switch the power on our phones, we confidently expect it to run.  However sometimes it doesn’t work out the way we had planned.  I was confident that my Windows 10 home edition would work but unfortunately, I spend a few days trying to make it work. 

Spiritually this raises important questions, and it leads to an ultimate question; Do I put confidence in myself or in a higher power? (Namely God) The book of Hebrews has a lot to teach us about where we put our confidence.  Here are some snippets:

  • Hebrew 36  If we hold fast our confidence
  • Hebrew 416 with confidence to the Throne of Grace
  • Hebrew 1019 We have confidence to enter the Holy Place
  • Hebrew 1035  Do not throw away you confidence
  • Hebrew 136 So we speak confidently

Let us now look at this week’s text:

Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.  9 Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited. 10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.  11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp. 12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.  13 So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.  14 For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come. Hebrews 13:7-14

At first glance one might think there are various topics here and they don’t seem to jell together.  Commentators may ask what has leaders to do with Jesus being the same in time sequences in the following verse?

Verse 7

“Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.”

The ‘remembering’ here is in the imperative second person plural (Greek).  Apollos isn’t asking the believers to look at the conduct of their leaders.  No, my friends it is a command.  A lot of these leaders probably did not make it to old age.  Later on, we find out that Timothy is going to be released from prison.  What about Paul?  Tradition has it that he was executed.   James the Lord’s brother was according to Josephus also executed even though he was completely innocent.   How do your leaders stand out in the Church from the 21st century?  How can a person follow a leader that isn’t following the example of Christ in their everyday life?  No one is perfect but Scripture does give us a standard for leadership in the Church.   The New Testament stands on the authority of Christ and his Apostles.  The Apostles have been asleep for many centuries now, but we do have their writings as a guide by the Holy Spirit.  It is the Holy Spirit that gives us this continuation with the early church and the Apostolic standards.

Verses 8 and 9

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.  9 Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.

Verse 8 is one of the most beautiful verses in the New Testament and because of its beauty we may miss the hay from the trees.  Taking the verse on face value it is an encouragement that Jesus is always the same.  He is in heaven interceding for us and we can take encouragement that his teachings do not change over time, but they are the same.  

Verse 9 is completely opposite, and we can spot the teachings of these capricious teachers a mile away.  The ancient Greek gods could change their minds on a whim so too these false teachers can teach false doctrine and change their meanings on a whim. 

However, we are certain and 200% sure that the teachings of the Bible have not changed for over 2000 years. 

Before we move on, I can simply say that this whole section touches on false teachings about food.  Perhaps somehow these false teachers were linking food to salvation somehow.   We need to remember that James in the book of Acts wrote a letter to all the churches stating that the only food Christians ‘jew’ or gentile was not to eat was food with the blood still in it. 

Verse 10

10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.

Apollos reminds us that the tabernacle we eat from gives no right to these earthly officials.  The earthly tabernacle is only a shadow of the real one.

Verses 11 – 14

.  11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp. 12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.  13 So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.  14 For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come. Hebrews 13:7-14

These animals pointed only to the real sacrifice of the True Lamb of God.  These animals were sacrificed outside of the camp.    In that way the great sacrifice of Christ happened outside the city gates of Jerusalem.   Anyone hung on a tree was seen as cursed.  Jesus took our curse on himself so that we could be found holy and blameless before a righteous God.  As Jesus took on our curse which was a reproach against him, we too as his followers may we take on some of this curse, by living holy and blameless with this hope burning in our souls that one day we too will be before the celestial city gates. 

Reflection

Faith is a gift as we cannot save ourselves.  God is for us because Jesus is for us.  Jesus became a curse so that we in Him can be found righteous.  The road we walk is a walk of faith, full of appreciation in our hearts for what Jesus did for us.  Apollos teaches us to live this life confidently in Christ by the Holy Spirit.  If any of your leaders tell you anything different to take you away from Christ, then they are wolves in sheep’s clothing.  

Personal note on the blogs

I would have finished this blog earlier, but my computer died.   In this digital age we need to stay faithful to Christ with computers and without computers.  If Apollos was around today, I wonder how this beautiful letter may have been written. 😊

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