My Daily Pause

[This is part six of a deeper study of the article 6 Ways Christ was Better than the Law. To get better context and a link to the other parts, you can click there and read it first.]

I think I’ve heard the phrase “forgive and forget” all my life. I have heard it a number of times in church as if it is a Biblical principle we are supposed to be following. The Bible never really says we are supposed to forgive and forget in so many words, but it does talk about forgiveness a number of times. We are to:

• forgive so the Father will forgive us (Matthew 6:14)
• be kind tenderhearted and forgiving to one another just like we were through Christ (Ephesians 4:32)
• forgive unrepentant enemies (Matthew 5:44)

Jesus even used the parable of the unforgiving servant to teach us the lengths we are to go through to be forgiving. (Matthew 18:21-35)

The forgetting part just isn’t in our human nature though, is it? Remembering what someone did to us might be a way of gauging the amount of trust we can offer them. Even though we can carry on as if the sin against us never happened, the hurt it caused can often take a lifetime to heal.

Maybe the term “forgive and forget” came into use by people that were working hard to be like Christ. When Christ died on the cross, he sealed a new and better covenant for us. (Hebrews 7:24) This is a covenant that does not remember our sins once we repent. (Hebrews 8:12 quoting Jerimiah 31:34) Think for a moment how huge that is. God forgets a forgiven sin ever happened!

The marvelous thing about this covenant is that it was not given only to the Jews. It was given to all that get into Christ. (Galatians 3:29) Through our becoming a Christian, we are added to the rolls of Abraham’s children and become beneficiaries of God’s promise.

[This is part five of a deeper study of the article 6 Ways Christ was Better than the Law. To get better context and a link to the other parts, you can click there and read it first.]

The audience of the Hebrews letter was thinking about returning to Judaism. The writer confronts them in Hebrews 7 with a full discussion of Melchizedek. Any reader that wanted to be a true son of Abraham had to stop and give this a second look.

With just three verses in Genesis 14:18-20 and another sentence in Psalm 110:4, the Jews might not have given this a lot of attention. Once the writer reveals Melchizedek as the highest of priests, a priest that is also a king, the Jews could now accept Christ as a high priest. In fact his priesthood was even better than the Levitical priesthood.

For a little more development on Melchizedek, 8 Reasons Christ was like Melchizedek
takes a little closer look at the comparisons of him and Christ.

[This is part four of a deeper study of the article 6 Ways Christ was Better than the Law. To get better context and a link to the other parts, you can click there and read it first.]

Having established that Christ is the better high priest, the Hebrews writer needed to show that his offering was better as well. Hebrews 9:1-10:39 explains the transition from the imperfect sacrifices to the perfect “once and for all” sacrifice offered by Christ’s blood.

Under the Old Law, the high priest needed to enter the Holy of Holies or the most holy place to sprinkle the blood sacrifice. This was the sacrifice for all of the unintentional sins of the priests and the people. (Hebrews 9:7) To make it more difficult, they could only go once a year and they had to do it every year.

The offerings did nothing for the worshipper’s conscience. It also didn’t totally grant forgiveness for their sins. Had they been guilty of skipping the annual sacrifice, they would have been held accountable for all of those previous sins!

Through the sacrifice of Christ’s blood, we have the privilege of permanent forgiveness of sins. Once forgiven, we have no more need for any offering for the sin. In fact God goes a step further than people will normally go… He remembers our sin no more! (Hebrews 10:17)

[This is part three of a deeper study of the article 6 Ways Christ was Better than the Law. To get better context and a link to the other parts, you can click there and read it first.]

The office of high priest held a lot of power under the Old Law. Man’s burning desire to be important probably amplified that power beyond what God intended. With all of Christ’s credentials previously studied, the Hebrews writer intended to show that Jesus was an even better high priest. (Hebrews 4:14-5:10) Christians in essence were going to trade down to the priesthood of Aaron if they left the church.

The writer reminds the audience what the standard for becoming high priest was:

• He was taken from among men
• He was appointed by God
• He was compassionate of those he represented
• He needed possession of adequate sacrifice
• He avoid personal honor from the office

Once selected, the high priest had very visible (and earthly) qualities:

• The personal enrichment so they could afford finer things
• The influence they held – even over the Romans
• The judge and ruler over the Jews since there was no king

No wonder the priesthood of Aaron was so enticing!

In order to reconcile the qualifications to the priesthood with his argument that Christ is a better high priest, the writer returns to Psalm 110. He used Psalm 110:1-2 to argue Christ’s universal kingship and then quotes Psalm 110:4 to compare his priesthood to Melchizdek’s. (Hebrews 5:6) This might have been the first time the Psalm 110 prophesy was fully understood!

Melchizedek is covered in the article 8 Reasons Christ was like Melchizedek so we will look at him in an upcoming lesson. For now, the writer concludes the argument with stating that Christ is the “source of eternal salvation.” (Hebrews 5:9)

Part 3: A Better Sacrifice

[This is part two of a deeper study of the article 6 Ways Christ was Better than the Law. To get better context and a link to the other parts, you can click there and read it first.]

The Jews held up Moses as the one who brought the Law down from God, so it makes sense that the Hebrews writer would point to him. Moses and Jesus compare and contrast so well, that those who knew the Old Law would have a better understanding of just who Jesus was with a little study of those Scriptures.

Moses and Jesus Compared

• Both were Israelites, there was a prophesy of the Messiah coming from the countrymen. (Deuteronomy 18:15)
• Both were rejected (Exodus 2:14)
• Both left better circumstances to serve: Moses from Pharaoh’s palace and Jesus from heaven
• Both performed signs and wonders (Their first: water to blood/water to wine)

Moses and Jesus Contrasted

• Moses a servant, Christ the Son
• Moses was sinful, Christ is sinless (Deuteronomy 32:51,52; Hebrews 4:15)
• Moses delivered from physical bondage, Christ from the spiritual bondage of sin
• Moses’ mission pertained only to Israel, Christ’s, ultimately, to the “whole creation” (Mark 16:15)

Hebrews 3:1-6 appeals to the Jew’s heritage and reasoning to prove that Christ was the one appointed from God and was faithful to God’s house, just like Moses. Since Christ was the Son of God, his faithfulness is better and Christians are a part of God’s house as long as they persevere. (Hebrews 3:6)

Part 3: The Greatest High Priest

[This is part one of a deeper study of the article 6 Ways Christ was Better than the Law. To get better context and a link to the other parts, you can click there and read it first.]

The Jews believed that the angels held a lot more authority than the Bible teaches. By the time Christ came, they had a whole system of excellence credited to the angels. (Clark’s Commentary at Hebrews 1:4) The Hebrews writer goes right to work to show that our Lord is above the angels.

Hebrews 1 is the introductory argument that the angels did not hold a candle to Christ. The writer breaks out Old Testament scripture to show the deity of Christ:

• He is the Son of God (Hebrews 1:5) – Attributes Psalm 2:7 as referring to Christ and is backed up by Peter in Acts 4:25 and Paul in Acts 13:33 applying Psalm 2 to Christ.
• The angels were to worship him (Hebrews 1:6) – This was a reference to Psalm 97:7
• The angels are servants (Hebrews 1:7) – Not only were the angels not sons, they are referred to as servants. (Psalm 104:4) The angels were once thought by the Jews to be the managers of the wind and fire.
• Christ is God (Hebrews 1:8-9) – The writer quotes Psalm 45:6-7 and attributes it to God calling the Son God. Other passages that do the same: John 1:1, Act 20:28, Philippians 2:6, 2 Peter 1:1 and so on.
• Christ is God and Creator (Hebrews 1:10-12) – Quoted from Psalm 102:25-27
• Christ was assigned to defeat our enemies (Hebrews 1:13) – Quoted from Psalm 110:1. Christ told us he sits at the right hand of power (Mark 14:62) and Paul said he is reigning until he hands the kingdom over to God (1 Corinthians 15:25)

While worshiping angels is not a problem in the church today, it is good to see the arguments of just how heavenly and glorious Jesus’ presence was on earth. We had God on earth for the purpose of understanding us and saving us!

Part 2: Greater than Moses