Jesus is the Great High Priest
I was tagged by Bryan at “Charis Shalom” to post five things I dig about Jesus. Besides the fact that I have never used the word “dig” in this context, I enjoyed thinking through this meme (it was groovy). In fact, I’ve decided to blog about each of my five things. The first thing that I dig is that Jesus is the Great High Priest.
I’ve grown to love the book of Hebrews. I love the way the author of Hebrews shows that the way of Jesus is far superior to the way of the law and ritual. In fact, Hebrews argues that Jesus is not only superior, but that the “former things” were mere shadows of the real things, which were initiated by Jesus himself.
One of the comparisons made by the author of Hebrews is between Jesus as High Priest and the priestly system that began with Aaron. The priest was responsible for offering bulls or goats as sacrifices, which were actually ineffective at removing sins. (Heb 9:13; 10:4) The priest was appointed to act as a mediator between God and man, but he had to offer sacrifices for himself and for his sins first, then he could enter the holy place in the tabernacle or temple. (Heb 5:1-3; 9:1-4) These ritualistic sacrifices had to be carried out continuously. (Heb 7:27) But, if these rituals were ineffective, then why did God command that they be carried out? Because they were a shadow (an imitation) of what was to come through Jesus Christ! (Heb 8:5; 10:1)
Jesus Christ, our Great High Priest, has now come. He has offered the perfect sacrifice (himself) once for all. (Heb 9:11-14) He does not need to offer this sacrifice continuously, because his death is sufficient. (Heb 7:27; 9:27-28) Now, Christ has entered into the very holy place – that is, into the presence of God himself. (Heb 9:24)
But, beyond what Christ did for us, Jesus as our Great High Priest continues to work on our behalf. Our Great High Priest does not die as other priests, but he lives forever! First, he mediates between us and God. (Heb 9:15; 12:22-24) Jesus intercedes on our behalf. (Heb 7:25) Finally, Jesus prepares the way for us to enter into the presence of God with him. (Heb 10:19-22)
Also, Jesus is not a high priest who is cold and distant. He is a high priest who came to us, who identifies with us, who suffered and was tempted as we are, and who is compassionate and sympathetic toward us! (Heb 4:15) This is the Great High Priest who ushers us into God’s presence, presenting our petitions when words fail us, mediating when we fail, lifting us when we fall, carrying us when we are too weak. This is the Great High Priest who will reign forever!
What does it mean for Jesus to be my Great High Priest? When someone tells me, “You can’t do that,” I just smile inside and remember the Great High Priest. When someone whispers, “God will not like you if you do that,” I nod and recognize that Jesus is mediating for me. When someone points out my sin and reminds me that I’m a loser, I remember that Jesus cleansed me of my sin and won on my behalf. When God seems distant because I have wandered far away from him, I remember that Jesus prepared a new and living way into the very presence of God, and He has given me permission to enter.
And, when I remember that I can’t do enough, and I can’t think enough, and I can’t say enough, and I can’t love enough, and I can’t serve enough… the Great High Priest reminds me that he did it all – once for all – and there’s nothing left for me to do, except to enter his rest – to abide with him.
This is the Great High Priest – the better priest who offered the better sacrifice in the better sanctuary to establish a better covenant over a better house. The shadows are no longer necessary because the light of the Son – our Great High Priest – has come and has conquered and is here.
Brother killing brother…
Wednesday, my family had the opportunity to tour Gettysburg, PA and many of the sites connected to the Civil War battle that happened there almost 150 year ago. If you have never been to Gettysburg, then you should know that there are thousands of monuments scattered around this city. Each monument – set up by various states – commemorates the soldiers that fought during this three day long battle. During those three days – the bloodiest days in U.S. history (?) – 50,000 Americans lost their life, with friends fighting friends, brothers killing brothers.
I grew up in the southern part of the United States – in fact, I have always lived in the South. But, regardless, I recognize that the Southern States (the Confederate States) were wrong in their reaction against the United States government. That said, I also believe the Federal government was wrong in its reaction against the secession of the Confederate States.
Interestingly, there were godly men on both sides of this conflict. Both Southerners and Northerners prayed to God, asking Him to aid them in this dispute. Both groups stated that God was on their side. In reality, I do not think God was on either side. Why? Because I do not think God called brother to kill brother because of political differences.
Not much has changed… especially when it comes to the church. Oh, certainly, we do not fight with rifles, bayonets, and canons. But, how many brothers attack brothers with words? How many sisters destroy sisters through innuendo and gossip? And why? Because we disagree on certain things – not the most important things – not gospel things – but, we definitely disagree about “church” things.
And, because we sing different songs, or meet on different days, or disagree over leadership, or interpret some parts of Scripture differently we kill each other’s reputations – we destroy each other’s witness – we blast each other’s good deeds – we knife each other in the back. Perhaps, it would be better if we would be armed with rifles and bayonets, instead of arming ourselves with sickles as if we can choose who are wheat and who are weeds. Perhaps, it would be better if we would aim canons at one another, instead of aiming words of hate and distrust. At least, if we used rifles or canons, we would be honest about our hate and distrust of one another. At least, then, we would have to admit that we are not united.
I think the American Civil Was was a travesty. I do not think either side was right in going to war against other states. I do not think either side won.
However, the way that Christians attack each other is an even greater travesty and tragedy. The next time you level an attack on another brother or sister in Christ, remember: God is not on your side, regardless of how right you think you are.
A robust gospel…
A few days ago, Scot McKnight (“Jesus Creed“) posted an outline of his presentation at the “Spiritual Formation Forum“. According to Scot, his talk was “dedicated to a one-sided emphasis on the need for a gospel that will lead Christians to realize that spiritual formation is not just about individual spiritual formation but also about ecclesial spiritual formation”.
Scot provides the following as “The Standard Gospel Presentation”:
God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.
Your problem is that you are sinful; God can’t admit sinners into his presence.
Jesus died for you to deal with your “sin-problem.â€
If you trust in Christ, you can be admitted into God’s presence.
Recognizing several problems in this presentation (including the individualistic emphasis and the fact that no one in Scripture presents this type of gospel), Scot suggests the following as a more robust gospel presentation:
- A Robust gospel can’t be “tractified.â€
- God made you as an Eikon to relate in love to God, to self, to others and to the world.
- The “fall†cracked the Eikon in all four directions.
- Bible readers can’t skip from Genesis 3 to Romans 3.
- Genesis 4—11 reveals the “problem†of sin: the climax is a society of Eikons trying to build their way to God.
- Genesis 12 begins to restore the Eikon by (1) covenantal commitment and (2) forming the family of faith. THE REST OF THE BIBLE IS ABOUT THIS ELECTED FAMILY OF FAITH.
- The “problem†is finally resolved in “four atoning momentsâ€: the life of Jesus, the death of Jesus, the resurrection of Jesus, and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
- The “locus†of resolution is the family of faith: three big words in Bible are Israel, the Kingdom, and the Church.
I like the way that McKnight’s “presentation” takes the entire biblical record into account, and the fact that this presentation is not just about me and God, but instead it includes me into the family that God is building.
Also, notice that Scot presented this as part of a forum on spiritual formation. A presentation of the gospel should be the starting point on a road to spiritual formation. The “Standard Presentation” seems to jump to the end, without taking the person’s life into account. The “Robust Presentation” seems to take into account that the gospel is the beginning of a journey into the family of God that will affect the person’s life.
So, what say you? I’ve used the “Standard Presentation” before. Have you? What do you think of McKnight’s robust presentation as compared to the standard presentation?
Discipleship takes time…
Mary, at “One Thing is Needed“, has written a post called “Hit and Run Christianity“. In this post, she discusses the practice among some believers of doing short term projects. She recalls a conversation with a Native American pastor on a reservation that had just received assistance through a 1 week missions project:
During the week the pastor invited my husband to tour the reservation with him. They began talking about the various outreach teams that the reservation had already hosted. The pastor was thankful but lamented the lack of relationship that was built with the visiting church teams. He said that the reservation was used to teams that came down, built something, dropped off some clothes or food, and then left thinking that they’d served the people and made a lasting difference in their lives. He said that what the people really wanted and needed was believers who would come and play with the kids, spend time with the people, eat with them, and then come back again and again. What they really wanted was relationship. Instead what they got was a bunch of blitz building projects and a storeroom full of food and clothes from well-intentioned people but with no continuing relationships. The church groups came, and then they went.
The believers chalked up their 1 week missions project as a good deed done, and went on about their business. Meanwhile, the hurting, poor, immature believers on the reservation desired and needed long-term, mature relationships.
This Native American pastor knew something about discipleship that the church groups did not know: discipleship takes time. People cannot be discipled in a 1 week intensive, and people cannot be discipled in an 8 week class. Discipleship takes a lifetime commitment, and a “living life” commitment. Discipleship takes place as two people walk together through their lives, as we learn from another person’s words as well as their actions, attitudes, and priorities, which we recognize as they live their life. (I’ve discussed this previously in a post called “Discipleship in 8 weeks…” and in a series that begins with a post called “Disciple making 1: The command…“)
As we consider making disciples, we should not ask ourselves who we occasionally interact with or teach. Instead, we should recognize that we make disciples only with those with whom we share our lives consistently. As my family has considered how to better serve our community, we have looked into several opportunities. Primarily, though, we recognize that we will not truly serve disciples by dropping in on them every month or so, or even once per week for a few weeks. (Note: I am not suggesting that we should not interact with and exhort towards maturity those who we only see occasionally. I am only suggesting that this is not the same as discipleship.)
So, we are being careful, listening to God’s prompting, as we determine how God wants us to serve those around us. We are already in several discipling relationships, but we are waiting to see if God would have us share our lives with others – particulars with people who may be different from us. Some friends of ours have been good examples to us in this by getting involved in the lives of some people are are very different from them and by remaining consistent in this. This is our desire as well.
So, if discipleship takes time and if it requires sharing your life with other people, are you discipling someone?
Trust in the Lord with all your heart…
Proverbs 3:5 is a very familiar verse of Scripture:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5 ESV)
In this proverb, we are told to trust or have confidence in God with all of our being. In fact, we are to trust God instead of relying on our own understanding (insight). Does this include our understanding of God? Can we trust God even if we cannot depend upon our beliefs about God?
I know God. I also know some things about God. However, my understanding of God is not perfect. There are some things about God that I do not understand. I do not know what those things are, but I know that I do not know God perfectly. I believe that God through His Spirit will continue to reveal himself to me using various methods. Hopefully, like Paul, as I mature I will also grow to know God more and more. But, there will never be a moment in this life when I will be able to say, “I understand God completely. All of my beliefs about God are correct.”
So, what happens when God seems to act in a way that is contrary to how I believe that he should act? Can I trust him anyway? Can I trust God when my beliefs about God are wrong?
Suppose we recognize God doing something, but he’s working a way that is contrary to our beliefs about him. Do we have to rationalize what God is doing so that it matches our beliefs about him? If so, are we truly trusting in God, or are we trusting in our beliefs about God? Why do we feel the need to explain and rationalize everything? God is God. We can trust him even if we cannot understand him.
Through Jesus, God showed himself to be faithful to his promise to redeem his people. He demonstrated that he was able to overcome sin and death. He showed us that death is not the end and that abundant life is possible here and now. Through the Holy Spirit, God continues to work in us and through us. He applies the righteousness of Christ to us. He continues to reveal himself to us. He continues to change us and draw us into himself and into that abundant life that Jesus made possible. This is good news! We can trust God to do what he said he would do and what he says he will do.
Now, how do we ensure that we are trusting God, and not trusting our understanding of God?
Grace to be wrong…
I’m wrong. There are things that I believe with the utmost confidence, but some of these beliefs are wrong. How do I know that I’m wrong? Because I’m not perfect. I may be wrong in some of my beliefs about God. I may be wrong in some of my beliefs about the church. I may be wrong in some my beliefs about other people. I may be wrong about what it means to be mature. I may be wrong about what it means to be wrong. I don’t know exactly what points of my beliefs are wrong, but I know that some of them are wrong.
Paul told the Philippians that he wanted to know Christ and everything about Christ (Philippians 3:7-11). He wanted to share in Christ’s life, suffering, death, and resurrection. But, Paul also recognized that he was not “there” yet (Philippians 3:12-14). He was still on the journey toward knowing God – and knowing him more.
Paul also recognized that some of the people in Philippi were not as far along on their journey to know God more. He wanted them to know God, and so he spent time with them and wrote them a letter to help them know God. But, he recognized that the Philippians would not know God simply because Paul told them about God. They would only know God as God revealed himself to them. Thus, instead of forcing his knowledge about God on the Philippians, Paul recognized their need of God himself and his grace:
Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. (Philippians 3:15 ESV)
Perhaps there were some in Philippi who did know God as they should. Perhaps there were some in Philippi who cared more about their own desires than the desires of God. What was Paul’s answer to this problem? Paul taught them about God, then he trusted God to reveal this to them. Paul trusted God’s grace, even when he thought others were wrong. Yes, Paul stated his understanding about God very clearly – he taught. However, he did not trust his own teaching to change anyone. He trusted God’s grace.
Paul knew (as he had told the Philippians earlier in the letter) that despite his own actions in teaching and modeling the life of Christ, it was God himself who worked in the Philippians to make them into the people that God wanted them to be. (Philippians 2:12-13) Thus, unless Paul wanted to try to usurp the authority and power of God, he had to trust God to change people. Paul had to trust God’s grace.
This is very difficult. This means that we have to allow people to be wrong. Do we state what we believe to be true? Yes. Do we show evidence from Scripture? Yes. Do we continue to browbeat someone to get them to agree with us? No. Do we attempt to force them to agree based on our position or maturity? No. Do we stop associating with them because they do not agree? No. Why? Grace.
When I look back on my life, I can see how much God has taught me by his Spirit. I can remember times where I held firmly to a position that God later showed me was incorrect. I can remember times when my feelings, emotions, or habits ruled me more than the Spirit of God. But God worked in me according to his will.
I have had teachers who taught really great things about God, but the teachers did not change me. I have read books that explained God and his ways, but the books did not change me. I’ve been in relationships with people who followed God, but even those relationships did not change me. God changed me – and he is continuing to change me.
Now, I should offer others the same grace – the grace to be changed by God, which includes the grace to be wrong. I must be willing to accept someone even when that person doesn’t agree with me, and trust God to change them. And, to prevent myself from becoming proud, I must also admit that God may be working to change me, and not them.
God loves us, and he pours out his grace on us, even when we are wrong. We demonstrate the character of God – Christ-likeness – when we love others and offer them grace when we think they are wrong.
When God blocks the road…
A few times on this blog, I’ve discussed knowing God’s will and the different ways that God communicates with us (for example, see “How Does God Communicate?“). Apparently, Paul thought that we could know the will of God: “Walk as children of light… and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8, 10a ESV) and “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:17 ESV)
Matt, at “Kingdom Living“, examines knowing the will of God in his post called “Determining the Will of God“. Specifically, he asks how quickly we should decide that something is not the will of God because of hindrances and suffering. After quoting Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, Matt says:
If we prayed for God to make his will clear and we started down a path that resulted in shipwrecks, floggings, and imprisonment I think many of us, including myself, might quickly abandon ship believing it was a sign from God that he wanted something else from us. Yet Paul kept preaching and teaching. I have known people who have left ministry for far less frustration than this. Many face road blocks and determine it must not be God’s will but obviously that is not always the case. Sometimes he wants us to face those challenges and come out on the other side more dependent on God than ever before.
I have heard others say that they looked for “closed doors” to show them that something is not the will of God. (By the way, Bryan at “Charis Shalom” wrote a post about God overcoming road blocks a few days ago: “Praise for Answered Prayers“.) According to Matt (and Paul?), God may close doors and block roads in order to teach us perseverance.
So, how do we know when God is placing road blocks in our path because that path is not his will? And, how do we know when God is placing road blocks in our path to teach us perseverance?
Teaching with grace…
What do you think of when you think of good teaching? What adjectives come to mind to describe good teachers? Dynamic? Exciting? Relevant? Biblical? Interesting? Understandable? Engaging? Creative?
What about gentle? What about humble? Do you think of gentleness and humility when you think of good teaching? What about patience? Is patience a characteristic of the good teachers that you know? Notice what Paul says about how a servant of God deals with someone who disagrees:
And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. (2 Timothy 2:24-25a ESV)
I think this is one characteristic of teaching that is often lost. Instead, we spend energy, resources, and caustic words refuting our opponents. Paul says we should approach them with gentleness (kindness) and humility. Instead of attacking each point of our opponent’s argument, Paul says that we should patiently endure evil… oops… we are to patiently endure evil. How much more should we patiently endure a brother or sister who has a different understanding than us, but is not evil?
If we are to be gentle and humble before those who oppose the gospel (this is the context for this passage – 2 Tim 2:17-18), how much more gentle and humble should we be toward those who uphold the gospel, but disagree with us in other areas?
Last Sunday, my friend Maël, from “The Adventures of Maël & Cindy“, preached from the Book of Philemon. In this book, Maël noticed that Paul modeled just this type of teaching. Notice specifically this passage:
Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you – I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus – I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own free will. (Philemon 1:8-14 ESV)
While Paul had the authority and the boldness to command Philemon to release Onesimus, Paul chose to appeal – to encourage or request – Philemon to do so. Paul appealed to Philemon with gentleness and humility, offering Philemon grace, and trusting God with Philemon’s response.
Today, we do not see this kind of teaching as often. Instead, we hear of teachers commanding, guilting, shaming, people into following God. Why do we see this more often than we see gentleness and humility? Could it be that we do not allow others the same grace that God has given us? Could it be that we do not trust God to work in their lives as he has in our lives? Could it be that we trust our ability to persuade more than we trust God’s grace to change?
Similarly, I have been part of too many conversations where the participants talked at each other. Instead of listening to one another and trying to understand one another, we tended to critique one another. Perhaps, again, this demonstrates a lack of gentle and humble teaching accompanied with patience. For myself – and I do not speak for others here – I have recognized that this is caused by pride – mainly a desire to prove myself right. I am learning – slowly – that my being right should not be my primary focus.
Can we truly teach with grace? Can we use grace-filled words? Can we listen with grace and accept those who disagree with us with grace? Can we speak the truth in love and allow God to make the change – in his time – with grace? Could it be that the next time someone asks us, “What is one mark of a good teacher?”, we can honestly answer, “Grace!”
Grace to live…
I often think of grace in terms of salvation. Paul says that we are saved by grace (Eph 2:8), justified by grace (Rom 3:24), chosen by grace (Rom 11:5), gifted by grace (Rom 12:6; Eph 4:7), redeemed and forgiven by grace (Eph 1:7), among many other benefits that we receive because of the grace of God. I realized recently, though, that I’ve often seen the benefits of grace as being future benefits. But, I had the opportunity to teach from Titus 2 a few weeks ago, and at the end of that chapter, Paul says that grace teaches us to live now…
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. (Titus 2:11-14 NKJV)
If we remove the adjectives and prepositional phrases in order to get to the basic structure of the sentence, we get the following:
Grace has appeared teaching us [in order] that we should live.
Besides describing grace as that which brings salvation to all men, in this sentence Paul is also telling us that grace teaches us how to live now (“in the present age”). I think this is very important. We are not saved by grace so that we can then live by the law. We are saved by grace so that same grace can teach us how to live. We are not saved by grace so that we can live with God in the future. We are saved by grace so that same grace can teach us how to live with God now.
What does this passage tell us about living by grace? First, the grace that teaches us how to live, is the grace from God that saves. There is no difference between saving grace and living grace. Now, this may sound simplistic, but the implications are huge. If God has given you the grace to be saved, then he has also given you the grace to live.
Next, grace teaches us that we should live a certain type of life – specifically, a life that demonstrates sobriety (self-control), righteousness (uprightness, justness), and godliness (piety). And, this is not a life to be lived for some future, eschatological existence. Instead, the life that grace teaches us how to live is to be lived now, while we are on this earth. If we expect God’s grace to be effective in salvation, we should also expect God’s grace to be effective in teaching us how to live today. This kind of life is no more theoretical or idealistic than is our salvation. If salvation is real, then our self-controlled, righteous, godly life can be real as well.
Grace also teaches us that we must deny certain things as we live. Primarily, we should deny anything that opposes God (ungodliness) and the desires that this world offers (worldly lusts). Again, these are not things that we have to find and remove for ourselves. Because of his grace, we can trust God to point out where we are ungodly and where we are desiring the things of the world. As we learn to walk in the grace of God (the life that grace is teaching us how to live), we will also learn how to deny those things (like ungodliness and worldly desires) that are contrary to God and his grace.
Finally, grace teaches us that in order to live as we should today, then we should live expecting the return of Jesus. Note that every eschatological vision in the New Testament comes with the same purpose: be prepared for Jesus to return at any moment. Or, as Jesus himself said, “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming”. (Matthew 24:42 NKJV) This is not a time for believers to fear, but it is a time for which believers want to be prepared (grace teaches this!). The coming of our Lord is a blessed and glorious time for believers. Grace teaches us how to live in such a way that we are prepared for his return.
So, to repeat something that I said earlier: God does not save us by grace so that we must then live according to the law. God saves us by his grace so that we can then live according to his grace. If we trust God for salvation, let’s also trust him to teach us how to live. If someone is not living a godly life, don’t teach them to change their behavior. Instead, point them to God and teach them how to live in his grace. If someone is not demonstrating righteousness and justice toward others, don’t try to change them by forcing them to serve others. Instead, point them to God and teach them how to live in his grace.
We trust God and his grace for salvation. Let’s also trust God and his grace to teach us how to live today. Don’t trust rules, trust grace.
Is Jesus Enough?
Steve, at “Theological Musings Blog“, examines the question of whether or not Jesus is enough in his post “Jesus and All“. I think this question is especially crucial in studying the church. What does it take for us to accept someone or to welcome them into fellowship? Is Jesus enough? Steve says,
Let’s face it. Any of these areas being emphasized run the danger of turning our faith into “Jesus…and allâ€. Paul wrote that he wanted to know “Jesus and him crucified.â€
I think there is a need among Christians today to return to the basic knowledge of Jesus and let everything else center around that. Let’s not be guilty of having “Jesus…and allâ€, unless by “and all†we are talking about the life and inheritance that we receive in Christ!
Since Steve posted this, I’ve been thinking about the implications. We should desire for people to mature in Christ, but does that always mean what we think? Does maturing in Christ mean coming around to agree with us? Is Jesus enough?
Paul said he was willing to lose everything in order to know Christ. Paul wanted to know Christ in everything, even in suffering. (Philippians 3:8-11) Is Jesus enough?
I’ve talked to, debated with, disagreed with other believers over many different issues. But, what about Jesus? Why do our conversations and our fellowship not focus more on the person of Jesus and the grace and life we have through Him? Why do we argue over points that are trivial when compared to our shared existence in Christ? Is Jesus enough?