5/10/20 Hebrews 8:1-13 “You Have All You Need” 11 | Jesus > Everything} 5/17/20 Hebrews 9:1-28 “Access Granted” 12 | Jesus > Everything} This commentary is based on the last two sermons (May 10 and 17). It seems each week in Hebrews, there are two sets of questions that can be asked. The first is general and can be repeated every week: “Why did God do, ‘the topic at hand’ the way He did? and, “How can I understand it better?” Which of course could be the very basis for most biblical study for many.
The next two are more specific questions based on the topic at hand. For these two weeks they were: “What must be done so that forgiveness of sin is possible?”, and “How can we have access to God?”
The answers to these questions, as we are seeing in Hebrews, always come back to being centered in God foreshadowing His plans in the time before Jesus, and then how Jesus became the fulfillment of what had been foreshadowed (or explained) for centuries. We need more explanation now because we are so far removed from the original explanation God gave for our instruction and understanding: i.e. old testament practices and rituals. Yes, a lot was going on in the years called BC, to demonstrate our need for dealing with our sin problem, namely the sacrificial system, the priesthood and either the tabernacle or the temple. Without going into all of the details (that’s what the sermons laid out), that system showed the need we have and then to actually point out that it was not yet satisfactory to really complete the job. All the while, God was intending on showing up Himself and completing the task needed for salvation. And with that salvation, came complete access to the Father - which is come to think of it, what salvation is. Once we can access what God has for us, we’re good. That is the definition of salvation. Only God Himself could provide what was needed to be dome, so all of the previous efforts just pointed to what Jesus, God in the flesh) would one day accomplish.
This is why it comes down to our putting complete trust in Him, for what He has done on our behalf and not trusting in our own accomplishments. In this way we have access to all we need for life and godliness AND it is protected and kept secure by the power of the sovereign God. We’ve all gotten to a point where we need a password to gain access to information – even our own information! But since we have forgotten the password we are locked out. But what if access is always guarded by the Ultimate One who knows you, your true identity, and access to what you need for life is given by the same One – without you ever having to remember a password!?!? - but just because He knows you… There’s no fooling Him or hacking Him. Your identity is safe with Him. Your information is safe with Him and you have access to Him whenever and wherever you need it with none of it based on your retrieval or storage skills. This is access to the Holy of Holies where rust does not corrupt and moth does not eat. This is where the greatest evil Thief cannot break in and steal or destroy. We have all we need to live a godly life in the here and now and our place for all eternity is also secured by that same sovereign power. This is eternal access and security.
