Hebrews 9:15-24

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.  In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living.  This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood.  When Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people.  He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.”  In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies.  In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.  It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.  For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence (Hebrews 9:15-24 NIV).

   Ransom is a key word here!  Ransom is a word contained in some classic hymns as well as some contemporary Christian music such as the song I posted the link to three weeks ago.  Yet it is a word I do not hear much in this day and age where you have advanced technology which contributes to officials successfully tracking down a huge percentage of kidnappers and hijackers.  I heard the word more in 1970’s movies.  In my home growing up as an elementary school student in the 1970’s, my family had one black and white television.  Yet we would go to movies frequently, and there were some movies where the conflict involved a kidnapping.  The people who had done the kidnapping would demand a “ransom.”  They would not return the person whom they had taken hostage until family of the hostage gave them money.  Usually they would threaten to kill the person within a short time period if no one would give them money.  So the evil act of kidnapping was done with the intention of creating an exchange of the abducted person for money.  In every movie I ever saw, the police ended up catching the hateful kidnappers, usually after a big car chase, which was popular in the seventies.

   Key for us is this concept that a ransom is an exchange.  Rather than being held captive by angry and sleazy guys from 1970’s movies, we people are held captive by our own wrongdoings, and the result is going to be spiritual death.  All humans are in jeopardy of perishing in h-ll because all humans have sinned.  In order for us to survive, there needs to be an exchange of someone dying in our place.  Ransom is the center doctrine of Christianity, which we Christians express by the cross, because the cross was the means for Jesus paying the ransom for people.  He died in our place, which is symbolized by the blood He shed.  I talked about the point of the shed blood last week, and the author of Hebrews continues explaining the blood signifies there has been death.  Again, the reason blood is “cleansing” is because the death of Jesus was the only manner to pay the ransom for human beings.  Jesus’ death on the cross did bring about the forgiveness of sins for all humankind, though His ransom still must be received by a person.  A person has the choice of whether to receive Christ, or not.  Yet the author of Hebrews makes it clear that there need be no doubt that Jesus has made the forgiveness of sins possible.  The shed blood of Jesus is the seal that the ransom has been paid.

   I add that languages and linguistics are not my gifts at all.  I rely on experts in those fields when studying.  Yet I need to note here the New International Version, the NIV, which is the translation I use for my personal Bible learning, uses the word ransom, whereas many other translations use the word redemption.  You get to the same end with both words, yet I like the word ransom here, because in the culture of the United States and some other countries in this day and age, the concept of the word redemption is one where a person can redeem herself or himself.  I sometimes hear a sports announcer state how a sports player “redeemed himself.”  Whereas the concept of ransom still today is that the payment must come from someone other than the person who is held captive.

   No one has ever directly left me anything in a will, yet most people know that a will does not go into effect until a person dies.  My Grandpa Irvine passed away in January of 1988, and I went to Denver during the summer between my junior and senior year at Virginia Tech to help Grandma in the wake of her loss.  One day, she asked me to go to the library to make a copy of Grandpa’s death certificate, because she had to send that documentation to someone, I do not remember exactly who but it might have been an insurance company, to show proof that he had died.  Running that errand for Grandma turned out to be a blessing for me, since I talked with the librarians in the local library not far from Newton Street in Denver, Colorado.  Hearing about his death for the first time from me that day, the librarians proceeded to tell me that he often came to the library to get reading material, and that he was always nice to them.  They expressed their condolences about our loss of Sam.  Walking home, I felt good about getting so many compliments about my grandpa, a man I only saw once a year at most growing up in Virginia, but a man who had likewise been nice to me.  Yet it was also the only time I had in my hand a death certificate.  I did not need official proof that Grandpa was dead.  I remember well the sad call from my dad one night when I was in my dorm room.  Yet for business reasons there needed to be proof.  And that sheet of paper from the state of Colorado was the proof.  The world needs proof that God is offering them forgiveness of their sins.  The blood on the cross of Calvary is the proof.  Jesus paid the ransom; then Jesus was resurrected; then Jesus ascended into heaven.  As God the Son, He is the advocate for the redeemed being One with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  And that is why, if you believe in Jesus, you can be forgiven of your wrong doings by God, and you can have eternal life in heaven!

Hunter Irvine

Scripture Love Blog

Hebrews 9:1-14

Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary.  A tabernacle was set up.  In its first room were the lampstand, the table and the consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place.  Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant.  This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.  Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover.  But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.  When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry.  But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.  The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing.  This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshipper.  They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order.  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 by 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! (Hebrews 9:1-14 NIV).

   I love this book!  The author is explaining for us the progression from being under the Mosaic covenant to now being under the New Covenant by giving a synopsis of Mosaic covenant facts, facts which help us to better understand the Covenant mediated by Jesus.  I love the topic of the Ark of the Covenant.  I spent an entire week on the Ark alone in my Old Testament class in Kentucky.  Here I will only say the statement is made that inside the Ark was the tablets of the covenant, which were the two stone tablets containing the “Ten Commandments.”  This is a fact that is shown in Exodus 40:20.  The author of Hebrews emphasizes the day of atonement here, because it was always intended by God to lead, from the annual event it was, to a single ultimately glorious day in history.

   In the second sentence of verse five, a plural pronoun is used: “But we cannot discuss these things in detail now” (NIV).  “We” is also used in 5:11 and 8:1 in a like manner.  This is not direct evidence of multiple authors, since the plural is used in other contexts as well.  For example: “Therefore, since we have a great high priest….” (Hebrews 4:14 NIV), and “Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings….” (Hebrews 6:1).  The author could have had assistance from other people, yet more plausible, our author does not see himself as some marquee theologian, but rather as a person writing as a part of a community, a community of people who follow Jesus.  I add that a number of modern Bible scholars often claim nearly every book of the Bible was group authored, copied, ghost written, or redacted.  Their fatal flaw is they come up with these theories, yet in many cases they have no historical evidence.  In fact, historical evidence consisting of the writings of early Christians is often evidence to the contrary of the authorship theories of many modern Bible scholars.  Historical evidence is why I am thankful for the writings of ancient Christians. (1)  No one claims that they were perfect theologians and perfect historians, yet they give us insight into facts of Scripture formation that many modern scholars ignore.  Do I think the author of Hebrews collaborated with anyone in writing the epistle?  I think his key collaboration was with the Holy Spirit.

   I received Jesus at age twenty-two, praise be to God.  One challenge of being a new Christian at that age was that most of the people in church were long time Christians.  And many of the sermons in the church were aimed more at mature Christians, so sometimes I felt like I was in a college class where I had been denied prerequisite classes.  Yet I did attend a special church where Scriptures were consistently taught, and I became a student of the Bible, and I slowly started learning the basics of the Scriptures.  One teaching that took me awhile to understand: statements about needing “the blood of Christ.”  Why in the world would a person need to be “covered in the blood?”

   In past youth ministry work, I have served at several youth Christian weekend retreats and also week long camps.  I was younger then J  Serving at one such camp at Trinity Ranch in Colorado, it was only for elementary students, and on the whole those kids were a bunch of angels.  I cannot say the same on the whole for the junior high students who were supposed to be the “junior counselors.”  Yet I cared about them.  I was even honored with a request by the lead minister to take them on a hike one afternoon and talk with them about being better role models.  I think she recognized I cared about them.  So having such a cool group, when it was time every night for “lights out,” students most often were considerate.  But about the time students were falling asleep, there was one young boy who would start having serious nosebleeds.  This is common at camps in the high altitude of the mountains of Colorado.  So this kid would be in the bathroom with blood dripping all over the place, but he was old enough to wipe off the blood of his face and blow the blood on a bunch of paper towels.  I did not do anything to help, other than clean some blood off of the floor or sinks afterwards, but the student was thankful I was there every night when it happened, because I was supporting and encouraging.  Having blood flow out of your nose can be a scary and lonely feeling.  Blood gives life to the body when it is in its proper place.  Yet being covered with blood on the outside of the body; that is wrong.

   The author of Hebrews goes so far as to say that blood cleanses.  How does blood cleanse?  Blood here is symbolizing sacrifice.  The high priest who was going into the Most Holy Place once a year on the day of atonement sprinkled blood on the mercy seat; on the atonement cover.  That shed blood of the animal was the sign that the animal had been killed, sacrificed for the forgiveness of sins.  Blood here is symbolic, symbolic of the ultimate sacrifice, of giving one’s life.  Jesus made the Sacrifice, physically and spiritually, once for all, shedding His blood, in death, as the substitution for human beings.  Because Jesus loved everyone and was willing to shed his blood on the Cross, and die, we people can now have atonement for our sins.  He willingly took the punishment.  That is the reason the author of Hebrews can say a person can be cleansed “by the blood.”  And the author of Hebrews makes the key point in verse 14 that the blood of Christ was offered “through the eternal Spirit,” explaining there was a spiritual nature to this sacrifice as well as a physical offering.  This is key.  Dr. Neil Lightfoot states “Spirit” should not be capitalized by expounding on the details of the original Greek text.  He claims the author of Hebrews is not referring to the Holy Spirit, rather the author is referring to Jesus’ own spiritual nature. (2)  I think this brilliant scholarly detail is key, since the eternal salvation of your soul and mine required a spiritual sacrifice!  People often say that Jesus died for you, and if you turn to Christ, you will never die.  Yet I have known Christians that died.  To be more specific, a person’s spiritual nature, which though it cannot be seen is the core of all humans who were made in the image of God, will never perish for those who have turned to Jesus.  What is truly covered in the blood for a believer is the soul, and also all followers of Jesus will be given a new resurrected body.

   Jesus was the substitute for the wages of sin which is spiritual death.  And now Jesus is risen.  May we serve Jesus!

Hunter Irvine

(1) An example of the rich information which anyone can be familiar with for historical purposes can be found in sources such as: Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, eds., The Ante-Nicene Fathers; Translations of The Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325 (1885; repr., Grand Rapids: WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1979).

(2) Neil R. Lightfoot, Jesus Christ Today: A Commentary on the Book of Hebrews (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1976), 171-172.

Hebrews 8:7-13

For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.  But God found fault with the people and said: “The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.  It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.  This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord.  I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.  I will be their God, and they will be my people.  No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.  For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”  By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear (Hebrews 8:7-13 NIV).

   In this passage of Hebrews, the author quotes Jeremiah to show that this new covenant being explained was not introduced for the first time by the Messiah, rather God foretold of this new covenant through the prophet Jeremiah.  To give a synopsis of what the author of Hebrews is saying: What I have been talking about is what Jeremiah foretold.  We Christians are not making this up in retrospect.

   Around 2002, I did an intense ten month study of the book of Jeremiah.  As someone who was not raised in a Christian family and who did not start studying the Bible until I was 23, I had everything to learn from this book.  Having an interest in history, I was amazed as I personally verified the historical accuracy.  And having heard the Old Testament was filled with “God’s wrath,” I was amazed to learn not only of the righteous justice of God, yet also of His patience and mercy.

   In the first section of the book, Jeremiah the prophet keeps proclaiming statements from God, warning the Israelites, really to the point of pleading, to abstain from the wrong they are doing.  Doing such a close study of the book, the repetitive warnings got tedious as God kept telling the Israelites in Judah to stop doing wrong.  They were worshiping false gods along with many other sinful acts.  Jeremiah gave them God’s warnings.  Yet they did not listen.  Then the day came.  I remember where I was sitting when I read that passage in Jeremiah.  God’s proclamation: the warnings are over.  God said Jerusalem would be destroyed, and the majority of Israelites will be exiled.  The end had come.

   Yet in that same passage, where the just wrath of God echoed from Judah, God still offered mercy.  Incredible.  God told the people through Jeremiah that after the seventy years of exile in Babylon which the Israelites were going to experience, that He would bring His people home.  God carried out with His promise!  In 536 B.C. (some say 539 B.C. though I think that is inaccurate), after the first wave of exiles had been marched to Babylon in 605 B.C. and the third and final wave of exiles had been marched to Babylon in 586 B.C., King Cyrus gave a proclamation that Israelites could return to their homeland and rebuild their temple.  That is why the book of Ezra is one of my favorite Old Testament books.  It is about going home.

   Remember the Mosaic covenant was that if the Israelites would obey the laws and decrees given through Moses, then they would live long and prosper in the land that God would give to them.  Yet often the Israelites did not obey.  Yet even during the time of Jeremiah, before the fall of the Southern kingdom of Israel, God was promising that He would restore Israel even though they in no way deserved it.  God delivered the Israelites from exile because He loves the Jewish people, and all other people.  And love is why He worked through the Mosaic covenant to lead to the New Covenant which would be offered by and through the Messiah, the Christ.  And the core of that covenant would be the forgiveness of sins which was made available to all people through the substitutional atonement made by Jesus Christ on the cross.  The forgiveness of sins does not come about by any of the godliness or the works of a person.  The forgiveness is due to God’s mercy and grace.  There is forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ!

   At this very time in my journey, I write in the basement of a friend’s house.  My circumstances: I am unemployed and my car died.  That friend, and his great wife and daughter, have blessed me more than I can say by allowing me to stay with them while I look for a ministry position.  Yet it is a reminder that I have no permanent home in this world.  Not quite one year ago, God enabled me to leave the Denver metropolitan area to teach in a school in Appalachia.  Leaving Colorado was one of the hardest things I have ever done, because I have friends there and because I lived there for sixteen years.  Yet I knew going to teach in Appalachia was what I was supposed to do.  The town where I lived, Lost Creek, simply had a post office, two schools, and scattered homes.  I was sometimes lonely.  (I did have incredibly personal times with God on early evening walks in the woods.)  Yet despite the culture shock, I had hoped Lost Creek would be my new home.  Yet then, God whisked me to Ithaca, N.Y. just before my car died, which was a blessing because I could not have made it at the Brethren mission in the rural area without a car.  Now here I am in another unfamiliar place in upstate New York.  It has been occasion to reflect on how I consider both Annandale, Virginia, and Denver, Colorado to be my hometowns, but I may never live in either of those two places again.  And where will my home be two months from now?  I have no idea.  I have sent resumes to churches in numerous states.  Will I feel at home there?  Or will it be lonely like early times in Lost Creek.  Yet I know I have a home in heaven.  This is a promise of the new covenant.  Just as the Israelites got to make that epic journey home in 536 B.C., all followers of Jesus will one day be home in heaven with the One who forgave our sins.  During your days in this world, God may have you get extremely rooted in some community, or God may have you journey to various places, or God may have a variety of things for you during various seasons of your life.  The journey of each person is unique, just as God made each person unique in some way.  Yet thanks to the new covenant mediated by the Messiah, an eternal home awaits all who believe in Jesus.  Jesus frequently began parables saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like…….”  Jesus promised His followers heaven.

   And if you believe in Jesus, you also have blessings available in the present, wherever you live.  Maybe you are unemployed like me at this time, or maybe you are encountering some other hardship or challenge.  Being united with Jesus, you still have the love of God right here and now, a true love which can result in joy and peace.  And you even have a mission to love other people, all of whom need the love of Jesus.  And whatever your circumstances, you will also have challenges due to following Jesus!  As you persevere, keep in mind that as the sun of this world starts setting, you will be headed for a glorious eternal home.

God bless you!

Hunter Irvine

Hebrews 8:3-6

Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer.  If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already men who offer the gifts prescribed by the law.  They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven.  This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”  But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises (Hebrews 8:3-6 NIV).

   Note how the author of Hebrews states in the present tense that priests are serving at the sanctuary on earth.  Thus Hebrews was obviously written before 70 A.D.!

   Why is the ministry of Jesus superior to the ministry of the high priests who were of the lineage of Aaron and who served in the temple in Jerusalem?  And why is covenant of which Jesus is the mediator superior to the old covenant of which Moses what the mediator?  Let us briefly look at some of the things priests did as their duty under the Mosaic Law.  YHWH, the Hebrew sacred name for God, which in most English Bibles is translated as "the LORD," gave Moses on Mt. Sinai, among other laws, regulations which required sacrifices.  These sacrifices involved giving over animals and grain to Hebrew priests, who would in turn kill the animals.  The required sacrifices included the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, the ordination offering, and the fellowship offering (Leviticus 7:37-38).

   Most often, the offering had to be a male animal without defect.  The fellowship offering was the most unique in that it could be male or female, and apparently with defect.  This seems to have been an offering to provide some food for the priests, yet even it started as an offering to God with all fat parts and the kidneys burned on the altar “to the LORD.”  Speaking of food for priests, they got a portion of the grain offering, and they could eat the hide of the guilt offering and certain sin offerings, yet never the fat (Leviticus 7:1-10).

   Most of these offerings, not the grain offering obviously, would involve the animal being killed, and then blood was sprinkled on all sides of the altar, or in front of the curtain in the case of the sin offering.  After the sprinkling of the blood, the fat portion at least was burned on the altar as a sacrifice to the LORD.

   In 2 Chronicles, Hezekiah had the temple cleansed and restored by the Levites, and then the sacrifices by priests resumed.  While burnt offerings were sacrificed, some Levites sang, and some Levites played trumpets.  Then after the sacrificing, Psalms of David and “Asaph the seer” were sung, and people worshiped God praising Him, which is told about in 2 Chronicles 29:27-30.  Killing these animals was a festive occasion for them.

   Why did such a slaughter of animals, with blood being sprinkled on an altar or poured out result in atonement for sins?  Why all this death of animals?!  The death of the animals was the substitute for the death which people deserved.  The tragic death of those animals was the purpose of God to bring forgiveness of sins for the Israelites.  Israelites could be grateful to God for allowing the animal sacrifice to be accepted by God as atonement for their sins.  Yet it was only temporary atonement.  God revealed in Genesis that only people were made in the image of God, having a spiritual nature, thus animals could only be a temporary atonement for people.

   This animal sacrificing was to foreshadow and prepare the Israelites, and really the world, for the Messiah who was coming to be the Eternal Sacrifice, once for all people.  The Messiah made the offer of the permanent forgiveness of sins for any person who believes in Him.  And this answers the two questions.  The sacrifice of the priests in the temple in Jerusalem resulted in temporary atonement only, whereas the sacrifice of Jesus resulted in permanent atonement, thus the ministry of Jesus is superior to the ministry done by the Israelite priests in the temple.  And the Mosaic Covenant required Israelites to obey the Law, yet they were never able to perfectly do so.  We learn from the Hebrew Scriptures that often the animal sacrifices were being neglected!  Yet Jesus did live a perfect life, and He did fulfill the Law, which included dying as the permanent sacrifice for sins.  Thus for any person who believes in Jesus, he or she is forgiven of sins, united with God in Spirit, and enabled by the Holy Spirit to live a life pleasing to God.  That is why the New Covenant is superior.

   Jesus Christ died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone.  If a person believes in Jesus, the One who was the perfect substitute for the wages of sin, which is spiritual death, then she or he has eternal life!

Hunter Irvine

Hebrews 8:1-2

The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man (Hebrews 8:1-2 NIV).

   When I was a new Christian in my twenties, I worshiped at a church, The Falls Church, which frequently recited the Nicene Creed as a part of Sunday worship.  This creed is a result of the Council of Nicea held in 325 A.D.  And one of the proclamations in that creed is “…. he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father…”  The Nicene Creed captured this truth from Scripture considering it is stated in this Hebrews passage, and there is a similar statement in Ephesians 1:20.  On an occasion when I started thinking about that statement, I was perplexed as to why Jesus needed to sit down until coming again.  And if one with the Father, I would think He should be described as more than simply being at the right hand?

   Fortunately, Dr. Neil Lightfoot clarifies the first question.  “…His sitting suggests His kingly state…” (1)  Jesus does not need to simply sit down in heaven.  The phrase is symbolic supporting the Kingship of Jesus as the author of Hebrews continues giving evidence and illustrations that Jesus is both High Priest and King of heaven.

   Regarding Jesus being relegated to the “right hand,” there is nothing like a great Bible dictionary from 1901 to answer that question: “Figuratively the power of the Almighty…” (2)  Within the song that Moses and other Israelites sang to YHWH are the verses: “Your right hand, O’LORD was majestic in power.  Your right hand, O’LORD, shattered the enemy” (Exodus 15:6 NIV).  The emphasis for the statement that Jesus is at the right hand of the Majesty is not to say that Jesus is less than Majestic, rather to symbolically show that Jesus is victorious.  The One who was qualified by suffering to be the High Priest need sacrifice no more.  It is finished!  Jesus is the victor, and the victory was of the highest honor.

   Doing something different here by getting away from our text, yet keeping in the spirit of the book of Hebrews, I say a few things about the Council of Nicea since I brought up this subject which is less familiar in the U.S. culture today.  First, in my opinion, a huge omission from the creed is the lack of a statement about the atonement.  I do not know whose hypothesis is correct regarding a reason why.  My speculation is the Christians at the Council of Nicea simply took it for granted.  If so, in my opinion it is a tragic omission.  As we have learned, the author of Hebrews focuses us on the atonement of Jesus!
   Secondly, the person who called the Council was the Roman emperor Constantine, and Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, wrote about the Council.  To stick with one problem with these two; other writings by both of these men expose that they blamed the entire Jewish ethnic group for the crucifixion of Jesus. (3)  They were wrong.  First, it is evil to blame an ethnic group for a crime committed by a small group of people.  Second, Jesus forgave the people who crucified him.  All Christians should do likewise.  Thirdly, Jesus died for all sinners; it was His plan.  Thus ultimately all sinners are responsible for the death of Jesus.  That includes you and me.  Praise be to God, there is forgiveness of sins offered to all by Jesus the Messiah, which came through His sacrifice, which He made since Jesus loves all people.

   Concluding with positive news on the Council of Nicea: it included Christian leaders from a wide area there in 325 A.D.  Eusebius, the Bishop of Caesarea who tackled an early Christian history endeavor, though a downright weird writer, preserved priceless early Christian history.  Sometimes called Eusebius Pamphilus, the second name apparently taken from a mentor who was a martyr, he gives us insight into the attendees.  Note that “bishop” is a word adopted by many in early churches as a title for an “overseer.”  “....while the present assembly included more than two hundred and fifty bishops; but such a multitude of presbyters, deacons and acolothists accompanied them, that it was difficult to determine their number.” (4)  And Christians came from all over the place!  “Sacred” is not the word I would have chosen for a bunch of Christians having a big meeting, but I want you to get a feel of the voice of the author.  “The sacred edifice, as if enlarged by the pleasure of God, enclosed at the same time within its walls, both Syrians and Cilicians, Phoenicians, Arabians, and inhabitants of Palestine; Egyptians, Thebeans, and Lybians, with others arriving from Mesopotamia.  A bishop from Persia was also present.  Nor was the Scythian absent from this assembly.  Pontus, also, and Galatia, Pamphylia and Cappadocia, Asia and Phrygia furnished representatives from their most able divines.  Thracians too, Macedonians, Achaians and Epirotes, and those who resided at a vast distance beyond them, were convened.  That illustrious Spaniard, who is so highly spoken of, took his seat with the others.” (5)  Early Christianity was ethnically diverse.  That is what the New Covenant is all about, since Jesus died as the perfect sacrifice for all people, and people of every ethnic group have an opportunity to believe in Jesus.

Hunter Irvine

(1) Neil R. Lightfoot, Jesus Christ Today: A Commentary on the Book of Hebrews (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1976), 154.
(2) Smith’s Bible Dictionary (Philadelphia: A.J. Holman Company, 1901), 261.
(3) See Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History: Complete and Unabridged, trans. C.F. Cruse (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1998), 70-71 & 424.
(4) Ibid., 391.
(5) Ibid., 390.

Hebrews 7:26-28

Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.  Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people.  He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.  For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever (Hebrews 7:26-28 NIV).

   I start with the last statement because it raises a theological question in the light of the first sentence of this passage: If Jesus was without sin, even though he was fully human as the incarnate Christ, and if Jesus was fully God, how come He needed to be “perfected?”  How does someone without sin get “perfected?”  Note that Dr. Neil Lightfoot points out other passages which state Jesus was without sin: Hebrews 4:15, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 2:22, 1 John 3:5, John 8:29, John 8:46, and John 10:32.
   Dr. Lightfoot drives home in his commentary that Hebrews reveals that the context of “perfection” concerns “qualification,” and the qualification concerns Priesthood. (1)  Dr. Lightfoot brilliantly pieces together our book, basing his definition on Hebrews 2:10, which ties this perfection to suffering, and brings in Hebrews 5:9, which gives the result of this “perfection.”  “By going through the school of suffering, Jesus was perfectly qualified to be Priest.  Because of His suffering, He became the source (aitios, literally, “cause”) of men’s salvation.” (2)
   I love kids.  They are so full of enthusiasm!  Just yesterday I was at a church picnic, and it was so cool to see young people of various ages having fun throwing flying discs and playing kickball, soccer, and volleyball.  As someone who does youth ministry, how I lament at the suffering that goes on with young people due to broken families, abuse, and all kind of other stuff.  Being an extremely sensitive guy, it hurts me when young people suffer even though they are not related physically to me.  Suffering is not what anyone I know wants, so why would it be a qualification for Jesus?  God the Father allowed Jesus, God the Son, to suffer physical and spiritual death on a cross.  Does this exhibit that the Father is cruel and even sick?  No, because in fact all three Persons of the Trinity would have suffered since all three are One.  God accepted suffering because He loves people.  Jesus was willing to suffer more than we can comprehend to save people.
   In Chapter one of Hebrews, the title Son is used five times to refer to Jesus, and the name Jesus is not stated until chapter two.  I think the author of Hebrews was tactful in his decision to start softly with a Messianic title, before even saying the name that some Hebrews would have found offensive.  Yet most importantly the brilliant Dr. Neil Lightfoot recognized an objective of the early chapters of Hebrews was “… to demonstrate Christ as Son because Sonship is the essential predicate of eternal priesthood.” (3)  In Hebrews 5:4, the author states, “No one takes this honor [the high priesthood] upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was.  So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest.  But God said to him, ‘You are my Son; today I have become your Father’”(NIV), which is quoting from Psalm 2:7.  That is the oath: God the Father chose God the Son and being the eternal high priest was a duty for the Son.  Being the eternal high priest would bring suffering, yet the result of that suffering would be eternal goodness.
   Jewish priests were required under the Mosaic Law to consistently sacrifice animals.  Jesus does not need to sacrifice animals daily.  Jesus paid the price of spiritual death for every person on the cross at Calvary.  The wages of sins has been paid by the Son of God, and anyone who believes in Jesus receives that atonement.  The Sacrifice of Jesus was Himself!  The Messiah gave up His life to save you and me.  He died.  He was resurrected.  He is alive.
   This passage is incredible.  Dr. Lightfoot sums it all up: “Jesus the perfect high priest and Jesus the perfect sacrifice.” (4)  If you have never received Jesus, you can do so right now.  Believe in Jesus now and you will have eternal life from the One who loves you so much that He died, physically and spiritually died, to offer you salvation!

Hunter Irvine

(1) Neil R. Lightfoot, Jesus Christ Today: A Commentary on the Book of Hebrews (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1976), 149.
(2) Ibid., 110.
(3) Ibid., 105.
(4) Ibid., 149.

Hebrews 7:23-25

Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.  Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them (Hebrews 7:23-25 NIV).

   It was a day of enlightenment about a year and a half ago when I pondered the issue of anointing carried out under the Mosaic Covenant.  I discovered there were three groups of people who were anointed:

First, priests were anointed!

= Exodus 30:22-33

Second, prophets were anointed!

= I Kings 19:16

Third, kings of Israel were anointed!

= I Samuel 16:13  (David)
= 2 Kings 9:1-6  (Jehu)

This led me to realize the extent of being the Christ, which is the Greek word for "Anointed One."  The Hebrew word is Messiah!

Scripture reveals Jesus fit all three positions of being anointed:

Jesus is a forever Priest!
The author of Hebrews states that here.

Jesus is The Prophet
The Prophet is foretold in Deuteronomy 18:15, and Peter affirms the Prophet is Jesus in Acts 3: 22.
(Honestly, I use to think the Prophet needed to be someone who foretold of the Christ to come, since that was a key nature of the prophets under the Mosaic Covenant.  However, I changed my view on this.  Now Dr. Tom Varney at CCU use to say a prophet was someone who listened to God, and then spoke for God.  Yet is not both something Christians should be doing?  Yet our primary means of listening to God is the Scripture, which includes prophets who heard from God in a variety of manners.
   I do think the office of prophet under the Mosaic Covenant was a special office which involved speaking for God regarding blessings or curses under the Mosaic Covenant, and which had a key duty of foretelling of the Messiah.  Yet Jesus was the Prophet as He directly foretold of His death and resurrection, He foretold the sending of the Holy Spirit, He foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, which took place in 70 A.D., and He foretold His return.)
   The ultimate prophecy that He would suffer, die, and then be resurrected is recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke:
= Matthew 26:2
= Mark 9: 30-32
= Luke 18: 31-33

Thirdly, Jesus is the King of Kings, which is revealed in Revelation.
= Revelation 19:16   (King of Kings and Lord of Lords is written on His robe and on His thigh in the vision.)

   Based on the anointings under the Mosaic Covenant, it makes sense the Anointed One would be the Most High Priest, the Prophet, and the King of Kings.
   Also, this theology of Jesus fulfilling the offices of Priest, Prophet, and King is recorded as early as Eusebius, and discussed by followers of Jesus in the past, including John Calvin and Susanna Wesley.

   I add that whereas priests, prophets, and kings under the Mosaic Covenant were anointed with olive oil, (and other things were added to the olive oil for the “sacred oil” for priests), Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit!
The Holy Spirit came upon Jesus at His baptism!
= Mark 1:9-10
= Luke 3:21-22

   So the author of Hebrews states in these verses that Jesus is able to save because He has a forever priesthood.  And being a forever priest, His sacrifice on the cross was able to be a single sacrifice which could transcend time and space.  The atonement was made on the cross nearly 2,000 years ago.  And even today, Jesus can apply that atonement as He is the forever priest for anyone who believes in Him.

   I conclude this piece with a prayer of thanksgiving:

+ Holy God, thank you for encouraging us through the book of Hebrews that Jesus is alive, and that we can come to You for forgiveness and life, even today.  It is through the Holy name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
Hunter Irvine

[This piece was drastically edited on 5/31/19.]