We have been asking the question over the last three weeks, Who is Jesus? We’ve focused our answers on His divinity and His role through eternity, before time began and after it ends. Let me say again that these are more mature teachings that we need to understand in order to know what we actually believe. It may be easy for you to say, “well, I believe the Bible, so if it’s in there, I’ll go with it.” Even though you don’t really know what it means. It’s important for us to understand why we believe what we believe, so we can speak intelligently to those who don’t believe.
Today we will look at how Jesus’ work on earth crossed over into His eternal role. In the book of Hebrews we read about how Jesus is superior to all the religious activities that the Jews looked to for their covenant with God.
Remember, the book of Hebrews was written to Jews who had become Christians and were having difficulty letting go of their old religious system. The reality was that the sacrifices and priesthood system that Jews were involved in, God Himself had set up, in order to point them to the coming Messiah. But while they waited, they began to worship the system, and in doing so, they lost sight of the one that system was meant to point to... Jesus the Messiah.
So, in Hebrews, the writer goes to great length to illustrate that Jesus, in every way, was superior to all that had come before Him. The old religious system was to be set aside and Jesus was now the replacement. There’s a new, better covenant.
Hebrews 8:13 “13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.”
From the very beginning of the book, we see that Jesus is shown to have the attributes we have discussed in the last couple of weeks.
Hebrews 1:1-3 “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, (the Word of the Lord) 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also hecreated the world. (the Word of God) 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, (the Great I Am) and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”
Hebrews goes on to talk about how Jesus is superior to all other beings. And not just other beings who walked this earth, but also angels, who are in the unseen spiritual realm.
As we have seen in the weeks past, Jesus appeared to people in the Old Testament. But Angels also appeared to people in the Old Testament. Jesus is called the Son of God. And also, angels were referred to as sons of God.
Hebrews 1:4-8 “4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? 6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God's angels worship him.” 7 Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.” 8 But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.”
So what separates this Jesus guy from all other heavenly beings? Jesus is, in fact, God, the Great I Am. He was the Creator, not a created angel. Jesus is superior to angles, and is to be worshiped by them. The writer then lays out the role of angles.
Hebrews 1:13-14 “13 And to which of the angels has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?”
Jesus is clearly superior to angels.
The next step in convincing the Jews that Jesus is the messiah is to show them how Jesus is superior to Moses. This would have been a major obstacle for Jews, because Moses was their greatest prophet. He was the one who led Israel out of Egypt. He was the one who received the law from God on Mt. Sinai. He actually wrote the torah (first 5 books of the Bible). Moses was a big deal. And if someone came along who was supposed to be greater than Moses, it would raise a few eyebrows and require some strong evidence.
Hebrews 3:3-6 “3 For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) 5 Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6 but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed
we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.”
Moses served in the house but Jesus was the architect and builder. Moses was a servant, and gave testimony of things that would come after him. Jesus is the Son who came after the servant. Jesus, the son, is superior to Moses the servant.
Jesus is superior to all the other high priests who came before Him. The high priest was the top dog in the Jewish religious system. He was chosen from among the other priests because of his family line. Aaron, the brother of Moses was appointed by God to be the first high priest, and so his son and grandsons followed him as high priest in the family line. The problem was that the high priest was human, and as such was not perfect. He had a weakness to sin, just like everyone else.
Hebrews 5:1-3 “For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. 3 Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people.”
When a Jewish high priest went into the holy of holies in the temple to offer the blood of the sacrifice for the sins of the people, he was offering it for himself also. So this system has its flaws, because a human is in charge. As you may be aware, humans make mistakes and sin. This is what makes Jesus greater than any human high priests. Although He came to earth and was born into human flesh, Jesus was God. He was tempted, but did not sin.
Hebrews 4:14-16 “14 Since then we have a great highpriest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
How is it that God could be tempted to sin? What temptation was so hard to resist that it would have actually been a temptation to Jesus?
In order for something to be a real temptation, it has to actually be possible. Here’s what I mean. I’m not tempted to buy a 5 million dollar house. Why is that not a temptation for me? Because I don’t have 5 million dollars. It’s not real for me. Something that is not possible, is not a real temptation.
So what was the temptation that Jesus faced? Jesus could have at any moment stopped his own crucifixion and destroyed those who would dare to physically harm the God of creation, the Great I Am, the victorious Warrior King. All He had to do was say the word, and it would have all stopped, and those who tortured Him would be destroyed. But that’s not what He did.
Matthew 26:53 “53 Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?”
In case you’r curious, twelve legions of angels would have been 72,000 of them. That would be enough to destroy the entire Roman Empire, not just those who came to arrest Him.
Hebrews 10:12-13 “12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand ofGod, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.”
Jesus waited until the appointed time for the destruction of His enemies. He endured the suffering and shame of the cross, because He recognized that the men who were killing Him were only the agents of the evil one, they were not His enemies. He loved them. He wanted to offer a sacrifice for their sins.
Jesus fulfilled the role of the high priest, in that, He offered a sacrifice for sins...Himself. Jesus is both high priest, and the sacrificial offering. He was the perfect, sinless sacrifice.
Hebrews 7:26-27 “26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.”
Jesus is superior to all other sacrifices...He is The Lamb that was slain.
Revelation 5:8-12 “8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full ofincense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” 11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”
Jesus was superior to the lamb that each jewish family sacrificed at Passover. During the night of the first passover, the blood of the lamb was to be sprinkled on the doorposts of the family home. This blood covering was the sign that they were servants of the most high God and death could not touch them.
This yearly sacrificial Passover lamb of the old covenant is what Jesus replaced. We can now understand that for 1,500 years, the passover lamb was pointing to Jesus, the ultimate sacrifice. Look at all the ways Jesus aligns with the passover lamb.
John the Baptist identified Jesus as The Lamb.
John 1:29 “29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
The shed blood of the passover lamb, allowed Israel to escape death plague of Egypt. Jesus defeated death by shedding His blood at the cross.
Revelation 1:17-18 “17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fearnot, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.”
The passover lamb had to be a male, in the prime of its life, without spot or blemish. Offering a sick or less valuable lamb was not permitted. Only a perfect one could be used.
Exodus 12:5 “ 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats”
Jesus was a young man, in the prime of His life at 33 years old.
The age of 30 was required for an Israelite to serve in the temple as a priest, to offer a sacrifices. He was without sin, so He qualified as a perfect sacrifice Himself.
1 Peter 1:18-19 “18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable
things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”
The Passover Lamb could not be left till morning.
Exodus 12:10 “10 And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn.”
The Roman tradition was to leave criminals on their cross for a while, in order to be an example to those who would consider breaking Roman laws. Sometimes they left them for a couple of weeks. It was to motivate people to behave. However, the same day Jesus was crucified they placed Him in a tomb that evening.
Matthew 27:57-60 “57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away.”
No bones could be broken on a passover lamb.
Exodus 12:46 “46 It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones.”
Roman soldiers would break the legs of criminals on crosses to speed up their death. Breathing was very difficult while on a cross and you had to use your legs to ty and raise yourself up a little in order to get a breath. With your legs broken this would be impossible. In a way it was merciful to do this, because a man could suffer for a couple of days on a cross, before he died.
John 19:31-33 “31 Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken
away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.”
This also fulfilled an Old Testament prophesy of the Messiah.
Psalm 34:20 “He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.”
Another thing that points to Jesus as the more perfect Passover Lamb, is that Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem. The passover feast was one of the mandatory Jewish feasts. Every able- bodied man had to travel to Jerusalem to celebrate this feast every year. Which means that a passover lamb had to be sacrificed in Jerusalem. This is why there were so many people in Jerusalem who witnessed His death...and His resurrection.
And there is one last point to make about all this. Jesus was crucified on Passover. A couple of days later the next Jewish feast occurred. It was the Feast of first Fruits. This just happened to land on the same day Jesus rose from the dead.
1 Corinthians 15:20 “20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.”
Jesus is the first fruits from the dead. Well, that seems pretty cool that God worked all that out. But wait, there’s more. Jesus was on earth for 40 days after his resurrection, before He ascended to heaven. 40 is a very significant number in the bible. Rain/flood. Wilderness wandering. Fasting wilderness. More on that another day.
Acts 1:3 “3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.”
Jesus spent 40 days teaching about the Kingdom before He ascended. And what did He tell His disciples to do just before he left? He said to stay in Jerusalem because something big was about to happen.
Acts 1:4-5 “4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Indeed it was not many days at all. Only 10 days later the feast of Pentecost began. Pentecost was another mandatory feast. Men would travel to Jerusalem for Passover and stay until after Pentecost. And why is that significant? This is why.
During the feast of Passover, no leaven was allowed in Jewish houses. They had to get rid of all of it. However, the Feast of Pentecost requires leaven in the 2 loaves of bread. This is what they did.
The grain offering of first fruits...(three days after Passover), was kept in Jewish homes for 50 days so that it could ferment and become yeast (leaven) and be used in the 2 loaves of bread.
Let’s put it all together. In the New testament, the 2 loaves of Pentecost represent the Jews and gentiles. Jesus is the offering of the first fruits of resurrection. 50 days later during Pentecost, He is the leaven put into the Jews and gentiles... the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 5:7 “7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”
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