|
by
Doug Ward |
What is Jesus doing these days?
As a
Christian, I believe that Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead, that
he then ascended to the right hand of God, and that he is coming again to rule
the earth. But too often I have neglected to consider what he is doing now.
The
Bible addresses this question in the letter to the Hebrews, a sermon of
encouragement directed to Jewish disciples of Jesus who faced the prospect of
the destruction of the beloved Jerusalem temple. The author reminds this
audience that the temple was patterned after an even greater temple in heaven
(Hebrews 8:5). When the temple in Jerusalem was gone, the heavenly one still
would be fully operational.
Reasoning
by analogy, the author of Hebrews asserts that the heavenly temple, like the
one on earth, must have its own high priest and sacrificial system. On the
other hand, the temple in heaven is not subject to all of the rules governing
the one on earth. The two temples are analogous but different.
While
only members of the tribe of Levi could serve in the earthly temple, for
example, there is no such rule for the heavenly one. Based on Psalm 110:4
("You are a priest forever ..."), he concludes that Israel's Messiah
would be an eternal priest. Therefore, it is Jesus who serves in the temple in
heaven, even though he comes from the tribe of Judah.
The
high priest on earth, an imperfect human being with a finite lifespan, only
could come into God's presence in the temple's holiest place once a year. On
the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur in Hebrew), the priest brought
sacrifices for himself and the people of Israel and prayed on behalf of the
people (Leviticus 16). Israel thus was cleansed from its sins and continued its
relationship with God.
Jesus,
on the other hand, is sinless and lives forever, so he can serve at all times
in the heavenly temple. There he offers one perfect sacrifice-his own body-and
intercedes for his disciples continually, maintaining their relationship with
God (Hebrews 7:23-28; 9:23-28).
And
that is what Jesus is doing. He serves as our high priest in heaven,
interceding for us continually. The Day of Atonement (September 25 in 2023) is
a fitting time to commemorate and give thanks for his high priesthood as we
look forward to his return (Hebrews 9:28). Church of the Messiah in Xenia will
hold a Christian observance of the Day of Atonement on September 24 at 6:30 PM.
File
translated from TEX by TTH,
version 3.66.
On 25 Aug 2023, 13:34.
