Hebrews 9:1-14 There is so much more in Hebrews 9 than meets the eye that I’m at a loss for how to meditate on it in a short time. The entire book of Hebrews, and this chapter in some ways in particular, reveal the need for Bible study – not to gather random facts but so that we may better understand the holy facts and visions and stories that are entrusted to us. It is not really possible to understand... Read more
Hebrews 8 The point that the writer of Hebrews is making is so important to him (and to us), that he continues with his point that Jesus Christ, our High Priest, is in heaven ministering for us. It would be easy, too easy, to have acknowledged this incredible truth yesterday, and then to go on as if it were nothing to us. But the writer of Hebrews, dazzled by his vision of Jesus, does not want us to drift away... Read more
Hebrews 7:12-28 The priests of the Old Testament were held in high regard by the Israelites – and with good reason. It was the priests, taken from the tribe of Levi, who stood before God on behalf of the people and offered sacrifices before God for the sins of the people. It was the priests, who both in the case of sin and leprosy had to declare, as the representative of God, one clean. How highly exalted the high priest... Read more
Hebrews 7:1-11 Quick – who was the person in the Old Testament who was the closest to God? That was a question a Sunday school teacher of mine once asked. Some said Moses and some said David (I think some said Abraham – I’m not sure.) Wanting to be different and not give the same answer as everyone else, I said “Adam,” knowing I was sure to draw some puzzled stares. “Before he sinned,” I clarified. I remember asking my... Read more
Hebrews 6:13-20 I am definitely a landlubber. I’ve rarely gone out on the seas: to me, going out on a lake in someone else’s boat is pretty risky business. It’s with good reason that the Sea in the Bible is often used to represent evil or danger. We can have some measure of how dangerous even fishing was on the Lake of Galilee by the way the experienced fishermen who were Jesus’ disciples cry out when a storm quickly arises... Read more
Hebrews 6:1-12 Once again, the writer of Hebrews gives us a terrible warning about the ultimate sin of apostasy, or turning from God, having once been enlightened. Lest we become too snug and smug in our faith, we must remember the real possibility of our falling away from God. This is not a merely hypothetical possibility: it is the real-life tragedy of countless Christians. And you are not exempt from this possibility. But the writer of Hebrews is confident of... Read more
Hebrews 4:14-5:14 Do you remember the vision of Jesus Christ that St. John had in Revelation 1? I want that image to be seared into your memory forever. Maybe we should all go out and stare at the sun for a few seconds to remind us of who Jesus really is. He is not the baby-faced, Bearded Girly Man Christ of Victorian pictures: He is the visible glory of God the Father. He is the retina-dissolving sun! “And there is... Read more
Hebrews 4:1-13 Having chronic fatigue, rest is one thing I can definitely relate to. It makes me tired just to think about it. And yet what a heavenly concept! Unfortunately, we are a culture and a people who can find no rest. Despite having more leisure than most people have had and despite having labor-saving devices, our lives are ones of constant activity. But unlike God, we can’t always find rest by being able to say what we have done... Read more
Hebrews 3 Good day, partakers of Jesus Christ! Partakers, that is, if you hold the beginning of your confidence steadfast to the end and if you do not depart from the living God. But I am persuaded of better things for you. God has called you to be a partaker of Jesus Christ. If you partook of the Holy Communion recently, then you were a partaker of Jesus Christ at that time. But that’s not the only way we are... Read more
Give Us This Day
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In
Monday of the 3rd Sunday after Easter – Hebrews 9:15-27
Hebrews 9:15-27 “For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are the copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” (verse 24). Jesus Christ, the spotless Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world, is the perfect sacrifice for your sins. His perfect blood was shed, and His perfect life was offered as a sacrifice on behalf of those whose lives are so... Read more