Sermon Notes-God is Savior, Sacrifice and Substitute from Hebrews 7:22-28
We are continuing our series, God is….which will look
at what some call the attributes of God or the character or God or what makes
God, God. Previously, we discussed God is Creator, Good, Great, Holy, Loving,
Provider, and Merciful.
Introduction: A.W. Tozer writes, “What comes into our
minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. And the
second is what we think God thinks of us.”
Opening Quiz: What is the point of the story of
Abraham and Isaac? Why is Leviticus in the Bible? Why is it important to
understand sacrificial system?
·
What we do with Old Testament
matters. If the focus is the story or
book itself, we often are left scratching our heads. But when we see that all of Scripture points
to Jesus, things begin to make sense.
·
Paul David Tripp writes, “God is the hero
of every story in the Bible. In fact the Bible is not a collection of stories,
but one big story with lots of chapters.”
·
Today we are going to see how Old
Testament stories point to something better, Jesus himself. Listen to Paul’s words from 1 Corinthians 2:2
“For I decided to know nothing among
you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
Read
Hebrews 7:22-28
·
Vs. 22-Jesus is the guarantee of a better
covenant
o
“Better” (Gk. kreittōn) is an important term in Hebrews[1]
§ As
you read through Hebrews, you will discover how Jesus is the better human,
Moses, Sabbath, Priest & High Priest, Tabernacle, Sacrifice, Hero
o
Christ’s high priesthood is superior
because it is guaranteed by God’s oath,[2]
o
Jesus is the guarantee (surety) of the
better coveant. Only used here. (engyos)
⟹Ram that Saves Better Savior
o
Genesis 22 (vs. 2,7-8, 13-14)
§ Vs.
2, 7-8-When I get to heaven, I am going to ask Abraham what he was thinking
when God asked him to sacrifice Isaac.
Did he believe God would raise him from the dead? We just don’t
know. But we do know what God provided Abraham
did not expect.
§ Vs.
13-14-God provides a ram to save Isaac.
In the future, God the Father will provide His only Son to save you and
me.
§ Notice
what Abraham called the place. He called
it “Yahweh Jireh”-The Lord Will Provide” He then says “on the mountain of the
Lord it will be provided.”This was true for Abraham and Isaac but it would be
true in the future too when on a mountain, Jesus is provided and will die for
us.
§ So,
the Ram that saves in the story of Abraham and Isaac points to a better Savior,
Jesus “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)
o
Vs. 23-24-Why is Jesus better? Because the
priests died, but Jesus is a permanent priest. He is forever.
o
Vs. 25-Jesus saves completely
§ The
purpose of Christ’s priestly ministry is the salvation of those who come to God
through him.[3]
§ But
it is made even more comprehensive by the fact that his ability to save is said
to be for all time[4] Not partly, not a little Jesus and a
little you. When Jesus saves, “it is
finished.” Jesus really did “pay it all”
as the hymn suggests. “His wounds have
paid my ransom”.
§ Jesus
lives to intercede for us.
⟹Goat that Sacrifices Better Sacrifice
·
Leviticus 16:7-10, 15-17-Day of Atonement-Yearly-Yom
Kippur
o
to make atonement v. to cleanse from
sin or the defilement of sin, most often by sacrifice.-make amends, make good.
o
Vs. 9-Goat that sacrifices for sin
offering
o
Vs. 15-17-The blood of this goat is used
to purify the people and atonement cover, Tent of Meeting, altar
·
Vs. 26-27-Jesus is a better sacrifice than
the goat, Because He is
o
Vs. 26-Holy, blameless, pure, set apart,
exalted
o
Vs. 27-Without sin-no need to sacrifice
for his own sins
§ Unlike
Levitical priests, then, he had no need to offer sacrifices for his own sin.
His sacrifice of himself has unlimited potency.[5]
o
Vs. 27-Once for all-when he offered
himself
§ The
sacrificial system was time consuming and difficult and was necessary to point
forward to a once for all better sacrifice that Jesus would become for us.
§ The
language of self-offering is distinctive of Hebrews, but implicit in the
primitive confession that Jesus “gave himself” or “died” for our sins”[6]
§ Moreover
the offering was once for all,
needing no repetition. It is important to note that the reason for the
difference is found wholly in the character of the high priest rather than in
his office.[7]
⟹Goat that Substitutes Better Substitute
·
Leviticus 16:20-22
o
Vs. 20-21-Live goat-Aaron lay hands on the
goat and confess all the peoples’ sins.
The sins of the people are put on this goat. He becomes the scapegoat. Takes the place of, or substitutes for the
people. Their sins are removed. Notice
the ALL in vs. 21-22.
o
Vs. 22-The scapegoat carries their sin to
a solitary place. But we have a better
substitute than this goat and His name is Jesus. He takes our place-all sins-past, present,
future are placed upon Him. He becomes
our scapegoat. These sins are removed as
we discussed last week as far as the east is from the west.
·
Hebrews 7 Vs. 28-Son made perfect forever
o
The major thought, however, is that of
perfection[8]
Since Jesus was perfect and had no sin himself, He is the better
Substitute. He is also the better
substitute because not only are sins removed, but Jesus for us becomes what 1
Corinthians 1:30 says, “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus who
has become for us wisdom from God—that is our righteousness, holiness and
redemption.”
Because
God is Savior, Sacrifice, Substitute, I am
·
Forgiven-“For
he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into
the kingdom of the Son he loves,14 in whom we have
redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13-14)
·
Redeemed--“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by
becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on
a tree.” (Galatians 3:13)
·
Reconciled--“All
this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and
gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins
against them. And he has committed to us the message of
reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)
Closing:
How
has your view of God changed over the last 5 weeks? How has your understanding of who you are because
of Christ (identity in Christ) changed over the last 5 weeks?
[2]
Ellingworth, P. (1993). The Epistle to the Hebrews: a commentary on the Greek text
(p. 383). Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press.
[3]
Ellingworth, P. (1993). The Epistle to the Hebrews: a commentary on the Greek text
(p. 391). Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press.
[4]
Guthrie, D. (1983). Hebrews: An Introduction and Commentary
(Vol. 15, p. 169). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
[6]
Ellingworth, P. (1993). The Epistle to the Hebrews: a commentary on the Greek text
(p. 396). Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press.
[7]
Guthrie, D. (1983). Hebrews: An Introduction and Commentary
(Vol. 15, p. 171). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
[8]
Guthrie, D. (1983). Hebrews: An Introduction and Commentary
(Vol. 15, p. 172). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
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