Today’s scripture: Hebrews 10:1-10 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Keith Phillips):
Hebrews 10 is the culmination of a discussion about Jesus, God’s Son, as our high priest. This section of the exhortation began with, “Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession” (4:14). It’s been a long, arcane, and sometimes confusing theological presentation.
If we remember to put scripture into its original context, we have a better chance of hearing what God is saying to us. There aren’t many clues, but most likely Hebrews was written around 90 C.E. because it’s quoted by Clement, one of the early church leaders before 100 C.E. The substance of the discourse and that dating remind us that only 30 years before, the Temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed, the ritual sacrifices had ceased, and the need for a priesthood among the Hebrews was eliminated. So why all this emphasis (half the entire book) on Jesus as great high priest?
The demolition of the Temple and the destruction of Israel by the Romans transformed Judaism. The focal point of the Israelite religion for 600 years was gone. But there arose within the land two very different approaches for the future. The teachers in the synagogues hoped to reform the old ways so that, for example, the prayers on Yom Kippur (the Day of the Atonement) became a substitute for the animal sacrifices on Yom Kippur. The teachings of Jesus, on the other hand, revolutionized the Jewish religion; public worship at a Temple, and even public prayers, became secondary to a transformed heart seeking peace and justice in a very violent world.
Now, reform is always easier than revolution. In the midst of the chaos of late first century Israel, rabbinic Judaism was seeking the hearts and minds of the people. And so was Christianity. The author of Hebrews made the strongest case possible to this generation of disciples that they must persevere as followers of Jesus, because apparently many had fallen away, had returned to a reformed Judaism, had become apostate. Reform is always easier than revolution.
So what’s that got to do with me, today? Quoting Psalm 40:6–8, the author of Hebrews reminds us why Jesus’ sacrifice as great high priest was so different: “in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then [Christ] said, ‘See, God, I have come to do your will, O God’” (10:6, 7a). Even under the old covenant, while the Temple still stood and was functional, God wanted more than repeated acts of ritual; God wants, and has always wanted, human beings to trust God absolutely and to obey God completely. This is exactly what Jesus did, as he was crucified and thus became our great high priest.
And this is what I am called to do: to take up the cross and follow Jesus, to my death. But it’s a whole lot easier to do a little tweaking and make some minor changes in my life than to offer myself as a voluntary sacrifice for God to lead wherever God wishes. Most of us would like to have things “my way” with some adjustments that don’t cost too much, and want to still call ourselves Christians. As well, it’s so easy to be pulled this way and that by friends, by peers, by family who insist that it wouldn’t be so bad if you just… However, Jesus’ way is the way of the cross, of radical, revolutionary discipleship, led and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Quite frankly, if that is the path we have chosen, based on the argument in Hebrews, we’d be fools to forsake it.
Thought for the day: “And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (10:10). I’m not willing to reform that in any way. May I hold fast!
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.