Beyond the Gospels: Hebrews

Today’s Scripture: Hebrews 12:18-29
[Read the Word by clicking the reference above or opening up your Bible.]

The mountain of the law was a foreboding place. Darkness. Gloom. Storm. God spoke audibly from this mountain of the Ten Commandments, but the people plugged their ears and couldn’t bear to hear Him (Exodus 19-20). The sight even terrified Moses, the intermediary between the Israelites and God.

The mountain of law reminds us what we deserve: death. Reminds us we are incapable of walking His Way perfectly. But praise the Lord, we have a different mountain to go to.

Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, makes it safe to come into the presence of the living God, the Judge of all. Faith in Jesus covers us in His blood, brings us into the heavenly Jerusalem where angels rejoice over those whose names are written in heaven.

Jesus’s blood speaks a better word than the blood of Abel (Genesis 4:1-8). Abel, killed by his jealous brother Cain for offering a right sacrifice to God, speaks condemnation. A world gone wrong. But Jesus’s blood, even though He too was killed unjustly and served God perfectly, made the Way for us to be set right with God. He takes all we have been condemned for and covers it with His blood. His loving sacrifice, making the way for complete redemption.

Putting our faith in the law. Legalism. Separates us from God.
Putting our faith in Jesus. The fulfillment of the law. Grace. Makes us God’s children. Brings us straight into His family.

Could there be a better word than that?