7 Reasons Every Christian Should Read Hebrews
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Do you know a lot about the Jewish sacrifices? Are you familiar with the law? Do you have a great understanding of the priesthood and the temple?
Many of us, as modern-day Christians, often feel distant from the Old Covenant found in the Old Testament of our Bibles. The first covenant that God made with His people is now fulfilled through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. He brought the New Covenant into action.
Thankfully, there is a beautiful book in the New Testament to help us have a greater understanding of both the old and the new. Here are seven reasons every Christian should read Hebrews.
1. We Understand Jesus’ Sacrifice More Clearly
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Hebrews 1:3).
Hebrews is a book that was written to Jewish Christians who were new believers. They understood the practices that were set in place by the law for those who followed Yahweh. They felt the weight of their sin every time an animal was sacrificed, or once a year when the high priest went in the Holy of Holies on behalf of their sins.
Hebrews helps us get a glimpse of these common Jewish practices, and how Christ fulfilled them.
2. We Learn about Jesus as King
Hebrews teaches us that Jesus is our King. He is reigning over all. He is supreme and majestic. He is worthy of our worship. When we understand that He is sovereign and trustworthy, it provides us with a greater adoration of our King of kings. We are reminded of the level of respect and awe that He is deserving of, and we become even more amazed that He would leave His heavenly throne to come to us to become our Savior.
When we ponder the greatest rulers of all time, the thought that they would even give us one second of their time is far-fetched. The likelihood is slim, but we could approach their throne and formally visit them. How much greater is our King of kings? He is far beyond any earthly ruler, however He left His throne to come to us and sacrifice Himself for us. He is now seated back at the right hand of Majesty, and we are now given full access to His throne 24/7. Wow!
3. We Learn about Jesus as High Priest
“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 6:19-20).
Melchizedek is a high priest of great mystery, found in Genesis 14. Melchizedek has no genealogy. In fact, Scripture tells us that he had no beginning or end (Hebrews 7:3) His priesthood is eternal. His priesthood is the priesthood of Jesus.
In order for our Savior to fulfill His role as Messiah, He had to be from the tribe of Judah. But priests were from the tribe of Levi. How would Jesus be both a King and a High Priest? This is because God intentionally chose the virgin Mary to carry him, and selected Joseph to be his earthly adopted father because Joseph was in the line of David.
Think about this, the father’s name gave the identity. Joseph gave Jesus the line of David (King). Just like Pharoah’s daughter adopted Moses and took him in, he had full access to the benefits of the Egyptian kingdom. Melchizedek gave Jesus the Priesthood. Jesus was from the order of Melchizedek (Priest). He became the Great High Priest for all who believe.
4. The Torn Veil Means More to Us
“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh…” (Hebrews 10:19-20).
A high priest went into the Holy of Holies once a year. Only one man was selected from the priesthood, and this man was given the opportunity to go into the presence of God behind the veil. It was a great honor.
When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, it says in Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, and Luke 23:45 that the veil to the Holy of Holies tore in two from top to bottom. Jesus broke the barrier between us and the Lord. His death was the final sacrifice to give us full access to our Creator again.
5. We Will Mourn Our Sin
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us” (Hebrews 12:1).
Hebrews causes us to feel the weight of our sinful hearts, evil desires, disobedience, and fallen nature. We realize that sin truly does entangle us and in Christ, we are called and empowered to throw off the sin that gets us stuck so easily. We do not have to provide animal sacrifices because of what Jesus did for us, however, let us not forget the great need of what Jesus did on our behalf. We can mourn over our sin and celebrate salvation in Christ. This can lead us to a repentant lifestyle as He refines us and opens our eyes to sins in our lives.
6. We Are Encouraged to Live by Faith
“Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1).
The Hall of Faith is found in Hebrews 11. This chapter contains a list of many men and women who lived by faith to follow God. It encourages us to also live by faith. This leads us to be living empowered by the Holy Spirit, standing on the Word of God, and trusting in the Lord as we seek Him and walk with Him daily.
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7. We Can Communicate More Effectively with Jews
“You have come to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (Hebrews 12:23b-24).
Hebrews is a wonderful book of the Bible to read with a Jewish friend or to gain a greater understanding of how Jesus is the Messiah. The book enables us to comprehend the big picture of how Jesus fulfilled the law and came to be the sacrifice for all who believe in Him. Hebrews reveals that God made a New Covenant and the Old Covenant was fulfilled by Jesus. His law was perfect, the imperfection was the people. We could not keep our end of the covenant.
Webster’s Dictionary defines a covenant as: “a written agreement or promise usually under seal between two or more parties especially for the performance of some action.”
God’s end of the covenant was perfect and fulfilled, our end however was not. We broke the covenant; we could not keep it. So God, being rich in mercy, came down and made us a new covenant, one that was fully reliant on Him, not what we could do. We need our Savior. He is so kind to us. As we ponder the power and the grace that He has entrusted to all who believe in Him, may we celebrate this eternal gift today and forever.
Photo credit: Unsplash/Tim Wildsmith
