Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:11-16
Happy Resurrection Sunday! This is my favorite holiday of the entire year. It is the day I look back and remember with reverence and astonishment the work done by my King on the Cross. It is also the day that I look past that with joy to the empty tomb, the fact that He was not defeated either by sin or by death. It is because He lives that I now have an advocate on high, a High Priest who knows more about humanity than He would by only being the Creator. He came and lived as one of His created, sharing in the same frailties of the flesh and enduring every temptation that faces mankind with one important exception: In His fatigue, His hunger, even at His weakest moment, He never fell into sin. He was tempted, but He resisted fully. Because of this, He was the only complete substitution sacrifice to pay for humanity's sins once and for all. Also because of this, the sin curse had no hold on Him, and since death entered through sin, neither did death. He has risen!
But let's back up a bit... The opening of today's passage talks again about entering the Sabbath rest that God offers. If we were to read all of Chapter 4, we would see that it is an extension of 3, expanding on the idea of rest after the careful warning of not to harden our hearts. I love that right after all of this talk of hardening of hearts and rest, there is the very poignant description of the Word of God. After all, this is the only tool that we have in truly determining the state of our very selves. It is this Word that exposes the evil desires I carry, the twisted motives, even the pride of self that I harbor in my heart when outwardly doing "Christian" things. It is this Living Word that shows me the depravity of man, myself included, and the desperate need for a Savior. It reminds me that I may fool myself into thinking I have it all sorted, but ultimately it is to Him that I will someday give an account, not only of my blatant sins but also of my secret wrong motives or my subtle arrogance. I don't know about you, but I need this tool in order to walk humbly with my God. It reminds me of His glory; it reminds me of His Sovereignty. It also reminds me of the fact that even when I am at my very best, I still cannot measure up to this Holy God. It is not my goodness but His power and strength alone that are good enough. I am totally insufficient, but His grace is sufficient for me.
Now we are back to where we begun: Jesus as the great High Priest who has experienced physical and emotional pain, hunger, distress, and fatigue. Jesus, the Man who experienced the temptations to speak angry words in a moment of weakness or to do a deed for His own glory rather than the Father's, or a myriad of other sneaky temptations that trip me up daily, yet He did not. He did not fail. He endured the temptation until the bitter end and He overcame. This is the One through Whom I have access to the throne of grace. By His steadfastness, the libation of His precious blood, and the complete surrender of His will to the Father's, I am granted mercy and grace. Not for anything I have done, but for what He did for me. How can I not rejoice?
He is risen!
He is risen indeed!
But let's back up a bit... The opening of today's passage talks again about entering the Sabbath rest that God offers. If we were to read all of Chapter 4, we would see that it is an extension of 3, expanding on the idea of rest after the careful warning of not to harden our hearts. I love that right after all of this talk of hardening of hearts and rest, there is the very poignant description of the Word of God. After all, this is the only tool that we have in truly determining the state of our very selves. It is this Word that exposes the evil desires I carry, the twisted motives, even the pride of self that I harbor in my heart when outwardly doing "Christian" things. It is this Living Word that shows me the depravity of man, myself included, and the desperate need for a Savior. It reminds me that I may fool myself into thinking I have it all sorted, but ultimately it is to Him that I will someday give an account, not only of my blatant sins but also of my secret wrong motives or my subtle arrogance. I don't know about you, but I need this tool in order to walk humbly with my God. It reminds me of His glory; it reminds me of His Sovereignty. It also reminds me of the fact that even when I am at my very best, I still cannot measure up to this Holy God. It is not my goodness but His power and strength alone that are good enough. I am totally insufficient, but His grace is sufficient for me.
Now we are back to where we begun: Jesus as the great High Priest who has experienced physical and emotional pain, hunger, distress, and fatigue. Jesus, the Man who experienced the temptations to speak angry words in a moment of weakness or to do a deed for His own glory rather than the Father's, or a myriad of other sneaky temptations that trip me up daily, yet He did not. He did not fail. He endured the temptation until the bitter end and He overcame. This is the One through Whom I have access to the throne of grace. By His steadfastness, the libation of His precious blood, and the complete surrender of His will to the Father's, I am granted mercy and grace. Not for anything I have done, but for what He did for me. How can I not rejoice?
He is risen!
He is risen indeed!
And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. Mark 16:5-6
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