The Crucified Messiah

Jesus is the High Priest of the greater sanctuary “made without hands” foreshadowed by the Ancient Tabernacle . Jesus is the High Priest who serves in the “ True Tabernacle pitched by the Lord and not man ” and foreshadowed by the religious structures and rituals of Ancient Israel. The Son of God has become our “ priest forever ” who ministers for us “ at the right hand of the Throne of the Majesty in the Heavens ” – (Hebrews 8:1-2).

The Gift of the Spirit demonstrates beyond question who belongs to the Holy Covenant Community of Jesus, and who does not . In the assemblies of Galatia, “ false brethren ” were preaching “ another gospel ,” pressuring Gentile believers to adopt circumcision and conform to other regulations of the Mosaic Law.   Paul repudiated the very idea and sent the Galatians a series of arguments demonstrating why Gentiles need not be circumcised.

With the outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost, the blessings for all nations promised to Abraham commenced . The Apostle Paul calls the Gift of the Spirit the “ Promise of the Father ,” and he links it to the Abrahamic covenant. The promises to the Patriarch and “ his Seed ” find their fulfillment in the New Covenant inaugurated by the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. With Christ’s victory over Sin and Death, the Age of the Spirit dawned.

The Gift of the Spirit is one of the Covenant promises for blessing the Nations of the Earth through Abraham and his “Seed,” Jesus Christ . When Matthew’s Gospel declares Jesus to be the “ Son of Abraham ,” it links the man from Nazareth to the  Abrahamic Covenant . The New Testament is filled with scriptural citations and apostolic teachings demonstrating that Jesus came to fulfill the Covenant. He is the promised “ Seed of Abraham ” and the true Heir of all the promises, including to “ bless all the Nations ” in the Patriarch.

The Gift of the Spirit is essential to the New Covenant promised by God in the Hebrew Bible for His people . The New Testament connects the “ Promise of the Spirit ” to the “ Blessings of Abraham ,” the promise that God would bless the nations through the Patriarch. The Gift of the Spirit is part of the covenant given to Abraham that is fulfilled in the “ New Covenant ” established by the Death and Resurrection of Jesus . His sacrifice made the promises of renewal and “ circumcised hearts ” a present reality.

The national sins of Israel culminated in her expulsion from the Land of Canaan. However, all was not lost. God foresaw her failure and determined to restore the nation by instituting His New Covenant that would include the nations of the Earth, the “ Gentiles .” Moreover, the New Creation would become the ultimate Promised Land and the true inheritance of His people.

Jesus inaugurated the superior New Covenant through his Death and Resurrection, rendering the old covenant obsolete  – Hebrews 8:6-13. The definitive “ Word ” that God has spoken “ in the Son ” surpasses all past revelations made in “ the prophets ,” including Moses, the Great Lawgiver. Only Jesus “ achieved the purification of sins ,” therefore, he “ sat down ” at the right hand of God as our Great High Priest and instituted the long-promised “ New Covenant .”

Jesus Christ fulfills God’s promise to bless all nations through His Covenant with Abraham. There is salvation in No Other Name . Foundational to the biblical doctrine of redemption is the Covenant that God made with Abraham, and with his “ seed ” after him, including the promises to bless all nations and to grant the Patriarch innumerable descendants. But how and when are the nations blessed? And who is Abaham’s “ seed ” destined to inherit the promises?

God has spoken His decisive and superior “ word ” in His son, and He did so “ upon the last of these days .” This refers to the end of the period epitomized by the Levitical code with its priesthood and repeated animal sacrifices, a system of worship centered in the Tabernacle and the later Jerusalem Temple. With the appointment of Jesus as the High Priest “ after the order of Melchizedek ,” a new and final era of salvation commenced.

The Letter to the Hebrews begins by stressing the superiority of the “ word spoken in the Son ” over all previous revelations “ spoken in the prophets .” This includes the Great Lawgiver himself, Moses, the greatest of the prophets, and it indicates the fundamental weaknesses of the Levitical priesthood and its sacrificial system. The previous words from the prophets were true but partial and preparatory. However, now, “ upon the last of these days ,” God has “ spoken ” with great finality in one who is His “ Son .”

According to  Hebrews , God has spoken His decisive and superior “ word ” in His son. Moreover, He did so “ upon the last of these days .” This clause refers to the end of the period epitomized by the Levitical code with its priesthood and repeated animal sacrifices, a system of worship that was centered in the Tabernacle, and later, in the Temple in Jerusalem. With the exaltation of the Son to the “ right hand of the Majesty on High ,” a new and final era of salvation has commenced.

Foundational to the  Letter to the Hebrews  is the appointment of Jesus as our High Priest, and this was due especially to his obedience “ unto death ” whereby he achieved the “ purification of sins .” In his sufferings, he was “ perfected ,” and in his resurrection, God vindicated his sacrifice by seating him at the “ right hand of the Majesty on High ,” where he now sits enthroned interceding on our behalf. The stress is not on his position as the Royal Son, as true as that is, but on his priestly status and ministry for his people.

The Gift of the Spirit is clear evidence that a person has been justified by God and made a part of His covenant people. In Galatia, “ false brethren ” were preaching “ another gospel ,” one that claimed Gentiles must be circumcised to “ complete ” their faith. Paul would have none of it, and he appealed to the presence of the Spirit among uncircumcised Gentiles as proof positive of their justification and acceptance by God.

The  Letter to the Hebrews  highlights several aspects of the Son of God, especially his priesthood and sacrificial death. In doing so, the stress falls on the permanence of his priestly office, and the non-repeatable nature of his sacrifice. In his death, he “ achieved the purification of sins ,” and therefore, he now intercedes “ forevermore ” for his people as their faithful and sympathetic High Priest. Moreover, his unique sacrifice dealt with sin permanently, “ once-for-all .”