The writer of Hebrews compares Christ to what he knows about Judaism – that He is the supreme version of everything (High Priest, sacrifice, etc).
Christianity is not about rules but about the person of Christ.
God has spoken
1. Many times, many ways
2. Last days – spoken through His Son
3. God speaks through what Jesus is
Prophecy today is judged by the Word
Prophets do speak today, but God speaks to all of us by His Son – not just by what He said but by what He is, which is the very Word of God
Jesus is supreme (v.2-3)
1. He is the heir of all things
Jesus conquers all people groups through love
Christianity is not a lost cause that will one day fade away – God’s plan is to unite all of creation in Christ, restoring the created order under His headship
2. Through Him, God created the world
God spoke and the universe came into existence
3. He is the radiance of God’s glory
God speaks to us about His glory through Jesus – in grace and in truth
4. He is the exact imprint of God’s nature
We now have access to God through Christ
5. He upholds the universe
He sustains all with purpose, moving it all towards a glorious consummation
The Son holds it all together
6. He made purification for sins
7. He sat down
High Priests in the Old Covenant could never really sit down – the work was never finished
Jesus is on the throne – the work is finished – and He is waiting to come back
‘As an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. With great delight I sat in his shadow, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.’
This verse uses the symbolic language of finding rest and relief from the heat in the shade of a tree. Although the book of the Song of Solomon is about romantic love between a man and a woman, it can also be interpreted as symbolic of Jesus and His Bride, the Church.
People often view Christianity as hard work and loading on extra burdens of guilt and shame – but in fact, Jesus does the very opposite. He does precisely what this verse describes – He is like a tree that provides shade from the “heat” of life. Jesus came to give inner rest, as He says very clearly in Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
The qualification for receiving rest for our souls from Jesus isn’t “you who are spiritual/perfect/righteous” or “you who have it all together” – the qualification is “all who are weary”.
Sitting down
you actually have to sit under tree and take advantage of the shade
this means letting go, taking the weight off your feet, relaxing
Be still and know
we need to stop, to cease striving, to let go of our anxieties and fears
it is like God says “Enough!” – that He is in control and cares for us
it is when we know that God is God, that we find that shade and inner rest in Him
Romans 8:28: ‘And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.’ – the point is that we have to know this, otherwise we won’t benefit from the shade God has for us
Being saved
we don’t just need a one-time salvation from Jesus – we need saving from Him daily, to save us from the “heat” of life, from the fears and anxieties and pressures we face all the time
Example of Joseph
Joseph faced so much hardship and suffering and injustice, constantly being sinned against – but the fact is that everything that happened to him was a step leading closer to his destiny – to rule over Egypt
we are not simply at the mercy of other people and their sin – God is in control and He works all things together for our good and to get us to the place He wants us to be in
The shield of faith
Ephesians 6 – the armour of God – says ‘In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one’
we need to keep holding our faith up, trusting God and standing our ground, so as to extinguish the fiery darts that the devil sends our way
Breaks & holidays
we have missed the point when we view rest as simply having a break or a holiday, where we abandon everything, including spending time with Jesus
true rest is found in the presence of God!
The “giants” of life
when we merely focus on and are intimated by the giants, we do not trust God and therefore are effectively rejecting Him and treating Him with contempt
you’ll never arrive at your destination unless you understand that God provides rest, and that you learn to rest in His shade
The “heat” of a guilty conscience
the blood of Jesus cleanses all of our sin and guilt and shame
God is just – He will not punish us as well if He has already punished His Son in our place
The presence of Jesus & the fruit He provides
‘in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore’ (Psalm 16:11)
Jesus also provides us with “fruit” in His presence – the closeness His affection and love and tender mercy
The example of Paul
Paul lived with a tremendous amount of hardship and suffering and pressure – but it was all so that he could learn that God’s grace is sufficient
it is not about the power of “positive thinking”
Paul ends up boasting in his weakness because it shows that Jesus is enough for him
His Righteousness
Through his sacrificial death on the cross he provided righteousness that does not belong to us. We are now declared righteous and the perfect life that Jesus lived is now exchanged for our sinful one.
Communion with Him
We have not been made righteous to feel better about ourselves. It’s for communion with God, it’s so we can know God and have fellowship with Him. We have been rescued for communion.
Victory Over Darkness
Colossians 2: 15 Rulers and authorities have been disarmed (this is talking about satanic power). Although we can be led to believe that satan doesn’t exist and he’s just a comic book character, he does. His greatest trick is to convince us he does not.
At the cross Jesus destroyed Satans kingdom. Jesus has won the decisive battle over all darkness.
Healing
By his wounds we are healed. At the cross we find healing.
Grace for suffering
God gives us grace in the midst of our suffering. With Christ we will still suffer, we are not removed from the world, but God gives us grace to be able to endure and even be blessed in our suffering.
We tend to think of stress as a modern problem but Elijah, a man just like us, certainly knew what it was to run out of gas.
Suddenly a fiery dart from the enemy penetrated all his defences, and yesterday’s zeal was not enough to take him through today. He collapsed in the pressure and ran away. This rock-like figure who was able to withstand a whole nation suddenly had nothing more to give.
After encountering God’s incredible mercy, his running away becomes more purposefully focused on running to the rock Horeb where God had previously revealed His faithfulness to the nation. Believers need to be reminded not simply to seek ‘escape’ from their difficulties but to run with purpose to the covenant God who loves them and will reveal His faithfulness to them.
Elijah’s fresh meeting with God, like Simon Peter’s on Lake Galilee with the resurrected Christ, leads to total reinstatement, refreshment and fresh commissioning.
God’s covenant love never fails. The redeemed know who to run to. But what of those who don’t know Him? They can only try to escape the pressure. How they need also to find the rock of safety.
After his brief salutation Paul is remarkably positive about this church. He is full of thanksgiving for them. But how can this be so when he is about to open up a can on them? It is because of Paul’s mature gospel based perspective. Do we really understand thankfulness as described and displayed here by Paul?
Without thankfulness we betray an evil heart of unbelief (Romans 1). So we must guard our hearts against ingratitude and learn from the Holy Spirit ways of maintaining a thankful heart.
Remember this is a grace thing – a gospel thing. It cannot be manipulated, true thankfulness is gospel driven.
Grace Promotes Unity
In the third paragraph (10-17) we have Paul’s opening salvo against the fundamental failings of the church. They have written to him about a few things (7.1) – but he will not touch on them until he has got some things off his own chest. He has been told that there is serious division amongst them.
There is nothing about Paul’s message and ministry that should naturally lead to factionalism and party spirit. So another influence is at work here. The culture of Corinth was affected by an obsession with popular orators – who had a kind of rock star image. The believers in Corinth had transferred some of that man-centred hubris into the church, imagining that they belong to a particular team in the congregation – not realising that the preachers themselves – including Paul were simply servants.
Paul brings them back down to earth by pointing out the centrality and sufficiency of Jesus and his work.
Church of Christ the King (CCK) serves the city of Brighton & Hove, UK (and the surrounding area), living by and communicating the message of Jesus Christ.
We meet together for worship and teaching on Sundays at 9.15am, 11.30am & 6.30pm at the Clarendon Centre, New England Street, Brighton, BN1 4GQ, UK