Why Do We Need a True and Better Priest?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

In my last post, I discussed why Jesus is the true and better Priest. While I believe it’s fairly obvious that He is better than all the priests who came before, someone may wonder why that should matter to them? In other words, why do we need a true and better priest?

We need a true and better Priest because we are sinners who can’t offer a perfect sacrifice.

We aren’t perfect and we can never be perfect. Picture me holding a collectors edition glass baseball bat. The person who made it did an excellent job. It is perfect. There are no chips, no flaws. It’s an absolutely perfect bat. Now, imagine a friend comes over to my house and we decide to go hit baseballs in the field by my house. Of course, this would never happen, but instead of bringing out a regular baseball bat, I bring the glass bat instead. I line up, they pitch me a ball, I connect, and the bat just shatters.

I’m sure I would be all cut up, but after I got back from the hospital, do you think I could ever put that bat back together again so that it was perfect and flawless like it was before I used it for batting practice? No, there is no way. Even if by some miracle I could find all the pieces, there is no way I could ever put it back together again so that it was perfect and flawless.

In the same way, we can never put ourselves back together again so that we are perfect. There is nothing we can do to erase the flaws and sin in our lives. The impossibility of making ourselves perfect is even more apparent when you realize that we weren’t born perfect. From our birth, we are deeply flawed individuals; sinners whose lives begin like that shattered bat. So we need a true and better Priest who offers the perfect sacrifice for us because we aren’t perfect. Instead, we are sinners who sit under God’s wrath; wrath that will be poured out on us when we die.

There is hope

If we admit that we are deeply flawed individuals who have sinned against God. If we admit that we deserve God’s wrath. If we turn from our self-centered, self-righteous, I can do whatever I want and live however I want, thinking and living, and turn to God to live according to how He would have us to live. And if we believe that Jesus is the true and better High Priest, who has given Himself as a sacrifice on our behalf, we can be saved from God’s wrath and experience eternal blessing, joy, and life with God in His kingdom forever and ever.

There is hope in Jesus. He is our Savior, our Mediator, our High Priest who offered Himself in our place, completely satisfying the wrath of God against us. And He alone can eternally repair our relationship with the Father.

If you turn to Jesus, admitting and professing those things, you can truly experience the greatest gift all — salvation.

So, if you haven’t already, I encourage you to admit that Jesus is the true and better Priest who offered a once and for all sacrifice for your sins so that you might experience His salvation.

If you have turned to Jesus, see Him for what He is — the greatest gift that we could ever unwrap. Instead of attempting to find your joy in the things this world has to offer, realize that true joy and true satisfaction can only be found in the True and Better Priest — Jesus Christ.

Question for Reflection

  1. Do you see your need for Jesus?

Resources

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Post adapted from my sermon Jesus as Priest

Why is Jesus the True and Better Priest?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals1 Comment

There have been and are still today those who function in the capacity of Priest. But for all those who have had and still claim to hold that role, Jesus is better. He is the true and better priest. But why? Why is Jesus the true and better priest?

 Why is Jesus the True and Better Priest?

(1) Jesus is Perfect

In my last post, when we talked about the High Priests and the Day of Atonement, we learned that they not only had to offer a sacrifice for the people but they also had to offer a sacrifice for themselves. In fact, before they even entered the Holy of Holies to offer a sacrifice on the Day of Atonement, they had to go through a time of purification. But this was not true of Jesus. Look at what Hebrews 4:14-15 says about Him,

“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.” (Heb 4:14–15)

So not only is Jesus our High Priest who is able to sympathize with us, but we also learn that He is without sin. In other words, He is perfect, which is exactly what the writer of Hebrews goes on to say in chapter 7 verses 26 and 27.

“For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.” (Heb 7:26–27)

So Jesus is the true and better High Priest because He is perfect and doesn’t need a sacrifice offered on His behalf.

But Jesus’ perfection is not the only thing that makes Him the true and better High priest. In Hebrews 6:20, we learn second that Jesus is the true and better High Priest because:

(2) Jesus is an Eternal High Priest

He doesn’t die. Instead, He lives on as our Mediator forever. No earthly high priest is able to live forever. They eventually died and could no longer mediate for the people, but not Jesus. Jesus lives on forever as our Mediator. He doesn’t ever need to be replaced.He is an eternal High Priest.

(3) Jesus Has Unhindered Access to the Father

In Hebrews 8:1 we read:

“Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,” (Heb 8:1)

Whereas the High Priest in the Old Testament could only enter the presence of the Lord once a year for a limited time, Jesus is forever seated at the Father’s side, which gives Him unhindered access to mediate on our behalf.

While those are all convincing reasons for why Jesus is the true and better High Priest, we aren’t done yet. Next, we learn that Jesus is the true and better High Priest because:

(4) He Made a Once and for All Sacrifice for Our Sins

I am sure that your family, like mine, put up a Christmas tree this last year. If you put up a real Christmas tree, the tree you put up wasn’t the same one from last year. Despite our best efforts to keep them alive during the Christmas season, they eventually die and have to be thrown out. So every year, if we want a real Christmas tree, we have to buy and bring home a new one. But that tree, no matter how perfect we think it is, will die and have to be replaced next year as well.

You see, real Christmas trees only last so long. That’s exactly why my family puts up a fake Christmas tree. While it doesn’t look or smell as good as a real tree, and it’s something we have to store, haul out, and untangle every year, it is one less thing we have to spend money on at Christmas. You see, unlike their real counterparts, fake trees don’t die, they don’t have to be replaced every year. If you take good care of them, they’ll last forever. The tree we are using now is a hand-me-down. We got it from Jen’s parents. It has been abused a bit over the years, but it still works, for the most part.

Not to be sacrilegious or anything, but like a fake Christmas tree, the writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus’ sacrifice lasts forever. In Hebrews 9:24-26 he says,

“For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” (Heb 9:24–26)

You see, Jesus offers a once and for all sacrifice that lasts forever. It doesn’t have to be repeated year in and year out like the sacrifice of the Old Testament High Priests’.

The sacrifice Jesus offered wasn’t some special bull or goat that only He could find. No, Jesus lastly is the true and better High Priest because:

(5) Jesus Offers Himself as a Sacrifice on Our Behalf

Jesus goes to the cross and it’s His blood that’s spilled instead of the blood of a bull or goat. Jesus was able to offer Himself as a sacrifice because He is perfect. He never sinned. He never rebelled against God. He was never God’s enemy who deserved God’s wrath. His relationship with the Father was never compromised or severed. He never needed a sacrifice offered on His behalf like the High Priests of old. So He was able to become the sacrifice for our sins.

It’s for all the above reasons, then, that Jesus is considered the true and better Priest.

Question for Reflection

  1. Do you believe Jesus is the only Priest, the only Mediator, we need?

Resources

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Post adapted from my sermon Jesus as Priest

What is a Priest and Why is Jesus Considered One?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals1 Comment

After God freed Israel from Pharaoh’s oppression in Egypt and brought them out into the wilderness to lead them to the Promised Land, God had Moses appoint Aaron and his sons as Priests (Ex 29; Lev 8). While all were priests, Aaron served in a slightly different and more elevated role. He was appointed as the High Priest. Essentially he was in charge of the other Priests and he was the one who offered the sacrifice on the Day of Atonement.

The Day of Atonement 

If you aren’t familiar, the Day of Atonement occurred once a year (Lev. 16:1-9). On this day, the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies was located in the center of the Temple and was where the presence of God resided. In the Holy of Holies, the High Priest would offer a sacrifice to God for his and the people’s sins. The sacrifice he offered atoned or covered the peoples’ sin, making it possible for them to be reconciled or live at one with God for another year.

Constant Sacrifices 

Constantly offering sacrifices for the people was one of the main duties of the priests. That’s because the Day of Atonement wasn’t the only day sacrifices were offered. The priests offered sacrifices on behalf of the people all throughout the year. We don’t have time to get into all the different sacrifices but suffice it to say that the altar in front of the Temple was constantly covered with blood.

The Priests as Mediators

Because of their continued work, you can think of the Priests as mediators. If you aren’t familiar, a mediator is someone who comes between two parties in an effort to bring about peace and resolve a conflict. If you are a parent and have at least two kids, you act as a mediator all the time. I know I do.

The priests in the Old Testament acted as mediators because they came between man and God, offering sacrifices on their behalf in order to cover their sin and provide reconciliation and peace.

Jesus Acts as Our Mediator, as Our Priest

In the same way that the priests acted as a mediator, Jesus acts as our mediator, as our priest. He stands between us and God offering a sacrifice on our behalf in order to reconcile our relationship with the Father. The author of Hebrews makes it explicitly clear that Jesus serves as our Mediator, our High Priest, when he says in Hebrews 3:1-2,

“Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house.” (Heb 3:1–2)

Also, in Hebrews 6:19 and 20 we read,

“We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” (Heb 6:19–20)

So we see then that Jesus is our Mediator, our High Priest.

Question for Reflection

  1. Do you see your need for a Mediator between you and God?

Resources

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Post adapted from my sermon Jesus as Priest

How Can I Delight in God’s Word?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals, PracticalLeave a comment

As Christians, we are supposed to delight in the Bible. What I mean by that is that it should produce a sense of pleasure and joy in us when we read it. Our delight should draw us into the text.

For some of you, however, that might not be where you are at with the Bible right now. You might not delight in it. Since you don’t delight in the Bible, you don’t read it. Maybe you feel bad about not reading the Bible. Maybe you want to get to a place where you delight in it, you just don’t know how to make the switch. You might be asking: How can the Bible become something in which I delight?

How can the Bible become something in which I delight?

(1) Pray and ask God to help you delight in His Word.

One thing you need to do is pray. Prayer is powerful. It has the ability to change our heart.

For most of us, we know that’s true. We spend time praying for people’s salvation, their broken families, and this broken world. We spend the time doing those things because we know prayer changes things. If we know that, why not pray for our own heart, that God would change it so that we delight in God’s Word?

So one of the first things you should do when you sense your delight slipping is pray.

(2) Read it anyways. 

Besides prayer, I suggest you read God’s Word anyways. God’s Word is powerful. Just like prayer, the Bible is able to change our hearts and minds. We know that is true.

The church I serve as Pastor invites the Gideon’s to present once a year. When they come, we take up a love offering for their ministry so they can continue to distribute Bibles in our community and around the world. We give and they hand out copies of God’s Word because we both know God’s Word is powerful and able to change the heart of man.

Like the Gideon’s, many of you have probably given a copy of God’s Word to your children, another family member, a neighbor, or even a co-worker in the past. You spent your hard earned money on that Bible and asked them to read it, or even better asked them to read it with you. You asked them to read it and even spent time reading it with them because you wanted to see their lives changed, and you know the Bible has the ability to produce that change.

You see, we know the Bible is powerful and able to change the heart of man. We just need to apply the knowledge we already have to our own lives. So even if you aren’t delighting in God’s Word now, I encourage you to pick it up, read it, and see if your heart doesn’t change.

(3) You might need to check your heart.

If you do the above – pray and read, and your heart never changes, I suggest you check your heart.

Christians should delight in God’s Word. They should be drawn to it, and when they read it, it should produce joy and pleasure in them. While you may go through a season where you don’t delight in God’s Word, by and large, a delight should characterize your relationship with the Bible. However, if that delight never comes, even after praying and reading for a time, you might need to check your heart to see if you really are a follower of Jesus. Jesus delighted in the Bible and so should His followers.

When the Bible is our delight, we won’t let it sit around collecting dust. Instead, we will look forward to reading it each day; and when we don’t, we’ll miss our time in God’s Word.

Question for Reflection

  1. Do you delight in God’s Word?

Resources

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Post adapted from my sermon: What should we do with the Bible?

Bible Reading Tips

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical2 Comments

I understand that reading the Bible can be a difficult and intimidating endeavor, so let me give you some tips to help you get started.

(1) Get a Translation You Can Read

I know some of you grew up reading the King James Version and the Early Modern English doesn’t bother you, but I also know that for others, myself included, reading the KJV is difficult. Instead of doubling down and pressing through, I encourage you to get a translation you can read.

Personally, I read the ESV. It’s literal enough to confidently study from and it flows well enough that you can sit down and read it for extended periods of time.

(2) Read Literarily, But Also Read Literally

By “literarily” I mean that we are to read each selection based on its literary genre. Not every book or section of the Bible is written in the same genre, which is what makes the Bible such an interesting yet difficult at the same time. The genre’s in the Bible include:

  • Narrative
  • Poetry
  • History
  • Prophecy
  • Epistles or Letters
  • Gospels
  • and Apocalyptic Literature

In order to grasp the meaning of the Bible, we have to read each book or section according to its literary genre.

Along with reading the Bible literarily, we also have to read it “literally.” Meaning we are to take the Bible at face value. While it is popular in some circles to look behind the text for a hidden Bible code, one doesn’t exist, which means we shouldn’t come to the Bible expecting to find one. Nor should we attempt to spiritualize every passage. Instead, we should read the Bible at face value.

So read literarily, but also read it literally.

(3) Read Large Chunks at a time

It’s tempting to read a verse or two and set the Bible aside. Honestly, at times, that might be all we need or can handle. But we shouldn’t make reading a verse or two our main Bible reading practice.

Think about a novel. You don’t typically read a sentence or two and put the book down. No, you read a chapter or two at a time, if not more. The reason you can do that is so you can follow the story. If you are constantly starting and stopping every sentence or two and days go by between each reading, it going to be hard to understand what’s happening in the novel.

That’s the same with the Bible. It’s a book. It’s a story. If we want to understand its characters, it’s plot, it’s narrative; if we want to make connections within the story, we have to commit to reading it more like a novel than our Twitter feed. We have to read large chunks at a time.

(4) Ask Questions of Observation

Who? What? When? Where? and How? are good questions to ask. They not only help in understanding the characters, time, and place, but they also help keep the context straight so that we know what’s going on around the text we are reading as well.

(5) Read the Bible in Community

Every Friday a group of us from the church get together at IHOP for our weekly Men’s Breakfast. The point of that breakfast is to help one another understand God’s Word. Attending the study week in and week out for the last 4 years+ has been immensely helpful. Not only have my questions been answered, but I’ve been able to bounce ideas off the others to see if what I’m thinking is right. As well as it’s given me the opportunity to talk through Scripture, which helps me process what I’ve been reading.

There’s value in reading the Bible in a community, which is one reason I am encouraging everyone to use the Read Scripture plan this year. I’m hoping it’s going to give us the opportunity to have conversations about God’s Word with one another that we might not otherwise have.

(6) Use the Cross References

While not a part of the original text, they’re useful. They’re there to help us understand the passage better and make connections to other parts of the Bible that we might not have otherwise. So use the cross references.

(7) Ask Application Questions

Questions like:

  • What does this text teach me about God, myself, and the world?
  • How does this text point to Jesus or show me my need for a Savior?

These are simple questions you can ask that will help you get more out of your daily Bible readings.

So those are some quick tips that will hopefully help you as you are reading the Bible this year.

Question for Reflection

  1. What tip(s) would you add?

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It’s Not Luck, It’s God

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

Today, in our journey through the Bible together, you should have read a portion of the Joseph narrative.

Pharaoh’s Dream

If you remember, Pharaoh has two crazy dreams. In the first, seven ugly and thin cows eat seven plump and fat cows but their appearance doesn’t change. The second dream involves seven thin and blighted grain eating seven ears of plump and good grain. Although Pharaoh is troubled by the dream, no one in the kingdom is able to interpret it for him, except Joseph.

The dream, Joseph tells Pharaoh, is about a future famine, which will occur after seven years of plenty. God is warning them of the famine so they can prepare during the years of plenty for the years of famine by storing up the excess.

The Future

After hearing Joseph’s interpretation, Pharoah places him in charge. Sure enough, seven years of plenty turns into seven years of famine. Since Egypt saved during the years of plenty, they were able to provide for the whole earth and grow economically during the famine as the entire earth came to buy food from them. Joseph’s long lost family were included in the ones who came. Fast forwarding a bit, after giving his brothers who sold him into slavery a hard time, Joseph reconnects with them. Eventually, his family settles in the land of Goshen where they become fruitful and multiple.

What Struck Me

As I read the story again this morning, I was struck by Joseph, Pharaoh, and his brother’s recognition that God is the one who is in control.

  • As Joseph is interpreting the dream for Pharaoh, he pushes Pharaoh to recognize that God is the one who is showing Pharaoh what He is about to do (Ge 41:28).
  • Pharaoh puts Joseph in charge because he recognizes God is the one who has shown the future to him (Ge 41:39).
  • Joseph names his first son Manasseh saying, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.” His second son he names Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction” (Ge 41:51-52).
  • At one point, during their imprisonment, Joseph’s brothers come to the recognition that God is dealing with them concerning their sin against their brother (Ge 42:21-22).
  • On their way home, when Joseph’s brothers discover that the money they used to purchase the grain was placed back in their sacks, they say, “What is this that God has done to us?” (Ge 42:28).
  • Once Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, he gives God all the credit for what had been done (Ge 45:4-15)

These passages and more show us that Joseph, Pharaoh, and his brothers didn’t view these events as luck or chance. Nor do they pat themselves on the back for their ingenuity or intellect. Instead, these events led them to recognize God is the One who is in control.

We need to come to the same conclusion. Instead of attributing things in our life to luck or a lack thereof, we must recognize that God is the One who is in control and He is working out His plan, of which we are apart. You see, it’s not luck, it’s God.

Question for Reflection

  1. Do you recognize it’s God, not luck?

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