JESUS THE SURETY OF A BETTER TESTAMENT
Friday – December 15, 2017
The old priesthood as imperfect as it was, did the job of eventually getting the Old Testament saints to full forgiveness and Heaven. God is so merciful and good. He so loved the world that by the Jewish people who came into being through His friend Abraham and the Blood Covenant all are being redeemed. By all I mean the saints that died in faith before the Cross and all of us after the Cross who have received Jesus as Lord and Savior and subsequently have or are now living by that faith. Now let’s review our primary text and enjoy the sweet savor (taste) of the Scripture.
Hebrews 7:20-25 (KJV)
20 And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made priest:
21 (For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:)
22 By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.
23 And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death:
24 But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
Jehovah had promised to make things right starting on the Day of Sin. That promise started to become clearer when He started negotiating with Abram and discussing the Blessing. A promise of a son and land as an inheritance came to Abraham and with that the promised Seed bringing the Blessing to all peoples. The coming of our High Priest who is also the Messiah restored all that was lost on the Day of Sin. This new High Priest, this new priesthood demolished the law of sin and death. Those who died in faith under the old animal blood covenant and Levitical priesthood also had all restored. They were held in Abraham’s Bosom but now walk the streets of Heaven, a part of the first Resurrection. The Levitical Priesthood came by the Word of God, Jesus came by the Word of God and Blood Covenant. Scripture has pointed out that only one is more than sufficient since God’s Word alone is immutable, Covenant with God is immutable, the two together are more immutable if that is even possible.
Be aware that some promises of God are unilateral and not contingent upon us. An example of this would be the coming of the new earth and heavens. Other promises are bilateral and contingent upon our behavior. Most promises of God fall into this latter category where He promises to do something when we have faith, trust Him, and take a certain step or steps. Deuteronomy twenty-eight or Psalm ninety-one are examples of that. Other Prophetic Words (also a promise) are coming to pass but the fulfilment can vary or be delayed by the actions of people but will come to pass. For example, God promised Abraham that the Jewish people would come out of Egypt in four hundred years but it turned out to be four hundred and thirty due to the premature actions of Moses. Another example would be the Rapture of the Church where disobedience even today is delaying His coming.
Hebrews 7:22 tells us that Jesus has been made the “surety of a better testament”.
If I may, let me remind us that a testament, a covenant, and a contract are all the same thing. The eternal life of Jesus, the eternal nature of His priesthood, is our guarantee of an unchanging covenant with Him and the Father. The word surety according to the Thesaurus can mean security indemnity, guarantee, warranty, bond, deposit, collateral, or down payment. The word guarantee seems to work best for this situation. Another priest is not going to be coming along with a different approach or ideas who does not know us, we have an eternal unchanging priest who knows each of us intimately. The other issue is that a new priest would require a new sacrifice. As we look down at Hebrews 7:25 we must refresh our memories to an earlier Scripture along with Jesus as our unchanging eternal High Priest.
Hebrews 1:3 (KJV)
3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Jesus is also Savior and He is making sure that all things, good and bad, are working just as they are supposed to work (“upholding all things by the word of his power”). Most importantly He has purged (eliminated, removed, eradicated, pardoned, absolved, forgiven, and cleansed) our sins and now sits at the right hand of Majesty on high interceding for us. Not as a group but individually, this is a very personal ministry that Jesus has on our behalf. He has blotted out, eradicated our sins saving us to the uttermost, sealing us to Himself by the Holy Spirit. In Him we are free from the law of sin and death. That is not to say we can ignore the law and sin willy nilly without consequence. As I close for the week let us meditate on the following wonderful and precious Scripture.
Jude 1:20-25 (KJV)
20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
22 And of some have compassion, making a difference:
23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
Until our next publication, I speak blessing into your life right now, receive it in the name of Jesus, confess it, and walk it out with thanksgiving.
Numbers 6:24-26 (GW)
24 The LORD will bless you and watch over you.
25 The LORD will smile on you and be kind to you.
26 The LORD will look on you with favor and give you peace.’
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
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