Today's Word of Encouragement (6/16/2020)

Yesterday, we began our reflection on Heb. 10:19-25. At the end of this passage, the Hebrews writer exhorts us not to neglect meeting together. We said that he is primarily talking about our public worship, though not exclusively. He says this after giving the reasons for it.

The first reason we see in this passage is given in vv. 19-20:

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh….”

Let us notice where we worship God: “since we have confidence to enter the holy places….” Where are we entering to worship God? “The holy places.” This expression reminds us of the structure of the Old Testament temple. If you recall, it is divided into parts: the court, the Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place. The lay Jewish men could enter the court with their sacrificial animals, which the priests received and offered at the altar in the court. But the lay Jews could not enter the Holy Place; only the priests could. But even the priests could not enter the Most Holy Place; it was reserved only for the high priest and only once a year on the Day of Atonement. Amazingly, the Hebrews writer is saying to Christians that they could enter the holy places. By using a plural noun, the holy places, was he saying that they could enter not only the Holy Place but also the Most Holy Place?

Actually, the Hebrews writer was not speaking of the Jerusalem temple. He was saying something even more amazing. The Jerusalem temple was only a copy, a shadow of the true, heavenly temple (9:23-24). Christians are allowed to enter the holy places of the heavenly temple to worship God. The blood of bulls and goats was all that was required for the high priest to enter the Most Holy Place of the Jerusalem. But what does the Hebrews writer say? The holy places we enter to worship God is “by the blood of Jesus.”

The blood of Jesus Christ is so much greater than the blood of bulls and goats. The blood of the animals was just a sign, point to the precious blood of Jesus Christ, which alone can usher sinners into the Most Holy Place of the heavenly temple! This is why Jesus said to the Samaritan woman,

“Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father…, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth…. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:21, 23-24).

Even though each congregation gathers at a physical location for their worship, that is not where their true worship takes place. When we get together for worship in response to God’s call to worship, we are transported to the heavenly temple by the presence of the Holy Spirit. You see, what sanctifies a place into God’s holy temple? It is the presence of the Holy Spirit. Mount Sinai was transformed into a holy temple when the Holy Spirit came down in the form of the glory cloud. The same thing happened with the tabernacle in the wilderness and the temple that Solomon built. The same is true of us when we gather together for worship. We see a dramatic example of this when the Holy Spirit came down upon the disciples of Jesus on the Day of Pentecost. It is only right that we sing, “How sweet and awesome is the place with Christ within the doors…!”

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