the eighth chapter of Hebrews. I want to read the first, let's
just go ahead and read five verses. We'll probably just look at two
of them, but let's read the first five verses of Hebrews chapter
eight. Now of the things which we have spoken, this is the sum. We have such an high priest who
is set on the right hand of the throne, of the majesty in the
heavens, a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which
the Lord pitched, and not man. For every high priest is ordained
to offer gifts and sacrifices. Wherefore it is a necessity that
this man have somewhat also to offer. For if he were on earth,
he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer
gifts according to the law, who serve unto the example and shadow
of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he
was about to make the tabernacle. For see, said he, that ye make
all things according to the pattern shown to thee in the mount."
Paul had just finished the seventh chapter here that we looked at
last week and he showed us some ways that Jesus Christ was far
superior to the Levitical priesthood. He gave us several proofs of
that, and let me just remind you of some of those. One, he
told us there in the seventh chapter that those priests, those
Levitical priests, were made without an oath. When one died,
another just took his place naturally, usually when the father died
his son. But he said that Christ was made a priest with an oath. by God who said, I swear and
will not repent, you're a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek. And then another way he proved
Christ's superiority over those priests, he said those priests
were made after the law of a carnal commandment. Everything they
did was fleshly. The clothes they had on was made,
the oil that they anointed Aaron with, the sacrifices, the temple,
everything was fleshly. It was carnal. But he said Christ
was made a priest after the power of an endless life. He never did die. He continued
forever. Those priests were sinful, he
said in verse 28 of chapter 7, and they offered sacrifices first
for themselves, but he said Christ was not sinful. He was holy.
He was harmless and He was undefiled and separate from sinners. And
then fifthly, He said they offered sacrifices daily. In verse 27,
they continually offered sacrifices. But He said Christ offered one
sacrifice and that was sufficient. And why? Because He was perfect.
He was the perfect sacrifice. And therefore He took away sin.
I think probably the subtitle of chapter 7 had to be found
there in verse 12 when he said, "...the priesthood being changed,
there is made a necessity a change also of the law." There had to
be a change. Why did the priesthood change?
Why did the sacrifices, the whole law, the whole system change?
Because it made nothing perfect. And it made nobody perfect. And
the blood of bulls and goats can never take away sin. A change
was necessary. But when Jesus Christ the High
Priest came, He said by one offering He hath perfected forever them
which are sanctified. His offering because it was perfect,
perfected forever. So the priesthood of Christ is
far better than the Levitical priesthood, the Aaronic priesthood.
And now Paul writes to these believing Jews in our text here
and he says we have that High Priest. We have an high priest. And I would imagine what was
taking place with these believing Jews, these were Jews, Hebrews,
probably the unbelieving Jews were telling these Christians,
you've lost your right to the priesthood. You've lost your
right to the temple. You've lost your right to the
sacrifices. And they said that to discourage
them. So Paul writes here and says, no, no, no. You have an
high priest. But it's not just that they have
a high priest, but he tells them here, you have such a high priest
that is set on the right hand of the majesty in the heavens. And the Jews, these unbelieving
Jews were saying, you guys are at a great disadvantage. Because
you lost the priesthood. You lost the sacrifices and temple
worship. But who was at the great disadvantage? It was those unbelieving Jews
that were at a great disadvantage. They still had their priesthood. They still had their sacrifices
and their temple worship. But what good did that do them?
It never took away any sin. They had nothing above an earthly
carnal priest. Listen to how Paul says it in
chapter 13 and verse 10. He says, We have an altar. Well, look over there and read
it. Turn over there so you can read it. And I won't just quote it
to you, but look what he says to these Jews here in chapter
13 and verse 10, these believing Jews. He said, We have an altar. We have a priest, we have a sacrifice,
and we have an altar. And who is that? That's Christ,
isn't it? He's everything. And they have
no right to eat which served the tabernacle. Those unbelieving
Jews who wouldn't let go of the shadows and the types and the
pictures for the real substance, they're the ones who are at a
disadvantage. They're the ones that had lost their right. Those
whose trust was in the blood of bulls and goats and not in
the blood of God's dear Son, they're the ones that had no
right. Paul said those Jews who are still serving the tabernacle,
that temple, and the priesthood and won't let go of those outward
ceremonies for true heart worship, they're the ones that have no
right. They have no right to this high priest. Who has a right
to him? Those who believe in him. Those
who want his representation before God. And you and I, our poor
dead dog Gentiles, But if we believe in Jesus Christ, the
Son of God, then we have the same high priest as they did,
who is seated on the right hand of the throne of the majesty
on high. And you know something, brothers
and sisters? We have the advantage. We do. We have the advantage
over fallen angels, don't we? You know, they don't have a high
priest. And that's why they're lost forever. They don't have
a high priest to represent them before God. And you and I who
believe, we have an advantage over the reprobate who don't
want a high priest and don't have a high priest between them
and God, and that's why they'll die in their sin. So we have
the advantage too, don't we? You and I have a high priest
to represent us before the Father. So let's consider this right
quickly in our text. Let's just consider two or three
things here in our text quickly. The first thing I want to consider
that the Apostle Paul says here in chapter 8 in verse 1, We have
not a high priest who is set on the right hand of the throne
of the majesty in the heaven. Let's consider first this little
statement. He is seated. He is set. He uses this, you'll notice He
uses this so many times in the book of Hebrews and each place
that He uses this teaches us something. The first time He
uses it is very familiar. It's in chapter 1 and verses
1 through 3 where He says, God has spoken to us by His Son.
The first chapter is all about the dignity and the glory of
the Son of God. how precious He is in the eyes
of His Father. So He said, God has spoken to
us by His Son, by whom He made the world, by whom He created
all things, and He upholds all things. When He had by Himself
purged our sins, He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty
on high. That shows the dignity of the
Son. The Father loved Him so much that He said, My Son, sat
here on my right hand." He didn't say that to any of the angels,
did He? He never said to any of the angels, this day have
I begotten you, but He said that to the Son. He didn't say to
any of the angels, sat on my right hand, but He said that
to Christ. So Christ, the Son of God, has been exalted by His
Father and seated at His right hand. It shows something about
the dignity of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Another
place we find this same phrase, seated on the right hand of God,
is chapter 10. You and I are very familiar with
that. That teaches us something else about why Christ is seated
on the right hand of God. That tells us something about
His accomplished atonement. Listen to Hebrews chapter 10. But this man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of
God. The work is finished. Sin has
been atoned for. He is seated on the right hand
of God. And then in chapter 12, in verses
1 through 3, it has to do with the personal reward that Jesus
Christ obtained for finishing His work. Turn over there and
read that if you want to. This is very interesting. He
said in verse 2 of chapter 12, looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before
him endeared the cross, despising the shame, he finished his course,
and here is his reward. He is set down at the right hand
of the throne of God." So you find these phrases, and each
one of them teaches us something just a little bit different.
And the one here in Chapter 8 teaches us of the dignity and the glory
of Jesus Christ in His priesthood. As our High Priest, He has taken
His seat on the right hand of the Majesty in the Heavens. Now, consider how great this
man was. We talked about Melchizedek and how great he was. How great
is this man, Jesus Christ, that He seated on the right hand of
the majesty in the heaven. That's a way to describe God,
isn't it? He's majestic, the majesty in the heaven. And I
love the way He says this. He's seated on the right hand
of the throne of the majesty in heaven. Now, we know that
God has no right hand. You know, He don't have any arms
or feet. He don't have things like that. This is spoken to
show us what is really, where Christ really is. He's not just
on the right hand, God's right hand, because you don't have
any physical right hand. But it teaches us that He indeed
is on a throne of dignity and glory and honor. This word majesty,
the throne of majesty, it has to do with His dignity, grandeur,
exalted position, His power, His sovereignty, His rule. Sometimes
get your concordance and look up this word, Majesty, and see
what the Bible says about it. Listen to how David, when he
was getting ready to dedicate all the material to build the
Temple, that very familiar prayer in 1 Chronicles 29, verse 10,
and here is what he said. David blessed the Lord before
the congregation, and he said, Blessed be thou, Lord God of
Israel. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness. Now here is what Majesty
means. Thine, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the
glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the
heaven and in the earth is Thine. Thine is the kingdom, O LORD,
and You are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come
of You, and You reign over all, and in Your hand is power and
might And in your hand it is to make great and to give strength
unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank
thee and praise thy glorious name. Now that has something
to do with majesty, the throne of majesty. But this definition
of majesty also means brightness or illumination. It has something
to do with even appearance, the greatness of appearance. That describes God, the greatness
of His brightness, His illumination. Don't the Bible say that God
is light and in Him is no darkness at all? That has to do with His
majesty. O Lord my God, Thou art very great, Thou art clothed
with honor and majesty, who covereth Thyself with light as with a
garment. He's clothed with light. And
when He represents Himself to us, He represents Himself to
us as pure light, white light that has no spot or darkness
in it at all. And it's said of the Lord Jesus
Christ that He is the blessed and only potentate, the King
of kings and Lord of lords, and listen to this, who only hath
immortality dwelling in the light that no man can approach into,
who no man hath seen or can see. to Him be glory and power everlasting."
Majesty! His Majesty! You remember when
the Lord was upon the Mount of Transfiguration, and James and
John and Peter went up with Him, and this cloud, this bright cloud,
He said, came over here, and the boys spake out of Him to
Him from the excellent glory, and said, This is my beloved
Son. Hear ye Him. They tell us that His face shined
as the sun. And His raiment, His clothes
were bright as the light, bright as the light. And what did Peter
say about that incident when he saw that? He said we were
eyewitnesses of what? His majesty, His majesty. And he's the high priest who
is on the right hand of the majesty in the heavens. And the Bible
says this about him. He being in fashion as a man,
humbled himself and became obedient to death, even the death of the
cross, therefore God also has highly exalted him and given
him a name that's above everything. When it says he's on the right
hand of God, that means He is highly esteemed of God. God has
exalted Him above heaven itself, anything or anybody in heaven.
Listen to Ephesians 1.20, God raised Him from the dead and
set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places far above
all principalities and power and might and dominion and every
name that is named not only in this world but in the world to
come and hath put all things under His feet. and given Him
to be head over all things to the Church. So that is something
about the throne of majesty. It has to do with His power,
His glory, His dignity, even His appearance of light. And here is the thing, this Eternal
Word who was with God before the world was and was God came
down from heaven and took our humanity in union with His divinity. Now think of that. That's what
we call the incarnation. He came down from heaven, the
Son of God that was eternally with the Father and took to Himself
our humanity in union with His divinity and now returned and
is exalted and elevated to this supreme dignity. The man, Christ
Jesus. He that grew up, the Bible tells
us, as a root out of a dry ground. He that had no farm nor commons.
He that was despised and rejected of men. He that was tempted in
all points as we are. The man who suffered. The man
who cried. The man who feared. The man who
poured out his heart's blood to atone for our sins, the man
who died and was buried, is now highly exalted and has taken
his seat at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in
the heaven. And that's our high priest. That's
our high priest, how glorious he is. Who wouldn't let go of
these outward ceremonies for him? Who wouldn't let go of the
earthly priest for him? Who wouldn't put the earthly
temple behind them for Him? It doesn't make any sense what
the Jews were doing, does it? When He says that Christ our
High Priest is exalted at the right hand of the throne of majesty
in heaven, He doesn't mean that His power and rule is limited
to heaven. Now, He's there in His humanity.
There is a man in heaven tonight, Jesus Christ. the man, glorious
beyond description. He is there in heaven. His body,
His person will stay there until He comes to earth again to resurrect
His saints. But His rule is not limited to
that location. But when He says here He is set
beside the throne or on the throne of His majesty, that throne rules
over everything. His body, His person is in heaven,
but He rules over everything, Remy. He's on that throne. And
where is it that this rule doesn't reach? He rules over everything,
doesn't He? What would He tell His disciples
just before He ascended up to heaven? All power is given to
Me in heaven and in earth. So His rule extends to every
place, to everybody, to everything. Nothing happens apart from the
rule of this glorified man, Jesus Christ. And this is our High
Priest. He is our High Priest. We read these words, the throne
of God and of the Lamb. The throne of God and of the
Lamb. The Lamb is on the throne. And the Lord Jesus said, I have
overcome and am set down with my Father in His throne. Boy, He's exalted. He's full
of majesty, isn't He? You know when the angels come
before Him, you know they veil their face. The Bible says they
do. And when they stand before Him
to receive instructions, they stand. They stand. And when they
come into His presence to worship Him and adore Him, they fall
down and worship and adoration. Where is life found? Where is
salvation found? In whom resides all glory and
dignity and power and worth and merit and beauty in this one
person? And He resides there at the right
hand of the throne. of the majesty in the heavens.
I tell you, you can't think too highly of Him. You can't speak
too highly of Him. You can't believe too much on
Him. He's that great and He's that wonderful, our Lord Jesus
Christ. And look what He says in verse
2. He goes on to make this statement. of the sanctuary and of the true
tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man. He is a minister
of the sanctuary. Look at these two things first,
the sanctuary. Now, we know He does not minister
in that earthly sanctuary. It is not even there anymore.
But this sanctuary is heaven itself. Look in chapter 9 and
look in verse 24. Chapter 9 and verse 24, For Christ
is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which
are the figures, the copies of the truth, but into heaven itself,
now to appear in the presence of God for us. He ministers in
the true sanctuary. Where is that? God's presence.
They're in heaven. That's where He ministers. And
look at this, of the true tabernacle, He ministers, He's a minister
of the sanctuary and in the sanctuary and He does it in the true tabernacle
which the Lord pissed in that man. As you read the scriptures,
sometimes you'll see that our bodies are like to a tabernacle
and they're called a tabernacle. If this earthly tabernacle be
dissolved, we have a building of God. Peter said, The Lord
Jesus has shown me that I must shortly put off this, my tabernacle.
So a tabernacle is the body. And this tabernacle here is the
body of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it wasn't made with hands.
In chapter 10, in verse 5, He said, "...sacrifices and offerings
thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared Me." This
body wasn't made by hands. He was conceived by the Holy
Spirit. And the Bible says in John 1, 14, He tabernacled among
us. So He lives in heaven in this
true tabernacle, in His body. And when you read about the tabernacle
in the Old Testament, some wonderful things are said about it. And
then you realize, this is Christ. He's our true tabernacle. When they set up the tabernacle,
when Moses had finished making everything, all the spoons and
the wash pots and the table and all, he made everything when
he finished all the work. The Bible says the Lord, the
glory of the Lord filled that tabernacle. They couldn't even
go in and minister because the glory of God, His presence filled
the tabernacle. Isn't that a beautiful picture
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the man? Where does the glory of
God reside but in Jesus Christ? Where do we see the glory of
God? In the face of Jesus Christ. In Him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. So He is the true tabernacle,
isn't He? And when they brought a sacrifice in the Old Testament,
if you brought a sacrifice, you had to bring it to the tabernacle.
You brought your sacrifice to the tabernacle there before the
Lord, and there's where it was offered, before the tabernacle.
And Jesus Christ is that tabernacle. We offer sacrifices to God by
Jesus Christ, don't we? Peter said you live in stones. Your priesthood that you should
offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. So we offer the sacrifice of
praise and thanksgiving to the Father, and we do it all by Jesus
Christ, just as they brought their sacrifices. So He's in
heaven, our High Priest exalted. He's there in that heavenly sanctuary. He's in His body, His glorified
body, and He makes this wonderful statement here that He is a minister. He is a minister. of the sanctuary. Now, ain't that amazing? We know
He was a minister when He was here. Peter was amazed when the
Lord Jesus, when they were eating supper, that He arose from supper
and girded Himself with a towel and got Him a pan of water and
began to wash the disciples' feet. Peter said, Lord, You're
the Lord. You ain't going to minister to
me. You're not going to wash my feet. And the Lord asked him
this question in Luke 22 in the parallel passage. He said, Who's
the greatest, Peter? He that sets at meat or he that
serves? And Peter said, He that serves
or he that sets. That's the greatest. The Lord
said, I'm among you as the one who serves. I came not to be
ministered unto but to minister. And it was a glorious thing to
know He was a minister on this earth. But now Paul says, He's
still a minister. He is still a minister. He condescends
even though He's there in His greatness to minister to us. I don't know. I don't know how
He does all of that. I don't know how He makes intercessions
for us there in heaven. But He does. He ministers for
us. Alexander McLaren said this,
He said our salvation is not so secured by the death upon
the cross as to make needless the life of Christ upon the throne. A glorified Christ is a ministering
Christ. A glorified Christ ministers
what a suffering Christ obtained. He obtained everything by His
death and now He lives to minister. everything to His people. I want
to show you two verses in closing. Look over in Mark chapter 16,
verse 19. Mark chapter 16 and verse 19. He is a minister. Look what He
says here in verse 19, the last chapter of Mark. Then after the
Lord had spoken unto them, He was received up into heaven and
sat on the right hand of God. There it is, isn't it? But look
at this. And the disciples went forth and preached everywhere,
the Lord working with them. There's His ministry. He's working
with them. Don't we read in other places
He works in us? Read in other places He works
for us? And we know He's working among us because He promised
to be among us. He's working around us He's a
minister, isn't He? He's a minister. And this is
why the church, that standing miracle, still survives. This
is why you continue to believe and love and pray. And this is
why He continues to save His people because He's the minister
of the sanctuary. I want to show you one more passage
in closing. Look in Zechariah chapter 6. Zechariah chapter 6, it's on
page 1024 in my Pew Bible. I'll give you just a second to
find it because it's sort of a commentary on Hebrews chapter
8 verses 1 and 2. Zechariah chapter 6 and verse
12. This is amazing when you consider
this was written many, many hundreds of years before Christ ever died
and exalted in heaven. In verse 12, And speaking to
him, Joshua the high priest, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord
of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is the branch,
that's the Lord Jesus Christ, and he shall grow up, grow up
before him as a tender plant out of his place, and look at
this, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. Isn't that
what Christ said He would do? Upon this rock I will build my
church. Well, here He is, hundreds of years before prophesied that
He would do it. And verse 13, Even He shall build
the temple of the Lord, and He shall bear the glory. Well, He
is there on the right hand of the Majesty, so I say He bears
the glory. And He shall set and rule upon
His throne. And look at this, And He shall
be a priest upon His throne. We just read that and studied
about that, didn't we? Hundreds of years, Larry, before it ever
happened. He prophesied. A priest upon His throne. And
who's upon His throne? Our priest right now, Jesus.
The Son of Mary, the Son of God is upon the throne. And what's
He doing? He's building. He's building His church. He's
putting each block in place. Each stone in place. He's laid
the foundation. He is the foundation. And he'll
lay the top stone. He'll finish the building. You
say, Bruce, are you sure he can do that? He's sure he can do
that. And that's why he came. Because he's a priest on his
throne. He bears the glory. What a high priest we have, brothers
and sisters. What a wonderful high priest.
A great high priest. And when he was here, nobody
ever came to him seeking for sympathy. And he turned them
away. He ministered to them. And it
seems from our study tonight that he's never lost that sympathy.
Even though he's highly exalted, he's still this tender, sympathizing
Christ who will minister to those who need him. And boy, I feel like I need it,
don't you? And he's able to do it because he's a king priest
upon his throne. May the Lord bless His Word.
Brother Larry, would you dismiss us please?