Have you ever thought about Jewish spiritual life post-Resurrection? For me, I haven’t – not in a direct way. Yet, there’s a sense in which everything should have shifted spiritually. Among those who accepted Y’shua as Messiah, something would have shifted. And for many of us, that’s where our conscious knowledge of their spirituality ends. Today’s Holy Nougat offers some more insights.
Hebrews 4:14 CEB
[14] Also, let’s hold on to the confession since we have a great high priest who passed through the heavens, who is Jesus, God’s Son;
Our Great High Priest
We may recall that this epistle is written to Jews in diaspora who believed in Y’shua. We may also know that some were called People of ‘The Way’, and that believers in Y’shua were first called ‘Christians’ at Antioch (see Acts 11:26). But Antioch was a Gentile city, so we may also wonder what happened to Jewish believers. We might know that there was a season of persecution resulting in the dispersion of believers: Jewish and Gentile. To some extent, not much is revealed about the community after the expansion of faith began in earnest. Much of the second act of Acts is focused on Gentile believers. For those who wondered how the persecuted Jews navigated, rather integrated faith in Y’shua, this epistle to the Hebrews, i.e., Jewish believers, probably offers some answers.
From the Wilderness Wanderings in Moses’ era to the destruction of the Temple, cultic, communal worship of YHWH included high priests. They were Levites who descended from Aaron’s lineage, who, along with other priests consecrated to ministry, oversaw the spiritual affairs of the Jewish community. Among their key duties was the annual sacrificial offerings, including atonement for sins. It must have presented a moral, ethical conundrum for them to confess Y’shua and maintain their rituals, as Y’shua is presented as descended through Judah, not Levi. One question that may have needed urgent attention would be, ‘How may a persecuted Jewish community maintain their spirituality in a ‘strange land’?
Point to Ponder
How do we practice our spirituality when away from the comfortable and familiar?
Deeper Dive
It was a legitimate concern. One which the author of this epistle sought to clarify. Like Paul’s logical line of argument to the Roman Gentile believers, Hebrews offered those Jewish believers an argument to cement their faith in Y’shua. Given the central role of Sabbath-rest to Jewish spirituality, it was fairly easy to make the connection from there to priestly representation in the temple.
That’s where Jesus neatly fit in the discussion. In the schema of atonement and rituals, one sees that the writer sought to address concerns on core spiritual matters. Our Hebrews’ author advised the audience that Y’shua is both High Priest and sacrifice. This is not a new argument for Gentile believers. Paul’s argument that Y’shua intercedes for us at God’s side in Romans 8 is grounded in similar logic. For that was a primary task of the High Priest.
This argument, whether to the Jewish or Gentile believers, was profound. It was counter to all they would have understood about the annual sacrifice, for central to the new covenant argument is that through His death and resurrection, Y’shua removed the need for any other sacrifice. And, as High Priest, he provided ongoing access to the mercy seat. It was
Radical
Incredible
Unrestricted Access – Unchanging Love.
The absolute beauty of Y’shua’s role is that it guaranteed ‘entry’ into God’s rest, the Land of Promise. More so, as believers in Y’shua, we are also granted direct access to Him. He’s our High Priest too. This is what we accept, believe, and confess. It’s our A-B-C (see Romans 10:9-10). Incidentally, in Hebrew poetry, once someone presented an alphabetic acoustic, it was seen as the entirety of the matter. So we dare propose the same when we refer to ‘Accept, Believe, and Confess’ as a Believers’ ABC?
From a spirituality perspective, the temple rituals represent a ‘type’ that foreshadows Y’shua’s work of salvation. Acts 7:48 and 17:24 both emphasise this point by adding that God doesn’t need to live in temples built by human hands. That’s true. Because as our eternal High Priest, He seeks to dwell in our hearts.
Self-Check
Do we Accept, Believe and Confess Y’shua as our Great High Priest? Are we holding firmly to Him for our own spiritual lives?
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May all we seek be found in Christ
