Christ as Great High Priest-2

This is the last night we can spend together looking at this subject of the Lord Jesus in the epistle to the Hebrews. So we'll try to wrap up the thoughts that we've had and trust that whatever is lacking you'll be able to fill in the gaps yourself and I would encourage you to do that because we certainly have skimmed over the subject perhaps very briefly and you'll find there's so much more if you take the time to study what the Spirit of God has to say about the Lord Jesus in this lovely epistle. You can't help but appreciate the fact I would believe if you read this epistle to the Hebrews that it's a book that has to do with the sanctuary.

It's a book that builds upon the Old Testament pattern and it pictures of course that Old Testament example what God had in mind before it was ever instituted and that was a priestly service of the Lord Jesus and you and I as believers, believer priests found an association with Him in our function as those that are identified with Him. And so when you think about this epistle you'll find many, many references or suggestions shall we say of what took place in the Old Testament and you have to almost understand something about that to be able to appreciate what you have in this epistle. So the two go together very closely and I would suggest that if you look at this epistle in a detail take time to read in the Old Testament especially in the book of Leviticus.

Now let's read in Hebrews chapter 6. Hebrews chapter 6. We looked at chapter 5 last night and its reference to the Lord Jesus. We're going to look at the end of chapter 6 first of all tonight and we find that in verse 17 the writer says wherein God willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability, that is the unchangeable character of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath that by two immutable things, unchangeable, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation. I think that word might make more sense to us if we read it as encouragement.

God wants you and me to have every ground for encouragement, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us, which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil. Whether the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest forever, or having become an high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Now we'll just stop reading there and say a few things about that before we go on farther.

It's evident if you look at the context of this passage that God is going back to what the kind of promises He made to Abraham. And He wants these believers who He's expressed His confidence in, in verse 9, that we are persuaded better things of you and things that accompany salvation, and the evidence of it that was seen in their life in verse 10, He wants to encourage them with the absolute certainty that God's promises are to be depended upon in every respect. Now we haven't dealt with in any detail, I don't think we've hardly done it at all, the background of the readers of this epistle.

But I would take it that if you look at this epistle, you'd have to come to the conclusion that there were obviously those who were genuine believers. And if you put yourself in their situation, you would understand that as those that profess the name of Christ and were identified with Him, they were being assailed by those all around them that were, shall we say, mocking them or perhaps challenging them in the sense that they didn't have any access to the temple. They didn't have a sacrifice.

They didn't have a priest. They didn't have all the things that they had been taught were so essential for their access to God. They had turned aside.

They no longer went to the temple. They didn't believe in the priesthood that was represented by those who were officiating the temple and no longer offered animal sacrifice. Well, they said, what do you have? Well, you know, the writer wants them to know that what they have in Christ is far better than anything they've ever lost.

He wants to turn their mind and their attention to recognize they have not lost anything. In fact, they've gained everything. You know, sometimes that happens in the lives of believers today.

I know that I've experienced. I've seen others who have trusted Christ as Savior and their religious friends and their family would assail them because they have abandoned the faith of their fathers and they no longer are involved in the religious activities that they once were engaged in. What do you have now? Well, God wants you and me to be sure of this.

We have the real thing. He was assuring them in this epistle that all that Old Testament picture was only like a shadow that is cast by a building. It's the it's that which indicates the reality that is yet to come.

But he says, you have the reality now. You don't need the shadow. And so while there were those that were challenging them and seeking to make them feel like they lost everything, this epistle is designed to make them absolutely sure that they have lost nothing and they have gained everything.

And so he wants them to be able to rest with absolute confidence that the same God that made promises to Abraham and promised him things that he could not see and at that time did not experience. That same one is the one that has made promises to them. And as God promised and and swore to Abraham what he would do, he says, God has done the same for you and me.

And you could be sure of that. Along with that, I would take it that there were some of these readers that had in some way moved away from Judaism toward Christianity. They had come to see the reality of what was being preached and they believed in some measure that Jesus was indeed the Christ, the Messiah.

And they had seen some of the reality, the evidence of it in those that professed to be saved, but they themselves were not saved. And they were in danger of going back to the old thing. That's why I take it you have five warning passages in this book, warning these people that if they abandoned Christ and if they turned back from genuinely going in for salvation in Christ alone, they've lost everything.

So he assures the believers that they've gained everything in Christ and it wants these others that have a possibility of going back to that which is old to realize that they do that. They've lost everything because there's no salvation. There's no sacrifice.

There's no future in that which he says is perishing and about to vanish away. And so he's contrasting the two and trying to impress them with the fact that what Christ is brought in by way of his sacrifice and his continuing priesthood is what God had in mind for the beginning. Wasn't an afterthought.

It was the real thing and everything preceding this was only leading up to it. Now he says in relation to these believers that he's speaking to in this passage, he wants to make that very sure, make them very sure in the fact that God has made these promises to them in his word and through his son and God is not a God that ever lies and God would confirm it to them just like he did to Abraham, not with an oath, not with a, uh, he speaks in verse 18 of two unchangeable things, which is God's word and God's oath. God swore to Abraham in relation to the promise seed.

He doesn't say that you'll, that you'll have the same kind of confirmation that Abraham had, but here's what your confirmation is. He says, those two same things are intended by God so that you might have a strong encouragement that you who have the same faith like Abraham might appreciate the fact that you have been brought into a place of absolute perfect security. Just like that manslayer in the old testimony says that fled for refuge.

He fled to the city of refuge and there he found absolute safety and his safety was guaranteed by God himself. He says, really, there are three pictures of this passage. There's a picture of the city of refuge to which a person could flee and they would be protected and preserved from harm and danger as long as they were in that city.

And he says, you yourselves, you have fled for refuge to lay hold of that hope that is set before us. And he says that hope second picture is like an anchor of the soul. The picture is really the thought of a ship that is perhaps out of the outside the harbor and is not able to enter in because of adversity and because of the waves and the tide.

But the anchor is gone within and the anchor is securely fastened to that which will never fail. And he says, while you're not in yet, you're anchored like a ship would be anchored and your safety is absolutely guaranteed. And the anchor, he says, is this hope, the hope, which is the confidence that is set upon the Lord himself.

Now he says this, we have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope that is set before us, which hope or which we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast. The word sure means it will not be affected by adverse conditions. It will not be dislodged by all the events that take place in life.

And he says a steadfast that is it grips and it cannot be removed from that which is attached to. Oh, he says, you have a hope that is just like an anchor that is steadfast and is sure and is entered into that within the veil. Of course, then he's moving to another picture.

He's moving to the idea of the entrance into the presence of God. He says, that hope is like a link with the presence of God itself, where you'll one day be. And he's thinking of the tabernacle in this particular case.

So we have the city of refuge. We have the anchor that is linking us with the harbor. And we have here as well, that which has brought us into contact with the presence of God itself.

And who's that one? Who's the city of refuge? Who is the anchor? And who is the one who has gone into the veil? He says, it's Jesus. He's the one that is a forerunner. Now, this word forerunner is only found here in your Bible.

You'll never find it anywhere else. And it really was a word that was used for a scout or a spy that went ahead of the army. You know how they go ahead and they determine where the enemy might be and where the army ought to attack and what ought to take place in terms of their movements.

And he says, this is like the scout that has gone before. He's a part of the army that's coming behind, but he's out ahead and he's going ahead of the rest of them. He says, this one who is Jesus is the forerunner.

He's gone ahead of the rest. He's identified with us, but he's gone ahead. And that forerunner is entered within the veil.

That is, he's in the presence of God today. What a wonderful thing to know that the one who is now the presence of God is the one who has gone in on our behalf. And faith sees the risen Christ in the presence of God.

And that gives us the absolute assurance of this. We're going to be there one day as well. In chapter two, I would take it that a verse nine or verse 10, where it says that we see Jesus who is made for a little lower than the angels.

That in that case is the evidence to our faith that God's promise and purpose regarding the sovereign will one day be accomplished. He's going to sit upon the throne. But in this case, the eye of faith sees the Lord Jesus is the one that has gone in.

Having finished his pathway of faithfulness and service for God, there he is in the presence of God for us. He's linked with those that are coming behind. It's like the first route in that sense, but it's a forerunner.

And it says that he is entered into that within the veil. And he is the one who was made and high priest who has become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. He's going to assure them in chapter 10 that all this system of sacrifices and temple worship is going to come to an end.

That day is approaching when that's going to be destroyed. What are you going to do then? Well, you're linked with the one who has gone in. And you don't have a link with an earthly tabernacle.

In fact, he's going to go on in the verses of the chapter that follows to emphasize the fact that this place where our Lord Jesus officiates, this temple where he is working on our behalf is not made with hands. It's not according to the carnal commandment, a worldly sanctuary. No, it's that which is within the veil.

And thank God that you and I today. I take it as a great thing that in a world that is full of confusion and a world that is degenerating rapidly, we have a hope. You know, it's a wonderful thing, worth your trouble to examine what the word of God says about the hope of a child of God.

It's a blessed hope. It's the anticipation of his coming again, that the one that has gone in is going to come back out to receive us and take us to be with him for eternity. So we have a place of refuge.

We have a link with security. And we're also tied to that which is indicating where we will one day be because our forerunner as a great high priest has already gone in. And he's gone in to God's presence as a glorified man.

And he's there representing us. Now, quickly, let's go on to chapter seven. I'm skipping over, of course, obviously a lot here, but we want to look at verse 21.

For those priests were made without an oath. That is the priesthood of the Old Testament. There was no oath that was ever pronounced in terms of their being put in the priesthood.

But this, this priesthood with an oath by him that said unto him, the Lord swear and will not repent. Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Again, Psalm 110.

By so much is Jesus made a surety of a better testament. And we mentioned last night the principle of the covenant. That's what this word testament is.

He is the surety of a better covenant. A covenant that is not based on man's obligation as the law was. A covenant that is not a matter of simple law and do's and don'ts and requirements.

It's a covenant that is far superior because God himself is the one that makes all the terms good. And he says this one, he says, is made a surety of that better covenant. Now, what is a surety? Well, it's interesting that the word surety is a word that signifies bail or the bondsman.

You know, when a person is released from prison, they have to post bail, don't they? Never had to do it myself, but I understand that's the way it goes. And dependent on the severity of the crime or whatever the judge decides, that's the amount of bail that has to be posted. That is a guarantee, hopefully, that the person who is given that privilege of liberty is going to show up in court.

That is the guarantee of his meeting those obligations. So he says this one, the Lord Jesus, or Jesus himself in his single name, is the bondsman, the one who answers for another one. He is the personal guarantor of the terms of this covenant.

He's the one that makes it good. It's made sure by the fact that he is the one upon whom everything depends. We have a relationship with God that is not based upon our do's and don'ts and our reaching to a certain standard of behavior, although we ought to behave in a right way.

The entire work of Christ is that which is accomplishing. We depend entirely upon him as the one that is assured him and the one that guarantees the terms of the covenant. Now, he says in verse 23, they truly, the Old Testament priests, are many priests.

And it's in a present tense because they were still continuing at that time because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death. That simply means that over the history of the Levitical priesthood from the beginning, there has been a succession of priests. One after another, they have died and another has taken their place.

So down through the history of Israel as a nation, there have been many, many priests, many high priests because of the fact they all died. Now he says in contrast to that, verse 24, this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. That is his priesthood will never give way to another.

It doesn't mean that he himself in the sphere and the entirety of his priesthood would change. We know he wouldn't do that anyway. But the idea of unchangeable means it doesn't change from one priest to another.

He'll never give way to a successor. It's an unchangeable priesthood. It's forever.

It's eternal. And so we find that it contrasts the Old Testament priest that died and another took their place. In this case, he says, it's a priesthood that goes on without anyone to succeed him.

Unchangeable because he is always the same and because he will never pass away. Verse 25, because of this, or 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. Now, what is that teaching? Well, first of all, is not teaching primarily salvation.

Not having to do with salvation. It's not the fact that we have come to Christ and trusted him as Savior that is primarily in view here, although that's likely in the background. He is able to save.

That means he will preserve them. That means he will guard them. That means he will express the abundance of his mercy and kindness and grace toward them to keep them from falling.

The word save is used different ways in our New Testament. He will maintain them completely. And the word to the uttermost doesn't primarily indicate time, but it means extent.

He is able to preserve or to save his people completely without any hindrance, without any reservation, without any defect. There's not one thing that he is not able to do for you and me if we have trusted him as Savior. That's a wonderful thing to remember because the high priest of the Old Testament couldn't do that.

He couldn't save the people. He couldn't preserve them from getting away from God. He couldn't preserve them in a right relationship with God if they didn't want it.

He couldn't preserve them in a right standing even if they turned away from God. But this one, he says, is able to save and preserve without any reservation, without any deficiency. And he'll do it till the end of time also.

He's able to save to the uttermost all that draw near to God by him. It's the word draw near that we have. We saw it on the Lord's Day.

We have it in chapter 10 and verse 1. We have it in chapter 10 and verse 22. The idea of drawing near is the act of a believer in worship. It's the response of a believer to the Lord Jesus and to God himself.

We draw near unto him. And so he is able to preserve or to save to the uttermost all that are drawers near, all that are the ones that know what it is to come into God's presence because of a relationship by him. Now that is to be the continual exercise of every child of God.

I wonder sometimes how often we exercise that and are occupied in it, in genuinely personally drawing near to God in presentation of our worship and our praise and our supplication and thanksgiving. But that is the characteristic of a believer. They draw near to God.

And you'll find it many times in this epistle. Now that's in contrast to those that are shut out from God's presence because of their sin and the fact that they don't know the Lord Jesus, his Savior. So he is able to save or to preserve them completely that draw near to God through him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

So that our ground of drawing near to God is because of the continual, unbroken, unhindered, intercessory work of our Lord Jesus. We could never approach to God and ourselves on our own merits, our own abilities. No, we depend upon him entirely.

You know the function of the priest in the Old Testament, you know I'm talking about the common priest, shall we put it that way, was always dependent upon the reality that there was a high priest. The priestly family was always associated with the high priest. And you and I as believer priests today that draw near unto God are able to do so because we are identified and seen in the person of our great high priest.

And we draw near because he ever liveth to make intercession for us. He is the one that makes it possible for us to draw near unto God and to come into God's presence. So he says that is our privilege and that is the assurance that he gives us that he will save to the uttermost all of them.

For verse 26 tells us what kind of priest is he or the one that we need. Such a high priest became us. That's the same word as what we have in chapter 2. I think it's verse 17.

Such a high priest became us. Chapter 2 and verse 10 rather. I think it's verse 10.

Better look back and see. It says in that verse anyway, it became him, verse 10. For it became him for whom are all things and by whom are all things.

In other words, it was suitable to him. It was fitting to him. It was adequate.

It was exactly what he intended. And in the same way, the same word is used here. For such a high priest is perfectly suited to our needs.

What kind of high priest do we need? Well, every kind of, every aspect of the high priest that we need is found in the Lord Jesus. Do we need one that would provide access to the presence of God? The first thing he says that he's holy. He must be holy or he could never function in the presence of God.

He must be holy or he could not provide the ground upon which we can approach unto God. He is first of all holy. Because that is a God word attribute that is absolutely essential.

So God puts that first. He is holy. He always was holy.

Even when he suffered for sins, he was holy. He was that holy one who endured the judgment for sin. He was never contaminated by sin in any way.

And as the risen man of the glory, he is holy. That's the kind of high priest we need. You can think of how many high priests in the Old Testament.

They weren't holy. They were holy in terms of their position, but they were not holy in terms of their character. But the Lord Jesus is holy.

Not only that, it says he is harmless. And that word harmless means that he is guileless. Absolutely innocent.

One who is free from every defect. With no hypocrisy. Everything about him is absolutely genuine and real.

He is guileless. No deceit. Nothing to cover over.

So in other words, in that sense he can be trusted. He is guileless. He is harmless.

Not only that, he says he is undefiled. Uncontaminated by the time of the life that he spent here in this world. He is absolutely pure.

Absolutely perfect in every way. So he is holy, harmless, undefiled. Separate from sinners.

Now literally that word is separated from sinners. But it could read separate from sinners if you like it that way. The idea isn't that he avoided contact with sinners.

You know that's not true. He identified himself with sinners. In Luke's gospel we find that he ate and drank with sinners.

Publicans and sinners. So it wasn't that he avoided all contact. So what does that really mean? Well one thing it means first of all is that he had a character and a nature that set him apart from all sinners.

He never had a nature within him that was inclined towards sin. He could move in and out among sinful men and never be contaminated by their sin. He was separated.

There was something different about him. And so he was set apart in that sense. He was like Joseph in the Old Testament.

It's a word that's used for Joseph. He was separate from his brother. He was different from them.

He wasn't the same kind of man as his eleven brothers were. The Lord Jesus moved in and out among sinful men in a sinful environment. But he was separate.

The word also indicates that the present time that he is the exalted man and there he is in the glory. And he's separate from all that is connected with sin here below. He's taken up out of the sphere.

And there he is in the presence of God today as the holy, harmless, guileless, undefiled high priest on behalf of his people. And though he bears us in the presence of God in that sense he is separated. And he's exalted in the glory above.

And that's the place of his high priestly work. Separated from sinners and made higher than the heavens. And there in the presence of God he represents us.

That's the high priest that is suitable to us. Not a failing man. Not a defective man.

Not a insensitive man. Not a unholy man. But one that is perfectly compatible with all that God requires.

And one that is perfectly suitable to represent us in the presence of God. We have a tremendous high priest. And all that we have depends upon him.

And we're sure of this that he will never fail. Then just notice the last two verses. Who needeth not daily as those high priests to offer up sacrifice.

First for his own sins and then for the people's. That's what they had to do because of course primarily referred to the day of atonement here. Because that's what the priest had to do.

The high priest. But this he did once. When he offered up himself.

Now the fact that he offered up himself makes it very clear that he didn't offer sacrifice for his own sins. Because if he offered up himself he couldn't have done so. If he had had any sins.

Absolutely pure. So in contrast to the Old Testament high priest who first had to offer sacrifice for his own sins. And then for the sins of the people.

The Lord Jesus had no need of that. He offered up himself. And he offered up himself for the sins of the people.

He says for the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity. Are weaknesses but the word of the oath which was sense or after the law. Make of the son.

Who is consecrated forevermore. Now that word consecrated should be read perhaps. Brought to a state of completion.

Perfected. And it's not in any way moral perfection. It's not in any way sense that there was any defect or lack in the person of Christ.

It means that he's brought to a state of official completeness. In relation to the function that he is undertaking as our great high priest. Is having passed through this scene of sin as we've said before.

Is that which has equipped him and made him fully capable of representing us in the presence of God. And he does so in all the completeness of what he has been brought to as a result of these experiences. So he is the one who is perfected or brought to a state of completion forevermore.

Now just for a few more minutes. I know I'm going probably fairly quickly here. But I want to look at two more little passages in the book before we sit down.

Look with me at chapter 9. Maybe you can fill in the gaps here. By what we've looked at you'll be able to appreciate more what lies in between. I hope you will anyway.

Verse 24 of chapter 9. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands which are the figures of the true. That is the physical tabernacle and temple were only figures or types of the true in God's mind. He hasn't entered there because he didn't function in the earthly tabernacle or the temple.

But he says he's entered into heaven itself. Now to appear in the presence of God for us. Or yet that he should offer himself often as the high priest entereth in the holy place every year with blood of others.

Again that's the day of atonement. Well then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world. But now once in the end of the age hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

And as is appointed unto men once to die but after this the judgment. So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many. And unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin or apart from sin.

The entire matter of sin unto salvation or deliverance. Just want to call your attention to three different expressions in which we find this word appeared. In verse 24 appear in the presence of God for us is present appearing.

Verse 26 he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself that's the past. His work of atonement or of salvation. In verse 28 he shall appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

That's the future. And if you stop to think of it a little bit you'll remember that on the day of atonement which is in the background of all these expressions. On the day of atonement the high priest first of all appeared.

At the altar burnt offering. That's where he offered the sacrifice for himself first of all. And then for the people.

He appeared there at the altar burnt offering to put away sin. To accomplish that sacrifice that was required. That relates to verse 26.

The appearance of the burnt offering relates to what the Lord Jesus did when he came into this world to go to the cross. And there he offered himself as a sacrifice for our sins. And to accomplish what was necessary in the sight of God.

He appeared to put away sin. Then in verse 24 the high priest you remember he went in with the blood into the presence of God within the veil that one time of the year. And there he sprinkled that blood upon the mercy seat that was over the ark.

And on the ground in front of the mercy seat. The blood upon the mercy seat appeared in the eye of God. To meet God's righteous requirements and to bring about what would equate to propitiation.

The blood on the ground would indicate to us the standing that is provided for a believer as a result of the work of Christ at Calvary. But there he's appeared. Where did he appear? In the presence of God.

That's verse 24. Now to appear in the presence of God for us. So he appeared once at the altar.

The place called Calvary. He is appearing now in the presence of God. In the value.

He didn't take his blood into heaven. Don't think that I'm saying that because he didn't. That blood remained at Calvary.

But in the value of that blood he went into heaven. And the evidence of it is seen in the presence of God. And the value of it can be appreciated by him.

There he is now. As our great high priest inside the veil. But notice that he says he shall appear.

Without sin or apart from sin unto salvation. That's the time you remember the high priest came back out. And he came back out there and there was the work done when the sins were confessed upon the head of the scapegoat.

And that goat was led away into the wilderness. And when they saw that goat going away into the wilderness. They had the assurance that those sins that they had committed over the course of that year were being taken away.

Now that's the future. I would take it that his appearing in verse 28 is not the rapture. His appearing is in view of his coming back in glory.

And bringing about the national repentance of Israel. And he's going to bring about that salvation of that nation that has rejected him now. And the ultimate fulfillment of the day of atonement will be when he comes back.

And is seen in all of his regal splendor. So we have the one that appeared. And he appeared to put away sin.

He's appearing now in the presence of God for us. And we're linked with him who was within the veil. And he's coming back to appear to the nation of Israel.

And to the world. And he's going to bring about salvation. Thank God that you and I have one who is not only in the presence of God for us.

But he is going to receive us to be with him. And when he comes back out, you know, we're going to come with him. We're going to be part of his glory.

That regal train of followers that will swell his honor. And will express the praise that should be due to him. We're going to come back with him.

And God is going to bring about salvation for a nation that Zechariah tells us. They will look upon him whom they have pierced. And their eyes shall mourn for him.

So we have three appearings. And I would take it those three appearings relate to the three appearings in relation to the day of atonement. Now just come with me to chapter 10.

We have about five more minutes. We started in chapter 10 on the Lord's day morning. We're coming back to it.

Coming right back to where we started. I guess we've been going in a big circle. But we're back.

But I'm not going to read those verses. We're going to read the verses ahead of that. Verse 19.

Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. By a new and living way which he hath consecrated or he has initiated for us through the veil that is to see his flesh. And having a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near.

And so on. With a true heart and full assurance of faith and so on. We read that on the Lord's day morning.

I just want to concentrate our attention on verse 19 and 20 and 21. You remember that back in chapter 2, was it? Chapter 2, at the end of chapter 2, he says we are to have boldness. To come unto the throne of grace.

There we might find grace and mercy to help. That we might find grace and mercy to help in time of need. Mercy and grace to help, I guess is the order of it.

There we have the availability of all that you and I have need of. No matter what the difficulty might be. Our weakness.

Times of stress that put pressure upon our testimony. And give us difficulty. We can be sure of this.

There's an open door into the presence of God. And there's one there that is available to meet the needs of his people. But this in verse 19 is a boldness to enter in.

Not as supplicants. But the boldness to enter in as worshippers. God wants you and me as believers to be worshippers.

To know what it is to come into his presence with our incense of worship and praise. To magnify his name. And to give him the honor that is due to him.

He says, let's have boldness. I would take it as a suggestion in the background there that the Old Testament priest had a certain measure of fearfulness. We don't have that recorded in the Old Testament.

But in view of the awesomeness of entering into the presence of God. I would doubt that they would have had any assumption or presumption in any way in that sense. But he says, you and I are to have boldness.

It's a holy boldness. It's the assurance of access. It's the assurance of acceptance.

It's the assurance that there is one who is there who wants to hear our expressions of worship and praise. Let's not deprive him of it. Let's give it to him.

Because he is worthy to receive it. He says, having therefore, that's based upon the fact of verse 17 and 18. Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more, God says.

And he says, where remission of these is, where sins and iniquities have been remitted. There is no more or no further offering for sin. We need nothing more.

And because of this, he says, we are to have boldness to enter in. Into the holiness, holiest or the holies by the blood of Jesus. It's by a new or a freshly sanctified and living way of freshly instituted way.

Something different from the Old Testament. It's always fresh is always is also the suggestion of it. It will never become a thing of the past.

It will never lose its effectiveness or its value. He says is a freshly sanctified and it's a living way. I think it is living because it's linked with a priest, a high priest that is living at God's right hand.

And it will always be available. And so it's freshly sanctified. That's a living way which he initiated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh.

Now, if you read many commentators, which I do as well, you would find that most of them would say that the veil in that case is the Lord's flesh. That is his humanity. And there's a lovely thought really in relation to that.

That is the veil. You remember with all of its different colors and the cherubim embroidered upon it, the blue and the purple and the scarlet and the fine twine linen. It certainly speaks of the Lord Jesus.

It speaks of the perfection of his life and the deity of Christ and the sacrificial work and the servanthood of Christ. All those colors of that veil in the temple and the tabernacle speak of the Lord Jesus. And so some would say, well, the veil then is the flesh, the humanity, the life of the Lord Jesus.

And that life and all of its beauty and holiness was like the veil that it could be touched. It could be interacted with. But in that sense, separated between man and God, because it represented a character of holiness that man could never attain to.

And in that sense, in all of its beauty and attractive features, it was really a barrier. And as long as the Lord Jesus was living in this world, as a man here below, then there was no access that had been provided in the presence of God. It required the veil to be wrecked.

That's going back, of course, to what took place when the Lord Jesus dismissed his spirit when he hung upon the cross. Well, there's a lovely thought on that, and I wouldn't totally throw that out, but I don't think that's what it means. I think that the veil, I should say, I would think that the flesh, that is the humanity and the life of Christ, the life that was given for us is the new and living way.

That is, we have been brought into the presence of God through the life of the Lord Jesus Christ given for us. We approach to God on the grounds of one who has satisfied all of God's righteous claims. And, you know, when you think about the veil being wrecked in twain from top to bottom when the Lord dismissed his spirit, that is totally irrelevant to this passage altogether.

That wrecking of the veil did two things. It indicated to the Israelites that the Old Testament's priestly service was terminated. That veil was wrecked, indicating that there was no more a continuation of the normal sort of thing.

You know, there's another thing that veil would have revealed to them, the priests. It would have showed them there was nothing inside. The holiest of all was empty.

Out of stone, we understand. The ark was no longer there. So it would indicate very clearly that that, which was the center of their occupation of worship, really had no more any value, had no value so far as God was concerned.

So this is not the rending, there's no mention of the rending of a veil here in this passage. It's that you and I have access into the very presence of God by this new and living way, which is the Lord Jesus Christ himself who gave himself for us. And he is the one that has provided the means in.

And in fact, it's interesting that if you look at the context of the passage, you find there is no veil at all. It's taken away because that veil was a point of separation between the priests and the presence of God and what he is really telling us is there's no veil any longer. We just have access right in the very presence of God because of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And based upon him having this high priest, this great high priest over the house of God, he says, let us draw near with a full heart, with a true heart and full assurance of faith. And so on all the results that are involved in it. So we have a way right in.

And in fact, we function as priests in our worship and our activities for God right in his presence. We ought to be more conscious of his presence. We ought to cultivate in our own mind, I believe, more of a sensitivity to the fact that we are in the presence of God, not at certain sanctimonious moments, but we can be conscious of the presence of God at any moment.

We can enjoy his presence and we can offer up worship and praise. We don't have to be with the other saints of God to do so. We should be able to do that at any moment in our lives.

And we have a consciousness that as believers, we can enter right into the presence of God and know the reality of that presence with nothing, nothing between. And it's all been accomplished. We come by way of the Lord Jesus.

We find a perfect access and acceptability in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. So we are encouraged in this epistle. We're exhorted in this epistle.

We're warned, of course, in this epistle as well, that we might lay hold of those things that we have received through the Lord Jesus and give thanks to God that we have such a great high priest. Wonder of wonders that he would ever condescend to bring us into the presence of God. At so great a cost to himself.

We find in chapter 12, he says that we have come not to Mount Sinai, not to all these other things that were connected with the law. No, he says we've come ultimately to Jesus. And here we are able to enjoy the presence of God and relationship with him because of a man.

A real man. And you come to chapter 13, he reminds him that he's the man that is outside the camp. Let us go forth unto him, therefore, without the camp, bearing his reproach.

So the entire aspect of the epistle of Hebrews is the identification of a believer with the Lord Jesus. And thank God we have such a high priest. One that is perfectly suitable to us.

One day we'll see him. One day we'll be with him. And we'll be like him forever.

May God bless his word and encourage our hearts until that day comes. Let's pray. Our Father, our gracious God, we bow with gratitude to thee.

Thanking thee that thou hast looked upon us in our unquestionable weakness, and our failure and our sinfulness. And yet to think in thy perfect wisdom, in thy matchless grace, thou hast made it possible that we can enjoy fellowship with thee, that we can know this blessedness of access into thy holy presence, and that we can speak to thee as our Father, and that we can worship thee in a real and genuine way. Thank thee, O God, for that one who is the mediator between God and man.

We thank thee that he is our great high priest there seated at thy right hand. And we're linked with him. And because he is there, we know that we will one day be there as well.

But until then, O God, help us to depend upon him in every time of need, and to know the reality of the fact that there is an unlimited supply that meet the need of thy people in every circumstance of life. We thank thee for these precious truths concerning our Lord Jesus. We pray that it might enlarge our hearts' understanding of him, and all that he is doing on our behalf.

We offer thanks for those of thy people here, and for the meetings that have been passed, and for this time together we ask thy blessing upon thy precious word, and give thanks for it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.