”But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already. And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” Hebrews 8:10-12 NLT
The author of Hebrews does a deep drive into the efficacy (effectiveness) of Jesus as our High Priest. Don’t let that phrase “high priest” freak you out. If you’ve not been raised in Church or in Catholicism, this phrase may sound like a lyric-line out of a heavy metal band. A priest was just a designated male given the responsibility of being a “go between,” a mediator between God and human beings. The High Priest had special and enormous responsibility of being in a very sacred place called the Holy Holies in the tabernacle (God tent), then later the Temple (God’s temporary place to visit). Let’s just say that the priest and High Priest had very specific religious responsibilities that God setup to help Israel keep His laws. And, when those laws were broken, aka, sin – there were specific rules to rectifying those sins.
When Jesus was born, lived and gave his life on the cross, He not only fulfilled the Old Testament rules of rectifying everyone’s sin, Jesus also was the final High Priest, eliminating any need for anyone to fulfill that role ever again. In short, Jesus cut out the middleman between God and humans!
In these amazing couple of verses, Hebrews goes even further, describing the way God would interact with ALL HUMANS. God put His laws, His rules in the minds and hearts of every single human! There will be no need for a “go between,” a negotiator or mediator ever again. Boldly, Hebrews declares, in reality, no one will need to say, “you should know the Lord.” EVERYONE will already know Him. Why? Because God put himself in every human heart, His Spirit whispers to the deep recesses of who we are. Ecclesiastes 3:11 hinted at it thousands of years ago, God “set eternity in the hearts of humans.
These verses do not mean we have no need for people gifted at teaching the Bible, but rather there is no need for ANYONE to play middleman to God. God can and does a fantastic job consistently and constantly pursuing the hearts of our friends, our family members. God is working all the time, wooing the hearts of human beings all over the globe, regardless of their culture, religion, or beliefs. God, being creator of ALL things means it’s His rules, His ways. Does that mean we don’t need to tell others about Jesus, the gospel – God’s rescue plan for us? No, not at all. We absolutely need to live, love and share about the things of God. Followers of Jesus should always be telling of God’s grace and how it works in our own life. We should also be behaving just like Jesus did, in the way He treated others. Hebrews point is that our words and behaviors, even invitations to confess, believe and follow Jesus will be done in such a way as to match the conversations, convictions and circumstances that God has already been doing in their life.
The Holy Spirit has and will do all the work revealing God, our job just becomes a confirmation and connection with other believers. We say it often, but I’m not sure we really believe it, we don’t “save” anyone! Jesus saves, redeems, restores and converts! I am thankful that I am not and you are not anyone’s priest, let alone their High Priest. That’s Jesus job and He’s already done it. When we are kind, loving and helpful – we are reminding folks of their deep connection with God. When we pray with someone it is a huge confirmation that they are not alone and that God sees and knows them. Simple, right?
Prayer
Dad,
What a relief! I could not pull off the responsibility of being a priest, or any semblance of perfection – that’s all on you. I’m just a sinner, a lost and hungry soul pointing to where another might find bread! Thank you for your grace. Thank you for putting eternity in our hearts. Thank you for the whispers and still small voice of love, correction and discipline you bring into my life and every other life who will listen.