In my office I have a number of mementos sitting on my desk or hanging on the walls. I have several ceramic eagles that were given to me by an elderly friend who has since passed away. I have a bronze dolphin leaping out of the water into the air. I have no idea where it came from, but it looks cool. In my window I have a metal wire figurine of a man fishing. On my desk and in various places in my office I have several pictures of my lovely wife Lara and our obnoxious pets. Don't worry, I'll spare you from a complete inventory of all the junk in my office!
These items are mere symbols, copies, or icons of the greater realities that they represent. What is a ceramic eagle compared to a real life eagle? Or a ceramic eagle compared to the person who gave the gift out of love and encouragement? What is a bronze dolphin compared to a real life, living, breathing, acrobatic dolphin that is leaping about, playing, embracing its freedom, and entertaining the seas? What is a metal wire figurine of a man fishing compared to the real thing? I'd much rather be outdoors soaking up the rays with a fishing reel in my hand and fighting with a substantial fish. Or what is a piece of Kodak paper portraying a picture of my wife compared to actually being in the presence of Lara, enjoying a meal, watching a movie, going on a vacation, or sharing conversation?
Substance over shadow.
When given the choice we consistently choose the real and substantive over the symbolic and copied. Only a fool would prefer a knickknack to the real deal. In Hebrews 8 the author of Hebrews is making a compelling assertion about Jesus Christ. He is suggesting that Jesus Christ is the substance and reality of the entire Jewish system of faith. The law, the priesthood, the old covenant, the tabernacle, the temple, the prophets; all of it is just a shadow of the real deal. Again, Jesus is the reality. Jesus is the substance. Jesus is the original, the true gem. Jesus is the meat and muscle. Jesus is superior in every way.
Only a fool would choose anything or anyone less than Jesus Christ. Yet we know that there are those who focus their faith on knickknacks and shadows and copies. There are those who settle for the lesser over the greater. Hebrews 8 is a clarion call to embrace the crown jewel of all the universe. We are called to embrace the incomparable person and work of Jesus Christ.
In Hebrews 8:5 (NIV) you will notice a reference to Moses at Mount Sinai. We are told that Moses was warned about how to build the tabernacle. "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain." Those of you familiar with Old Testament history know that Moses personally encountered God on Mount Sinai, and that Moses' Mount Sinai experience became foundational to the entire Jewish system of faith. This is recorded in our Old Testament.
On the mountain Moses caught a glimpse of God's glory. He encountered God in all his substance and character. While on the mount, Moses knew the reality of God's presence, his holiness, his justice, his mercy, his power, and his majesty. On the mountain Moses received specific insight into the way Israel should worship and relate to their holy God. That experience changed him forever. Moses walked away from that Mount Sinai experience with the substance of what he encountered, but also with a pattern of what he experienced. He came back with a picture of God, a photocopy, an iconic representation, an explanation, and words. He came back with the law and with instructions about the priesthood and the tabernacle. And all these things, the law, the priesthood, and the tabernacle were the shadows or copies of the brilliant realities Moses experienced on top of Mount Sinai.
They were to be symbols, teaching tools, momentos, photos, and mental hooks to captivate the imaginations of God's people and to help them comprehend something of the substance and reality of God. The law, priesthood and tabernacle were useful and helpful only in that they directed the hearts and imaginations of God's people heavenward. They would become detrimental in the event that they became a focus in and of themselves. The eternal, enduring substance of God was forever. The law, the priesthood, and the tabernacle were temporary road signs pointing the Jewish people to God until the fulfillment of times in Jesus Christ.
Jesus, the substance of our faith.
Consider a few passages of scripture that express this same truth in a different way .In Matthew 5:17 (NIV) Jesus says, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." Jesus saw himself as completing or fulfilling that which the Old Testament foreshadowed. Jesus saw himself as the substance and reality of all that Moses expressed in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
In Colossians 2:16-17 (NIV) the apostle Paul says, "Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ."
What remains for us to decide is whether we're chasing shadows or the substantive reality of Jesus Christ. This morning I want to pull four Old Testament concepts out of Hebrews 8 and demonstrate how they are shadows cast from the greater reality of Jesus Christ.
The priesthood is a shadow of Jesus Christ.
When Moses peered into the glory of God he saw an astounding reality. He saw a holy and perfect God, high and lifted up, and exalted above the heavens. But then he saw man in his sin and imperfection in a state of rebellion against God, alienated, cut off from fellowship, banned from the Garden of Eden, dead, powerless, defeated, unforgiven, and lost. In between God and man was an impassable gulf, a dividing wall of hostility.
But much to his delight, he saw an intermediary who could traverse the gulf, who could penetrate the wall of separation, who could enter the holy of holies, and who could bring a sinful man and a holy God together into eternal fellowship. Moses saw Jesus the high priest, ministering on our behalf before a holy God. He saw Jesus becoming the perfect living sacrifice that would ever satisfy God's justice and wash away the sins of mankind.
Having experienced the heavenly ministry of Jesus Christ, our high priest Moses established an earthly priesthood, a shadow of the greater reality. The earthly priesthood was not the substance, but was an earthly representation. As we saw last week, the earthly priesthood was temporary. It was ministered by sinful, weak men. It was based on regulations and on the ancestry of Aaron. The priests' sacrifices and ministry never satisfied God. This weak and imperfect system was an object lesson to point people to the greater reality that is found in Jesus Christ.
As Hebrews 7:26-27 (NIV) says, "Such a high priest meets our need— one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself."
And then Hebrews 8:1-6 (NIV) says, "The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man. Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already men who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: 'See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.' But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises."
Jesus' priestly ministry is superior. It's the substance, not the image. Let's move on.
The law is a shadow of Jesus Christ.
In Hebrews 8:4 there is a passing reference to the law that is worth discussing. When Moses peered into the glory of God, he was astounded by God's holiness. He noticed a terrifying dissonance between the character of God and that of sinful man. The law was Moses' attempt to capture and teach something of the holiness of God. You cannot read the law, with all its regulations and requirements, without sensing something of the perfection and holiness of the character of God. The law was Moses' attempt to describe the kind of righteousness that God requires and deserves. But the law was also Moses' attempt to direct men to be God-fearers and to live a life pleasing to God. The law details practical ways men and women can exemplify God's holiness in their lives. So we find the Ten Commandments along with hundreds of other stipulations covering every area of life.
But as the nation of Israel quickly learned, they could not attain the kind of righteousness God required. No matter how hard they tried, they continually fell short. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't worship enough, pray enough, give enough, praise God enough, obey enough, trust enough, or sacrifice enough. The law proved to be an insurmountable challenge for even the most devout Jews.
As Romans 3:19-20 (NIV) says, "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin."
The purpose of the law was to prick our consciences and to show us our inadequacies. The law was meant to expose our weakness and to humble us as to our need for a savior. The law was never intended to make us righteous and holy in God's sight. It was meant only to show us how unrighteous and how unlike God we were.
Romans 3:21-24 (NIV) says, "But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
The law is just a shadow of the righteousness that Jesus Christ is for all who believe in his name. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the law. Jesus is the substance, the reality, our righteousness, our perfect sacrifice, and our only hope of ever gaining a righteous standing before a holy and perfect God.
The tabernacle is a shadow of Jesus Christ.
When Moses peered into the glory of God he discerned that God was living and connected. God was ever-present and available, not detached or unconcerned. To symbolize this fact God commanded Moses to construct a tabernacle.
Without getting caught up in all the details of how the tabernacle was configured, let me just say that the tabernacle was an elaborate portable tent that served as a sanctuary for worship. As the nomadic Israelites traveled from place to place, they would set up the tabernacle and their priests would offer sacrifices on their behalf. In the very center of the tabernacle was the holy of holies. In the holy of holies was the ark of the covenant. The holy of holies was the dwelling place of God so that wherever the Israelites traveled, God was with them. Later on in Israel's history they constructed a temple in Jerusalem which was configured the same way, and which symbolized God's presence among his people.
In time, both the tabernacle and the temple became a focus in and of themselves. But they were just a shadow of a deeper reality. The greater reality is found in Jesus Christ. The Jews were missing the substance behind the symbol. The reality is that Jesus Christ no longer dwells in an earthly tabernacle or temple made by the hands of men. Instead, Jesus has taken up residence in the hearts and lives of his children.
Are you ready for this? In 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (NIV) Paul exclaims, "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple."
In Colossians 1:27 (NIV) Paul says that God has made known a great mystery which is,"...Christ in you, the hope of glory." The reality is that we are the temple, we are the tabernacle, and we are the sanctuary of God. Jesus Christ is living in and through us through his Holy Spirit.
There is a lot more we could say about this substance over shadow stuff. But allow me to call your attention to the last part of Hebrews 8. In Hebrews 8:6 the writer of Hebrews makes reference to a superior covenant that is administered by Jesus Christ and that is founded on better promises.
In Hebrews 8:7-13 (NIV) we read, "For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said: 'The time is coming', declares the Lord, 'when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah .It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them', declares the Lord. 'This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time', declares the Lord. 'I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts .I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord, 'because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.' By calling this covenant 'new,' he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear."
The covenant is a shadow of Jesus Christ.
A simple and final summary is order. God has an entirely new deal for us. The old deal was really no deal at all. The old deal, the old covenant, was just a shadow of the greater reality and covenant available to us through faith in Jesus Christ. Under the old deal men tried to relate to God through the weaknesses and inadequate ministry of sinful priests. Under the new deal we relate directly to God through the priestly ministry of Jesus Christ, our great high priest.
Under the old deal men tried to attain their own righteousness through the law. They worked and worked but could never measure up to the perfection and holiness of God. They were separated and without hope. Under the new deal Jesus Christ becomes our righteousness and God's law is written, not on tablets of stone, but on our hearts and minds.
Under the old deal men set up tents and worshiped at temples to sense a connection with God. Under the new deal, the new covenant, God takes up residence in our hearts through faith. He dwells in us through his Holy Spirit. We know him personally and fully because we are his temple and tabernacle.
It's not that the old deal was a raw deal or even the wrong deal. But the old deal was just a shadow of a greater reality that is available through faith in Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ we can be forgiven and have our sins wiped away forever. God will wipe them away and remember them no more. The old deal is obsolete and has passed away. It is outdated and aged.
When given the choice, we consistently choose the real and substantive over the symbolic and copied. Only a fool would prefer a knickknack to the real deal. In Hebrews 8 the Hebrews author is making a compelling assertion about Jesus Christ. He is suggesting that Jesus Christ is the substance and reality of the entire Jewish system of faith. The law, the priesthood, the tabernacle, and the temple, all of it, is just a shadow of the real deal. Jesus is the reality. Jesus is the substance. Jesus is the original, the true gem.
Only a fool would choose anything or anyone less than Jesus Christ. Yet we know that there are those who focus their faith on knickknacks and shadows and copies. There are those who settle for the lesser over the greater. Hebrews 8 is a clarion call to embrace the crown jewel of all the universe, the incomparable person and work of Jesus Christ.
How will you answer that call?