Hebrews
12:4–24— Christians have come to the holy city of God.
We continue our reading through the latter chapters of
Hebrews with an exhortation to remain faithful, even when suffering or
persecution befalls us. We are not to regard such as punishment, but as
discipline, as from a loving Father. The goal of such discipline is not the
suffering, but the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been
trained by it.
Mt Zion was a hill on which part of Jerusalem was
built. It came to be another word for Jerusalem and further it has come to mean
“the heavenly Jerusalem.” V. 22 The
phrase “Ye are come” v. 22 translated “you have come” in most modern versions
reminds us that the heavenly life begins here on earth already. John teaches, “He that hath the Son hath life.” (1 John
5:12) In a sense, we have come to Mt. Zion already by faith in Christ.
Whether the reference in verse 24 is to the sacrifice
of Abel or the blood of Abel, in either case, Christ is superior. His sacrifice
on the cross far surpasses Abel’s. And the Blood Christ shed cries out for our
forgiveness, not for vengeance as did Abel’s blood.
Verse 24 is the climax, the high point of the Epistle.
It is Jesus, the Mediator, who makes all the difference between the Old
Covenant and the New. We must be careful in handling the contrast so as not to
view the Old Testament era as all Law and the New Testament as all Gospel; or
to make the God of the Old Testament only “a consuming fire,” and the God of
the New Testament as only a God of love. Jesus changes our relationships with God
from one of terror and separation to one of joy and intimacy and He has now
come. This is the point of our Sunday’s epistle. The delightful relationship
with God is no longer a promise. It is now accomplished fact. That is why the
New Covenant is superior to the Old.
Prayer for
pardon, growth in grace, and divine protection: O Lord, our God, we
acknowledge Your great goodness toward us and praise You for the mercy and
grace that our eyes have seen, our ears have heard, and our hearts have known.
We sincerely repent of the sins of this day and those in the past. Pardon our
offenses, correct and reform what is lacking in us, and help us to grow in
grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Inscribe Your
law upon our hearts, and equip us to serve You with holy and blameless lives.
May each day remind us of the coming of the night when no one can work. In the
emptiness of this present age keep us united by a living faith through the
power of Your Holy Spirit with Him who is the resurrection and the life, that
we may escape the eternal bitter pains of condemnation.[2]
[1] Face of Christ: © copyright Ed Riojas, Higher Things
[2] Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis
[3] Collect for Thursday of the week of Pentecost 10, For All the Saints, A Prayer Book For and By the Church, Vol. II © 1995 The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY
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