Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound in chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. The saying is trustworthy, for: if we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful - for he cannot deny himself. 2 Timothy 2:8-13
Hot soup. Toast spread thick with butter (earth balance).
What on earth does this have to do with remembering Jesus? Maybe it's nothing. But maybe it's everything.
Remembering Jesus is about knowing who He is in every moment of every day. It's remembering that He's the Son of God, that He was made like us, that He have Himself for us, that He helps us, and that He is ever faithful, regardless of our faithlessness.
It's giving thanks for daily bread.
I recently read a beautiful book called A Meal With Jesus by Tim Chester.
It's about sustenance and provision and community and grace and remembering the One who always gives more grace.
There are several dimensions to this book , but here is Chester on the one influencing me the most right now:
What do we express when we say grace?
- Our daily dependence on God as creatures and sinners.
- Our dependence on others as we give thanks for those who grew, processed, bought and cooked our food.
- The goodness of food, thereby transforming our food from fuel to a gift to be relished.
- Our gratitude to God, thereby reorienting ourselves away from self and back to God.
- Our gratitude for community as we ask God's blessing on our fellowship over the meal.
In previous Novembers I've done different gratitude challenges. To help me remember Jesus, I'm going to say grace this month, before every meal. I didn't grow up doing this. It's not natural to me. It makes me uncomfortable when I'm asked the bless the meal at a gathering of Christians, large or small. I don't know what I'm doing. And I don't do it on my own.
But this month, I'm going to try. I'm going to give thanks and remember Who gives all good things. With my family in Christ, by myself, I will, as Ann Voskamp says, "give thanks for all things, for He is all good"
I'm going to remember Jesus, who makes His people one family. Who gives daily bread. Who forgives. Who gives more grace. Who is our advocate. Our redeemer. Our helper. Our friend.
I'm going to remember Jesus, who saves sinners from death to life and makes all things work together for the good of those who love God.
Thank you to everyone who followed along this month. I had a great time studying and writing and am glad I did the challenge. Who knows what next year might bring? I won't be blogging every day in November, but I'll check in and let you know how the grace challenge is going.
For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. Hebrews 2:18
Before we dig in, check it out! This is the end of Hebrews 2, which means this challenge is almost a wrap.
Now, remember last week when we talked about Jesus being like us in that He was tempted? Here we are, looking at how Jesus helps us. Jesus knows what it is to be tempted. And He knows how to say no to sin every time.
My pastor likes to say this:
The Christian life is not about not sinning. It's not about white-knuckling it or pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. The Christian life is about Jesus, who saves sinners from death to life.
Jesus is the center of our lives. Every time we give in to temptation, we have to turn from Jesus to that sin. But Jesus helps us by being ready to give more grace for our every need.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:15-16
If you are in Jesus, you have everything you need to face temptation because you have Him.
If you're feeling discouraged, remember that His greatest help to those who are weak and needy is that every past, present and future sin was taken care of 2,000 years ago on the cross.
There is nothing more to be said than what Jesus proclaimed in His dying breaths:
Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. Hebrews 2:17
As high priest, Jesus serves us and saves us and prays for us and helps us. But He is not subject to us. Rather, He submits Himself to the will of our Father in heaven. Before Jesus was arrested and taken to be crucified, He prayed. In John 17, we see Jesus talking to His Father on behalf of His brothers (the disciples, and us). The goal in this prayer is for God's glory to be seen. This is how Jesus served and continues to serve God. He is God, so it is His kingdom after which He labors.
Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. John 17:1b-5
Jesus has done what Mark Cahill would say are the two ways in which men serve God: they make Him known, and they make Him look good. As Jesus is laying His life down, He humbly submits to a lowly death, knowing the glory it will bring.
I think we have this tendency to want to do things for God. We want, on some level, to serve Him. But I'm not sure we really know what that means.
Do people around you, people you do life with, do they know anything about the God you're claiming to serve? If they know whom you serve, do you make Him look good?
Now to be clear, Jesus will build His church and the new heavens and earth without your help. But Jesus gave His entire life to glorify His Father in heaven. Do you have the same goal?
Remember Jesus, who perfectly lives out the first principle of the Westminster Confession of Faith - to know God and glorify Him forever.
Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. Hebrews 2:17
Today, we don't have the same understanding of "priest" that the first readers of this letter had. If you want to go deeper with this subject, read through Leviticus and then read through Hebrews. It's one of my favorite studies to do in one long sitting. You could also break it up into several weeks. Sometimes I really like reading entire books of the Bible in a big sitting because you see the big picture. Regardless, if you read these two books in succession, you will be in awe of what Christ has accomplished as our high priest. For now, let's just take a little step back into the Levitical priesthood, to get the idea.
Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleanness. Leviticus 16:15-16
Once a year, it was the job of the high priest to offer sacrifices to God as atonement for sin. It happened every year, because people have always continued in sin.
Let's now look at the difference in having Jesus as high priest.
For the law appoints them in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect [complete] forever. Now, the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man...As it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. Hebrews 7:28-8:2, 8:6
Jesus is our true and better high priest. His promise says you will be my people and I will be your God. This is what we have in Jesus.
Now, since He is a much better high priest, He is able to offer a much better and more permanent sacrifice.
But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves, but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Hebrews 9:11-14
As if my Hunger Games quote the other day weren't enough, I'm going to reference Harry Potter today. In the sixth book, Harry accompanies Professor Dumbledore on a mission to retrieve and destroy an object containing a piece of the dark wizard, Lord Voldemort's soul (horcrux). In order to get there, blood must be spilled. Harry offers his arm, but Dumbledore tells Harry his blood is too valuable. So is Jesus blood infinitely precious. It is worth more than that of all the goats and bulls in the world, and it needs only be poured out once. And that one time is sufficient for every sin of every saint forever and ever.
As it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Hebrews 9:26b
and
But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Hebrews 10:12
And though He sacrificed but once, it does not mean He is not always working for our good. Look at what Jesus does at the right hand of God:
The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:23-25
Jesus died for us. Jesus lives for us. What a great high priest indeed.
I have only scratched the surface here. This is one of my favorite subjects in this series, and I would again encourage you to dig in more for yourself to see what else you can find. If you like sermons, my church went through Hebrews last year and you can find the archives here. If you're specifically looking for more on the new covenants and Christ as our priest, I recommend "This is the New Covenant" and "There is a Redeemer".
Finally, I have a song for us today. It's one of my favorites.
Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. Hebrews 2:17
Jesus is faithful. Say that until you believe it. This post could be over right here.
If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.
2 Timothy 2:13
His faithfulness has nothing to do with our performance. We are His unfaithful wife. He is our doting husband. Jesus is not more there for your pastor than He is for you. Maybe this was the hardest, most messed up weekend in your Christian life. Jesus is still with you. He still loves you. He's claimed you as His own and He will never let you go.
The steadfast love of The Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to and end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 2:22-23
Jesus is faithful. He will never leave or forsake you. Hold this.
I'm going to be spending the next several days breaking down the descriptions of Jesus in the second half of this verse. Today, I'll focus on mercy.
Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. Hebrews 2:17
Last year, I went to see Catching Fire. Maybe I take things too seriously, but when I think mercy, I always think of this quote from Katniss Everdeen,
"He could have killed me but instead he showed me mercy. That's a debt I'll never be able to repay"
I just can't help but see Jesus in that. That is our story: deserving to die, and receiving life.
Mike Cosper recently wrote a book called The Stories We Tell in which he talks about how there is really only one story. The Story. Creation. Fall. Promise. Redemption. New Creation.
I think it's because when we mess up, we know it. Maybe we even hope for mercy from the one whom we've offended. But our sins are so bad that we were hopeless. We didn't deserve to be spared. We were No Mercy.
She conceived again and bore a daughter. The Lord said to him, "Call her name No Mercy, for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all." Hosea 1:6
Reading Hosea makes me see the gravity of our condition. Spiritual adultery is a big deal, and it's at the core of who we were. We run. We pursue anyone but the God who made us. We love gifts and thank anyone but the Giver. We profane the sacred. And yet, what is God's response to us?
And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord...And I will sow her for myself in the land. And I will have mercy on No Mercy, and I will say to Not My People, 'You are My People;' and he shall say, 'You are my God'. Hosea 2:19-20, 23.
Jesus is the on who gives mercy to no mercy. He is rich in mercy and loves us with a great love (Ephesians 2:4).
We deserve nothing and He gives everything. We do nothing to earn anything but condemnation, and yet mercy is ours.
Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful. The Lord preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me. Return, O my soul, to your rest, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling; I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. Psalm 116:5-9
Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect Hebrews 2:17a
Jesus, as I've said before, was like us. He knows what it is to be human. In our deepest pains and greatest temptations, Jesus can be with us, because He knows exactly what we face. He faced it too. Since I've already talked about mortality, I'd like to focus on Christ's temptations.
I know that Jesus did live in 21st century Americ. There weren't smartphones and fast food and credit cards and constant internet and all the other modern conveniences that conveniently pull us away from God and His design. But the roots of all those things are the same - they trace exactly what the Ten Commandments warn against. Idolatry. Blasphemy. Deceit. Pride. You get it. And Jesus conquered them.
How did He do it? How did He stand toe to toe with everything Satan had in His arsenal and win?
He had the Word of God.
The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone'". Luke 4:3-4
Jesus hungered just as we do. And instead of serving Himself, He chose obedience and service to His Father.
And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And said to him, "To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours." And Jesus answered, "It is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve'". Luke 4:5-8
Jesus willingly submitted Himself to His Father's will. He spoke with that authority, but laid aside His headship in a life of radical service.
And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,' and 'on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone'". And Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test'". Luke 4:9-12
Note that this is the second time the devil attacks Jesus' position as the Son of God. And yet, He is so firm in His identity that it means nothing to Him. Further, Jesus could ask God for anything, and He would have it. But He chose to be content with whatever His Father gave.
And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. Luke 4:13
Although this concludes the recorded temptations of Jesus, it gives us reason to believe that this was not the last time He was tempted. It would not be outlandish to assume He faced temptations throughout His whole life, just as we do. Satan pursues our hearts, too.
As C.S. Lewis writes in the Screwtape Letters -
An ever-increasing craving for an ever-diminishing pleasure is the formula...get the man's soul and give him nothing in return"
But in all this, we have the same weapon against temptation that Jesus did: the very word of God.
I will be writing more about this in my Day 30 post on Jesus' help in our temptation. Stay tuned!
In the meantime, what have you used to combat temptation? What's been successful and what hasn't?
