New Testament Lesson # 37: Hebrews
“Jesus Christ: ‘The Author and
Finisher of our Faith’”
Ponderize Scripture: Hebrews 12:9; God is the Father of our Spirits
“Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which
corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much
rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?”
Introduction
Hebrews was likely written to
newly-converted Jews during the last part of Paul’s life while he was in Italy.
It talks of the temple so before 70 AD. It is a masterful explication of how
the Law of Moses is fulfilled in Christ. These converts were starting to
question the need to suffer the persecution attendant to membership in the
Church of Christ and desiring to return to the safety of Jewish observance and
practices. The questions it addresses are, “If we accept that the rituals of
the law of Moses are not required of Gentile Christians, what is the true value
of the Old Testament? If the gospel of Jesus Christ is the right way, why are
we being persecuted so much for being His followers? If Jesus was the Messiah,
why is Israel still in bondage to the Romans?”[1] I
can’t help contrasting this with the sort of questions that were answered
definitively and beautifully at General Conference. Why follow the old men who lead
the Church? Why doesn’t the Church give equal status to women? Why stand in
defiance of the world’s trends?
Hebrews 1–4: Jesus Christ, the Only
Begotten Son of Heavenly Father, is our Savior.
How many speakers at General
Conference bore testimony of the divinity of Christ and the transcendent
importance of His Atonement? Opening the Conference President Uchtdorf, said “The Savior’s sacrifice opened
the door of salvation for all to return to God. His ‘grace is sufficient for
all [who] humble themselves before [God]’ [Ether 12:27]. His grace is the
enabling power that allows access into God’s kingdoms of salvation. Because of
His grace, we will all be resurrected and saved in a kingdom of glory.”[2] He was followed by Elder
Ballard, “It has always been a challenge for the world to accept living
prophets and apostles, but it is so essential to do so in order to fully
understand the Atonement and the teachings of Jesus Christ and to receive a
fulness of the blessings of the priesthood that are given to those He has
called. . . . The plan also provides us with a unique, eternal perspective that
we are God’s spirit children. By understanding who our Heavenly Father is and
our relationship to Him and to His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, we will accept
Their commandments and make covenants with Them that will lead us back into
Their eternal presence. Every time I hold a newborn child, I find myself
wondering: ‘Who are you, little one? What will you become through the Atonement
of Christ?’”[3]
Read Hebrews 1 and see the parallels.
Regarding 1:3, Elder Holland said: “Of
course the centuries-long drift away from belief in such a perfect and caring
Father hasn’t been helped any by the man-made creeds of erring generations
which describe God variously as unknown and unknowable—formless, passionless,
elusive, ethereal, simultaneously everywhere and nowhere at all. Certainly that
does not describe the Being we behold through the eyes of these prophets. Nor
does it match the living, breathing, embodied Jesus of Nazareth who was and is
in ‘the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his [Father]’ [Hebrews 1:3;
see also 2 Corinthians
4:4; Colossians
1:15]. In that sense Jesus did not come to improve God’s view of man nearly
so much as He came to improve man’s view of God” (“The
Grandeur of God,” Ensign, Nov.
2003, 72).
Hebrews 2
Read from vs. 6. What does verse 9 mean? Especially after
1:4? What does it mean to us (look at D&C 88:6; 122:7–8; Psalm 8:4–6).
Elder Holland again, “’Christ walked the path every mortal is called to walk so
that he would know how to succor and strengthen us in our most difficult times.
He knows the deepest and most personal burdens we carry. He knows the most
public and poignant pains we bear. He descended below all such grief in order
that he might lift us above it. There is no anguish or sorrow or sadness in
life that he has not suffered in our behalf and borne away upon his own valiant
and compassionate shoulders’” (Christ and
the New Covenant [1997], 223–24).[4]
Elder Oaks from October
2015 General Conference, “Our Savior experienced and suffered the fulness of
all mortal challenges ‘according to the flesh’ so He could know ‘according to
the flesh’ how to ‘succor [which means to give relief or aid to] his people according
to their infirmities.’ He therefore knows our struggles, our heartaches, our
temptations, and our suffering, for He willingly experienced them all as an
essential part of His Atonement. And because of this, His Atonement empowers
Him to succor us—to give us the strength to bear it all.”[5]
From Elder Bednar, “There
is no physical pain, no anguish of soul, no suffering of spirit, no infirmity
or weakness that you or I ever experience during our mortal journey that the
Savior did not experience first. You and I in a moment of weakness may cry out,
‘No one understands. No one knows.’ No human being, perhaps, knows. But the Son
of God perfectly knows and understands, for He felt and bore our burdens before
we ever did. And because He paid the ultimate price and bore that burden, He
has perfect empathy and can extend to us His arm of mercy in so many phases of
our life. He can reach out, touch, and succor—literally run to us—and
strengthen us to be more than we could ever be and help us to do that which we
could never do through relying only upon our own power” (“In the Strength of
the Lord” [Brigham Young University devotional, Oct. 23, 2001], 7–8.
Paul encouraged the Saints to
live righteously so they could enter into God’s rest (Hebrews 3:7–19;
4:1–11).
What does it mean to enter into God’s rest? President Joseph F. Smith
(1838–1918) taught that there is also a sense in which we might enter the
Lord’s rest while in mortality: “The ancient prophets speak of ‘entering into
God’s rest’; what does it mean? To my mind, it means entering into the
knowledge and love of God, having faith in his purpose and in his plan, to such
an extent that we know we are right, and that we are not hunting for something
else, we are not disturbed by every wind of doctrine, or by the cunning and
craftiness of men who lie in wait to deceive. … The man who has reached that
degree of faith in God that all doubt and fear have been cast from him, he has
entered into ‘God’s rest.’ … I pray that we may all enter into God’s rest—rest
from doubt, from fear, from apprehension of danger, rest from the religious turmoil
of the world” (Gospel Doctrine, 5th
ed. [1939], 58).[6]
[comments from a good friend:]
“And
without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power
of godliness is not manifest unto men in
the flesh; For without this no man can see
the face of God, even the Father, and
live. Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the
wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold
the face of God; But they hardened their hearts and could not endure his presence; therefore, the Lord ….
swore that they should not enter into his
rest while in the wilderness.” (D&C
84:21- 24.)
[comments from a good friend:]
"What does it mean to enter into God’s rest?
To
see His face and to enjoy His presence.
I think the scriptures suggest that it is possible, and desirable, to
enter God’s rest while still in mortality in every sense.
“[I]t
is meet unto you to know even as mine apostles . . . that you may enter into my
rest” (D&C 19:8-9). “[O]ne must be ordained to be a witness with us of his
resurrection” (Acts 1:22). In one of
his last testimony’s, President Packer said: “I know that Christ lives, and I
know Christ.”
“This
principle ought (in its proper place) to be taught, for God hath not revealed
anything to Joseph, but what He will make known unto the Twelve, and even the
least Saint may know all things as fast as he is able to bear them, for the day
must come when no man need say to his neighbor, Know ye the Lord; for all shall
know Him … from the least to the greatest. How is this to be done? It is to be
done by … the other Comforter . . . .
“Now
what is this other Comforter? It is no more nor less than the Lord Jesus Christ
Himself; and this is the sum and substance of the whole matter; that when any [one]
obtains this last Comforter, he will have the personage of Jesus Christ to
attend him, or appear unto him from time to time.”
(Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 149, 150.)
“For behold, this life is the time for men to
prepare to meet God”(Alma 34:32). How
can we know when we are prepared?
“[Y]e
can enter into the rest of the Lord from this time henceforth until ye shall
rest with him in heaven” (Moroni 7:3)."
Look at the JST for Hebrews 4:5—how does this clarify? How do we soften our
hearts? Neill Marriott said, “When we open ourselves to the Spirit, we
learn God’s way and feel His will. During the sacrament, which I call the heart
of the Sabbath, I have found that after I pray for forgiveness of sins, it is
instructive for me to ask Heavenly Father, ‘Father, is there more?’ When we are
yielded and still, our minds can be directed to something more we may need
to change—something that is limiting our capacity to receive spiritual guidance
or even healing and help.”[7]
Hebrews 5; 6:20; 7—The Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods
What does Hebrews 5 teach us
about the Priesthood? “Aaron was called of God by revelation to serve as the
high priest, who represented the people before God in sacred matters and
presided over other priesthood holders (the Levites). His calling came from God
through a revelation to Moses: ‘And take thou thee Aaron thy brother … that he may
minister unto me in the priest’s office’ (Exodus 28:1).
After the time of Aaron, the high priest was selected from among the priestly
families descended from Aaron and his sons. In ancient Israel, the office of
high priest was an office in the Aaronic Priesthood and was comparable to the
office of Presiding Bishop of the Church in our day. Aaron’s sons and other
Levites performed many tasks, including serving in the tabernacle, conducting
the morning and evening sacrifices in the tabernacle and later in the Jerusalem
temple, keeping watch over the fire of the sacred altar, and teaching the
people of Israel the commandments.”[8] One can see that in
ancient times, the Aaronic Priesthood was tied to the Law of Moses.
When Christ
came, He fulfilled the Law of Moses and restored the Melchizedek Priesthood, “Neither
the law of Moses nor the priesthood of Aaron which administered it was capable
of bringing God’s children unto perfection. The Aaronic Priesthood is a lesser
authority, and it administers the preparatory gospel only. The Melchizedek
Priesthood, on the other hand, is the higher priesthood, commissioned to
minister the gospel ordinances in their fulness and capable of purifying our
lives so that we can again enter into the presence of the Lord” (The Life and Teachings of Jesus and His
Apostles [Church Educational System manual, 1979], 385–86; see also D&C
107:18–20).
President Faust: “As in all
things, the Savior is our pattern. The Apostle Paul wrote, ‘Though he were a
Son, yet learned he obedience’ [Hebrews 5:8].
In our own finite way, we too can learn obedience even as Christ did. … When
obedience becomes our goal, it is no longer an irritation; instead of a
stumbling block, it becomes a building block” (“Obedience:
The Path to Freedom,” Ensign, May
1999, 46–47).
Hebrews 7 gives us more
insight into Melchizedek and the Priesthood which bears his name. While we
perhaps take it for granted, it must have been of transcendental importance to
a people who had only been holding the Aaronic or Levitical Priesthood for
generations. “One of Paul’s purposes in Hebrews 7 was to
show the Melchizedek Priesthood’s superiority over the Levitical or Aaronic
Priesthood and its accompanying ordinances. If perfection and exaltation were
attainable through the Levitical Priesthood, why was there a need for a change
to the higher priesthood? Paul taught that perfection, or being ‘made like unto
the Son of God’ (Hebrews
7:3), does not come by the Levitical Priesthood but through Jesus Christ
and His order of the priesthood. Jesus Christ ‘sprang out of Juda,’ not Levi,
so Paul taught that His right to the priesthood would be based not on ancestry
but on ‘the power of an endless life’ (see Hebrews
7:14–16).”[9]
Joseph Smith taught, “The
Priesthood is everlasting. The Saviour, Moses, and Elias gave the keys to
Peter, James, and John, on the mount, when they were transfigured before him.
The Priesthood is everlasting—without beginning of days or end of years—without
father, mother, &c. If there is no change of ordinances, there is no change
of Priesthood. Wherever the ordinances of the Gospel are administered, there is
the Priesthood. How have we come at the Priesthood in the last days? It came
down, down, in regular succession. Peter, James, and John had it given to them,
and they gave it to others. Christ is the Great High Priest; Adam next. Paul
speaks of the Church coming to an innumerable company of angels; to God, the
Judge of all—the spirits of just men made perfect; to Jesus, the Mediator of
the new covenant, &c. (Heb xii. 23).”[10]
Hebrews 8:1–10:18.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is the new covenant between God and his children.
This section gives us
insights into how the Law of Moses points toward Christ. No matter what
religious background we come from, the truths that we know from that background
inevitably point toward Christ and His atoning sacrifice. The truths that Moses
understood at the Burning Bush and later on Sinai are the same truths taught in
the Church today—the same yesterday, today, and forever. Specifically, the
ordinances that Moses was commanded to perform in the tabernacle symbolize
Jesus’s mortal life. Please think about how that relates to the ordinances we
perform in the temple now.
Ordinance in the tabernacle:
|
What it symbolized:
|
|
|
|
Jesus’ blood, shed during the Atonement, cleanses and
purifies us from sin (Hebrews
9:11–15).
|
|
Jesus, the great high priest, went through the veil into the
heaven itself (Hebrews 9:24).
|
Elder Holland eloquently, as
always, explains what it means in Hebrews 9:11 that Christ is the “high priest
of good things to come”: “My declaration is that this is precisely what the
gospel of Jesus Christ offers us, especially in times of need. There is help.
There is happiness. There really is light at the end of the tunnel. It is the
Light of the World, the Bright and Morning Star, the ‘light that is endless,
that can never be darkened’ [Mosiah 16:9;
see also John
8:12; Revelation
22:16]. … To any who may be struggling to see that light and find that
hope, I say: Hold on. Keep trying. God loves you. Things will improve. Christ
comes to you in His ‘more excellent ministry’ with a future of ‘better
promises.’ He is your ‘high priest of good things to come’ [Hebrews 8:6; 9:11]” (“An
High Priest of Good Things to Come,” Ensign,
Nov. 1999, 36).
Hebrews 10 gives us the
distinction between the Old and the New Covenant. It ends with this verse, “But
we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to
the saving of the soul.” But for those of us who have family members and
dearest friends who have rejected what we hold dear, there is hope as
articulated by Joseph Smith referring to the Jews in the time of Christ
specifically, but applying also, I believe, to those beloved of us in this day:
“Christ, in the days of His flesh, proposed to make a covenant with them, but
they rejected Him and His proposals, and in consequence thereof, they were
broken off, and no covenant was made with them at that time. But their unbelief
has not rendered the promise of God of none effect: no, for there was another
day limited in David, which was the day of His power; and then His people,
Israel, should be a willing people;—and He would write His law in their hearts,
and print it in their thoughts; their sins and their iniquities He would
remember no more” (in History of the
Church, 1:313).
Hebrews
10:19–11:40: Those who exercise faith in Jesus Christ will inherit a
place in the kingdom of God.
There is a literary device,
used masterfully here, where one builds evidences to strengthen a point. In
Hebrews 4–12; 17–34, Paul pulls from Jewish history the greatest examples of faith,
rallying his readers to learn from the past and go forward with greater faith
into a glorious future. As we have learned repeatedly this year, faith means faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ and His Atonement. How does reading these many examples of faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ strengthen your own faith and determination to subject
yourself to the Father of your spirit? Perhaps your faith is being tried
because of actions of another, or your own doubts.
One last quote from Elder
Holland, “With any major decision there are cautions and considerations to
make, but once there has been illumination, beware the temptation to retreat
from a good thing. If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and
lived for it, it is right now. Don’t give up when the pressure mounts.
Certainly don’t give in to that being who is bent on the destruction of your
happiness. Face your doubts. Master your fears. ‘Cast not away therefore your
confidence.’ Stay the course and see the beauty of life unfold for you” (“Cast
Not Away Therefore Your Confidence,” Ensign,
Mar. 2000, 8–9). “Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith.”—President
Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Come,
Join with Us.”
LDS Media Library Videos
Elder Bednar on Hebrews 11:1
No comments:
Post a Comment