Further Thought:

Despite all the good and hopeful truths in the book of Hebrews, there is also a series of warnings that reach their climax in chapters 10-12. These sections have at least two common elements. First, they all compare the desert generation with the readers of Hebrews. Second, they exhort us to have faith.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

The desert generation was the one that saw the amazing power of God unleashed in signs and wonders in their deliverance from Egypt. They also heard God speak, from Mount Sinai, the Ten Commandments. They saw the column of fire in the night and the protecting cloud during the day. They ate manna, bread from heaven. They also drank water that sprang from the rocks wherever they camped. But when they arrived at the border of the Promised Land, they were not able to trust God. They lacked faith, which is the core of what God requires. “Without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Hebrews 11:6, NKJV).

Paul says that we, like the desert generation, are also at the border of the Promised Land (Hebrews 10:37-39). Our privileges and responsibilities are greater, however. We did not hear God speak at Mount Sinai, but we have seen through Scripture a revelation of God greater than the one at Mount Zion: God in the flesh, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 12:18-24). The question is: Will we have faith? The author encourages us to follow the example of a great list of characters, which culminates with Jesus Himself.

Discussion Questions:

<–Thursday

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You can view an in-depth discussion of The Message of Hebrews in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris. Click on the image to view:

With thanks to Hope Channel – Television that will change your life.

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This video is produced by the South Pacific Division Discipleship team.

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Key Thought: The message of Hebrews focuses on Christ as our King, and Christ as our High Priest and Mediator.
January 8, 2022

1. Have a volunteer read Hebrews 2:14-16.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. What does this tell us about the nature of Christ as a human being?
3. Personal Application: What does this tell us was the purpose for Jesus to come in the flesh? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “Why does this say Jesus took on the seed of Abraham instead of saying the seed of Adam? Didn’t Jesus take on human nature before the fall instead of human nature after the fall? How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read Hebrews 5:1-4.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What function did the High Priest fulfill?
3. Personal Application: Do you consider believers like yourself as part of Christ’s royal priesthood? If so, in what way are believers priests? Share your thoughts
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “Did Jesus do away with the earthly priesthood as mediators and intercessors between man and God? If so, why is there a system of priestly intercessors and mediators today?” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Hebrews 8:8-12.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. What did God promise to us in the new covenant?
3. Personal Application: How will God have all His followers know Him without being taught? How thrilling is it to know that God will not remember our sins and iniquities? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states: “The law was part of the old covenant, but grace and truth are in the new covenant, so we don’t worry about the law as New Testament Christians. ” How would you respond to your relative?

4. Have a volunteer read Hebrews 1:5-14.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What is being said here about Christ contrasted to the angels in heaven?
3. Personal Application: What is the role of the angels in heaven? Are we aware of their presence and mission? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

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Hebrews Chapters 8-10 focuses on the work of Jesus as Mediator of a new covenant. The issue with the old covenant was simply that it was only a foreshadowing of the good things that would come. Its institutions were designed to prefigure, to illustrate, the work that Jesus would do in the future. Thus, the priests prefigured Jesus, but they were mortal and sinners. They could not provide the perfection that Jesus did. And they ministered in a sanctuary that was a “copy and shadow” (Hebrews 8:5, NKJV) of the heavenly sanctuary.

Image © Lars Justinen at Goodsalt.com

Jesus ministers in the true sanctuary and provides us access to God. The sacrifices of animals prefigured the death of Jesus as a sacrifice in our behalf, but their blood could not cleanse the conscience. Jesus’ blood, however, purifies our conscience, and through Him, having faith in Him and accepting His mediatory work in our behalf, we can approach God with boldness (Hebrews 10:19-22).

Read Hebrews 8:8-12. What did God promise to us in the new covenant?

By appointing Jesus as our High Priest, the Father inaugurated a new covenant that will accomplish what the old covenant could only anticipate. The new covenant delivers what only a perfect, eternal, human-divine priest can. This High Priest not only explains the law of God but implants the law in our hearts. This Priest offers a sacrifice that brings forgiveness. This Priest cleanses and transforms us. He transforms our hearts from stone to flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). He really creates us anew (2 Corinthians 5:17). This Priest blesses us in the most incredible way, by providing us access into the very presence of the Father Himself.

God designed the old covenant in order to point toward the future, to the work of Jesus. It was beautiful in its design and purpose. Yet, some misunderstood its purpose. Unwilling to leave the symbols, the shadows, and embrace the truths that the symbols were pointing to, they missed the wonderful benefits that Jesus’ ministry offered them.

“Christ was the foundation and life of the temple. Its services were typical of the sacrifice of the Son of God. The priesthood was established to represent the mediatorial character and work of Christ. The entire plan of sacrificial worship was a foreshadowing of the Saviour’s death to redeem the world. There would be no efficacy in these offerings when the great event toward which they had pointed for ages was consummated.” — Ellen G. White,  The Desire of Ages, p. 165.

<–Wednesday Friday–>

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