Hebrews: Jesus Our High Priest, The Peril Of Unbelief, The Believer's Rest (Chapters 3 & 4)

Not only is Jesus the Son of God and greater than the angels, but He is also greater than Moses, who gave Israel the Law. For if those who rejected the words of Moses were killed in the wilderness, how much more severe will the discipline be for those who reject the words of Jesus? Those who rebelled against Moses never entered into the rest that was promised in the land. However, Joshua promised a greater rest still for those who persevere to the end.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:06

You're listening to Teach Me the Bible podcast, where we unpack the meaning of books, passages and themes from Scripture. Join us each week as Dr David Klingler walks us through God's Word and teaches the Bible. Each episode has a study guide available in the show notes. This is Teach Me the Bible podcast.

Speaker 2: 0:32

Hey everybody, welcome back to Teach Me the Bible podcast. Again I'm Alex Wolfe. I'm here with Dr David Klingler. We're in the book of Hebrews. So if you've been with us the last few weeks, we've kind of done an overview in the first two chapters and kind of the two second overview.

Speaker 2: 0:48

If you rejected the revelation of angels and they were laid low, they were killed back in the wilderness, and now you're rejecting the words of the Son of God, how do you think that's going to go better for you? That's kind of the general concept, what we've been talking about these first few chapters, and today we're actually going to take two chapters in one, chapters three and four, because these books aren't meant to be chopped up. I don't think we can say that enough. We do that for the sake of time, but they're not meant to be. And so three and four, you really just can't separate in any way. And so we're going to pick up with chapter three, therefore, which means you got to know what came before, and so we'll kind of maybe do a little bit of a recap of what we've said and then jump into three and four.

Speaker 3: 1:33

Yeah, yeah, Really, you can't. You can't. As we've said, this is a unified letter. You can't start chopping it up, but there are places in letters where the author takes a breath. Chapter eight is one. The main point of what I've been saying is this right that we have such a high priest, who has taken a seat at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven, a minister in the sanctuary. So I take it as what he's saying is that the point of what he's been saying up to this point is this we have a high priest right.

Speaker 2: 2:10

In other words, so.

Speaker 3: 2:12

so let's recognize what he's saying in eight one His high priest discussion actually begins back in two, 17. Therefore, he had to be made like his brethren in all things, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. Now, that's important, you know, make propitiation for the sins of the people. But if the people continue to reject and walk in unfaithfulness, not, you know, they were delivered. Remember that we're talking about the, you know, the Passover lamb and the deliverance, the Exodus, that was back in the book of Exodus, and so they were delivered by faith through the blood of the Passover lamb over the doorpost. Yeah, that's a really important point.

Speaker 1: 3:02

It overlooks sometimes. Yeah, it really is.

Speaker 3: 3:04

And we, you know, we tend to make this about. You know, did they lose their salvation? That type of thing, and really it's not about this book, is not about losing their salvation. And so they take this falling to be falling away. You know they're when we're talking about in chapter six, right? So we're talking about in chapter six, verse six, and then have fallen away. It is impossible to renew them again to repentance.

Speaker 3: 3:32

Well, the word there is Pipto, parapipto. It is introduced, the Pipto, and we're gonna talk about this in chapter three. That was it not those who sinned whose bodies fell in the wilderness in chapter four? Therefore, let us be diligent to enter that rest so that no one will fall. Same word through, the same example of disobedience, right? Then in chapter 12, he talks about the discipline of the Lord, and so you don't wanna fall into the. It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. That's 1031, that's the discipline of chapter 12. And so all of this fits together.

Speaker 3: 4:18

Okay, now we're gonna get to chapter six, and that's probably. You know, they talk about these warning passages and everybody that I've heard and interact with when they talk about this fault, the assumption is it has something to do with their salvation, it's a fall away from salvation yeah, they've lost their salvation or it's just a warning, or what's going on here. But in my experience, in the epistles, every time that a New Testament author goes and uses an Old Testament illustration, the Old Testament illustration actually makes the point that the author's making. And so here we're gonna be, in chapter three and chapter four, talking about this Maraba Masa that happened in Exodus, chapter 17,. And then what ensued after that? That they continued in their. Their rebellion began there and they continued in their rebellion. And so they were. They fell in the wilderness. They never entered into the rest, they fell in the wilderness. And so that's why we wanna take chapters three and four together, because it's all the way through. Here it's referring to this same Old Testament passage illustrating what happens if you continue or if Israel. What happened to Israel when they continued in their rebellion? So let's pick it up.

Speaker 3: 5:46

It says therefore, holy brethren, for takers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, the apostle, the sent one. That's what apostle means. And so there are apostles of Jesus. This would Jesus would be apostle of God, sent from God. Therefore, he was faithful to him. Who appointed him, as Moses also was in all his house. And so in chapters one, chapter one, you get this Jesus is greater than the angels. He's, you know, he's higher than the angels. Of no angel did he ever set.

Speaker 3: 6:25

Now the author of Hebrews is moving to Moses. If the angels you thought were a big deal, moses was certainly a big deal, but of no, but Moses, you see, moses, for he was counted worthy, as you know, as the more glory than Moses. In other words, christ had more glory than Moses by just so much as the builder of the house was more, has more honor than the house. And so, for every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. Now, moses was faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which we'll be talking later, but Christ was faithful as a son over his house, whose house we are. And so you know, moses was a servant. Moses served in the house, god built the house, and Christ is the house. And so the which is more important.

Speaker 3: 7:19

Which is more important, if we hold fast to our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end. Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says Now, what's he talking about there in 3.7? Hope. The Holy Spirit spoke, and through the ministry of the Holy Spirit comes this word to the apostles and prophets, and so we get Psalm 95. And so all of the scriptures come through the Holy Spirit. So we could say that, of all scriptures that the Holy Spirit says Today, this is in Psalm 95,.

Speaker 3: 7:56

If you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked me, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, when your fathers tried me, testing me, and saw my works for 40 years. Well, what works did they see for 40 years? What they saw for 40 years after their rebellion and their continuing rebellion is they saw the whole generation die. For 40 years they saw the works of the deliverance, of the exodus, but then they saw the works of the Lord disciplining them and they all fell in the wilderness. Therefore, I was angry with this generation and said they always go astray in their heart and they did not know my ways or do not know my ways. As I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest. Take care, brethren, lest there should be in any one of you an evil and unbelieving heart in falling away from the living God, but encourage one another, day after day, as long it is still today, lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, for we have become partakers of Christ if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance until the end. While he said today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked me. For who provoked him when they had heard? Indeed, was it not all those who came out of Egypt with Moses? And who was he angry with for 40 years? Was it not all those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And so you got in 312, falling away from the living God, and then their bodies fell. So they fell away from God, they fell into the hands of God's judgment, and their bodies fell. So you got.

Speaker 3: 9:44

All of this language is kind of all lining up. And to whom did he swear? They would not enter in his rest? They wouldn't enter into the land, but those who were disobedient. And so we see that they were not able to enter because of their unbelief Now, the word. There is unbelief, but they believed they were delivered by the blood of the Passover lamb. And then they go out. And so you can have faith but act unfaithfully, and that's what they're doing. And that's the point that if you act unfaithfully and you're a son through faith, then you'll be disciplined by the Lord, right? So therefore, chapter four, verse one let us fear.

Speaker 3: 10:37

Now let's stop here, because we've got a lot of Old Testament passages in this. Chapter three. This is Psalm 95. So the writer of Hebrews is quoting Psalm 95 and this Maraba incident that happened. And so the Psalmist in Psalm 95 says do not harden your heart. Let's pick it up in verse seven, chapter 95, verse seven, for he is our God and we are his people. We are the people of his pasture in the shepherd of his hand. Today, if you would hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Maraba, as in the day of Massa and the wilderness, when your fathers tested me. They tried me, although they had seen my work for 40 years. I love that generation and I said they are a people who err in their hearts and they do not know my ways. Therefore, I swore in my anger they shall not enter into my rest. Now this is this Psalm is talking about really this whole section that happens. It begins with the rebellion at Maraba. Now, that's an interesting passage because it's Exodus, chapter 17.

Speaker 3: 11:55

In Exodus, chapter 17, you have this when all the congregation of Israel journeyed by stages into the wilderness and they quarreled with Moses and they said give us water to drink. And Moses said to them why are you quarreling with me? Why do you test the Lord? And the people thirsted for water and they grumbled against Moses and you brought us out of here, you're going to kill us and all that. And so Moses cries out to the Lord and he says what should I do with his people? A little more and they'll stone me.

Speaker 3: 12:28

And the Lord said to Moses pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel and take with you the staff in your hand which you struck the Nile and go and stand before the rock at Horov and strike the rock and water will come out of it. So this is the water coming out of the rock. And they named the place Masa and Meraba because of the coral. So it's coral and testing. That's what's going on the coral and testing. They quarreled with the Lord and they tested the Lord, the sons of Israel quarreled and they tested, and so that's all that. Masa and Meraba means Masa testing Meraba as the coral, and what's interesting is this was the, you know, this whole rock imagery that's establishing Genesis, exodus all the way through.

Speaker 3: 13:17

Israel's rejected the Lord, rejected the rock of his salvation, and so this is the. You know, this is the instance where their provision comes through the Lord. It's looking forward to the ultimate provision that will come through the Lord, and so they saw this act, they saw this work, and they continued in their rebellion for 40 years, and so they were laid low on the wilderness, their bodies fell on the wilderness, and so that's what the Psalmist in Psalm 95 is reflecting upon, and that's what the writer of Hebrews is reflecting on here, and so he's given him the warning. He says okay.

Speaker 3: 13:52

So therefore, let us fear lest, while the promise remains of entering his rest, any one of you should come up short of it, for indeed, we have had the good news preached to us, as they did also, but the word that they heard did not profit them, because it was united. It was not united by faith and those who hurt it, so they didn't continue to walk by faith. For we who have believed, have entered that rest, just as he said I swore in my wrath. They will not enter my rest. Now, how can you say that in verse three? For we have, who have believed, have entered into that rest, just as he said I swore in my wrath. They shall not enter into my rest. It doesn't sound like it makes any sense, although his works were finished from the foundation of the world.

Speaker 3: 14:46

So let's see if we can sort this out. For he has thus said somewhere concerning the seventh day and God rested from the seventh day, from all his works. And again, they shall not enter my rest. Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had the good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, he again fixes a certain day today, saying through David after so long a time, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart, for if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken of another day after that. Therefore, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. In other words, the rest that this story is looking for is the final rest at the end, the temporal rest that they were to achieve, the people coming out of Israel were to achieve, or out of Egypt were to achieve, was the rest in the land. But even if they attained the rest in the land, they didn't achieve the final rest, the total rest.

Speaker 3: 16:04

And so this is the point that he's gonna make in chapter 11, at the end of chapter 11, he's going to say gonna go through all of these people of faith, right, and he's going to say that none of these. He goes down through the list. They were stoned, they were sawn. And so he goes through, starts with Abel and Enoch and Noah and Abram and Isaac and Jacob and Joseph and Moses, and it goes down through the list, josh, all of the list of people of faith. And then he goes down to the people who were stoned and sawn into, probably, I would think talking about the disciples and John the Baptist and some of the prophets, and all of these, having attained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised. They never got the rest.

Speaker 3: 16:52

And so the writer of Hebrews is saying look, the rest is the ultimate rest is right at hand. So endure right, hang in there. You don't wanna fall and not see it. And so, since there remains for some to enter it. He's talking about this rest. Don't harden your, because Joshua said there was another rest that was coming.

Speaker 3: 17:14

This is back to chapter four. Right, for the one who has entered his rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from his. Therefore, and this is the one who has entered his rest has rested. Has God also rested? Therefore, let us be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall through, following the same example of disobedience. He's still talking about falling right, not falling away, losing your self.

Speaker 3: 17:43

He's talking about dying right. That the Lord would judge them, discipline them, for the word of God is living in, active, sharper than a two-edged sword and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from his sight. But all things are open and laid bare in the eyes of him with whom we have to do. And so you have the word of God, and the word of God became flesh. Therefore, let us you know, before the eyes of him, him who? That seems to me to be the question. And there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are laid bare in the eyes of him, with whom we have to do, and so it seems to me he's talking about the Christ again, since then we have a great high priest.

Speaker 3: 18:44

He's talking about the Christ, and so the word of God you know the Bible is certainly living, but I think here he's talking about the one who's entered into the rest is Christ. It, just as God rested Christ. He's ascended to the right of him and he's sitting and he's waiting, and so we are to sit and wait until that ultimate rest comes. Rest comes, yeah. And so, therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast to our confession, for we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted, tested there's the word in all things as we were, yet without sin. Don't miss this Massa connection, right, this testing the Lord. They tested the Lord. The Son has gone through the testing. Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. This great high priest has come and he's been the provision right. And so if you sin, you run back to the high priest. You know, that's the deal.

Speaker 3: 20:15

But if you continue to reject the high priest, they struck the rock, the rock was struck, the water flowed, and they didn't continue to walk by faith in that rock water imagery. They continued to grumble, and so they were laid low in the wilderness. And so, it seems to me, the writer of Hebrews is setting up it's warning passages. Sure enough, we talk about these warning passages all the way through, but what is he warning them of? Is he warning them that they're gonna lose their salvation? I don't think so. I think what he's warning them is you're about to be disciplined by the Lord and you don't want that, right, if you have believed, and then you continue. You have this belief and you have a high priest, yet you now you're turning away from the high priest and you're walking in rebellion. Look out, right, just as they did. You're close to being. Let me just this isn't gonna be in chapter six.

Speaker 3: 21:23

If you become useless, worthless, you're close to being cursed, and then they put in here in chapter six, verse six, and it ends up being burned. Well, there's no, and there in that verse and we'll talk about this here in a couple of weeks when we get to that If it yields, no, if it's supposed to the ground, the water, the rainfall hits the ground. It's supposed to produce vegetables and it doesn't. It produces thorns and thistles. It's worthless and close to being cursed. Doesn't say it is cursed, close to being cursed, and it ends up. And if it's cursed, in the Greek it says which ends up being burned. So if it's cursed, it ends up being burned and it's close to being cursed. You don't want to be close to being cursed. This is the same thing that Peter's doing in second Peter, right? Yeah, you're barely escaping.

Speaker 3: 22:21

When you go down the way of the false teacher, a lot comes out of there. He doesn't look anything different than Sodom and Gomorrah, other than he's delivered, right? So the Lord knows how to deliver, to deliver the righteous by faith. But here the concern is falling into the hands of a God who will discipline you. What will that discipline look like? You see this through the New Testament. You'll see this in 1 Corinthians, chapter 11. This is why some of you are sick and some of you sleep. They're believers, but they've been disciplined by the Lord.

Speaker 3: 22:56

And so, in all this, to say that I think if you, the debates about salvation, losing your salvation, were they saved, were they not saved, were they really saved? All these discussions? I think that it misses the point of the illustration that's being used. Right, it's not falling, as in falling from faith, they certainly stopped walking by faith, right, but the falling that's happening is they're falling into the hands of the living God and therefore they're falling in the wilderness. Their bodies fell in the wilderness. If you want the same thing to happen to you, keep it up. Yes, right, because there are still some who remain right, there are still those who have not yet believed. Now, how are they supposed to believe? You're supposed to tell them right, but if you're worthless, worthless and fruitless, then you're close to being cursed, close to being cursed, yeah, and you're about to be judged, right.

Speaker 3: 23:54

So they're saying we don't want to be persecuted for our faith? Yeah, and you're saying I don't think you need to be worried about the antagonist and falling into the hands of the antagonist. I think you need to be worried about falling into the hands of the living God, who will judge you. They may kill you. The Lord will to save you so that you will enter into that ultimate rest. Wow, and so wake up. There's discipline on your horizon if you don't repent. So today, as long as you hear his voice, repent If you're still hearing his voice, you still have a chance to repent, to return to him. After you don't hear his voice anymore you've laid low in the wilderness after your body has fallen.

Speaker 3: 24:44

you can't be restored, Not in this life.

Speaker 2: 24:48

It's not how it works.

Speaker 3: 24:51

So, anyway, all that to say that's what's going on, I think, in chapter three and chapter four, and again, when you have these views that say, well, here's all the different views and there's all these problems with each view. And just to close, I don't think that any of these views are taking into account the illustration that's being used, and the Old Testament illustration is not loss of salvation but loss of life discipline.

Speaker 2: 25:15

I think it might be helpful, too, to just remind everyone who the audience is and what it is they're doing.

Speaker 2: 25:22

We think he's writing primarily to a Jewish audience who has believed, but now they're going back to the law, would you say that's correct? Yeah, so they're going back to the law, and so I mean these are Jewish believers and so all of this imagery is directly applicable. It's the same nation, it's the same people, it's the same discipline that's happening to them over and over again. So just to, I think it's always helpful to remember the audience and what the issue is, so that we can kind of keep this thing contextual, because we always just want to jump in here, put yourself in there, and there's definitely overlap there, but you know, the object of this whole faith was Christ.

Speaker 3: 26:06

He's the originator of it. Everything was looking forward to him. This is the part that he's doing here. The revelation looked forward to him and if they and the Old Testament rejected the revelation, looking forward to him. And he is the object of the faith. He's the originator of the faith and the completer of the faith. He's the beginning of it and the end of it. And you reject the beginning and the end. You think it will go better for you? No, no, it's only one way, and it's forward. It's endurance. So that's chapter 12.

Speaker 3: 26:41

So if how we're reading chapters one through 11, and don't lead us to the 12, therefore, right, all of these therefores. You got to nail down this section so that the therefore makes sense. He says this, therefore, this. Well, if what you think he said in the section under consideration doesn't lead to the next, therefore, you don't have it, and so that's what we're trying to do all the way through here, and you've got these. There's a bunch of therefores. If you just look, even in your English text, there's a lot of fours and therefores. Right, yeah, gar for um. Therefore, most of the time, that's what's going on here, and so just keep reading, as you're reading through the book of Hebrews, remember it's a unified letter and it all leads to chapter 11, 12, 13. So that's it.

Speaker 2: 27:31

Well, speaking of next week, we're in chapter five and it begins with four. It's a do your best to remember what we talked about this week, because it's going to be really important going into next week. So that's where we'll pick up and we'll see you then,