Heart Healthy - Pt 4

We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. (Hebrews 13:10-13 ESV).

Let’s get back to our original reading for this series in Hebrews, chapter 13. He is using the language of sacrifice. While the Jews to whom the letter is written would certainly understand, it is a bit more difficult for us because it is outside of our experience. The writer explains that on the Day of Atonement (cf. Leviticus 16), after the blood of the sacrificed bull and goat is taken into the holy of holies, and sprinkled there to cover the sins of the people, the bodies of the bull and the goat are taken outside the camp and burned. "For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp" (Leviticus 16:27). The point he is making is that these sacrifices are not eaten, as with some other sacrifices. The nourishment the people received on the Day of Atonement was forgiveness and hope, not meat. All of that was meant to point to Jesus, the final sacrifice for sin. There was a lesson in that. The writer draws out the comparison: "Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate" (v. 12). In other words, Jesus has fulfilled the sacrifices of the Day of Atonement; they are completed in him; they find their final meaning in him. All there was to eat on the Day of Atonement was forgiveness and hope; and, that's all there is to eat from the altar of Calvary where the body of Jesus was consumed with suffering. So the point is: When you feel like a failure, when you feel discouraged and hopeless and dirty, don't turn to food. It's an alien remedy, and it has not benefited those who walk in it. It only makes things worse. Instead go to the altar of grace. We have an altar. And there is food. And the food is grace, the grace of forgiveness and the grace of hope. We have been experiencing unusually early hot weather in North Texas so far this year. We have already seen temperatures in the 100’s. The meteorologists are telling everyone the dangers of the high temperatures and the poor air quality it produces. They are warning people against working outdoors unless absolutely necessary. They are doing their best to keep everyone as informed and safe as possible. Yet, they really don’t know when there will be any relief. They cannot predict the future with certainty. They make educated guesses. Jesus doesn’t guess; He knows! Because of that truth we can be certain that His work, being finished, will bring us complete and perfect restoration. There’s your real hope!