Monday, April 30
Read John 1:29, Revelation 5:12, 13:8. What is the one image that these texts have in common, and what is the importance of that image in helping us to understand the plan of salvation?
When John the Baptist called Jesus the “Lamb of God”, he was making an unmistakable reference to the sanctuary. Even more directly, he was making a reference to Christ’s death for sin as the one and only fulfillment of all the lambs (and every other sacrificial animal in the Hebrew sanctuary ritual) that had ever been slain as a sacrifice for sin. Indeed, the four Gospels, whatever else they teach, ultimately tell the story of what Jesus did in His role as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
But the story of Jesus and His work for our salvation does not end in the Gospels, even with His death and resurrection.
From the beginning, the book of Hebrews touches on the theme of Christ as the High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary after His work as the sacrificial Lamb. From the first mention of Him in this role after the cross (Hebrews 1:3), succeeding chapters in the book make reference to Jesus as High Priest. The depiction of His work in the heavenly sanctuary is fully developed in detail in Hebrews 7:1-28.
Read Hebrews 7:1-28. What is the author saying here about Jesus?
Though these verses are so deep, so rich, the essence of what they are saying is that Jesus Christ has a better priesthood than did the priests from the line of Aaron in the earthly sanctuary service. But now, instead of an earthly priesthood in an earthly sanctuary, we have a heavenly High Priest ministering for us in the sanctuary in heaven. So, when we focus our eyes on Jesus now, we can focus them on Him as our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary.
