And Who Is Melchizedek?
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
“The
time is coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the
house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I
made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of
Egypt. . . . This is the covenant . . . I will put my laws in their minds and
write them on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people. . .
. I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
Hebrews 8:8b, 10, 12
We cannot understand these words
if we do not understand that we have a high priest representing us right this
very minute at the right hand of God the Father!
The old covenant required that
we be faithful to the law, continuing to make sacrifices for our sins,
continuing to sin after those sacrifices, and continuing to misunderstand God
and be separated from him. The new covenant introduced us to our baby king, who
came on that first Christmas and after 33 years made the perfect sacrifice for
not just our sins but for our very sin nature, a complete and perfect sacrifice
that satisfies all the demands of the old law!
When Jesus cried out, “Tetelestai! (It is finished!)” on the
cross, he didn’t just mean that he would fight no more and would die! No, he
meant that the New Covenant between God and man was now complete! No more
separation! No more loneliness! No more struggle for man to be reconciled to
God! Our high priest did not sacrifice an animal on our behalf as they had done
for generations! He gave himself to be the sacrificial lamb and forever
satisfied the law!
Prayer: Father, we will never understand our reconciliation, but we
thank you for this incredible gift. Help us at this Christmas time to see beyond
the cradle of Christ to the enormous work of our high priest. Amen
And Who is Melchizedek?
An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for Rehobeth United Methodist Church, Winter 2012,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator
prepared for Rehobeth United Methodist Church, Winter 2012,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator
messiahcob.com
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