It must have been an interesting time for the world, and especially for the Israelites, when Christ entered the picture. How's that for an understatement to start things out. But the more I think about it, the more amazing it all seems to me. Everything changed for these people over the course of one man's life; the equivalent of an instant in Israel's long history.
When I say everything changed, it wasn't like Christ brought something which could exist alongside the way things had always been done. No, Christ brought something the challenged the very foundation of Israel's society. The manner in which they had always approached God, the way they had always understood God was operating among their people, the expectations that God had for their daily life; it all changed.
What's amazing to me is that the message Christ brought wasn't wholly unexpected by the Israelites. Christ said himself, "I have not come to abolish the law and the prophets" (the old covenant), "but to fulfill them." Christ was the final step in God's plan for salvation that had been prophesied about thousands of years earlier. And yet, so many ran from this "new covenant" that we are so thankful to have today. Why?
I think there are a zillion reasons we could come up with through a combination of scriptural study and conjecture. But for your sake, I'm only looking at one right now. As we discussed last time, 1 Samuel 2:25 is a plea from Eli to his rotten kids, Hophni and Phinehas, to stop living their life of sin. Eli says, "If one person sins against another, God may mediate for the offender; but if anyone sins against the Lord, who will intercede for them?"
The implied answer to Eli's question is: NO ONE! This is his whole point. The old covenant was designed in such a way that when people committed sins they would atone for them by taking an offering to the priests who would then sacrifice to God on their behalf. The priests were a go between, an mediator of sorts. As I mentioned before, the priests were held to a different standard than everyone else. They were representatives of God on earth. There was much expected of then, but the perks were great.
So in essence Eli is saying, you kids are the mediator between people's sin and God, but who forgives the mediator for sinning against God?
This is all great, but who cares if this is about the Old Testament priests. What about me today? I am no priest to God! Ahhh, but you are. This is part of what changed when Christ died and was resurrected for us. God's relationship with us changed. 1 Peter 2:9 says "You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light."
Suddenly, we are in the same position as Hophni and Phinehas. We are priests of God, chosen to speak the word of God to the world as his special possession. I am not worthy of that role. I need a mediator between myself and God. I have sinned mightily against my creator. I can't imagine being in the position of Hophni and Phinehas. The answer for them was - there is no one to intercede. They were killed for their evil shortly after this conversation with Eli. I deserve the same. You deserve the same.
Luckily, Jesus Christ is our mediator, our go between and our intercessory. "For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance - now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins they committed under the first covenant." Hebrews 9:15
So why did so many Israelites turn their back on this new, superior covenant? Well, just like thousands of years ago, the standards for a priest of God (Christians) are much greater than on everyone else. You don't just "not murder," you shouldn't even be angry with your brother. You don't just "not cheat on your wife," you shouldn't even lust after another woman (Matthew 5 paraphrase).
But, the flip-side is you also have a much more intimate, personal relationship with God than you could have had under the first covenant. You don't go through a priest in order to understand what God desires and to atone for your sins. Rather, Christ has given himself as the final sacrifice for all of us. He serves as our mediator and God's law is written on our hearts. It seems like an actual appropriate application of the famous Spider-man line: with great power comes great responsibility. You have been given a spectacular gift through the blood of Christ. Strive to live a life worthy of that gift.
No comments:
Post a Comment