Kneel Day 7 On Our Behalf: Digging Deeper
Digging Deeper Days
Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
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The Questions
Hebrews 10:19-23
Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus— 20 he has inaugurated for us a new and living way through the curtain (that is, through his flesh)— 21 and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. 23 Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful.
Original Intent
1) What is the “new and living way” inaugurated by Jesus? (verse 20)
In Hebrews 10:20, we are told Jesus’ blood has made a new and living way to enter the sanctuary of God. Before Jesus’ death on the cross, the high priest sacrificed an innocent animal every year to atone for the sins of God’s people. (Leviticus 16) Because of Jesus, people have a “new and living way” to access the Father. When the sinless Savior took our sin upon Himself, He redeemed our lives and reconciled all who believe in Him back to God. We are no longer separated from God but can come boldly to His throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16) through the “new and living way” of Jesus. Andrew Murray suggests “Christ’s death was something entirely and essentially new, and so also His resurrection life; a life out of death, such as never had been known before. This new death and new life constitute the new and living way, the new way of living in which we draw nigh to God.” The reason Jesus came to earth and sacrificed His life was so we could live an abundant life (John 10:10) in communion with God (1 Corinthians 1:9). His death made a way for us to draw near to our righteous God without the hindrance of our sin. As David Guzik points out, “Now under the New Covenant we have access because of the perfect sacrifice of the sinless Son of God, and it is as if the living, resurrected Jesus ushers us into the throne room of God.” We can remain in God, and He remains in us (John 15:4-8), because Christ’s work on the cross brings us into relationship with God.
2) How are our hearts sprinkled clean and our bodies washed in pure water? (verse 22)
In the Old Testament, priests sacrificed an animal and sprinkled its blood on the altar to signify cleansing and payment for sin. They would also wash themselves, signifying holiness, before wearing tabernacle garments to make the sacrifice. (Leviticus 16:4) Kenneth Wuest explains how the “high priest would sprinkle the blood of the sacrificial animal seven times on the ground as he approached the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies.” (Leviticus 16:14) The author of Hebrews references this in writing, “Let us draw near [to God] with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water.” (Hebrews 10:22) It is Jesus, our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14), who cleanses us from sin through the blood sacrifice He made for us at the cross. We are sprinkled clean and washed pure by His blood. Some, like David Guzik, suggest this passage also references water baptism. “With the perfect cleansing available to us, described in terms of promises of the New Covenant in the Hebrew Scriptures (hearts sprinkled) and the Christian practice of baptism (bodies washed), we can draw near to God in a way never available to someone under the Old Covenant.” Jesus’ sacrifice made a way for us to have a vibrant relationship with the living God! Andrew Murray asserts, “The blood [of Christ] has put away the thought of sin from God; He remembers it no more forever. The blood puts away the thought of sin in me too, taking away the evil conscience that condemns me.” What an incredible reality, that we can commune with the Holy God who frees our conscience from evil and sprinkles our hearts clean, free of condemnation! (Romans 8:1)
3) How do we hold onto the confession of our hope without wavering? (verse 23)
The author of Hebrews 10:23 admonishes readers to “hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful.” According to Chuck Swindoll, this letter was written to “Jewish Christians in Rome, who were struggling under Nero’s persecution and were considering moving back toward the Mosaic Law. The writer to the Hebrews showed these Jewish Christian believers that, though they were faced with suffering, they were indeed following a better way . . . and they should persevere.” It can be hard to stay committed to biblical beliefs when doing so incurs mistreatment from others. It can be easy to waver, or even fall away, from truth when following Christ becomes difficult. This verse tells us that, because God is faithful and keeps His promises, we should hang on with hope without faltering. R.C. Sproul explains, “The faithfulness of His Word and His activity through history give us the basis for our hope and confidence that God will do all that He promises. Because of this faithfulness, we too must be faithful to Him.” God’s Word tells us all Christians will face persecution (2 Timothy 3:12), but the hope we are holding onto in the promises and Person of Jesus is worth any persecution we face for following Jesus. In fact, the Bible calls those who are persecuted blessed for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. (Matthew 5:10) God grants us the grace (John 1:16) to be faithful to Him as He shows faithfulness to us in all situations.
Everyday Application
1) What is the “new and living way” inaugurated by Jesus? (verse 20)
Recently at church, our fancy printer for checking kids into class wasn’t working, so I told parents we were “kickin’ it old school” using ink pens and stickers instead of technology. Of course, “old school” is relative; when I was a child, kids were simply dropped off without official security measures. Everybody knew everybody else and the street where they lived. The “new system”, even with a downgrade to markers and stickers, was still better than the “old system” I’d grown up under. In relating with God, Jesus has given us a “new system” described in Hebrews 10:20 as “the new and living way” which is immeasurably better than the old system. Instead of relying on a priest to temporarily atone for our sins through animal sacrifice, we can freely access God because Jesus took our sins upon Himself once and for all. (1 Peter 2:24) We don’t need to worry about not measuring up, or working to atone for the impossible debt our sins have incurred, because Jesus paid the debt-price (1 Corinthians 6:20) to cleanse us from “all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Dan Cruver describes what it’s like for us to “enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:19) when he writes, “Our confidence to enter is not based upon what we’ve done or not done but upon what Christ has done through the shedding of His own blood. Our confidence is based upon the work of Christ.” There is much freedom in knowing my salvation does not rely on what I do or fail to do. My righteousness before God is because of Jesus’ righteousness; all I need to do is accept His love and mercy made available through the “new and living way”! (John 3:16)
2) How are our hearts sprinkled clean and our bodies washed in pure water? (verse 22)
I was saved from my sin-debt at age 5, so the idea of being made clean and whole didn’t resonate with me as deeply then as it does now. Since then, I’ve grown in understanding of my sin, its offensiveness to the Holy God, and my deep need for a Saving God to cleanse me. There are numerous sermons, songs, books and movies describing the blood of Jesus washing us because it’s a life-altering experience. Hillsong United’s song, Clean, declares, “The highest Name has set me free/Because of Jesus My heart is clean.” In her song, “Clean,” Natalie Grant sings, “There’s nothing too dirty/that you can’t make worthy/You wash me in mercy/I am clean/ Washed in the blood of your sacrifice/Your blood flowed red and made me white/My dirty rags are purified/I am clean.” When your life has been tinged with the guilt and shame of sin, being delivered from the heaviness of condemnation is whole-life-liberating. Only the blood of Jesus, shed for us, cleanses us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:7) and frees us from sin and death (Romans 8:2). According to author Liz Curtis Higgs, “God doesn’t just clean us up, fix us up, straighten us up. He recreates us in the image of His Son. He starts from scratch. He makes us new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17) In Christ, we become “a new being” (Good News Bible), “a new person” (New Living Translation), “a new creature altogether” (Amplified Bible), and have “a fresh start” (The Message Paraphrase).” This freedom is available to all who choose to turn from their sin and trust Christ to pay their sin-debt! Being made new, clean and free, stirs us to share this Good News with everyone!
3) How do we hold onto the confession of our hope without wavering? (verse 23)
I’ve always been inspired by Christians whose lives demonstrate a life that “hold(s) on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since He who promised is faithful.” Corrie Ten Boom was a Christian Dutch woman who hid Jews from the Nazis in the Netherlands during World War II. “In concert with her religious beliefs, her family experience, and the Dutch resistance. Her defiance led to imprisonment, internment in a concentration camp, and loss of family members who died from maltreatment while in German custody” (encyclopedia.ushmm.org) Though she and those she loved suffered much, she was still able to say, “In darkness God’s truth shines most clear”. (Corrie Ten Boom) She held onto the unwavering hope she had in Christ and the truths of the Scriptures in her darkest hours, then emerged to share that hope with others around the world. There are stories from all over the globe like this one, of people holding fast to Jesus in the face of intense struggle. The recent coup in Myanmar left people fleeing into the jungles for survival, but hope persists for those displaced Christians. Lindy Lowry reports, “Like so many situations where God’s people are pressed on every side (2 Corinthians 4:8,) faith continues to survive in persecution. Our local partners [in Myanmar] report that increasing numbers of people are turning to Jesus for their hope.” In Nigeria, Boko Haram has harassed Christians who refuse to convert to Islam, yet “many Nigerian Christians forgive their persecutors, and some even share the gospel with militants” (persecution.com) Stories like these remind me that holding on to my hope in Christ without wavering is important because it keeps me connected to God’s promises and it encourages others who may be struggling.
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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!
1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
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in your everyday!
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Why Dig Deeper?
Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.
In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!
Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.
Study Tools
We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.
Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!
Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))
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