Better Than Aaron

Rather than Moses, Aaron or a Levite - all sinners, all men with weaknesses and subject to death - it is God manifest in the flesh who ministers now. He died once but soon rose and now lives forever. His person is marked by every divine and human perfection. He is “a Son over God's house” not merely its builder and so is worthy of more honour. Further, the covenant he administers is “founded on better promises”. Christ has greater blessings to give and there is a greater certainty of receiving them than was the case under the old covenant.

Christ's administration is also greater and more glorious as regards place and manner. We can think of a number of contrasts.

• Aaron went into an earthly, Christ into a heavenly sanctuary.
• Aaron stood before the mercy seat, Christ is near the Father of mercy himself.
• Aaron wore clothing that spoke symbolically of glory, Christ is now clothed with real and substantial glory.
• Aaron knew God's symbolic presence on earth for a while, Christ is in God's immediate presence in heaven forever.
• Aaron knew a measure of respect and honour from fellow sinners, Christ is adored and honoured by all the holy angels and the spirits of just men made perfect.
• Aaron ministered “a shadow of the good things that are coming”, Christ gives “the realities themselves” (Hebrews 10:1) - the Spirit, righteousness, pardon, grace and eternal life.
• Aaron was under a cloud, Christ “at the Father's right hand, is in the clearest light and brightest glory” (Hurrion).

From my book What Jesus is doing now, pp 69, 70

10 Marriage words

1. Tied the knot

2. Entered wedlock

3. Entered the marriage bond

4. Entered into marital union

5. Became yoked together

6. Entered the conjugal state (conjugal = yoked together)

7. Got hitched (a hitch is a type of knot)

8. Were united in marriage

9. Became attached to one another

10. Were joined in holy matrimony

He sits down to enjoy what he has done

It is not that Christ ceases to act for his people in heaven. No, their forerunner has passed into the heavens to serve them and do them good. He appears in God's presence for them. As their high priest, he transacts their affairs and he lives to make intercession for them forever. Nevertheless, his former toilsome and laborious work is over. The work was done for his Father and though he did it voluntarily and more than willingly, it was very demanding. Not only did he continuously go about doing good for men's bodies and souls but he knew great toil and hardship when he bore God's wrath and endured the law's curse by suffering and dying. He has now been set free and has relief from it all. He sits down to enjoy what he has done.

God looked with satisfaction and pleasure on the completed old creation, declared it very good, then rested from his activity. So Christ looked with complacency on the new creation wrought by his labours (the blessings of grace that have come through his blood that are applied to his people), saw it was very good, then rested from his activity.

From my book What Jesus is doing now, pp 65, 66

Until I make your enemies a footstool

Psalm 110 also speaks of the Father making the Son's enemies a footstool for him. This is again a picture. A footstool is a piece of furniture designed to support the feet of someone who is seated. It can be a separate piece of furniture or it can be built into a seat or throne, as with Solomon's throne, which had six steps “and a footstool of gold” attached (2 Chronicles 9:18). Interestingly, in 1 Chronicles 28:2 the ark of the covenant is referred to as being “the footstool of our God”. Given that the mercy seat or atonement cover is often seen as a throne (1 Samuel 4:4; Psalms 80:1, 99:1) there is perhaps some significance in that. In Isaiah 66:1 God says “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool” which is also quite significant in this context. The picture of the Son's enemies being his footstool is in harmony with the idea of his sitting at God's right hand.

From my book What Jesus is doing now, p  63

Sitting at the right hand?

Obviously we are not to understand God's “right hand” literally. As Augustine points out, that would mean the Father was on Christ's left! God does not actually have a right hand, or a left for that matter. The children's catechism rightly observes that “God is a Spirit, and has not a body like men”. Jesus' own statement in John 4:24 is that God is a spirit. When the Bible speaks of God's right hand it is speaking anthropomorphically. It is using human terms.

Similarly, when we speak of Christ sitting, we are not speaking of bodily sitting. Jesus certainly has a body but we are not to imagine a literal crown on his head or his sitting on a literal throne. Stephen sees him standing not sitting (Acts 7:56). That detail presents no difficulty. No doubt Jesus stood, as it were, resentful at how they were treating his servant. Concerned for Stephen, he was more than ready to help. In Revelation Jesus stands too. Paul and Peter simply say Christ is “at the right hand of God” (Romans 8:34; 1 Peter 3:22). The idea of sitting, or standing for that matter, is picture language.

From my book What Jesus is doing now, pp  62, 63

On the throne/At his right hand

Such passages (Revelation 5:6; 7:9, 17; 22:1, 3) speak of the present glory of Christ in terms of his being on the same throne as the Father rather than on a throne at his right hand but there is no real contradiction. They are simply two different ways of speaking of what is really the same thing. It is the right hand language that is most often used in Scripture and that has led theologians to refer to Christ's session at God's right hand.

From my book What Jesus is doing now, p  62

Great preaching

Those who have preached for many years may not always be considered great preachers but they know what is considered great preaching and they realise that it usually either involves a preacher taking a familiar text and saying something unusual and profound or taking an unfamiliar text and saying something less unusual and profound, Meanwhile most of us preach what is not profound or unusual from familiar texts.