Sunday 11 THE 18th SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY

(Amos 5.6-7, 10-15; Hebrews 4-12-16; Mark 10.17-31)

This morning I am going to focus on the reading from Hebrews Hebrews 4-12-16

Let‟s look at the reading together. The author wrote in a stylish literary fashion rather than in
the ordinary sort of Greek spoken by the man in the street. The beauty and poetry of the
language may perhaps be compared to the splendour and grandeur of the King James Bible or
Shakespeare‟s English Language.

The first paragraph is about the Word of God. The second is about Jesus, our Great High
Priest.

THE WORD OF GOD

For Jews, a word was more than a sound with a certain meaning. A word was power. The
creative voice of God is heard in the Book of Genesis. When God speaks big things happen.
God says, ‘Let there be light and there was light’. The prophet Ezekiel foretells, ‘Thus says
the Lord GOD: None of my words will be delayed any longer, but the word that I speak will
be fulfilled, says the Lord GOD.’

Christians come to the Bible not because of the intellectual significance of the words. They
come to the Bible because its words reveal God to us. The Gospel of John gives the good
news: ‘And the Word became flesh and lived among us.’ The Letter of James contains
practical advice on living out the Christian faith, ‘Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must
do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and
don’t obey, you are like people who stare at themselves in a mirror and forget what they look
like as soon as they leave…. God will bless you in everything you do, if you listen and obey,
and don’t just hear and forget.’ And in his First Letter to the Thessalonians, St Paul speaks of
the Word of God at work, „We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you
received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as
what it really is, God’s word, which is also at work in you believers.’ (1 Thessalonians 2:13-16).

Words build up. Words encourage and discourage. Words can also hurt and harm. Words
don‟t just say something; they also do something. In the marriage ceremony two little words
are spoken. They are only two little words, but words of crucial importance. The bridegroom
is asked, „Will you take... to be your wife…?‟ The bride is asked “Will you take... to be your
husband…? Two little words are given in reply. And what are these two little words? The
two words are “I WILL!” These are words of promise, to love, cherish, protect, and provide
for. Marriage is usually taken very seriously and the rights and obligations of marriage are
enforceable in law. The words “I WILL!” are powerful words. (Some suggest saying “I love
you” is important in a marriage but the words that keep it going are “I am sorry”, “I was
wrong”, “You were right”) Words do things. If human words can do things, just think how
much more the word of God can do to achieve God‟s purpose.

OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST

Now let‟s focus on the second part of the reading. Jerusalem‟s Temple was the main place of
Jewish worship and was believed to be God‟s exclusive dwelling place on earth. The Holy of
Holies was the inner sanctuary of the Temple. This room originally contained the Ark of the
Covenant: a large box covered in gold that held the tablets of the Ten Commandments. In the
Holy of Holies there were no windows or doors to let in light. According to the Law of
Moses, the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of young cows cleansed men‟s bodies from
sin. Once a year on Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement – the High Priest alone entered the
Holy of Holies and sprinkled the blood of sacrificed unblemished animals. Man was
reconciled with God in this yearly ritual. The High Priest was the link between God and his
people.

The Letter to the Hebrews identifies Jesus as the perfect high priest and shows the differences
between the Law of Moses and the Gospel. Jesus‟ death meant that his blood was poured out
for the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus was sinless but he offered himself as an eternal and
spiritual sacrifice to God. No other New Testament writer explains the greatness of Jesus
quite in the way that the writer of Hebrews does. See the words, „passed through the
heavens.‟ In the New Testament „heaven’ can mean the heaven of the sky or being in the
presence of God. Jesus has passed through heaven and is in the very presence of God. The
Christmas hymn „In the Bleak Mid-Winter’ comes close in making the same point when it
says that Jesus is so vast that even heaven is too small a place for him, ‘Our God, heaven
cannot hold him, nor earth sustain; Heaven and earth shall flee away, When he comes to
reign.’

Jesus knew temptation more than we can ever know and he went far beyond the limit of
human endurance in pain, but he did not sin. Those who live sheltered lives may be
disgusted and condemn those who fail. Jesus did not live a sheltered life. Travel advice is
best sought from someone who has travelled the road before you. Jesus has travelled the
road we travel. Jesus is able to identify with human beings because he has known life as a
human being. Jesus is aware of every weakness of ours and can give us sympathy and
compassion. When we suffer, Jesus knows and understands. Jesus is merciful because he
knows and forgives. Jesus is perfectly God, and perfectly man… he is our perfect high priest.

God has spoken in a variety of ways. In creation, in nature, in amazing miracles and the
different ways in which he has intervened directly in human affairs by the words given to
prophets. For the author of Hebrews, the words of Scripture are words of God today. God
who has spoken, still speaks and that word continues to be valid, and the Psalmist reminds us,
‘For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture…. O that today you would listen to
his voice!’ (Psalm 95 The Venite)

By Adam's disobedience in the garden, we are sinful and so God became one with us and
spoke for himself. Jesus, the perfect Word of God, brought the voice of God to man and
showed us who God is. The Bible speaks the Word of God, the commandments of God, the
offer of God. Jesus brought God to human beings and he can bring human beings to God.
Read the Bible? Yes! But do more than that. God‟s word is alive and working. God‟s Word
is not just to be read. It is something to be done… for
God knows every one of us and sees everything we do,
God‟s word lives and works within us, if we only ask him to.
His word is sharper than the sharpest knife, piercing bones and mind,
Jesus, God‟s only Son, was tempted, yet he did not sin.
He is our perfect High Priest, now in heaven, where he reigns.
Pray for help from Jesus every day, and when problems you do face.
You‟ll find a listening Saviour, love, mercy and also grace.
Poem based on Hebrews 4-12-16 Paul Heatherington