1. The Definitive Nature of Christ’s Work

In accordance with the church calendar, I will lecture today from the letter addressed to the Hebrews.* In fact, Hebrews was a sermon/treatise that was sent as a letter. There is much debate about authorship. Though traditionally credited to the Apostle Paul, the letter is anonymous. Most modern scholars, both conservative and critical, believe its author was not Paul. But we can only guess. However, it is clear that readers of the sermon/treatise had faced and continued to face persecution for their faith. They are likened to the Israelites in the wilderness. They needed to be informed concerning the superiority of Christianity and the new covenant, over the old sacrificial system of the old covenant.

The high priest killed beasts, which were a sacrificial offering to God for the forgiveness of human sin. The writer to the Hebrews describes the scene: “Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lamp stand, the table and the consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place” (Hebrews 9:1-3).

The tabernacle was a lightly constructed tent which God originally ordered Moses to set up as a place of worship. It became a model for the Holy Temple. It had two rooms, of which the first part is called the Holy Place. The second one is the Most Holy Place, where God would be present. Ordinary worship services were observed in the first room. The Most Holy Place was opened once a year for the sacrificing ceremony. Only the high priest could enter there exclusively for that purpose. On the ceremonial day he would bring a sacrificed goat and a calf to and offer their blood to the alter.

The Holy Place and The Most Holy Place were separated with a curtain, which prevented humans from entering into the divine place as the writer to the Hebrews explains: “But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance” (Hebrews 9:7-8). The curtain closed off the entrance to the Most Holy Place, which symbolized the absence of a direct relationship between God and humans.

In describing the last moments of Jesus’ death on the cross, Matthew records: “And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split” (Matthew 27:50-51) The curtain, which blocked the relationship between God and humans, was torn. Thus the way was opened, which allowed human interaction with God.

The writer to the Hebrews interprets it another way: “When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9: 11-12). The work of Christ as high priest contrasts dramatically with that of the temple rites. The good things that have come. The present salvation.

2. Sacrificial Offerings

In the old covenant it was necessary to bleed sacrificed animals in order that humans were forgiven and saved. There is some familiarity with the present world too, not with the blood of animals, but with the law of capital punishment for humans. For example, judgements by the modern courts of law often deliver the death penalty to those who have committed aggressive criminal acts against society.

Indeed, the majority of families of criminal victims often demand extreme and severe punishment for culprits, as a means of closure or psychological compensation. I find such a tendency similar to the world of the old covenant (Exodus 21:12-31). Even though we might have compassion for those families, from a faith point of view, we should be emancipated from that attitude, which generates a continuous shedding of blood.

American invasions of Afghanistan, or Iraq, as a retaliation against terrorists’ attacks, are based on the same kind of thinking. Lawful self-defence methods to violent attacks from others, reminds me of the sacrifices practiced in the time of the old covenant. But vindictive over-reactions only gives cause to worse outcomes and revenge. As a matter of fact, the current situations of which we speak seems to confirm the truth of that theory.

Contrary to traditional thinking, Jesus offered His own blood for His aggressors’ sake, and for ours too. That was the crucial point which separated the world of the new covenant from that of the old one. Whereas the high priest entered the Most Holy Place to redeem humans with the blood of sacrificed animals, Christ did so with His own blood and God accepted it. So we do not need an animal sacrifice in order to purify and heal. We will not seek revenge or compensation. We must live in the world of the new covenant.

The writer to the Hebrews explains: “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 committed under the first covenant” (Hebrews 9:15). The word “covenant” is ”ברית” in Hebrew, which has another meaning, “to break.” In the Jewish society of that era, a symbolic act was necessary to sign a contract. Two concerned parties would cut an animal in half and then they would pass through the space between the two parts of the animal. That symbolized their willingness to fulfill the promises and if they failed that, they would agree to be killed in the same way as the animal (Genesis 15).

The contract based on a similar principle was confirmed between God and Israelites, after the Exodus on Mount Sinai where God gave the Ten Commandments to them. As the act of confirmation, Moses and the Jewish people gave burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the lord. And Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar (Exodus 24).

Nonetheless the people could not respect the contract. In consequence Israel was punished and destroyed by God in 587 B.C. The covenant was invalidated. But Jeremiah predicted at that very time: “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” says the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people” (Jeremiah 31:33).

The new covenant could not be a restoration of the old one, but a newly conceived covenant from God. Restoration is meaningless because humans are not capable of keeping their promises. Therefore, salvation would be given through God’s mercy, not through redemptive blood. And the New Testament records that the new covenant was written with Jesus’ blood: “In the same way, after the supper He (Jesus) took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you’” (Luke 22:20).

3. Redemption Through the Cross

I chose 2 Corinthians 3:6 for today’s invocation verse: “He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” This verse contains the important awareness that in Christ, a new covenant is being formed, and Paul and other missionaries are the mediators of its formation. We too are to become ministers of the new covenant.

The old covenant was based on the law which was written with ink. And the contract between God and humans would be validated through the human effort of respecting the conditions and clauses of the very law. However humans are incapable of fulfilling the law. Therefore the redemption with blood of sacrificed animals was the condition sine qua non for being forgiven by God. Thus the law and the sacrifice were inseparable notions in the old covenant .

In contrast Jesus Christ established the new covenant, which is written with the Spirit not with ink. It does not require fulfillment of the law with every effort a human can muster. Paul also uses the expression “the new covenant” in his first letter to the Corinthians,:
” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:.25).

He implies that the old and the new covenants are fundamentally different: “You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts” (2 Corinthians 3:3). Our nature was fundamentally changed, through the blood of Jesus once and for all.

We do not need blood of any type to receive God’s forgiveness or to forgive others. We will not seek human blood or sacrifices from those who demand recompense for offensive acts to human kind. It is becoming more severe and difficult for people to live in the Japanese society today. The number of suicidal cases have increased up to 30,000 this year, and there are more people than ever, suffering from a mental disturbances or medical disorders, like depression or melancholia. Recently I read a book entitled “About the difficulties of life,"** of which the author remarks that certain psychological problems are caused by socially environmental difficulties. For example, people who live under financial strain, caused by redundancy or unstable employment, often suffer from identity disorders and loss of dignity. They feel engulfed and alone within a busy society which passes them by.

In the present world the commercial markets are globalized. Companies and societies undergo international competition more than ever before. So, to run their businesses successfully they try to cut all costs, including personnel everyday necessities. In consequence, working conditions became harsh for under qualified or aged people. Redundancy and pay-cuts as excuses for restructure might destroy lives of the weak, not only financially, but also psychologically. Besides, when parents are gloomy and depressed, so too are the children. Often they feel desperate, even worse, many want to abandon their own lives. Such tendencies can result in suicides or violent crimes.

I see a certain similarity to the world of the old covenant in such a society, where the weak bleed. Only those who are fortunate enough to be talented or born rich, seem to have the privilege of living an adequate life. And they go on their way by sacrificing the weak. Almost 2000 years has passed since the death of Christ, yet this world still does not recognize the meaning of redemption through the Cross. But even under current circumstances we must seek a way to live as real Christians, by showing and telling the world about the new covenant.

There are many ways to live. We are all born as humans and many of us look to realize our own existence,*** by satisfying our inner needs. But that life goal often requires that we become engaged in contests and winning. Winners automatically make losers. But once we enter into the world of the new covenant, we are changed. So we will not prevail on others, rather we will co-operate. It does not signify a resignation of our own personal standards of living. On the contrary, we enrich our own lives by serving others.

The majority of us want to please others, be appreciated, and to make others value our competence. Sometimes those desires draw unhappiness because they might fail to be achieved. Even if others do not love us, we can still love them. If it is difficult to get our virtues and talents appreciated, we can still recognize the gifts which others may possess. Paul reminds us that Jesus once said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

Jesus offered His own life for the sake of humans, and by so doing He purified us. The writer to the Hebrews says: “And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore” (Hebrews 13:12-13). We are invited to offer our lives for others’ sake, while remaining in this world where the strong exploit the weak. Jesus Christ redeemed our life with His own life. So let us respond to that invitation.
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* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistle_to_the_Hebrews

**About difficulties of living, by Kayano Toshihito,
Edt. Koubunsha, 2008 July ISBN 9784334034610

***Self- actualization / Maslow hierarchy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Harold_Maslow