Our help is in the Name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.
Beloved, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and the Lord
Jesus Christ, through the mighty working of God the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Psalm of praise 9:1, 9
Prayer
Psalm 16:1, 5
Scripture reading:
Hebrews 9:15-28
Scripture
text:
Hebrews 9:15; Catechism Lord’s Day 17
Therefore
he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are
called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has
occurred which redeems them from the transgressions under the first
covenant. (Hebrews 9:15 ESV)
This passage from the Bible deals with Christ’s sacrifice and the power
thereof.
- Through the blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ we received propitiation for our sins.
- Through this
appropriation the new covenant took effect.
- The covenant confirms the
certainty of the redeeming sacrifice of the Lord Jesus.
- The High Priest therefore
guarantees his work with this covenant – it gives us the assurance that
the work of the Intercessor will serve its purpose.
This passage clearly states that Christ’s sacrifice – his work as
priest – was unrepeatable.
- He was the ransom
only once. None of us can do what He did.
- God expected Him to
be obedient in all respects until death – his death on the cross on
Golgotha.
In Luke 4:5-7 we read about the devil’s attempt to make Jesus disobey
God’s instructions:
And
the devil took him up, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world
in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this
authority and their glory; for it has been delivered to me, and give it
to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it shall all be yours.”
(Luke 4:5-7 ESV)
This attempt was unbelievably clever and came at a very difficult time!
- He confronted Jesus
because he really believed that the Lord would rather worship him than
dying.
- That is why Jesus’
death created such a sensation. Because what the devil regarded as most
unlikely then actually happened.
- What had been
absolutely impossible, because nobody had ever managed to do it,
happened three days later: Jesus rose from the dead! The one and only
man in history rose from the dead and became alive again.
It is quite significant that the unbelievers were so anxious to
withhold these facts from the general public.
- The Roman
authorities were very well aware of the resurrection.
- The guards told them
the truth. But they guards were instructed not to tell the truth but
instead tell a lie, namely that the body of Jesus had been stolen.
However, God’s plan cannot be changed and so the apostle Paul went out
into the world to tell this news.
- Sometimes the
gentiles laughed at him, for example on the occasion of his Areopagus
speech:
- The Greeks could not easily
believe what he said although they listened attentively and at first
thought that Paul was one of the wisest people they had ever listened
to.
- But when he told them that death
had been conquered because Jesus – the man who was also God – conquered
death, the entire audience burst out laughing and told Paul that he
could address them again at another occasion.
- The Jews didn’t do
much better. This is why later it was said that the resurrection of the
Lord Jesus was a stumbling block for the Jews.
- Every time they heard about it,
it hurt.
- The Jewish high council of the
time judged Jesus and the people shouted that they and their children
would take responsibility for his death.
Listen to what God teaches us. In Romans 6:6-8 we learn that God loves
us. Therefore He didn’t want to leave us in the hands of Satan where we
ended up after the Fall. He sent his Son to conquer death for us so
that we can again experience the grace of God.
We
know that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful
body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For
he who has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we
believe that we shall also live with him. (Romans 6:6-8 ESV)
When we were still weak Jesus died for sinners at the right time.
Therefore Romans 14:9 reads as follows:
For to
this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord of
the dead and of the living. (Romans 14:9 ESV)
In other words, Jesus rules over us. Then death and the grave do not
have the final say, because Jesus is alive and He rules over his
faithful.
Jesus indeed said that we will live because he lives (John 14:19).
- This means that our
life – in full reality – only begins after our life on earth.
- This is also
strongly emphasised in Ephesians 2:4-6 that says that God gave us new
life with Christ and made us sit with him in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus.
- God’s guarantee of
our life after death is so certain that we are regarded as being in the
hereafter already. It doesn’t say that we shall get there eventually.
- This is such an
overwhelmingly strong fact that the Bible tells us that we are already
there with Christ.
Our life on earth will certainly come to an end when we die. But we
should not fear death. God gives us peace of mind, because He removes
from us the fear of death.
- Death is followed by
resurrection.
- Jesus’ resurrection
is proof thereof.
Naturally, unbelievers do not have this peace of mind.
- Those who do not
believe in Jesus Christ and his resurrection will not experience the
joy of the Lord’s hereafter.
- To them death will
be the door leading to eternal sorrow.
You must believe in the Lord, live according to his Word, because you
share in the redemption through the Lord Jesus Christ. You have been
saved from death. Through Jesus Christ you will live forever.
Let’s have a look at what we confess about it in Catechism Lord’s Day 17
45. Q. How does Christ's resurrection
benefit us?
A. First, by His resurrection
He has overcome death, so that He could
make us share in the righteousness which He had obtained for us by His
death.[1] Second, by His power we too are raised up to a new life.[2]
Third, Christ's resurrection is to us a sure pledge of our glorious
resurrection.[3]
[1] Rom. 4:25; I Cor. 15:16-20; I
Pet. 1:3-5. [2] Rom. 6:5-11; Eph.
2:4-6; Col. 3:1-4. [3] Rom. 8:11; I Cor. 15:12-23; Phil. 3:20, 21.
Amen
Closing prayer
Scripture hymn 5-4:2, 3, 5, 6 (10:2, 3, 5, 6)
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Amen.
Dr MJ du Plessis
Reformed Church Bellville
Date: 24 October 2004 (evening)