There is still more concerning the riches of Christ in this book of Hebrews which we must see. To enter into the concept of any writer is not easy, and to get into the spirit of those who wrote the Scriptures is even more difficult. You may know all the passages word for word, you may understand all the sentences and know all the chapters, but it is not so easy to get into the spirit in which such a book was written. I do believe that in these days, however, the Lord has brought us into the spirit of the author of Hebrews. What is the spirit and what is the concept by which, for which and with which the writer composed this book? I do believe that before the writer of the book of Hebrews began his task there was in him this concept: so many Hebrew believers were ensnared by the outward religion, Judaism.
Judaism was really and undoubtedly good—in it were the true God, God’s law, God’s words, God’s writings. There may be thousands of books on earth, but not one written by God. However, in Judaism is found God’s Holy Writing, God’s divine Word. How wonderful this is! Also found in Judaism are the way to worship God, the sacrifices, the offerings, and all the ordinances established by God. This is far removed from heathendom; this was something ordained, revealed, and established by God Himself. Besides all this, in Judaism are the holy instructions of how to behave oneself both in the presence of God and among human beings. In summary, Judaism has at least these four things: the very God, the divine writings, the divine way for people to worship God, and the best instructions concerning human behavior. In addition to these, the angels are another one of their boasts. These are things which even at that time were very attractive.
The Jewish believers in the early days of the church believed in the Lord Jesus, but they could not loose themselves from these attracting elements. Who or what could compare with these five items? Nothing either western or oriental. The heathen have all the demons, but the Jews have all the angels. Unless you could offer them something better, how could you convince them? If they hold the silver and all you have is merely clay, could you persuade them to trade the silver for the clay? The best way to convince holders of silver is to show them gold, a quantity of gold. This was the concept within the writer of the book of Hebrews—what the Jewish believers had was but silver; what he had was gold.
What is the gold? Christ is the gold. The Jews have God, but they do not have a God with a human nature. Now we have a God, not only with divinity, but also with humanity; we have something better. I do not say that what the Jews have is not good, but what we have is better and even the best. Their God is the hidden God, but our God is the expressed God. We have something more. The Jews have the Holy Writings, but their Holy Writings consist only of the Old Testament. What we have is a New Testament. We do not say theirs is wrong or not good, but it is too old, it is not up-to-date. We have a new and better covenant. The blood that sealed their covenant was the blood of a mere beast, but the blood that seals ours is the blood of the eternal Son of God. Can this blood be compared with the blood of a beast? This is the thought and concept of the writer. The way the Jews inherited of worshipping God was too outward; we have an inward way of worshipping God. Their way is old, but our way is new; their way is dead, but our way is living. We have a new and living way (10:20). The angels the Jews have are right and good, but the Jews always consider themselves lower than the angels. We who have the new covenant, however, are higher than the angels: the angels are just the servants; we are the heirs, the sons. We do not serve angels; we call them to serve us. Is not this much better? This is the concept of the writer.
The main thing is this: the writer had the concept that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the eternal One, is better than all things. He is the very God and He is also a real Man. He is the God-man. He is no more just God, but God and Man. He has the divine nature as well as the human. He is the very God now with two natures, divinity and humanity. He is far higher than the angels. He was made lower for a little while, but then He was crowned with glory and honor. How can the angels compare with Him? The Jewish people were always boasting in Moses: they said continually, “We have Moses!” But Jesus is more glorious than Moses. Moses is merely the building; Jesus is the builder who builds us together into a house of God. How can you compare the building with the builder? And Jesus is the real Joshua. Joshua was just the type; Jesus is the reality. He is the real Joshua to bring us into the good land, and He is also the real land with all its riches for our enjoyment. Praise the Lord! As Joshua was the companion to Caleb, so is the Lord the companion to us. He is the real Joshua, and we are all so many Calebs. He is our companion, and we are His partners; we are just one company with Him, going into the good land. As for Aaron, Christ is far superior. Aaron was simply a high priest according to the law, but He is the eternal Melchisedec, a high priest according to the power of an endless life.