The Word as Scalpel and Jesus as High Priest — Bible Reflection for Friday, March 3

Listen to the audio of today’s Reflection:

https://soundcloud.com/hapearce/reflection-for-march-3-2023

Hebrews 4:12-16

     ¹² For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. ¹³ Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

     ¹⁴ Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.¹⁶ Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

The first two verses of our reading describe the word of God as “sharper than any double-edged sword.” According to the Bible scholars, that’s an accurate translation, but it seems to me that to really get at the thought the author is expressing, it would be better to think of the word as a scalpel than as a sword.

The anonymous author of Hebrews says that the word of God can penetrate our outer selves to get right to our very hearts. That’s not really the way most modern people think about the Bible – they think of it as an old-fashioned book of old-fashioned morality with no real relevance to our lives today. And that probably has a lot to do with the way so many Christians focus on a handful rules and ordinances in the Old Testament books like Leviticus, and insist that the world has gone to hell in a handbasket because people don’t obey them anymore. So lots of contemporary people have just concluded that the whole Bible is sort of morally and socially obsolete.

But it seems to me that people who actually study the Bible in a serious and thoughtful way – and especially the New Testament – find that there’s a lot of truth in what today’s passage says about the Word. When you pay attention to what is being said about Jesus – and especially to the life and teachings of Jesus himself – it really does ‘cut to the heart,’ so to speak. Lots of people respond badly to the self-righteous and judgmental rhetoric some Christians spout, and it’s hard to blame them. But when you thoughtfully study the New Testament, it gets harder and harder to deny your own sins and shortcomings. (Or at least it does for me, but maybe you’re a better person than I am.)

And to carry our passage’s surgical metaphor one step further, our sins can be thought of as a spiritual infection within us, and it’s only when those sins are exposed that they can be successfully treated. So as painful as it may be to have our true selves laid bare by the word of God, it’s a necessary part of being healed of our own sinfulness.

In the second part of this reading, the author describes Jesus as “a great high priest.” This is a very important idea for all followers of Jesus, but it’s a cornerstone of Protestant theology. In fact, it probably points to the most important difference between our beliefs and those of our Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Anglican brothers and sisters.

Technically speaking, a priest is an intermediary between God and humankind. Parts of the church that have priests believe that you need a priest to help you approach God. But this passage in Hebrews says that Jesus has fulfilled that role once and for all. He has become the one and only intermediary we will ever need to approach God. With the death of Jesus on the cross, the way was opened for us to approach God directly, without the need for any other human intermediary, including priests and saints.

This important truth about the death of Jesus – that it opened the way for us to approach God directly – was symbolized by the fact that at the moment of Jesus’ death, the curtain in the temple at Jerusalem was torn from top to bottom. That curtain was meant to symbolize our separation from God. But its tearing signified that we are now invited to approach God, no longer as a dangerous force of nature that strikes down all who come near, but now as a loving father who says to his Son’s followers, ‘Call me Papa.’

Look at how today’s reading ends: “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” We’re invited to approach the throne of God, not cowering and whining about our own unworthiness, but rather with confidence, rejoicing that we have received God’s mercy and grace through the death of his Son. And that has completely transformed the nature of the relationship between us and God.

Let’s Pray. Lord, we thank you for the power of your word to expose every sin in us that prevents us from living truly abundant lives, and we pray for your continuing help to heal those sins within us. We thank you also for opening a way for us to approach you with the confidence of beloved children through the great sacrifice you made for us on Calvary. Amen.

Have a great weekend, and may you worship God joyfully on Sunday!

Henry

(The other readings for today are Psalms 22 and 148; Deuteronomy 10:12-22, and John 3:22-36. Our readings come from the NIV Bible, as posted on Biblica.com, the website of the International Bible Society.)