Shadow and Substance
Opening Prayer
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:9,10).
Read Hebrews 8:1–6
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.
3 Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. 4 If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. 5 They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” 6 But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Meditate on the words of the Lord’s prayer. Let yourself be reminded that we really do have a Father in heaven.What’s really real: earth or heaven? Often we think of this earth as solid and substantial, while we think of heaven as insubstantial and “spiritual.” In C. S. Lewis’s Narnia stories, however, it’s the other way around. Heaven—God’s space—is more real than the earth. There the grass is greener, and everything is so much more substantial.
Lewis got it right. This earth is just a shadow of the reality of heaven. So while the priests offered sacrifices in the tabernacle, Jesus our great high priest is ministering in its heavenly equivalent, of which the one on earth is just a shadow and a copy.
What’s Jesus doing in this heavenly tabernacle? He’s not offering sacrifices. He has already done that, “once for all” (7:27). That’s why he is seated at God’s right hand. He is sitting because his work of sacrifice is finished. Do you know and believe that he’s completed all of that for you?
Apply
Paul tells us to fix our eyes on the eternal unseen world. How can you refocus your attention on heavenly things today?
Closing prayer
King of heaven, remind me throughout my day today of Your eternal, heavenly kingdom that I am journeying toward.
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