Hebrews 1:1-4

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, ² has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; ³ who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they” (NKJV).

The book of Hebrews is a rich and potent book. It is full of doctrine and imagery that helps us to solidify our faith in Jesus our Lord. The author’s identity remains in question, and there is some debate as to who is writing this book. My observation, based on its language structure and the final greetings in chapter 13, is that Paul was the most likely author. If not Paul, then certainly one of his near companions whose association with Paul may have influenced the grammatical structure of one’s writing.

Nonetheless, the One who actually wrote the book of Hebrews is God, as we know. He oversees the writing of the scripture using some 40 writers over about 1,500 years to author a coherent and well laid out narrative that is fraught with science, historical facts, supernatural characters and offers us an insight into the world that we cannot see. Much like Daniel in the Old Testament, a book that is dedicated to the Gentile history in the future, the book of Hebrews ties all of the Jewish histories into the present moment and shows the culmination of God’s oversight from Abraham to Jesus.

The book of Hebrews is thirteen chapters, and it is a very detailed book about events that happened in the Old Testament. We will explore them as best we can and draw all we can out of the texts. I encourage you to read the book, maybe multiple times to get the gist of the context and an overview of the content. This is a book rich in doctrine, not for the faint of heart and not for the novice. I pray that you will enjoy this journey, but more so, that you and I will be challenged to trust God more, be anchored in our faith more, and become more aware of God’s grace, the power of His salvation, and the honest realization that God used and uses sinful men; He always has and always will.

When we get to chapter 11, called the Hall of Faith, we will meet some characters that many would not allow in our churches today, but these men and women changed the world. Let me give you an example. David is called a ‘man after God’s own heart in 1 Samuel 13:14), then again in Acts 13:22, yet David had eight wives; they are listed in 2 Chronicles 15:13. We have a hard time at times dealing with this, and we tend to avoid these kinds of discussions because they are uncomfortable and they do not fit our narratives of Christianity. Yet God used and is still using David to this day to move His kingdom ahead. We are not condoning sin, never, but it is a reality of the Christian walk, even in godly men and women.

• God, verse 1

The book just jumps right in. There is no salutation, no introduction of any kind, and not even the name of the author. It begins with God and what He did in the past and is doing now. The assumption here is that the author does not need to prove to the reader that there is a God. This book is for people of the faith, people who are saved and have moved or are moving from the ‘milk’ of the Bible to some meat. This is the solid food, the deep doctrinal stuff that is going to make us think and make us come to a greater appreciation of what Jesus has done.

If you are still looking to find out if God is real, then the book of Hebrews is not for you. It will cause more confusion and create more questions than provide answers. But if you are looking for a spiritual journey, stick with me and we will get you through this. Maybe you want to get into the meat of the Bible and were a bit timid; that we can work with. We will take small bites, chew them as best we can, and digest these truths so as to make us all stronger in the faith for the Lord and His Kingdom.

• God Spoke, verses 1-2

To understand the book of Hebrews, we will need to explore the Bible in great detail. The Old Testament is primarily about the Jews. It is about the plan of God to redeem man using a Savior who is born in the bloodline of Abraham. The journey through the Old Testament details a supernatural war that is played out before us – a war that began in Genesis 3 with the temptation and subsequent fall of man; a war that has been waging for 6,000 years or so between Light and Darkness; a war that has encompassed all of humanity; a war that required that God become a man and die to redeem His creation; a war that required the Creator to allow the creation to kill Him; a war that is as alive and explosive today as it was in the days of Job.

The Old Testament lays out for us a plan, created and sustained by God, that encompassed 1,500 years of God watching over the lineage of His Son – taking them from modern-day Iraq, a place called Ur of Chaldeans, and into the modern-day land of Israel. His oversight preserved the Levitical line and the tribe of Judah as well as a remnant that will emerge to be marked by God in the very last days (see Revelation 7). God showed us this plan using writers like Moses (Genesis-Deuteronomy), Joshua, David, Solomon, Isaiah, Micah, Daniel, and many others. Many of these men never met; they wrote in different geographical locations, and yet the continuity of the account is astonishing. One can go from book to book and find a consistent and coherent theme, and that theme is Jesus.

In John 5:39-40, Jesus makes this statement; He is addressing the religious leaders there in Jerusalem, and they talk about the Old Testament. In it, they think that keeping the Law of Moses will bring them eternal life. Sadly, many peoples and religions still think that to this day. But Jesus makes an astonishing statement,

“You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life” (NKJV).

The entire story of the Old Testament is about Jesus. The Law is about Jesus, the prophets tell us about Jesus, the Psalms are about Jesus, the Proverbs, and on and on we can go. Jesus is the central theme, the central character, the Hero, and the main focus of the Old Testament. When we understand this, things that were confusing now become clear, and we can begin to digest and apply the spiritual truths that we are confronted with.

In the Old Testament, God speaks about Jesus. There are pictures and what are called Christophanies where Jesus shows up and talks to people. We will see one of these later in Hebrews when we meet a man called Melchizedek. But Jesus shows up in the book of the Judges to Gideon, He shows up to Samson’s mother and father, He shows up to talk to Daniel, and on and on we can go. Jesus is the central theme of the Bible. He is the Creator in John 1; He is the Savior, the Redeemer, the Sustainer; He will be the King of the Jews; He will rule the world; and He will right the political and ethical wrongs of the world when He returns. Take a look at Isaiah 9: 6-7:

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this” (NKJV).

This is a Jesus prophecy; the book of Isaiah is filled with them. Then there is the famous Isaiah 53, the very chapter the Ethiopian Eunuch was reading from in Acts 8. And from that text, Philip taught him about Jesus; and that man, according to Acts 8:37, came to understand that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God.

“Then Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’ And he answered and said, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.'”

• God’s Right Hand, verse 3

Jesus sat down once the events recorded in the Gospel were over. This is significant, and it is important for us to explore the furniture of the Old Testament Tabernacle and Temple to understand the importance of this. Look at Hebrews 9:1-5, and we will see the seven (7) furniture pieces in the Tabernacle and later the Temple.

“Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary. For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary; and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All, which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things, we cannot now speak in detail” (NKJV).

You will notice that there were no chairs in the Temple or the Tabernacle. Why? Because the work of the Priests and High Priests was never finished. The sacrificing went on day in and day out for about 1,000 years until Jesus came and died on the cross. The priests were not allowed to sit in the Temple at all. They stood to perform their service, and once a year, the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was and offered a blood sacrifice for the sins of the nation of Israel.

These sacrifices began each day with the morning sacrifice at about 9 am and then finished with the evening sacrifice at about 3 pm. If you take a look at the Gospels, you will see that Jesus was on the cross at about 9 am (the morning sacrifice), and He died at about 3 pm (the evening sacrifice). He was the first and the last. Mark 15:25-37 lays this out for us.

“Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. And the inscription of His accusation was written above: THE KING OF THE JEWS. With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left. So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’ And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, ‘Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!’ Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, ‘He saved others; Himself He cannot save. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.’ Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.

“Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ which is translated, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, ‘Look, He is calling for Elijah!’ Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, ‘Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down.’ And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last” (NKJV).

Notice that the 3rd hour was 9 am (morning sacrifice), and the 9th hour was at 3 pm (evening sacrifice). Jesus was and is our complete sacrifice, so now He can sit down since the work is finished. Jesus paid the total and final price for all of our sins. The veil has been torn; and He, our High Priest in Heaven, has offered His own blood as the FULL PAYMENT for our sins, yours and mine. This is the confidence we need to have in regard to our salvation. Jesus paid the price once and for all. When we are saved, we are saved forever. Jesus died ONCE, for all, forever.

We will explore this even further as we travel through the book of Hebrews. I pray that you will enjoy the journey as we grow in our knowledge, appreciation, and admiration of our Lord and Savior Jesus.

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

How to Connect with Us

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MississaugaMissionaryBaptistChurch
Online: https://www.mississaugamissionarybaptistchurch.com/ (under construction)
Email: missionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca

Matthew 1: 18-25

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’

“So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us.’ Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus” (NKJV).

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the wonderful moms out there. My mom, Norma, will be 89 later this year. She has been my biggest fan for all of my life. She is suffering from Alzheimer’s now and is very weak. Nonetheless, she has been a spiritual giant in my life. She has faithfully loved the Lord, and I cannot tell you how many times I saw my mom sitting at the dining room table or in the family room reading her Bible. She has a lovely soprano voice and often sang either in the choir or solos in praise to our Lord.

My kids have a great mom as well; Marny is amazing. She loves the Lord, loves me, loves her children, and now her granddaughter. She is hard-working, a natural servant, and she helps me to be a better man than I could be without her. Truly, I am surrounded by lots of Godly women who have invested in the Lord’s kingdom, invested in me, and many who I can call mom without any embarrassment or shame, and they would call me son.

Today we will take a look at Mary, Jesus’ mom. She is an amazing character, and we can see a lot of wonderful lessons in her. It is necessary to dispel a lot of myths with her as we go ahead and set the record straight. Mary is NOT a god. There is no reason for us to pray to her; she has no power nor influence over Jesus, as He is God and she is not. Mary was a humble servant whose 23 chromosomes in her eggs God used to provide Jesus the Man (with a human body), who would die on the cross for your sins and mine.

Mary would be abhorred to think that some people, millions actually, were worshipping her and praying to her as if she was some deity. When we take a close look at the life of Mary, we see one that covers a lot of the lives that many mothers live today. We will explore them as we take a look at Mary for Mother’s Day. As we journey through, I pray that the Holy Spirit will speak to you. When attending the wedding in Cana, she told the people at the wedding to do whatever Jesus said (John 2: 1-5, NKJV).

“On the third day, there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, ‘They have no wine.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Whatever He says to you, do it’” (NKJV).

She said this in reference to the water and wine, but in a broader sense, her words are as powerful today as ever – just do what Jesus says. He says to us in John 3:3, “You must be born again.” One must be born from God above to have eternal life. Jesus told us in John 14:6, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father, except through Me.” Let us look at Mary together and see how her life may help us with ours.

• Mary was a Teenage Mom.

The term that is often used is ‘young woman.’ But it is properly translated as a virgin; she was a virgin, and she had never had sexual relations with a man. In Luke 1:34, we see her admit to this as she spoke with the angel.

“Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?'” (NKJV).

We can go all the way back to Genesis and see that the term ‘to know one’s wife’ often resulted in the birth of a child. In Genesis 4: 1-2, we see this:

“Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, ‘I have acquired a man from the Lord.’ Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel.” (NKJV)

We then can see clearly that Mary admitted to an angel that she had never been with a man sexually. She was a young woman who was betrothed (engaged) to a man named Joseph. As late as the early 1900s, teenage girls and boys were married. My grandmother was married and had my father at 17 in 1933. My wife is a big fan of Little House on the Prairie, and we see them marrying at 15, 16 and 17. The term young woman referred to a teenage girl of marrying age, meaning that she was able to have children. Mary was a young mother, a young wife, and she was called to do a big thing by her Lord. She was ready to be obedient and submissive to the Lord.

Sadly, many teenage moms are not in stable married relationships today. We have slowed the development of our youth so that most are not ready to handle the responsibilities of a husband or a child. That is our fault in the Lord’s churches; we have made everything else more important than the family. And as such, it has been put on the back burner by a lot of our young people, and we are suffering for it. A whopping 93% of kids born into families where the dad leads spiritually get saved. When we encourage our young people to put off marriage and childbearing, we are killing our churches and stunting their emotional and spiritual development.

• Mary was a mom to a big family (Matthew 13:55).

Matthew records this for us about Jesus’ family (chapter 13:54-56).

“When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, ‘Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?'” (NKJV)

There is a certain religious group that teaches that Mary remained a virgin all of her life. But nothing could be further from the truth. The Scriptures tell us that she has at least six (6) other children; 4 boys and at least 2 girls. Two of her boys, James and Jude, became believers and wrote books of the Bible.

I know some big families, some with more than ten children. My wife and I have dear friends with six children of their own. This kind of thing is often frowned upon in our modern world, but in the Bible, it would seem that the people of God took the command to be ‘fruitful and multiply’ very, very seriously.

Mary also had to manage a home that had some fighting in it. Jesus’ brothers did not always like Him. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be in a family with the ultimate ‘goody two-shoes guy. He never messed up, never slipped up, never screwed up ever. It was not until later in life, after the resurrection, that Jesus’ brothers became believers.

• Mary was a young widow.

We do not know when Joseph died. We see him when Jesus was 12 years old, and then by the time Jesus comes on the scene at age thirty, according to Luke, there is no mention of Joseph at all. This is further reinforced when we see that Jesus leaves the care of His mom to John. We see this in John 19: 25-27.

“Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother and her sister, as well as Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then He said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ So, from that hour, this disciple took her into his home.” (NKJV)

There would have been no need to do this if Joseph was alive, so, since we see this, it further confirms our inference that none of his brothers were yet saved. Jesus left the care of His mom to His dearest friend. If he had a brother who would care for Mary and was a believer, the care would have naturally fallen to him.

Mary knew what it was like to lose someone that loved her dearly. Make no mistake; Joseph loved her. We often read verses and miss the inference that comes with them. Take another look at Matthew 1:19.

“Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.” (NKJV)

Joseph had every right, according to the Law of Moses, to have Mary killed in a gruesome way, like being stoned to death. One of the reasons for the yearlong engagement was to make sure that she did not come up pregnant with another man’s child. And here he was, and Mary was pregnant, and in his righteous indignation, he could have had her killed. But not Joseph; he was simply going to divorce her secretly so as not to cause her any public shame. This was an act of love; he put her needs before his need for revenge or justice.

• Mary had a husband who loved God.

Joseph took the shame, along with Mary, of raising what everyone would have thought was another man’s kid as he obeyed God. In Matthew 1:24, Joseph got up from his sleep and took Mary in her pregnant condition and claimed his bride. He, too, had to bear the shame with her, and he did so in obedience to God.

His obedience was more important than his reputation. I do not think that it was an accident that God the Father chose Joseph as well to parent His Son. God chose a man who obeyed him and loved his wife, Jesus’ mom. God chose a man of integrity and one who was more concerned with obeying God than what man thought. As I was writing this, I wondered what it must have been like for Jesus to watch Joseph die and not heal him, yet He healed so many others? What was it like for Jesus to learn carpentry from Joseph when He was the One who created wood in the first place?

• Mary was a mom who had to watch her son die (John 19:28-30).

Like many moms, Mary watched a son die. I have done my share of funerals as a Pastor, and the ones for the young people are the hardest. Parents are not supposed to bury their kids; it is supposed to be the other way around. But Mary was there that fateful afternoon when her Son, our Savior, died.

After this, knowing that everything had now been accomplished and to fulfill the Scripture, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.’ A jar of sour wine was sitting there. So, they soaked a sponge in the wine, put it on a stalk of hyssop, and lifted it to His mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished.’ And bowing His head, He yielded up His spirit.” (NKJV)

She watched the life seep out of Him; she saw his blood-stained body stop struggling to breathe and to live. She watched the thorn-crowned head bow as the fight was over. I cannot imagine the pain and anguish she felt. I cannot imagine that pain in her heart, the gut-wrenching cry of her sorrow. Her boy, her son, the one who was supposed to change the world and save the Jews was dead. The son that had caused so much turmoil, so much division, the one who raised the dead and solved other people’s sorrows, that son she had nursed that first night in the manger was dead. She must have been so broken.

I am sure that there are more aspects of Mary that we can take a look at. But as you can see, God chose well for us. Not only did we get a Savior, but in the process, we get this amazing Godly woman who can be an example of life to a vast array of different mothers across the 2000 years that have passed since she walked on the earth. Mary would tell you that your circumstances should not determine the level of your commitment to God. Rather, obey God and all He says no matter the cost to our pride and our reputation.

Mary was not a superwoman; she was just a woman, a young girl really, who served and still serves a Super God. That same God wants you and I to serve Him with the same gusto and commitment that Mary served with. To close, I will offer up the very powerful words of Mary to the servants at the wedding in Cana.

“His mother said to the servants, ‘Whatever He says to you, do it.'” (NKJV)

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

How to Connect with Us

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MississaugaMissionaryBaptistChurch
Online: https://www.mississaugamissionarybaptistchurch.com/ (under construction)
Email: missionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca