Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man. (Hebrews 08:01-02, NKJV).
No High Priest throughout Israel's long history could sit down in his service of the Tabernacle or Temple. There were no seats in the Sanctuary, save for the Mercy Seat reserved for God Himself.
To sit in the Presence of the Most High was considered the height of blasphemy.
To sit would indicate that the work of the ministry was done.
To sit was to presume equality with the One who rightfully sits on the Throne.
No sane High Priest would dare.
But Christ, our Great High Priest, is now seated in that very place, the place of co-regency and of power, and the writer of Hebrews wants us to know this because this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.
He is now not only Priest, but Minister, in the sense of governmental responsibility. And His rightful place is in the sanctuary of the true Tabernacle, designed and built by God Himself, and not that earthly copy built by men.
This is of the highest significance, particularly to those who fear coming to Christ because of a previous fealty to some lesser faith. The logic is simple and profound.
Christ is in the place of ultimate authority, except for the Father Himself, and reigns as co-regent of the Universe.
Do not fear leaving all remnants of the old system of works-salvation behind, whatever its name or venerability, for it is a hopeless prison purposely destroyed by the One who died to make men free. It is a leap not of faith or recklessness, but of the utmost reason, since the work of redemption has been completed for us - that work that could never be done by us.
In the face of this knowledge, to stay behind, to remain imprisoned by dead works, is to reject what God Himself has made clear in both prophecy and history about His beloved Son. It is a blasphemous act of rebellion worthy of eternal condemnation.
And this is precisely the stumbling block that Christ is to the world.
Many believe that Christianity is arrogant and bigoted, and that it is the epitome of intolerance and fanaticism for its adherents to condemn non-Christians to Hell forever. But they get this wrong in so many ways, starting with their myopic view of Christ and His work of redemption, and ending with the mistaken assumption that it is Christians who do the condemning.
God forbid that we who follow the Christ should think we are in a condition to condemn anyone for anything in this present age. Those who love and follow the Lord know His greatness and our lowliness and depravity. If we are not actually guilty of all that we could be, we are certainly guilty of failing to do all that we should. And many of us are guilty of far worse than we even know.
The more you know of Him, the less inflated view you have of yourself, and the more value you place on who He is and what He has done. It is not saved sinners who condemn those who reject Christ, it is the Father who does so, and it is perfectly just for Him to do so given what He has done to save us by sending His Son to expiate our guilt.
To reject that is to say that Jesus needn't have died on the Cross to cleanse us of sin.
Given the immensity of that cost, it becomes evident why nothing less than full acceptance of that sacrifice provides an escape from everlasting torment.
To believe otherwise is to put yourself in God's place, which is far more arrogant and presumptuous than any tenet of Christianity.
