In the new covenant Ezekiel is told that there is a
significant change, we are no longer to be judged based on the sins of our
fathers. We each have a “clean slate”,
we will be judged on our own merits or lack thereof. The covenant people have a fresh start after
this exile. The message of Ezekiel is,
in many ways, like the message of John the Baptist. He is preparing a people, a people who stand
before the Lord as repentant sinners. If
your understanding of the Lord and His covenant was that you would be punished
for the sins of your ancestors, this was incredibly welcome news. What was the basis for this declaration? It was the exile itself, the sins of the past
were dealt with and now they were living with God in real time. We have the same in Jesus. When we came to faith in Him, our sins were
washed away and now we deal with all that in real time. We have an ongoing relationship with God made
possible first, last and always by the cross which is an ever-present reality.
Just as the Lord loves us, whether we are sick, dying, or
merely filthy with sin, so are we to love others. The ones who pass by the man all can have
excuses for not seeing to his needs. The
priest and Levite are going to serve in the temple and if they come near the
man they may become unclean if he is bleeding or dead and they would be unfit
to serve. People are counting on them,
it is important for them to do God’s work.
The Samaritan is out of his territory, he can’t worship at the temple anyway,
but that reality has nothing to do with his actions, he genuinely extends
himself on the man’s behalf and is willing to continue to provide for his
needs. His priorities are in order, he
knows his neighbor is anyone, known or unknown to him, who has need of
him. If I were on the way to church and
saw someone get hit by a car, as the pastor, what should I do? Should I attend to the person’s needs or
should I go on to church because I have to preach? How would the Lord have us
prioritize our obligations? I am certain
that the incarnation and crucifixion of Jesus provide us with the answer to
that question. He loved God by loving
those who were created in His image.
The priesthood that Jesus has is unlike the Aaronic
priesthood in several ways and is the priesthood of a better covenant. The Aaronic priesthood was one of descent,
men died and were replaced by other men in their family. Jesus since He was resurrected from the dead,
now lives forever and needs not be replaced, He continues forever in keeping
with the word of the Lord, ‘You are a priest forever.’ He also need not offer sacrifices daily
because He is unstained by the world as He is at the right hand of the
Father. He need not replace the
showbread weekly, He is the bread of life.
He needs not trim the lamps and replace the incense in the holy place,
He makes intercession directly and has given the Spirit to all flesh. He has permanently entered the holy of holies
through his blood and that was deemed acceptable by God and we know it because
of the resurrection. He has made it
possible for us to enjoy a relationship with the Father whereby He knows us
each by name and made it possible for our sins to be forgiven and no longer
remembered because He took them on the cross.
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