So you can go to a wax museum and take a picture with a wax Jack Sparrow (or pick your favorite celebrity). But if given the choice between the wax version or meeting Johnny Depp in his famous Pirates of the Caribbean costume, which would you choose? We would probably all agree that the real deal beats the fake figure every time.
In the absence of Johnny Depp, the statue is cool; but if Depp is in the room, I’d rather pose for a picture with the human. An artist’s rendering is great, but it is unnecessary when the person is there in the flesh.
The author of Hebrews spoke about an artist rendering. In 8:5 he said, “They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things.” The word copy has been translated elsewhere as artist rendering. What is he talking about?
In the preceding verses he mentions the old Jewish priesthood that offered sacrifices in the temple. They did their job in their time, but when Jesus came to earth, He rendered the rendering worthless. We now have a Great High Priest who ministers from a heavenly temple. The author of Hebrews did not want the church to go back to an old covenant that was no longer necessary.
You probably do not live under the old covenant, offering sacrifices and burning incense. But maybe you live under a modern-day old covenant. In our sophistication we no longer bring lambs for a sacrifice, but if we think showing up at church, giving money, or saying prayers will make God like us more, we might as well be going back to the old temple system. That system was never able to save; it only pointed forward to the One who could. That would be like posing with a statue when the celebrity is in the room.
Don’t live under a modern-day old covenant. Jesus is our Great High Priest, so we only need to look to Him for our salvation.
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