For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom, and storm;For you have not come to a mountain that might be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness, darkness, storm,For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,For ye are not come unto a mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
3 sermons cite this verse
… Hebrews so manifestly exalts Jesus. And in this final chapel, we come to Hebrews chapter 12, verses 18 to 24. And in it, we have the final use of the word better. Kraton. Verse 24. Jesus' sprinkled blood speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. So what word did Abel's blood speak? Well, in Genesis 4, God comes to Cain and says, What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are accursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. so I take it that Abel's blood cries out for justice for righteous retribution for a curse on the one who murdered him and Jesus blood Hebrew says speaks a better word not curse but blessing not condemnation but sanctification not justice but divine mercy before getting into the rest of the passage uh it's an important reminder about the repeated line of comparison in the epistle to the hebrews that it's not bad versus good but it's good and then better. …
… I'm about to speak to this. Hebrews 12, verse 18. For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given. If even a beast touches a mountain, it shall be stoned. Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I tremble with fear. But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. we're going to come into his presence now. …
But now all are allowed to come nigh, we are all allowed a free access to God, to come with boldness and confidence. God’s people are not kept at such a distance now as they were under the law. The church then was in its minority, and the heir, while a child, differs nothing from a servant. The servant is not allowed the free access of a child, he is kept more at a distance with fear and dread. Agreeably to the nature of that dispensation, there were not those special discoveries of the grace and love of God that are now made, and which invite rather than forbid near access. When God was wont to appear to the children of Israel, it was more with terror and manifestations of awful majesty, and not so much with the discoveries of grace as now. When God appeared on mount Sinai, it was in flaming fire, and with thunder, and lightning, and earthquakes; but in how different a manner did he appear, when he appeared in the person of Christ, with mildness, and gentleness, and love! There is much the same difference between us and them with respect to the liberty of access to God, as there was between the liberty of access of the children of Israel at mount Sinai, and the liberty which Christ’s disciples had of approach to him when he was upon earth. At mount Sinai, only Moses and Aaron, and Na-dab and Abihu, were allowed to come up into the mount, and none but Moses was to approach nigh. Exod. xxiv. 1. “And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the Lord, thou and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.” But if any other presumed to touch the mount, God would break forth upon him. But Christ’s disciples used daily to converse with him, as an intimate friend. Heb. xii. 18. “For ye are not come unto the mount that might not be touched, and that burneth with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest.” Yea, Christians are now allowed as near an approach unto God, as the high priest himself, who was allowed a much nearer approach than any of the other priests. God’s dwelling-place was the temple, but more especially was it in the holy of holies, in the mercy-seat between the cherubim. There was a veil which separated that part of the temple from the rest, and no one might ever enter that veil but the high priest, and that but once a year; not oftener, upon pain of death. Lev. xvi. 2. “And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place, within the veil before the mercy-seat, which is upon the ark, that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy-seat.” The way into the holiest of all was not as yet made manifest, but now it is. Heb. ix. 7, 8. “But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people. The Holy Ghost thus signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as yet the first tabernacle was standing.” …