SATURDAY January 3, 2026
Our High Priest Seated on the Throne
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 8:1-2
The writer of the book of Hebrews conveys to believers his main point––Jesus is our High Priest seated at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens.... Jesus is far superior to Aaron’s Levitical priesthood. The Lord instituted a much better order than the Levitical priesthood. He is the Minister of a heavenly sanctuary.
Jesus, our High Priest, established a new covenant. In the Old Testament, God made a covenant with His people through the keeping of the Law and required ordinances. Jewish men had to be circumcised. In the New Testament, through grace, both Jews and Gentiles can enter into a far greater covenant relationship with God. Although a lengthy explanation, Paul makes things clear in Romans 2:25-26, 28-29 NLT:
The Jewish ceremony of circumcision has value only if you obey God’s law. But if you don’t obey God’s law, you are no better off than an uncircumcised Gentile. And if the Gentiles obey God’s law, won’t God declare them to be his own people?
For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.
What is produced by the Spirit of God? The answer to this question is a changed heart. What does a person with a changed heart seek? A person with a changed heart seeks to please God with their entire life. Are you seeking to please God and Him alone?
I began to understand the security of the covenant of grace, and to expect to be preserved, not by my own power and holiness, but by the mighty power and promise of God, through faith in an unchangeable Savior.”
~John Newton~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!
