The Wednesday after Ad te levavi Sunday, The First Sunday in Advent
Posted on December 4, 2024 by under
Scripture: Hebrews 10:19-25 (NKJV)
10:19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
Devotion
The tabernacle of the Old Testament (so also the temple) had two rooms: the Sanctuary and the Holiest of All, and between these two was a curtain (Heb. 9:2-3). Priests could enter the Sanctuary, but past the curtain into the Holiest of All, where the Ark of the Covenant was, only the high priest could enter, and then only once a year. It is said that the high priest would wear bells and a rope around his ankles so that if God killed him the people could drag him out without passing the curtain.
These things foretold the Christ. Our text says, “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus…through the veil, that is, His flesh…” The Jews were rightly afraid to enter the Holiest of All, because it represented God’s holy presence, which no sinner can enter. But, if we are first justified by the blood of Christ —that is, if we have faith that God is reconciled to us for the sake of Jesus’ death—we may enter His presence without fear.
When Jesus died, the curtain which separated the Sanctuary from the Holiest of All was torn in two (Matt. 27:51). This was to show that through Jesus we have free access to God’s presence. He who trusts in Jesus has been freed from guilt and fear, and is reconciled to God.
Collect: Stir up, we beseech Thee, Thy power, O Lord, and come, that by Thy protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins, and saved by Thy mighty deliverance; Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
