The Name of Jesus in the Hebrew Epistle

… In an epistle that speaks of the surpassing glory of the Lord Jesus, His supremacy, as we've been reminded, that He should be presented in this epistle frequently by His personal name of Jesus, as if to emphasize, I suppose, particularly for the benefit of the Hebrew Christians who have been brought up to the Jewish faith and economy, that this lowly one despised by the nation, rejected by the people of Israel, the one who came into his own inheritance and was rejected by his own people, that he was none other than the glorified man at God's right hand. Now, I shall just mention various scriptures here, verses in this epistle, and I should be putting on the stereotype a little bit, because the first mention of the personal name of Jesus is in the second chapter, and I'll read the verse again, but we see Jesus. He previously said that the time is coming when all things will be put under His feet. But now we see not yet all things put under Him. We don't see the supremacy of Christ, do we, manifestly? He's not visibly reigning over all things. But what do we see? Whom do we see? We see Jesus, who was made a middle-knower and the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, should taste death for every man. This is one of the reasons for the incarnation that we have in the second chapter, and what a wonderful reason it is. Why did He become man? By the grace of God that He should taste death for every man. There's no other way, was there? No other way by which sin could be dealt with, and a way of approach for sinful creatures like you and me, that we should be able to draw near to God. But the Lord Jesus must first become man. But the Apostle draws our attention to the wondrous fact that this One who, pure and perfect, sinless in Himself, yet by the grace of God He came here and tasted death for everything. Not merely for every man, and that's true, we come into the blessing of it, but the fact that the Lord Jesus became man surely was that the whole universe should be cleansed of sin. Behold the Lamb of God, cried John Baptist, who should take away the sin of the world. The whole world, the whole universe, as they say, should be cleansed from all trace of sin in the coming day of the Lord's glory. But meanwhile, we don't see this brought into effect. We see Jesus. We see Jesus crowned with honor and glory. And the writer of this epistle would have us occupied with Him. But He's there, crowned, marked out by God, given the highest place in the universe. No other place was worthy of Him. The One who had done this tremendous work of redemption on the cross. He's seated there at God's right hand. We see Him crowned with glory and honor. And we remember, and our hearts rise up in thankfulness that it was that He should taste death. He became man such was His grace that He might taste death for all. For it became Him, for whom are all things, by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. We have been reminded that we have a perfect Savior. And yet it says here that He was made perfect. What does that mean? Well, He's bringing many sons to glory, isn't He? And He would enter into all the circumstances and all the trials of the wilderness pathway. And He would pass through sufferings. Such was His wondrous grace. He would know the bitterness of the sufferings through which His saints should pass in order that He might be able to succor them that are tried in the last verse of the chapter. So He's made perfect through sufferings. We have a perfect Savior. We have a perfect High Priest. We have one who can enter in to all our weakness and all our frailty and all our need. And He is able to succor them that are tempted. That brings us to the third chapter again. Our brother has reminded us of this first verse of the third chapter. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider. Yes, don't just play a beating dance. Look steadfastly with the eyes of your hearts upon this blessed person, the Apostle and High Priest of our Confession, Jesus. That's the original thought. It was not Christ Jesus somehow. It's His personal name. This lowly person who was here, a humble man, treading his way to Calvary. He's crowned with honor and glory. And He's brought before us here as the Apostle and the High Priest of our Confession. We confess Him as such. As we have been reminded in the first chapter, He came from God. He was God's own Son manifested here in flesh. He was the Apostle. The Apostle was the messenger. One sent on God's behalf. The Lord Jesus came, God's own Son, to represent Him here in this world, to make the Father known to us. He's the Apostle as coming from God. The High Priest as one who's gone back to God. And He's there ever living to make intercession for us. What should we do with that? Ever living to make intercession for us. We'd like to meditate, speak of the Lord's finished work on the cross. Our brother Gary often gives thanks for the Lord's unfinished work. And I wish there was one to commend the unfinished work. It's continuous, it's going on. The Lord is still serving His own. He was among them as one that served, wasn't He, even here. But He's still serving His own in glory, ministry, to you and to me, in all the power of that endless life, ministering the grace and the strength and all we need for our pathway here. What do we owe? To the perfect High Priestly work, the unfinished work, the continuous work of our Lord Jesus. And that, I'm just underlining a few things that I've already put before you, I'm sure. And at the end of the fourth chapter, we have the priesthood of Christ again, seeing then that we have a great High Priest that has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Just as the High Priest passed through the various courts of the covenantal soul of the Lord Jesus has passed through the heavens, He's our great High Priest. For we have not a High Priest which can't be touched, I've always mentioned that. But I'll put it this way, that in these closing verses, we have what I like to think of as God's threefold provision for our wilderness journey. We have, first of all, the Word of God, verse 12. Thank God we have the Word preserved down through the ages, God's impenetrable Word, that we might judge our ways and our conduct, that we might have it as an unfailing source at all times to turn to, God's holy Word, living and powerful, sharper than any tool in store, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints in the marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. I don't know if I can explain that first, but it shows that the Word of God can detect just what is the real motive of our hearts. And we can thank God for the Word of God and we need, as our Father reminded us, to hold it fast in these last days when those in high religious quarters are denying it, denying the fundamental truths of our confession. We had a powerful reminder of that last evening, my dear brother, who preached the Gospel, reminding us about the need we have to cling to the truths, the fundamental truths of God's Word when one in the greatest religious circles today is denying the virgin birth, the resurrection, falling contempt, and the second coming of Christ. Well, these are things that we need to hold fast, dear friends, and we value them. My dear, for now, I don't want to take up so much time, but we have the Word of God, we have the increase of the Christ in verse 14, I was talking about that, then we have the throne of grace, three things that are sure, and certain, and unmovable, things that are available to us, a three-fold resource in this wilderness world, the Word of God, the priesthood of Christ, and the throne of grace. And if there is a day when we needed to be down on our knees in prayer, it is today. Let us therefore come boldly under the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. And then I think we also had the 20th verse of the 6th chapter brought to our notice, so I won't dwell much on that, the hope that we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, which entereth into the veil, whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest forever after the order of Christ. He is there with our friends as the forerunner, doesn't it mean that you and I will be there too? Doesn't it mean that the one who is leading many sons to glory, and we amongst them, that he's entered into heaven, he's there, the forerunner, and we should be gathered there. Our place is secure, he's gone to prepare a place for us, and when he comes, we should be like him, caught up to meet him. Well, that's a wonderful truth, isn't it? Now we pass on to the 10th chapter, and the verse 19, having therefore brethren boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. There again, we have the personal name mentioned, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say his flesh. Yes, there is a way of approach, he doesn't leave us wandering in this world, he's marked a way for us, the way into God's presence, and his precious blood is the price that he paid that we might be able to draw near to God through the veil, that is to say his flesh. The veil of the temple here refers to his own person, to his flesh, and to his death. We have a high priest over the house of God. This always gives me encouragement, because sometimes we feel, well, how inadequate is our praise and our worship. Yes, we are but feeble folk, we can't express what we feel sometimes, but we have a high priest over the house of God, just as the high priest in the days of the Jewish faith took the sacrifice and the animal, and saw that it conformed to all God's requirements, and presented it, then we have a person like this who takes your offering, your sacrifice, mine, and presents it to God in all the fragrance and perfection of his own person. And so it is that we have a boldness to draw near, and we are encouraged here to hold fast to the confession of our faith, and we are to consider one another, to provoke and to love in good works. Sometimes we need a bit of provoking, but this is the way to do it. Let us consider one another, we just have to, we were reminded to think of others, come down to their level, and to provoke them unto love, and you can do that best by showing the love in your own life, to provoke and to love. If you set the example, then you stir up others to follow, to provoke and to love, and to go to good works. Just as it was often being used, if you were in the old-fashioned pump, you needed to put the, because sometimes you couldn't get much water out, you had to pour in the water over the top, and then the water would flow out. Well, if you want to get love from others, you've got to show it yourself. Pour it in, and then you'll get the return. And coming on to chapter 12, which is going to be in the block before us, I'm just going to read the verses. Wherefore, seeing we also are accomplished of that, with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus. If we are to run the race, and to do so acceptably, we have to have an object before us, and so we are exalted to look off, to look off, look off statelessly unto Jesus. The eleventh chapter is full of worthies, full of notable men, men of faith, and we can learn much from them, but look away from them. Don't get occupied with others. Look off unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, the one who has run the whole course, the whole race before us, and is now set down at the right hand of God. We look off unto him, there's the strength, there's that which gives us energy for the race, to be occupied with Christ, the great captain of salvation. In the second chapter, he is the captain of our salvation, and he's bringing many sons to glory. Well here, the word author is the same as captain, it's the same person, and he's the leader, the finisher, the one, the completer of faith, and for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross. The Lord had a joy set before him, the joy perhaps of fulfilling completely the father's will in undertaking that work, and seeing it to its completion, and the will of the father was that the son should have a bride, should have those companions to share his glory, to be his companion in strife eternity. So you see, for the joy that was set before him, the Lord endured the cross, doesn't say he endured the shame, he did of course, but he despised that, he cast that aside, that was a trivial thing if I may say so, it was the cross that he gained, he's made peace by the blood of his cross, but he's now set down at the right hand of God, and we need, as we've been exhorted to, consider him, consider him, have him much before us, fix the eyes of our hearts upon him, looking off steadfastly like Stephen, he looked up steadfastly didn't he, and his eye was on the glorified man at God's right hand, and as he was occupied with him, so he reflected somewhat of the spirit didn't he, some of the grace and forbearance, characterized his master, when he said, Lord lay not this sin. I pass on to the last mention of the personal name of Jesus in the last chapter, verse 12, wherefore Jesus also, as he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the guilt. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach, for here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. By him therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. Here we have these exhortations again, in the 10th chapter, it was let us draw near, we go in to the holy place to worship. Here we are exalted to go forth unto him. He has to take a place outside the religious organization of this world. Why do we do this? Sometimes it means, sometimes we have to separate from friends, who are quite content to remain in the religious parties, but we feel we must go forth. Why? Because he's there, we go forth unto him. If it's not going forth unto him, the blessed Lord and saviour, far better remain in the camp. But it's his, he that draws us out, draws us unto himself. I remember a brother coming amongst us years ago, and I asked him why he sought our company. He said, well, there's so much modernism where I've been, and I want to get away from it. That was his reason at that time, but a little while ago I went to see him. He didn't talk about modernism or anything else, he spoke about Christ. He'd gone, he was occupied with him, his eye was upon the Lord, and just as we were reminded of him this morning, the Lord was drawing his own around himself when he was here, and the Lord is drawing his own now, isn't he? But he's in the outside place, and we need to go forth unto him, outside the camp, bearing his reproach, and then, by him, we can offer the sacrifice of praise to God and Jesus. Do we fulfill these exhortations? Are we like the children of Israel who always find some reason for murmuring and complaining? Or is it that our hearts are full of praise and adoration? We have a wonderful Saviour, we have much to give thanks for. Let us remember our privilege. Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. That is the fruit of our lives, giving thanks to his name. …