5.14.24

On the heels of showing us how all the religious observances in the world can never take away the guilt and stain of our sin, the author now takes us back to the tabernacle as proof. And he reminds us there that the priests had to continually offer the same sacrifices over and over again. Because, though they were required to be offered in order to temporarily atone for the sins of the people, their sacrifice could never take away the actual guilt or stain of the offense. And so it had to keep going. Every day. Non stop.

And of course, he shows us here how Jesus’ priesthood is better - because he offers himself as the perfect sacrifice - that completely covers our sin and pays its debt in full. But the author is more than giving us a history lesson. He’s telling the recipients of this letter - and as a result, telling us as well - that we all continue to find ways to go back and live in that tabernacle. We are constantly looking for ways to atone for our sins. Every one of us are doing whatever we can to cover the guilt and shame of our lives. Because deep down, we all know that if people really saw who we were - and how we lived - and the ways we conducted ourselves - we would be rejected.

And so we run back to the tent by trying to build the perfect family. We try to stave off the guilt and shame with our own religious morality. Or maybe we look to our careers or to some relationship. And he’s reminding us that - just as the Old Testament sacrifices only gave a temporary reprieve to our struggles, so too, when we run back into the tent with our own modern versions of self-salvation, they simply don’t work. They might make us feel better for a brief moment. But then we have to run back to them over and over again. They are never able to fully pronounce us worthy.

And so he’s setting up a contrast that our hearts need to understand. You can have the temporary satisfaction of the perfect day with your kids, or you can live with the knowledge of his unending perfect love for you. You can have the thrill of being loved by another person (until you mess up and tension comes back once again), or you can live under the complete satisfaction of his absolute infatuation with you. You can find life from the fleeting moments where your job makes you feel worthy, or you can live every moment of every day under the joy of his perfect record being credited to your account. 

And like the job of the priests, going back to the tent is exhausting. It takes an incredible amount of work on our part. We can never rest. Never slow down. Never slack off for even a moment. Because our validation comes from the works that we are producing.

All this brings new meaning to Jesus’ offer to us: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”