6.3.24

This week we will be looking at the end of Hebrews 12. And in many ways, this passage is the culmination of his main point throughout this book. Because he’s talking to people whose lives have been badly shaken by life’s circumstances. And he’s urging them toward a life whose foundations are firmly fixed on the unshakable rock of Jesus.

And so he begins by describing the shakable life. A life we’re all too familiar with. And he uses the example of the Israelites in the Old Testament, standing before Mt Sinai as Moses retrieves the 10 commandments. And the mountain is smoking and the ground is shaking. And the people are warned: don’t even touch this mountain or you will die! And the people were terrified!

And the author here reminds his audience (and us) that we have not come to God in that way. Because of what Jesus has done, this is not how we have to approach God. Without the sacrifice and Mediator of Jesus between us and God, the encounter would be terrifying. That’s what the Israelites found. There was no sweet intimacy in drawing near to God. Only dread and fear. Their very lives were shaken to the core by the experience.

And his point is: without the sacrifice of Jesus, we should all fear being drawn into God’s presence. Because his presence shakes everything in our lives.

It’s interesting how most people in our modern religious culture approach this dilemma. Rather than running to Jesus as a substitute who covers what separates us from God, they see Jesus as an example and run to their own religious performance. Even non-religious people have adopted this same approach. And it’s an approach that says - I will determine for myself what kind of life I ought to be living. I will determine the standards. And I’m not perfect at it. But I’ve done my best…better than most. And in the end, God will accept me because I tried my best.

But of course, this standard is impossible and exposes us for the frauds that we really are. Just take the Golden Rule as an example. Everyone - religious and non-religious alike - agree that this is the best model for how a person should live. And yet, nobody can actually do it. Nobody can make it through a single day working as hard at understanding other people as we want them to understand us. None of us can survive a single day meeting the needs of others with the same passion and energy and eagerness with which we meet our own needs - or with the same drivenness that we want others to meet our needs. We simply can’t do it.

Few of us are intimidated by our watered down versions of who we like to think that God really is. But the real God blows us away. And when he shows up, it shakes the very foundations of our lives. And it’s meant to. Because his desire is to drive us to the unshakable foundation of Jesus. And this, according to the author of our book, answers the question of why we struggle so much in life. Our problem is not our circumstances. But it’s inadequate foundations.