Jesus Sat Down - Psalm 34:8

With today’s Bible reading, we begin reading through the book of Hebrews. No one knows for sure who wrote the book. It could have been Luke, Paul, or some other individual. But it doesn’t bear the marks of any other Biblical writer. One thing is certain, the letter was written to show how Jesus is better than the old covenant and the old way of doing things.

Straight out of the box, the writer says that Jesus was involved in the universe’s creation and He is actively maintaining it today. (Hebrews 1:2-3) Next the writer says that after completing his atoning work, Jesus sat down. The significance of this simple act is revisited in Hebrews 10:11–12, “And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.”

What the writer wants us to see is that in contrast to what was going on in Jerusalem when the book was written (which was before AD 70 when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans), Jesus’ work was completed in one single action. Once Jesus completed His work, there was no need to keep standing. The job was done. It was finished, never to be repeated.

Application

This is the Gospel message. Jesus died for our sins and finished the job. Never again do fallen people have to try to appease God. Never again do fallen people have to worry if they’re good enough. Jesus was good enough so we don’t have to be. Not that we could be anyway! If we could, Jesus wasted His life and death. Wasted.

While religion teaches that we have to work to be good enough, the relationship that God offers through Jesus Christ is more than enough to give us a right standing before Him. All we have to do is believe. Have faith. Trust. While religion says, “Do”, “Do”, “Do”, “Don’t do”, Don’t do”, and “Don’t even think of doing”, Jesus stretches out his nail-scarred hands and declares “DONE!”

Have you trusted Jesus to be your atoning sacrifice for your fallen condition before God?