“For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more . . .But ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant . . .”
Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a
The giving of the Mosaic Law at Mount Sinai was a spectacular, terrifying event. There the heavens bowed down, the voice of God was heard (Deuteronomy 4:12), and an innumerable company of powerful angelic beings were visible and in attendance (Deuteronomy 33:2; Acts 7:53; Galatians 3:19; Hebrews 2:2). The sights and sounds were so terrifying that even Moses trembled in fear (Hebrews 12:21). Though we may rightly count them privileged who saw and experienced such things, those who have entered into a New Covenant relationship with Christ are blessed in infinitely greater measure. As today’s verse passage tells us, we have not come to Sinai, where the law that condemns was given (cf 2 Corinthians 3:7-14), rather, through the cleansing, reconciling and sanctifying ministry of Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant, we have come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God. It is the place Jesus went to prepare for us (John 14:1-3), the place where our names are recorded in the city’s registry as though we were born there (Luke 10:20; Psalm 87:1-7). Spiritually, we are already there, “far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come” (Ephesians 1:21; 2:4-6). Not deserving of the least of His mercies, us former children of wrath have been adopted as sons and daughters of the King. Christ our Lord has become the Heir of all things (Hebrews 1:2), and we His younger brethren have become joint-heirs with Him (Romans 8:16-17). Though we may feel isolated and alone in a world that continues to slide further and further away from God and His ways, we have Scriptural assurance that we are actually part of an enormous community of redeemed, blood-bought saints whose future blessedness staggers the imagination. May this meditation fill you with comfort, strength, and hope today, dear saints.
God bless,
Pastor John
English