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For the priesthood being changed, there
Is made of necessity a change also of the law. Heb7:12 Jesus did a great many things which broke with the tradition of the law. He ate with unwashed hands. He allowed the disciples to pick corn on the Sabbath. He healed on the Sabbath. He touched a leper which made him unclean. He touched Jairus’s dead daughter which made him unclean. He did not stone the woman caught in adultery. All these incidents indicate a changing of the law. He was able to change the Law because he was not of the Levitical tribe but of the tribe of Judah. The breaking with tradition caused a great deal of anger and jealousy among the religious leaders of his day. It caused them to condemn him to death by crucifixion. This Jesus knew and it did not deter him from doing the will of his Father. We know that Jesus was tempted in all ways as man was yet without sin. Yet in doing the will of his Father he broke the Torah. If he did not break the Torah, he would not have been crucified and offer expiation for sin. Because Jesus broke the Torah, Satan had a right to inflict harm on Jesus and Jesus experienced death. We know from Genesis that death, fear, shame, sickness, and lack came through sin and Jesus experienced death, not because of sin, but because he did the will of his Father and ushered in a new law, the law of the Spirit of life written on our hearts and on our minds (Heb8:10). Galatians makes it very clear that we are no longer under the law but under grace. Yet St. Paul makes it very clear in Romans six that we are not to use that as an excuse to sin. If we sin against the law Satan has a legal right to inflict sickness, lack, hardship, and even death on us. But if we follow the law of the Spirit of life we will be blessed even though we may experience persecution for our faith. That Jesus did the will of his Father did not mean that life was easy for him. He sacrificed the natural life and denied his Holy Self for the kingdom of God and the salvation of the world. It follows that if we do the will of God, we too, must forsake all, deny ourselves, and take up the cross, and taking up the cross, is following Jesus as Jesus followed the Father. The life of a Christian is a life of obedience to the Spirit of God. To get there we must be born again and baptized in the Spirit and overcome the temptation for self-realization. Jesus did just that and bought for us by his blood the remission of sin and life everlasting. Be a follower of God and walk in the Spirit and crucify the flesh. People may not understand you but God will get all the glory and people will experience the Truth and the truth will make them free. Amen. |