(A) Introduction

I am going to use the three headings used by Raymond Brown in his commentary on Hebrews when dealing with this passage. They highlight the superior nature of the Kingdom of God over all other kingdoms; the way the new dispensation excels the old.

(B) We belong to a spiritual kingdom.

If the writer had spoken the words in v18 I am sure he would have emphasised the 'not'. You have not come to a mountain that can be touched.

There was much about Judaism that seemed real, concrete, tangible...... The old covenant was instigated in a way that was very real. There were physical manifestations of God's otherness - fire and darkness, gloom and storm. Christianity was almost tame by comparison. It was intangible and insubstantial - you have not come to a mountain that can be touched.

I have felt like that sometimes. My experience of God can seem unreal. I almost envy the charismatics whose emotions have been stirred by the Holy Spirit and the ritualists whose ceremonies are tangible and highlight God's otherness. However there were drawbacks to the Old Covenant and these were evident at its inauguration:

(a) The Divine voice was overwhelming. v18and19. You have not come to..... such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded. In Exodus 20v19 we read of the reaction of the people of Israel to the scenes on Mt Sinai as God delivered the law to Moses: They (the people) stayed at a distance and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die."

I wonder if you have heard such a voice - uncompromising, unrelenting, demanding.... condemning. When I put my father to bed each night I would tell him not to get up until I arrived to help him in the morning. If he got up he would fall about or dress himself so bizarrely that I would have to undress him and start again. As my father got more demented he paid less and less attention to my instructions. One morning I had a job to get into the bedroom - he had barricaded the door with his mattress and was lying on the floor wound up in his bedclothes. I knew he couldn't help it but I went on and on and on about the stupidity of getting up before I called. In the end there was a poor, thin, small voice that said, "John, please stop." I have had the same experience with my pupils. After I a long tirade of complaint and condemnation a girl has said, "Mr Reed, please stop".

We do not come to such a voice. We come to the word, the word that became flesh and dwelt amongst us. John says, "We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John1v14. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. v17. Jesus is approachable - he was a man like us. When he was on earth the common people heard him gladly and wondered at the gracious words he spoke. We still have his words and they remain as fresh and gracious as the day that they were uttered. They invite the weary and heavy laden to come to him for rest. Those that come to him will never be driven away. Jesus said, "Everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." John6v40. Isn't that enough? Aren't his wonderful, life giving words enough for us? Why do we hanker for more?

(b) The Divine Presence was unapproachable Heb12v20 if even an animal touches the mountain it must be stoned.
The Israelites did not want to approach that mountain where God was present in the inpenetrable darkness. When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance....

People did not stay at a distance from Jesus.

When mothers of Salem their children brought to Jesus, The stern disciples drove them back, and bade them depart; But Jesus saw them ere they fled, And sweetly smiled and kindly said, "Suffer little children to come unto me."

Jesus took tea with Zacchaeus, welcomed Nicodemus by night, allowed a prostitute to wash his feet with her tears, was there for the woman who touched the hem of his garment, walked to Jairus' house to raise his daughter from the dead, submitted to the loving embrace of Mary Magdalene on the resurrection morn - these are but a few instances of how people drew close to the Saviour. He came eating and drinking and was too jolly for the liking of the Pharisees. All through the intervening years Jesus has stood ready and waiting for sinful men and women. None who approach him for the forgiveness of their sins will be turned away. We do not tremble with fear at the Saviour's name instead we sing,

Oh how I love Jesus, Oh how I love Jesus, Oh how I love Jesus, The sweetest name on earth.

It is important to be approachable. I worked at a school where there were two likeable deputy heads. Both men were assets to the school in different ways. One of the deputy's was more approachable than the other. He would listen sympathetically and uncritically. You never gained the impression that he thought any the worse of you for bringing him your problem. As a consequence every body went to him with their difficulties. It didn't make life easy for him! His availability allowed people to let off steam. He was a safety valve. A church that has an elder or other leader who is able to defuse the bomb that is just waiting to go off has a great asset.

(c) The Divine Intermediary was terrified. Heb12v21: The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear."
This is possibly a reference to Exodus19v16 . Prior to Moses receiving the law from God when he was in the camp with his people there was thunder and lightening over Sinai, thick cloud and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Moses - God's spokesman, indeed, more than that - God's friend, was terrified when God drew near and displayed a small measure of his might. This did nothing to alleviate the fear of the Israelites.

There have been times during my teaching career when a pupil in trouble or desiring a favour has approached me through an intermediary. I used to teach a girl I called 'Little Fish' because of the way she moved - darting here and there like a minnow in a pool. I was very fond of her. It was very hard to get angry with her. I could get angry with most of my pupils! So if lazy, feckless, Jonathan had not done his Geography homework he might come and confess to his slackness in the company of Little Fish. He reckoned her presence would temper my wrath and I expect he was right. He certainly would not use as his intermediary someone as irritating and uncooperative as himself.

Jesus is the Christian's intermediary and he is not terrified of God the Father. He is the beloved Son. We could have no better advocate. He knows what it is like to be human and he has the full confidence and loving regard of his Father in Heaven. When Jesus intercedes for us God listens and responds to our advantage.

(C) We belong to an eternal kingdom.

The Jews had much to be proud about. They were the chosen people with Abraham as their father. They had a holy city and on its holy hill, Mt Zion, was the magnificent holy temple. The Jews had a great history graced by many heroes of faith, punctuated by visits from angels and shaped by Divine intervention. Perhaps the Jews taunted their Christian countrymen by asking, "And what have you got?" The writer responds by stressing how much better off the Christian is:

(a) Christian are members of the kingdom of heaven. They are the firstborn - very special. They are so special Paul is able to write to the Romans: The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Our names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

(b) We are citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem - the city of the living God. He is in that city with innumerable angels in joyful assembly and the spirits of just men made perfect. We belong with them. What must it be like to be there!

Robin Day the former political commentator for the BBC longed to belong to Parliament. In this he was like the 19th century novelist Anthony Trollope. Both men felt unfulfilled because they never realised their ultimate ambition. It is a wonderful thing to be a Christians because you know that your ultimate ambition will be realised.

When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more, And the morning breaks, eternal, bright, and fair; When the saved on earth shall gather over on the other shore, And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there. On that bright and cloudless morning, when the dead in Christ shall rise, And the glory of his resurrection share; When His chosen one shall gather to their home beyond the skies, And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.

(c) We are subjects of God, the judge of all men. The all knowing judge from whom no secrets are hid is in the New Jerusalem. God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ. Romans2v16. But also there in heaven is a man, the mediator of a new covenant and the instigator of a new relationship. Jesus shed blood mediates. It does not cry out for vengeance like the blood of Able but it cries out for forgiveness. The blood is the abiding token that the ultimate sacrifice has been made and accepted on behalf of sinners.

(D) We belong to an unshakeable kingdom. In verse27: the words, 'once more' indicate the removing of what can be shaken - that is created things - so that what cannot be shaken can remain.
We sing, 'Change and decay in all around I see' which is a rather pessimistic view of life. We also see change and renewal. Ultimately, however, according to the clear and repeated teaching of the New Testament all created things will be shaken and destroyed. Only one thing pertaining to this earth cannot be shaken, the kingdom of God, and that remains. It is eternal as God is eternal. The writer calls for a response:

(a) Obedience. see to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. Heb12v25.
Jesus spoke on earth but he also speaks from heaven. His exalted status lends added authority to the words he uttered whilst hear on earth. We should be eager to obey him and witness to him. The danger is that we shall turn away from him. v25. Those that turn away from Jesus reject his authority. The teacher cannot instruct the pupil who rejects his authority, the doctor can do nothing for the patient who turns away from him and the judge punishes any defendant who shows contempt of court. If we turn away from the Saviour, who warns us from heaven, we shall be among those created things that will be shaken and destroyed.

(b) Confidence
It should give us confidence to belong to a kingdom that cannot be shaken, to be members of an indestructible fellowship. It will not decline, wither away, fizzle out, be overcome or superseded. It is God's kingdom, the ultimate or eternal kingdom. We are secure in it. There is precious little in these days of which that can be said. Nothing seems to escape the wind of change. The unshakeable quality of the kingdom is rooted in the saving work of Jesus. This is admirably summed up in that famous hymn:

The church's one foundation Is Jesus Christ, her Lord; She is His new Creation By water and the word; From heaven He came and sought her To be his holy bride, With his own blood He bought her, And for her life he died.

(c) Gratitude and reverence v28 let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.
God is a consuming fire. v29 He will destroy all that is not his but he will not destroy what he has given to his Son - his holy bride. We are accepted in the beloved. So we should be thankful. It is a graceless thing to take our salvation for granted. Instead we should reverence the Father for his unspeakable gift and revere the Son for his indescribable love. Christians one and all are special to God and we should revel in our status.
• With his own blood he bought me,
• And for my life he died.
ANY COMMENTS FOR JOHN REED: E-mail jfmreed@talktalk.net

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