#DailyDevotion The Scandal Of Particularity
Heb. 13 10We have an altar, and those who still worship at the Jewish tabernacle have no right to eat from this altar. 11The high priest brings the blood of animals into the holy place for sin, but the bodies of those animals are burned outside the camp. 12And so Jesus suffered outside the gate to make the people holy by His own blood. 13Then let us go out to join Him outside the camp and bear the abuse He suffered.
It would seem this was written before the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. It would also seem based on verse 10 there was a definite split between the Christian Jews and the unbelieving Jews at this time. To be certain, the Christian Jews based on this were no longer offering sacrifices at the Temple at the time of this writing. It would seem to offer up sacrifices at the Temple would be tantamount to excommunicating yourself from the Christian Church. While it would seem earlier in the Church the believing Jews still worshipped at the Tabernacle, cf. Paul in Acts, at this time this would no longer be the case.
Why would this be? Jesus had already paid the sacrifice for sin. He had already by His innocent death and resurrection fulfilled all of the Mosaic sacrifices. To offer up sacrifices now would be tantamount to denying Jesus’ sacrifice. This is the same today for those who want to add to Jesus’ sacrifice our own works.
The bull offered for the sacrifice of sins was burned outside of the camp. So too, our LORD Jesus Christ experienced for us the fires of hell on the cross outside of the city. The blood of the bull set apart the people of God under the Mosaic Law. The blood of Jesus makes us holy when we are baptized into His name and when we participate in the LORD’s Supper. If you believe Jesus offers us His blood in the cup to make us holy then you cannot at the same be participants in the sacrifice for sin at the Temple. The LORD’s table is for those who suffer with Him outside the camp and no longer participate in the sacrifices of the Tabernacle. To participate in the LORD’s Supper is to proclaim Jesus has fulfilled the Old Covenant with all of its sacrifices, rules, regulations, laws, precepts and whatever else the LORD gave to the people of Israel under the Old Covenant.
No doubt, those early Jewish Christians suffered at the hands of the Jews because they no longer participated in the Temple worship. They themselves were excommunicated by their fellow Jews. In similar fashion, the Christians who forsake the worship of idols in the Gentile world suffered the same fate as their Jewish Christian brothers. It is the scandal of particularity we Christians suffer when we say and confess Jesus has fulfilled the Old Covenant and the Old Covenant no longer needs to be observed. It is a scandal to say you cannot participate in the Table of the LORD and the table of other gods. It is a scandal to say Jesus alone, His righteousness, His sacrifice, is all we need to be saved. To add our own righteousness, our own works, our own sacrifices to be saved is nothing short of blasphemy. So we cut off from the Table of the LORD those who do not give glory to Jesus alone. This brings us derision. People will call us unloving and unchristian to do the loving and Christian thing. Do not fear them. Suffer with Jesus outside the camp.
Almighty God and Father, grant us such faith that trusts in Jesus alone and confesses this truth despite what we may experience because of such a faith. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.