Hebrews 7:22 "By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament."
"By so much was Jesus made a surety." What was the "so
much"? We can look back to a previous verse and see Jesus was made
the Great High Priest and the surety by an oath. Who made the oath? We
can go back to chapter 6 to see the answer. "That by two immutable
things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation,
who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us."
(Hebrews 6:18) God, the Father, and God, the Son, entered into a covenant
to redeem His people. God, the Holy Spirit, also was in that covenant, but for
this purpose the writer is including Father and Son. It was/is impossible
for God to lie; therefore, we can boldly come into this understanding that our
hope is secured in Jesus Christ.
May I ask just now, "What is your hope based upon?" Are you
hoping that your good outweighs the bad? Are you hoping that God will overlook
the flaws and allow entrance into His presence? Are you hoping you made the
right decisions all through life, or at least the important decisions that you
have to make? Are you hoping your faith is strong enough to get you into
heaven? May I tell you now that if your hope is based on anything you
have done, then you have a flawed hope. If eternal salvation is based on
our works, then first, Jesus would not have had to die on the cross and second,
none of us would be good enough to make it into heaven.
I go back to an Old Testament account to show the importance of
"surety". Remember the account of Joseph being sold into
Egyptian slavery? Through a series of events that were guided by the hand of
God, Joseph was elevated to being second in command over Egypt. A great famine
came upon the land and Joseph's brothers had to go down to Egypt to try to get
food for the family. They did not realize at the time, but they stood before
their brother, Joseph, in asking for food. Joseph knew there was another
brother who was not present. He demanded the ten brothers to go home and get
the brother and bring him back with them. Their father, Jacob, did not want to
let Benjamin go. It was at that point that one of the brothers stood up and
promised Jacob that He would bring his son back home. "I will be
surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto
thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever."
(Genesis 43:9) This was Judah that told Jacob, I will be the assurance that he
will come back alive. I will be SURETY for Benjamin.
Why is it important for us to understand this word, surety? We are told we have
"strong consolation" and we have "the hope set before us."
Jesus was made a surety (guarantee) of a better covenant. This better
covenant is not based upon our works; rather, this better covenant (oath,
promise, assurance) is based upon the work of Jesus Christ. This better
covenant assures us that the work of Christ in redemption was a perfect work
and because Jesus came out of the tomb alive, we can be assured that the Father
has accepted the offering of Christ's blood as payment in full. Jesus is
our surety. Using the thought of Judah speaking to Jacob, we can see the very
same application as the covenant was made between God, the Father, and God, the
Son. "I will be surety for him (them); of my hand shalt thou require
him (them): if I bring him (them) not unto thee, and set him (them) before
thee, then let me bear the blame for ever." Jesus entered the
promise with the Father to come and pay the price of redemption for God's
people. We can be assured, through His death, burial, and resurrection,
that our eternal home in heaven is absolutely secured. Nothing can separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Nothing can cause us to lose our home in
heaven. But I must say at this point, though we cannot lose our home in heaven,
if we are disobedient unto the Father, we can lose the joy of our salvation.
That is a terrible place to be. Let us rejoice in the finished work of
our Lord and Saviour. He is our blessed assurance.