Today's Scripture Reading (May 16, 2021): Hebrews 9
Jesus told the story of a father
and two sons. As was customary in the culture, when Dad died, his sons would
share his acquired wealth. Two-thirds or two shares would go to the elder
brother. He receives more of the wealth because it would be his responsibility
to take care of the estate, the employees, and anyone else who depended on the
estate for their well-being. The younger brother would receive one-third of the
wealth left by Dad. He received less of Dad's acquired wealth but also had none
of the responsibility borne by the elder brother.
But the younger son was tired of
waiting for Dad to die so that he could inherit his money. So, he asked his dad
if he could have his inheritance early. In the culture in which they were
living, it was like telling his father that he wished that he was dead. He
wanted what would typically come to him only after his father had died. Surprisingly,
Dad gave in to the request, giving him now the money which he shouldn't have
received until some future date when Dad died.
The son wastes the money he had
been given and then returns to Dad, repentant for his sin and wondering if he would
be welcomed as a worker on the estate. A worker was the lowest position
available in Dad's business. At that moment, he probably didn't realize how
lucky he was. Yes, he had wasted his inheritance, but usually, to get the
inheritance, someone special had to die. Because of his brazen stupidity, the
younger son had the opportunity to waste his inheritance while still having a
father who was willing, even though the son didn't realize it, to pick up the
broken pieces and treat him as a son.
The author of Hebrews is trying to
explain why Jesus had to die. And he compares the Covenants that God had given
to Israel to a Testament. The story of the Lost Son that Jesus told was unique.
Usually, the only way to get your inheritance is for the one who is giving you
the inheritance to die. Usually, the one who dies is precious to us. Most of us
would rather give back the inheritance so that we can have the person's
presence. Inheritance commonly results only from loss. The great gift that the lost
son possessed was not the inheritance; it was that, after he wasted the
inheritance, he still had the presence of a father who loved him and who would
stand beside him.
Hebrews argues that because the
covenants were both really testaments, blood or death was required to make the
claim promised to us in the covenant. For the first covenant, it was the death
of an animal that was needed. But it was not just any animal; it had to be one
without fault or blemish. And that kind of animal possessed an increased value.
For the new covenant, it was the
death of Jesus that was required. For us to claim the inheritance, there had to
be a death, and in this case, it was the death of a precious teacher, one who
was also perfect.
To receive the gift, someone had
to die. But we are not the younger brother; we do not receive the wealth
without responsibility. We have an obligation to take our inheritance, the life
and forgiveness that God has given to us, and do something good with it. We have
the inheritance only because of the death of Jesus, so we need to make sure
that we use the gift wisely and in memory of the one who died to give it to us.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Hebrews 10
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