If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”
Hebrews 8:4-5
From its earliest of days, Coca-Cola was fighting off competition and imitation. All sorts of people came up with something close and tried to make a buck off it. To help fight them off, Coke has used the idea that it was the real thing in advertising.
And while Coke started printing posters in the 1940’s with the real thing slogan, it made its way to television commercials. In 1969, Coke released a commercial with The Fortunes singing that Coke was the real thing[1]. But in 1971, Coke just ran past all the competition with their “I’d like to buy the world a Coke[2]” commercial.
When it comes to our relationship with God, our Heavenly Father is really concerned that we not just understand who he is, but that he’s The Real Thing. All others are cheap imitations. Frauds.
Even when it came to the temple, sacrifices, and holidays that he gave to the Israelites, they weren’t the real thing. The writer to the Hebrews makes this really clear by using two very powerful comparisons between God himself and what’s on Earth.
Copy. They were example of the heavenly reality. It’s like they were just a sketch, an outline in comparison to the real thing. Yes, there was a suggestion of the shape that was in heaven, but it was a really weak copy.
Shadow. The laws and sacrifices were a very imperfect picture of the reality of God himself in heaven. It’s important to remember that you can’t grab a shadow. It doesn’t do anything on its own. The shadow is there as proof that something real is out of sight. Around the corner. The shadow isn’t real. It’s not even a picture of what’s real.
The writer is telling the Hebrews that the earthly tabernacle was just a copy and shadow of the real one. The heavenly one where God Himself lived. Where Jesus as their Messiah high priest offered his once-and-for-all sacrifice for all sin. All the stuff that the priests did here on earth were only a shadow and copy.
And in those brief moments when we’re honest with ourselves, the same thing is true inside us. We know that there’s a reality out there, but we’re just living in the shadows. We all have this deep loneliness and ache somewhere deep down inside us. We’re longing for inner fulfillment and peace within our soul. There’s this sense that something’s missing and it’s just outside our grasp.
The reality we’re trying so desperately to grab hold of isn’t found inside success, money, or power. You can look inside a bottle, pills, or a needle, and you’ll come up empty again. Anything and everything in this life will fail to complete us.
So, where are we to look? Where are we to go for this fulfillment. The answer isn’t in a what or where, but in a who. The God who made us put that emptiness inside to keep us coming back to him. He made us to fill us. To love us. He’s the only one who can make us complete.
That’s why the only true priest that can offer the once-and-for-all sacrifice had to be both fully God himself and fully a man. Any sacrifice offered by a person here on earth couldn’t get the job done. Everyone’s broken. Everyone’s a sinner. So their sacrifice couldn’t really pay for all sin.
Real forgiveness needs to come from God himself. And why? Because all sin is ultimately against him[3]. Yes, our selfishness and anger will splash on the people around us. I can’t tell you how much I hurt so many people. But the root of all that was by turning away from God.
That’s why forgiveness from God through Jesus will always be seen through changes in the way we treat people. Because God’s been so kind to us, we will want to be kind to people. Because God’s forgiven us, we’ll be willing to forgive others. Because God’s given so much to us, we’ll be generous to others.
I know it sounds so simple, but it’s oh so hard. We may need to come face-to-face with some pretty ugly things about ourselves. Our selfishness. The habits we’ve used to try and satisfy ourselves. Holding grudges as a way to protect ourselves and to punish someone else.
Now is the time to stop playing games with God and our relationship with him. Enough with the hide and seek games we play. It’s time to stop hiding from him[4] and to seek him with all our hearts[5]. His arms are open wide, waiting for us to run into them[6]
Noodling Questions
How do you figure out if something is the real thing?
Would you choose a Copy or Shadow of something? Explain.
How do you know that Jesus is the real thing?
[3] Psalm 51:4
[4] Psalm 139:11
[5] Jeremiah 29:13
[6] Luke 15:20
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