THE TWO MOUNTAINS
Heb 12:18-24
The key thought of the book of Hebrews is seen in the word “better.” Throughout this book, we have sought to emphasize the superiority of Jesus Christ over the Old Covenant. Jesus is better than the prophets, than the angels, than Moses and Aaron. The New Covenant is better than the Old. Grace is superior to law.
Once again in this text, we find the superiority of the New Covenant over the Old Covenant. The writer makes a distinction between two great mountains in the Bible, Mt. Sinai and Mt. Zion.
I. MT SINAI (18-21)
This of course is a reference to the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai. Prior to the giving of the Law, the people had to prepare themselves. This is found in Exodus 19. Let’s read a little of this chapter. The writer of Hebrews emphasizes several things about this experience on Mt. Sinai.
A. Mt. Sinai was a physical place: It was a literal, tangible mountain that could be touched. On the other hand, Mt. Zion, though an actual place in South East Jerusalem, was symbolic of a spiritual place as we shall see. God revealed His awesome glory and His Moral Law on Mt Sinai. At Mt Zion he revealed his grace.
B. Mt. Sinai was a terrifying place. Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.” There was tire, thunder and lightening, blackness and darkness. The people around Sinai said to Moses, “Speak thou with us and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die” (Ex. 20:19).
“Fire” symbolized the holiness, righteousness, and purity of God. Man had to be careful in his approach to God, lest he be consumed.
“Blackness and darkness“, symbolized the fact that God was hidden from man’s sight. Under the Old Covenant we could never have a clear picture of God.
“The Temptest or raging storm” symbolized the judgment, the wrath, and the power of God. He was to be feared and reverenced as the Great and Almighty Judge who could exact judgment upon anyone who refused to obey His covenant of Law.
C. Mt. Sinai was an unapproachable place: This signifies that people could not come flippantly into the awesome presence of God. “Don’t come near the mountain.” “Don’t touch it.” “If even an animal touches the mountain, he shall be stoned.”
The Law was given from Mt. Sinai, but the Law can only condemn. It can never save us. The purpose of the law is to show us how badly we need to be Saved. Only the Grace of God in Jesus Christ can save us. The Law drives us to Jesus who is the remedy for sin.
II. MT ZION
How does Mt. Zion differ from Mt. Sinai? The writer is not speaking of the literal Mt. Zion located in Southeast Jerusalem. Rather he is speaking in a spiritual mountain or the heavenly Jerusalem. Our approach to God therefore is a spiritual approach. Jesus said, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). As those who believe in Jesus we are invited to:
A. SHARE IN HEAVENLY PLACES: Abraham looked for a city whose builder and maker is God. Paul tells us that God raised Christ “from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places” (Eph 1:20). Moreover God has “raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:6).
(a) The city of the living God: Remember, Abraham “waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Heb. 11:10).
(b) The heavenly Jerusalem: John the beloved Apostle was given a glimpse of the heavenly Jerusalem in Revelation 21:9-27.
But not only are we invited to share in Heavenly Places, we are invited to:
B. SHARE IN A HEAVENLY SOCIETY: Who is included in this society?
(a) Angels: “To an innumerable company of angels.” When we worship on earth, we are participating with angels who are worshipping in heaven. Then one day, when God calls us home to heaven, we will share with the angels in the worship of God. “And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand,and thousands of thousands” (Rev. 5:11). “And I beheld as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thundering, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent” (Rev. 19:6).
(b) Church of the firstborn: Jesus is the “firstborn” which means he is the first, the founder, the author, the beginning, and the Savior of the church. Those who have been redeemed are citizens of heaven and their names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
(c) God is the Judge of All: God has already judged the believer’s sins in Christ. He judges the believer as perfect and complete in Christ. There will be the Judgment Seat of Christ where the believer will be judged as to rewards. The Great White Throne Judgment determines the destiny of the lost. God is Just in His judgment.
(d) To “spirits of just men made perfect“: This speaks of those true believers who have departed this world and have gone on to heaven. They stand before God made perfect forever. Our “saved“ loved ones are already there. Some day, we shall join with them in the heavenly throne. Some see this as a reference to the Old Testament saints as well. They are called “spirits” because they are still awaiting the resurrection.
(e) To Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant: Our Lord Jesus Christ is the One who stands between sinful man and holy God. We have seen in this book of Hebrews that Jesus is our perfect High Priest who entered the heavenly Holy of Holies. Moreover, he is the perfect sacrifice who took all the sins of all men and bore the guild and condemnation upon himself on the cross. Jesus alone can present us perfect before God.
The Old Covenant was ratified by blood of animals. The New Covenant was ratified by the blood of Jesus Christ. Note the reference to Abel. When Able was murdered by his brother Cain, his blood cried out for vengeance. The blood of Christ speaks to God in behalf of sinners. It speaks of forgiveness, of cleansing, of peace to our souls. The Sacrifices of the Old Covenant had to be repeated again and again. The sacrifice of Jesus was the supreme sacrifice that never needs repeating. Those who truly trust in Him are SAVED FOREVER.
The sacrifices of the Old Covenant
Have now been done away,
For by Christ’s one great sacrifice
We live in a new day.
Once only the High Priest could enter
And that only once a year,
But the blood he offered
Could not remove our fear.
But our Lord Jesus Christ is
The supreme sacrifice of the ages,
For he paid in full
Sin’s terrible wages.
It was not by the blood of others
That He did he enter in,
But by his own blood
He took away the sinner’s sin.
Because Jesus shed His precious blood,
And poured out His amazing love,
We now have unlimited access
To the Father up above.
Frank Lay © 7/26/03
