These Hebrew people (like the Jerusalem church - and I don't think this was written to the Jerusalem church but another one like it) and these other Jewish congregations that were scattered throughout the Roman Empire had embraced Jesus as their Messiah. They had grasped that much, but they were still keeping the Law. They were still hanging on to so many of the tenets of Judaism and that's so obvious as you saw in the study of Acts that's been on the daily program. How that Peter had said:


Acts 10:14

"But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean." Why not? Because he was a good law-keeping Jew. And when he got to the house of Cornelius he hedged and he said:


Acts 10:28a

"And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation;..."



Well, why? That was all part of Judaism. And then when you get on over to Acts chapter 22 and Paul is rehearsing his conversion on the road to Damascus, Paul makes the statement:


Acts 22:12

"And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there." Well you see, none of those believers in Jesus as the Messiah, had yet severed themselves from that part of Judaism, which was Law-keeping.

And so, what the whole book of Hebrews is really all about is to convince these Jewish believers now, to move away. Cut the apron strings to Judaism, not to just throw it away as trash, no way. It's the very foundation of everything that has come on up through even into Paul's apostleship, but nevertheless, they were to cut the strings to the legalism of Judaism and step into the Gospel of Grace.


Consequently then, we've been looking at the priesthood of Melchisedec, who was not a priest of Israel. He was not after the order of Aaron and the tribe of Levi but rather he was a high priest of the Most High God, you remember, which we stressed was the term for God of the whole human race and not just Israel. And so now we come to this whole idea that the Law has to be put behind them - and then step out into Grace. Alright, let's start in verse 19 then for this afternoon