Read: Hebrews 10:1-14
Have you ever seen one of those detective shows where the detective tries to figure out the conspiracy with a giant diagram. Bits of string link photos with newspaper articles which are linked to other items of evidence. If it’s a particularly big case the string might stretch all the way around the room, revealing a massive, interconnected network and helping the detectives identify the perpetrators behind the crime.
The Bible is like such a diagram. All the stories, the prophesies, the characters and the poems are all connected. If you follow all the connections through to their conclusions they all meet in the person and work of Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus is the glue that holds everything in the Bible together and everything either points to Him or flows out of Him and the work that He has done.
Psalm 40 is no exception to this pattern. In a way that God ordained and David could never have predicted his words in verses 7 and 8 point directly to Jesus and the work that He has done. The author of Hebrews shows us this link in Hebrews 10 by directly quoting Psalm 40 and then explaining it’s significance.
He begins by explaining that the sacrificial system, the system that God Himself designed and commanded, could never fully take away sin or make the one offering the sacrifice perfect. Instead those sacrifices were only an annual reminder of sins which served to remind the people of their need for God’s mercy and salvation. They also served to point forward as a shadow of the good thing that was coming.
The author explains the good thing that was coming by quoting Psalm 40: “Here I am, I have come—it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will O my God; your law is within my heart.” David’s words were certainly true of David himself, he desired to do God’s will because of God’s work of salvation in his life. But even King David could never completely fulfil God’s will and give himself completely to God because of his own sinfulness. Someone greater must come
By doing so Jesus serves as the perfect and ultimate sacrifice. Jesus is the one who fulfils all God’s requirements on our behalf and makes us right with God. The sacrifices made under the law could never have made us holy but the sacrifice that Jesus made was totally effective (vs 10). “...by one sacrifice [Jesus] has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” (vs 14)
Even these seemingly simple words of David point forward to the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf. Although we can never completely fulfil God’s requirements because of our sinfulness God provided the final sacrifice and the ultimate answer. It wasn’t an after thought. This was the ultimate conspiracy that God made and put into motion over thousands of years so that we could be right with Him. Hallelujah!
Prayer:
Use the Bible passage from today and the reading notes to write down your prayer points before you pray.
Adoration:
Confession:
Thanks:
Supplication:
¥ Pray that God would be at work in you and in the hearts and minds of all in the congregation that they might grow in their understanding of His Word and grow in their appreciation for all that He has done through Jesus Christ. Pray that this understanding would result in changed lives.
Most Bibles have cross references which can be found at the bottom of the page or in the margins. Following these references is a great way to see how the whole Bible links together to point to Jesus. Give it a try!
1. What are some of the links in the Bible that have amazed you?
2. How does it change the way you think about the Bible to see that God planned for Jesus to come all along?
Intro: Have you ever wished that you could solve mysteries like a detective? Have you ever solved a real-life mystery?
Share: If you can, a real life mystery that you got to solve. How did it feel to find the answers?
Read: Luke 24:13-27. Jesus explained to His disciples how everything in the Bible was actually about Him. The Bible said that He would die on the cross even before it happened. What an amazing mystery that Jesus solved! How do you think the disciples would have felt to learn this? Does this change how you think of the Bible?
Pray Together: Pray that God would help you to read His word and to understand how it all points to Jesus.
Intro: Have you ever wished that you could solve mysteries like a detective? Have you ever solved a real-life mystery?
Share: If you can, a real life mystery that you got to solve. How did it feel to find the answers?
Read: Luke 24:13-27. Jesus explained to His disciples how everything in the Bible was actually about Him. The Bible said that He would die on the cross even before it happened. What an amazing mystery that Jesus solved! How do you think the disciples would have felt to learn this? Does this change how you think of the Bible?
Pray Together: Pray that God would help you to read His word and to understand how it all points to Jesus.
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