Years ago, I committed Hebrews 12 to memory mostly out of a love for the first half of the chapter. Yet, as I memorized it, the powerful language of the second half was more striking than the first. In some ways, the first half of Hebrews 12 is a practical call to perseverance through suffering and discipline, but the second half launches into cosmic, near-apocalyptic language as the writer compares the fearful ancient Mt. Sinai with the festal future Mt. Zion. I’d encourage you to read all of Hebrews 12:18-29, but I’ll list verses 22-24 here:
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
Mount Zion. The city of the living God. The heavenly Jerusalem. Innumerable angels. The firstborn in heaven. God. Jesus and his sprinkled blood.
That sounds like a great future promise that we have to look forward to! But, then I read the first line again. The writer of Hebrews says “you have come to Mount Zion...”, not “you will come.” As in, this reality is not far off, but accessible now. There is a way that Christians can experience this festal gathering even today. The intended effect of verses 18–24 is to astound us, to overwhelm and thrill us, to awaken us to the fearsome privilege and joy we already have in being included in Christ’s new and better people. As distant as these verses may sound, this vision does not only anticipate the future; it shows us what is already. If you are in Christ, these are right-now verses. This is a glimpse into what it means now, already, to be “seated...with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6). I wonder how many of us are awake to this like we might be.
But how is it that we have come? Our bodies are down here on earth; we’re not in heaven. How can we have already come to this city above? Even with Christ’s glorified body in heaven and with our humble bodies down here, we are truly united to him by faith and the Spirit. "Assembly" in verse 23 is the same word we translate "church" elsewhere (ekklēsia). And, firstborn here is plural. Jesus is the singular firstborn, and in him we his people are the plural firstborn. We, his church, share in the rights and privileges of his firstborn sonship.
I say this to encourage you to NOT think small thoughts of assembling together to worship with the new-covenant people of God. Have a big view of church! Sure, we can have a modest view of our own local church, but get a grand, majestic, Hebrews 12 vista of the church into which First Baptist Church is drawn up as we assemble each Sunday to worship in reverence and awe.
I hope to see you Sunday for worship!
That same chapter ends:
Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
— Josh Light
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
Mount Zion. The city of the living God. The heavenly Jerusalem. Innumerable angels. The firstborn in heaven. God. Jesus and his sprinkled blood.
That sounds like a great future promise that we have to look forward to! But, then I read the first line again. The writer of Hebrews says “you have come to Mount Zion...”, not “you will come.” As in, this reality is not far off, but accessible now. There is a way that Christians can experience this festal gathering even today. The intended effect of verses 18–24 is to astound us, to overwhelm and thrill us, to awaken us to the fearsome privilege and joy we already have in being included in Christ’s new and better people. As distant as these verses may sound, this vision does not only anticipate the future; it shows us what is already. If you are in Christ, these are right-now verses. This is a glimpse into what it means now, already, to be “seated...with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6). I wonder how many of us are awake to this like we might be.
But how is it that we have come? Our bodies are down here on earth; we’re not in heaven. How can we have already come to this city above? Even with Christ’s glorified body in heaven and with our humble bodies down here, we are truly united to him by faith and the Spirit. "Assembly" in verse 23 is the same word we translate "church" elsewhere (ekklēsia). And, firstborn here is plural. Jesus is the singular firstborn, and in him we his people are the plural firstborn. We, his church, share in the rights and privileges of his firstborn sonship.
I say this to encourage you to NOT think small thoughts of assembling together to worship with the new-covenant people of God. Have a big view of church! Sure, we can have a modest view of our own local church, but get a grand, majestic, Hebrews 12 vista of the church into which First Baptist Church is drawn up as we assemble each Sunday to worship in reverence and awe.
I hope to see you Sunday for worship!
That same chapter ends:
Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
— Josh Light
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