Shadows or the Real Thing?

For the past few weeks, I have been daily reading through John Piper's

"Good News of Great Joy: Daily Advent Readings".  I've throughly enjoyed doing something a little different everyday in order to focus in on the expectation of my Savior's arrival and all that Christmas represents in regards to Christ.  I've shared various quotes and such on Facebook but really wanted to share a couple of days with you, that have spoken directly to my heart...

Replacing the Shadows

"Now the main point in what has been said is this: we

have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the

right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a

minister in the sanctuary, and in the true tabernacle,

which the Lord pitched, not man."

Hebrews 8:1-2

"The point of the book of Hebrews is that Jesus Christ, God’s

Son, has not just come to fit into the earthly system of priestly

ministry as the best and final human priest, but he has come to

fulfill and put an end to that system and to orient all our attention

on himself ministering for us in heaven.

The Old Testament tabernacle and priests and sacrifices were

shadows. Now the reality has come, and the shadows pass away.

Here’s an Advent illustration for kids (and for those of us

who used to be kids and remember what it was like). Suppose

you and your mom get separated in the grocery store, and you

start to get scared and panic and don’t know which way to go,

and you run to the end of an aisle, and just before you start to

cry, you see a shadow on the floor at the end of the aisle that

looks just like your mom. It makes you really happy and you

feel hope. But which is better? The happiness of seeing the

shadow, or having your mom step around the corner and seeing

that it’s really her?

That’s the way it is when Jesus comes to be our High Priest.

That’s what Christmas is. Christmas is the replacement of shadows

with the real thing."

 

John Piper, "Good News of Great Joy", Thursday Dec. 13