Mount Zion

The Better Community

The Better Community

Wrapping up our series in Hebrews, we come to chapter 13. This seems like possibly the author getting out his final thoughts and recommendations for living righteous before he seals his letter, but it’s so much more connected to the rest of the book than that. He has spent 12 chapters making the case how Jesus is better than all else and is the fulfillment of all they had been hoping for. In chapter 12 he referenced Mount Sinai, where God gave the Law AFTER rescuing them from slavery. Now that they’ve come to a new kind of mountain, Mount Zion figuratively, he is reminding them of how they can live now that Jesus has set them free.

The Better Mountaintop

The Better Mountaintop

Mountaintops were seen in the ancient near eastern world as places where humans could climb to meet the divine; heaven and earth could touch. In the Old Testament we have a story of Israelites trembling with fear before Mount Sinai because the glory of God came down with fire, clouds, thunder, and lightning. Hebrews 12 tells us we have not come to that kind of mountain, but Mount Zion where we celebrate with an army of spiritual beings as we delight in God. So — what changed? Why can we now approach this mountaintop?