Mar 20, 2019
By Pastor Gabriel Graffius
An internet meme is a humorous image, video, piece of text, etc., that is copied (often with slight variations) and spread rapidly by Internet users [Dictionary.com]. A recent one began when a millennial blogger spoke of her initial enthusiasm to complete daily tasks by declaring that she would “clean all the things!” The internet expanded it using the picture and the general format “X all the Y.” I realize that those who cherish the English language might be a little appalled by the way that this meme is phrased, but there is actually a reason for it. This meme is laced with hyperbole. When I declare that “I am going to do all the things,” I am fully aware that this is not possible. If I triumphantly state that “I did all the things,” I say it knowing that tomorrow will bring a whole new set of challenges to tackle. To say “I did all the things” acknowledges that one can never finish all of his work.
This work by Allie Brosh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
When I was reading Hebrews recently, this meme came to mind. The author of the book of Hebrews discusses the relationship of Jesus to the priesthood and the temple sacrifices. On the Day of Atonement each year, beyond the typical daily sacrifices, the high priest would perform an additional ceremony to purge the priests, the temple, and the people of their
sins for one year. A priest might then consider declaring to the people of Israel, “I did all the things” or “I cleansed all the sins.” In these statements, there is hyperbole. He’d be back to sacrificing tomorrow because the cleansing is only temporary. The next year, a different priest would be repeating the task. Moreover, we must even acknowledge that the ceremonies were not what cleansed our sin. In Hebrews 10:11, the author wrote, “And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.”
The temporary and purely ceremonial work of the high priest can be contrasted with that
of Jesus. Continuing to verse 12, we read: “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God… 14 For by a single offering he has
perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” When Jesus had finished all of His work, He died on the cross and rose again having done all the things. Unlike the typical understanding of the meme, when I say “Jesus did all the things,” there isn’t a hint of hyperbole. His sacrifice is the propitiation for all of our sins and was completed once for all of eternity. It IS finished.
“Jesus did all the things” goes even further. The high priest was the representative of the people of Israel to enter into God’s presence in the temple to advocate for His mercy and grace. Jesus is our eternal high priest, sitting at the right hand of God to advocate for us (Hebrews 9:24). In order to enter the holy places to be in the presence of God, the priests made blood sacrifices to cleanse themselves for this work lest they die. When Jesus died on the cross, He entered the holy places [Heaven] once for all by His own blood (Hebrews 9:12) so that we too can
approach the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). The priests used two goats to cleanse the people and take on their sins. Jesus took on the sins of the whole world and shed His blood for the forgiveness of sin (Hebrews 9:22-26).
There is much more, but I do not have the pages to enumerate it all. One might more simply say that Jesus, the founder and finisher of our faith, did all the things.
