Heb.6:19,20 – This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
The four minute mile was a big deal when I was a young child. The first person to break the four minute mile was Roger Bannister in 1954. You would have to call Bannister a forerunner; a high school junior by the name of Jim Ryan broke the barrier ten years later. In today’s verse Jesus is called our forerunner. He was the first resurrected man to enter heaven. His spirit not only went to heaven, He went in His humanity as a forerunner. This is our hope, one day all of God’s sons and daughters will join Him. This is the beauty of Christ’s humanity, He entered heaven for us. Here is how Adam Clarke describes this.
“The word prodromos, does not merely signify one that goes or runs before another, but also one who shows the way, he who first does a particular thing; also the first fruits. Pliny says….“The fig tree produces some figs which are ripe before the rest, and these are called by the Athenians prodromos, forerunner.” The word is interpreted in the same way by Hesychius;…it may be found in Isa.28. 4, quoted from the Septuagint. From this we may at once perceive the meaning of the phrase: Jesus is the first fruits of human nature that has entered into the heavenly kingdom; the first human body that was ripe for glory, and ripe long before the rest of the children who are partakers of flesh and blood. And he is entered for us, as the first fruits of all who have found redemption in his blood.”
This forerunner really has a two fold blessing connected to it. First, He is our hope that one day we will be there physically with Him. The second blessing is already here, we have a representative in heaven for us right now. Jesus has entered heaven for us today, because of that we already have access into this heavenly arena. His real presence is available to us right now, in the midst of our storms we are anchored in Him. He has broken the barrier as our forerunner, we can now join Him in the heavenly arena.
