Title: The “Great” in Great High Priest
Intro: I wrote this as one piece, but it may in fact, end up being two messages, where we take a pause and pick back up next week.
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let’s hold firmly to our confession.
15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin.
“Therefore”
Let’s just roll this concept back and incorporate the main ideas we discussed in the last three sermons which covered the two verses leading up to this “therefore”
- The Scriptures are living and active…
- They Scriptures are also an instrument of incomparable precision, able to pierce men, and divide soul and spirt in revealing Truth.
- No one is hidden from God’s sight, we will answer to Him for every single thing we’ve ever thought, done, or withheld.
“Therefore” let us never forget exactly who our High Priest is, the very son of God who has passed though the Heavens.
High Priest
And consider the audience and the term “High Priest” used many times in the book of Hebrews, but perhaps no more importantly than right here.
The High Priest, in Judaism, the chief religious functionary in the Temple of Jerusalem, whose unique privilege was to enter the Holy of Holies (inner sanctum) once a year on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, to burn incense and sprinkle sacrificial animal blood to expiate his own sins and those of the people of Israel.
What is our confession?
What will will say when you inevitably stand before God in judgement? This is our confession:
“Lord, I have no defense but Jesus. Your word has accurately revealed my sin, my fallen nature, my total depravity, my inability to earn any favor in your sight. I truly deserve Hell. But, by your sovereign design, you sent Jesus to die for my sin. I never would have, never could have, chosen Him unless you chose me before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). But for reasons I do not fully understand, you did send Him to redeem me. He is my only defense. This is my confession.”
The author of Hebrews implores he readers, “Don’t forget your confession! Don’t forget what you were, what God did, what you are now becoming! Don’t forget Christ is our ONLY hope, live like it every day of your life!
But will He understand?
What leads us to ask this question?
- The utter shame of our secret sins and thoughts.
- The realization of our rebellion, both before and after our salvation.
- The thought that we are a “special case” more uniquely sinful than any before us.
- Others?
So will Christ understand?
In a word yes. I am absolutely certain he will.
15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin.
“just as we are”
I’m probably opening a can of worms here, but hey, that’s what we sometimes do when discussing difficult doctrine, amen?
I strongly feel that that these three words either have reduced meaning or total meaning depending on how we answer one simple question about the life of Jesus…many of you have heard me comment on this before, its a tough question, anyone know what the question is?
Could Jesus have sinned, was he capable of it?
For me, it’s essential that he could have, but did not. That makes the phrase “just as we are” come alive. It gives me hope that it’s possible not only to relate to Christ in such an intimate way, but to have hope that choosing not to sin is a real option while I’m here on earth.
If there was some cosmic safety net, some part of his divine nature that would not allow Jesus to sin when tempted, then this verse feels a little hollow to me. It give me the excuse to say, “Well, yeah, he was tempted, but not like me…Jesus never could have sinned, so it wasn’t quite the same experience.”
In either case, the result is the same, “without sin.” He did not sin, and that very fact is what makes Jesus able to be our advocate at judgement. He can stand in the gap between his Fathers just and holy wrath and absorb what we should have gotten, so that we can walk freely into the love of God in Heaven.
In fact, that work is already done, it was done on the cross 2000 years ago. It doesn’t wear out, it doesn’t change, it doesn’t need to adapt to our age. It is timeless truth. The same Gospel message that saved men when the author of Hebrews wrote these words is the same Gospel that is saving men today. Our confession doesn’t change, the word of God doesn’t change.
Pray
Q/A
How does it make you feel to have a savior that you can relate to?
(Matt Lewis story about Mt. Rainer/running into Browns fans in Hawaii)