Strathalbyn Church of Christ

Heb 4:14-5:10. Theme: Jesus, our great High Priest. Sermon by Pastor David Williams. Strathalbyn Church of Christ. 26 Sept 2021.

Jesus is our great high priest. I guess this may not excite you much. If I said Jesus is our great King, or our great prophet – maybe. But Hebrews majors on this aspect of Jesus (Heb 2:17, 3:1, 4:14-10:31). So, there must be something in it – this idea that Jesus is our great high priest. This truth is used to encourage a struggling church to hold on to faith. The writer said, 14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe.

So, knowing that Jesus is our high priest is the thing that will keep us going, that will help us hold firmly to our faith – despite suffering, despite opposition, despite our weaknesses. Why is that? Why is so much space given by the writer, and the Holy Spirit, to Jesus as high priest? We may not see it as important, but God clearly does. As we read scripture as God intended, we may have our understanding of Jesus increased.

Let us pray for this now: Holy Spirit, open our eyes to your word that we may see it afresh with your eyes, and see Jesus, our great high priest. Help us see Jesus as we have never seen him before. In Jesus name, Amen.

Priests and baggage

First, we may need to clear some baggage about what a priest is. Today, priests have a bad name – out of touch, more fussed about ancient rituals than people, at worst, some are paedophiles. OT priests are also seen as irrelevant, carrying out those primitive and superstitious animal sacrifices.

Priests as fixers

But the Bible presents a very different picture. At their best, the priest was a combination of healer and teacher, counsellor, leader and advocate. They were the go-between – between God, their holy king, and his people Israel. They guided the nation in times of war, they prayed in times of famine, they counselled and warned when Israel was going off the rails. Without the High Priest, there was no way for sins to be forgiven. Because of their special role, they were the most valued and respected people in the community. They were the ones to go to when you were in a fix. We will see how Jesus, our great High Priest, is the one to turn to when you are in a fix.

High Priest vs Our Great High Priest

The High Priest was everything an ordinary priest was and more – once a year, he had a special role. Once a year he passed out of sight of the people, through the curtain. But at his ascension, Jesus, once for all passed out of sight through the heavens. Every year the High Priest offered sacrifices for his own sins and for those of the people. But Jesus offered his own blood as a sacrifice for all sins for all time. The High Priest stood in the Holiest of Holies for a few minutes. But Jesus did not stand but sat next to the throne of God himself, where he remains to this day. He sat because his sacrifice for sin was finished. The High Priest represented Israel before God. The people could not approach their holy God – any who dared to do so were put to death. Only once a year, through their High Priest, could the people approach God. But now we have free access at any time to God our Father through the blood of his son, our great High Priest.

No more Priests

So, the High Priesthood, and the sacrifices and the temple all became redundant when Jesus, our great High Priest was himself sacrificed. The Old Covenant rituals were not wrong. Believers under the Old Covenant who faithfully performed the rituals could know God’s forgiveness. This is because those rituals pointed to Christ. High Priest, sacrifices and Temple were all a shadow of what was to come (Heb 8:5; 10:1). They were fulfilled in Christ. Attempts by Orthodox Jews to revive these practices are not just pointless – they ignore the Old Testament prophecies that pointed to their fulfilment when the Messiah came.

It is not just a problem for some Jews though. Others also deny the effectiveness of Jesus’ sacrifice. The Mass carried out by Roman Catholics and by some Anglicans can be seen as a re-sacrifice of Christ. For them, the bread and wine are seen as transformed into Christ’s body and blood. The daily Mass is considered essential to ensure that our sins are dealt with. But this is to make our salvation dependent on what we do. Christ death once and for all dealt with our sins (Rom 6:10; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 3:18). There is nothing that we can add to his sacrifice. His blood once shed sets us free forever.

Some find other ways to deal with sins, to help them out of a fix – through counsellors and meditation or drugs, through spouses and pastors. God has given us wise friends, good medicines (and vaccines) and we should make use of them. But only our great high priest can heal the deep wounds brought by sin and shame.

1st Response: let us hold firmly to what we believe.

Rather than looking elsewhere for other fixes and saviours, let us hold firmly to what we believe, v14. If you want to get through hard times, hold on to Christ! He has done everything needed for your salvation. There is nothing left to do. There is no one else to go to.

Hold firmly to what we believe, or as other versions have it, “Let us hold fast our confession”. Confess your faith. Do it publicly, and proudly. Do it in the face of ridicule and opposition. Tell others about your great high Priest, Jesus – the one who died for you and for the whole world.

This was written to a church under persecution. We also live in times when there is no space given to Christianity. It is ridiculed. The church is fine if it sticks to social welfare but tell people that they need a Saviour and you will get opposition. When the going gets tough, preach the gospel even more! Preach it in season and out of season (2 Tim 4:2).

A sympathetic High Priest

We hold fast by knowing our High Priest. 15 This High Priest understands our weaknesses, for he was in every way tempted as we are, yet without sin.

As Christians, we take for granted that of course God is kind and sympathetic to us. Even non-Christians who believe there is a god assume he is loving. This was not always so – and when you think about it, there is no reason for this to be so. To Muslims, Allah can be arbitrary and capricious. The gods of the Greeks and Romans were worse than humans for treachery, lust and pride. The Jews rightly believe in a God of mercy and justice. But then Jesus introduced the radical idea of calling God “Father”. Not only is God father, but his sympathy for us is so great that he sent his Son to die for us.

Jesus is God. He also became a man – not an almost man but a real man – with all our human weaknesses. As a toddler, he fell and bruised his knees. He fell ill. His mind and emotions were limited by human weaknesses. He was ignorant and needed to be taught. At 12, he asked questions of the religious leaders. He knew emotional pain and distress. And he knew temptation. In every way he has been tempted as we are, v15.

Is it wrong to be tempted?

It is not wrong to be weak. It is not wrong to be tempted. It is wrong to give in to temptation, or to dwell on the temptations, to indulge in them. Sam Allberry is an English evangelical pastor – he is attracted to other men. He knows homosexual sex is wrong. He has tried for years to change but nothing has worked. He is single and celibate because he has chosen to be faithful to scripture rather than giving in to temptation. Sin has corrupted our nature. He sees same sex attraction as part of that corrupted nature. It is a temptation he continues to resist. It is not wrong to be tempted. It is wrong to give in, or to dwell on the temptation.

Are good people tempted?

Some have the idea that good people don’t suffer temptation. This is very wrong. Consider - you are digging a trench in the heat, with clay as hard as rocks. It is not those who drop out in the first 20 minutes who have struggled with the temptation to give in. They have given up without a fight. It is those who are still digging away 8 hours later, with blisters, arms like lead, and a sun scorched neck. They are the ones who have really struggled with the temptation to give in. CS Lewis said – “This is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in… Because [Christ] was the only man who never yielded to temptation [he] is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means”. Jesus is the most tempted human ever because he never gave in.

Tempted in every way

Jesus was “one who in every way has been tempted as we are”, v15. Not that Jesus experienced every temptation there is – he did not experience the temptations that only face women, or the elderly – nor did he face that most difficult of all temptations – Chocolate! But he knew what our weak bodies, minds and emotions feel when we struggle with temptation.

To sympathise here means “to share the experience of another”. Christ does not just imagine how we must feel – no, he feels it! “The most sensitive man who has ever lived feels with us”, R.K. Hughes. Are you looking for sympathy? Go to Jesus! Don’t go anywhere else!

2nd Response: Let us draw near the throne of grace

So let us come boldly to the throne of grace. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most, v16.

When I broke the window after Dad warned me to stay clear of it, the last person I wanted to see was Dad. When I muck up, the last place I want to go to is to God in prayer. Yet that is exactly where I need to be. Christ is my great high priest. He knows my every temptation. He is the one to go to confidently and boldly. For at his throne, I know I will find mercy and grace to help me.

It is not arrogance to go boldly to God’s throne. It would be arrogance to refuse his offer and try some other way to fix my sins. What he offers is mercy and grace – mercy to set us free from sin and grace to strengthen and restore us. So, our solution to sin is to turn to our great High Priest – to Jesus who sympathises with our weaknesses; and to turn to him boldly in prayer to receive his mercy and grace to help us.

Qualification of a High Priest

Why is Jesus is called our High Priest? There are three qualifications for a High Priest: selection, sympathy and shared humanity. Notice how Jesus satisfies each one.

Selection

The High Priest doesn’t select himself but is chosen by God. Those who attempted to seize High Priestly power suffered death. Likewise, Jesus was chosen by God. Two quotes from the Psalms highlight this.

5 Christ did not honour himself by assuming he could become High Priest. No, he was chosen by God, who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have become your Father” … “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

He was appointed as king – as son of the Father, and secondly, he was appointed as priest. You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. This is startling news. For the first time, Jesus is linked to the mysterious figure Melchizedek who only occurs a couple of times in the OT. More on Melchizedek in my next sermon, but for now, see that he was both a king and a priest.

Sympathy

2 [The High Priest] can deal gently with ignorant and wayward people, since he himself experiences the same weaknesses. 3 That is why he must offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as theirs.

A High Priest who is aware of his own weakness and sin will most likely deal gently with others. Deal gently steers a course between apathy and anger. Like Jesus with the woman caught in adultery. Jesus did not condemn her, nor did he say her sin did not matter. Rather he forgave her, saying, Go, sin no more. Dealing gently, he steered a middle course between apathy and anger.

Christians can forget their weakness and sin and develop a judgmental spirit. We can fail to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward. Such a spirit shows that we have forgotten our weakness and sin.

Shared humanity.

The High Priest must be a human – Every high priest is a man chosen to represent people in their dealings with God, 5:1. No angel could do that. So it is with Jesus.

While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with loud cries and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God, v7.

At Gethsemene, Jesus was so troubled that his soul was near to death. On the cross he cried, My God, My God, why have you forsaken me. (Matt 27:46; Lk 22:39-44, Mk 14:32-42). He pleaded three times for this cup to be taken away. Although Christ himself knew from the scriptures that he must suffer and die, he begged, if possible, may there be another way. But what he wanted was not his will but the father’s will.

Christ knew what it was like to have his prayer denied. How many have prayed for healing, for release but it is not the father’s will. As we read in Hebrews 11, some did not get released from their torments but died – died to enter a better life.

Words are unusual.

Before leaving this I need to point out something that may have puzzled you. The writer’s use of words is unusual: 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him. And: today I have become your Father, v5.

But wasn’t Jesus always God’s son? Wasn’t he always obedient, always perfect? Yes, he was, but he was declared Son by his death and resurrection. He learned what it was to be obedient through his suffering. He was sinless, but his work was perfected and completed on the cross.

Source of salvation

9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.

Our High Priest didn’t just bear our sins. Today, he bears our present burdens also. Like a fond parent, we are always on his heart. So, Jesus is our great High Priest, the one who became one of us, who knows what it like to be tempted – to a far greater extent than any of us will ever know. He deals gently with us – in our weakness and sin. He is our source of eternal salvation.

Lord Jesus, our great High Priest, we run to you. We run with all our failures, foolish pride and fears. We run to you with our hidden shame. We run to you with our messy guilt. We run to you for we have no one else to run to. We run to you knowing you will deal gently with us – so we will find mercy and receive grace to help us in our time of need. Amen.

Source:

Hughes, R. K. (1993). Hebrews: An anchor for the soul. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Books.