Our Great High Priest – Part II
HEBREWS 4:14-16
AS WAS INTRODUCED IN PAST I, JESUS CHRIST IS OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST…
NAS Hebrews 4:14-16 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.
NOW LET US LOOK CLOSELY AT OUR THREE VERSES IN HEBREWS 4…
NAS Hebrews 4:14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
LEVITICUS IS THE MANUAL FOR THE PRIESTS IN THE BIBLE. Some commentators I have read have emphasized that, in their knowledgeable opinions, the book of Hebrews is the New Testament Leviticus, so many direct and indirect references do they see the writer to the Hebrews making to Leviticus. Look at these selected words from the O.T. book of Leviticus, chapter 16. They will help us to understand some important things about the biblical priest and help us make distinctions to the great high priesthood of Jesus Christ in our passage from Hebrews…
NAS Leviticus 16:1-6, 11-13, 23-24, 29-30, 34 Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the LORD and died. And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. Aaron shall enter the holy place with this: with a bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his body, and he shall be girded with the linen sash, and attired with the linen turban (these are holy garments). Then he shall bathe his body in water and put them on. And he shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering. Then Aaron shall offer the bull for the sin offering which is for himself, that he may make atonement for himself and for his household.… Then Aaron shall offer the bull of the sin offering which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his household, and he shall slaughter the bull of the sin offering which is for himself. And he shall take a firepan full of coals of fire from upon the altar before the LORD, and two handfuls of finely ground sweet incense, and bring it inside the veil. And he shall put the incense on the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the ark of the testimony, lest he die.… Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting, and take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there. And he shall bathe his body with water in a holy place and put on his clothes, and come forth and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people. … And this shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls, and not do any work, whether the native, or the alien who sojourns among you; for it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you shall be clean from all your sins before the LORD.… Now you shall have this as a permanent statute, to make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year.” And just as the LORD had commanded Moses, so he did.
SOME PERTINENT OBSERVATIONS WE MAY DRAW from these verses in Leviticus 16…
- The earthly high priest had to offer a sacrifice for himself, for he was a sinner just like the people whom he represented…
- The earthly high priest was allowed to go into the presence of God only one day a year, the Day of Atonement. He, thus, had extremely limited access…
- The sacrifices the earthly high priest offered were temporary. The next year on the Day of Atonement the earthly high priest had to repeat the ritual…
BY COMPARISON, JESUS OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST WAS WITHOUT SIN. HE NEVER HAD TO OFFER ANOTHER SACRIFICE AFTER THE SACRIFICE OF HIMSELF ON THE CROSS…
NAS Hebrews 10:11-12, 14 And every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.
OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST: greater than the prophets; greater than the angels; greater than Moses; and He is greater than Aaron.
“THREE THINGS MAKE JESUS OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST: His perfect priesthood, His perfect Person, and His perfect provision. Because He is perfect in these aspects, He is God’s only true High Priest. All others (such as Aaron), no matter how faithful. were but symbols of His priesthood.” – MacArthur
“THROUGHOUT THE BOOK OF HEBREWS THE HIGH PRIESTHOOD OF JESUS CHRIST IS EXALTED. In chapter 1 He is seen as the One who has made ‘purification of sins’ (v. 3). In chapter 2 He is a ‘merciful and faithful high priest’ (v. 17). and in chapter 3 He is ‘the Apostle and High Priest of our confession’ (v. 1). Chapters 7-9 focus almost exclusively on Jesus’ high priesthood. Here (4:14) He is called a ‘great high priest.’” – Ibid.
“PASSED THROUGH THE HEAVENS” – Just as the Levitical priest passed through the veil of the Tabernacle, so Christ our great high Priest passed through the heavens, where He now is ministering in our behalf. Our great high priest is transcendent, heavenly; He is not local, not earthly. This fact alone makes Jesus “great,” far superior to Aaron.
“HOLD FAST” – The Greek word κρατεω (kra-tay-o) means to forcefully seize something. The root of the word means power.
BECAUSE WE HAVE THIS GREAT HIGH PRIEST who has passed through the heavens, “let us hold fast our confession.” “Let us attain to the full benefit of our profession of faith in Him.” I can’t help but wonder if we actually hear those words? We are exhorted here to grasp, to take full control of our faith. I wonder how many Christians actually do this, actually squeeze everything out of their relationship with Christ that they are entitled to take. What a profound, life-changing thought upon which to meditate and act.
A SIMPLE BUT PROFOUND ANALOGY: PICTURE YOU’RE OUT IN THE OCEAN ON A BOAT and the boat sprung a leak and began to sink. And just as you were about to go down with it, a helicopter suddenly appeared and dropped a rope to you. Think how you would “hold fast” to that rope! That rope would be the most important thing in the world; it would be incomparably precious to you. I know it’s obvious but allow me to suggest to you that this little analogy is much like our spiritual situation before Christ. Before Christ we were sinking in the sea of sin, on our way to death, and then we were rescued (the Greek word salvation can be rightly seen as rescue; to be saved from imminent danger). God wants us to hang onto the rope of our salvation as tightly now as we did when He first saved us. There is no other “rope”; and there is no other hope.
YOU MAY NOT THINK CHRISTIANS NEED A PRIEST OF ANY KIND. Certainly, we are not under the legal or religious system of the ancient nation of Israel to whom the priest was absolutely essential to their relationship with God. And certainly there is no connection of Christians and the Catholic priests of today. As born again children of God we have direct access to God at any time through prayer. And yet, paradoxically, there is a significant parallel of Christians to the ancient Jewish system of worship. We do still need a priest, if that priest is our great high Priest Jesus Christ.
“A PRINCIPLE FUNCTION OF THE PRIEST WAS TO HEAR THE CONFESSION OF SIN. Unless our sins are confessed, they weigh down our spirits with heavy burdens, dissipating the energy with which we should be serving God. What a relief to be able to confess our sins, to receive the forgiving grace of God, and to know that we do not have to pretend any longer! The priest is the one who receives our confession. We need and have a great High Priest in Jesus Christ. A perfect high priest must be one who by nature, is in full communion with God and with man. He must bring God to man and man to God. Jesus has not been given His status with God as a personal reward. He has it by nature. He is the Son of God and God the Son. By being who He is, He brings God Himself to man and man to God.” – Broadman Commentary
“CONFESSION” OR “PROFESSION” – Confession refers specifically to our confession or profession of faith in Jesus Christ. The Greek word ομολογια (ha-ma-la-gay-o) means literally to say the same thing. When we “confess” or “profess” Christ, we are saying the same thing that the Bible says about Him. Our relationship with God is based upon our “confession” or “profession” of faith. When we became saved, we said the same thing about Jesus that the Bible does.
THE READERS OF THE LETTER (OR SERMON) TO THE HEBREWS WERE WAVERING IN THEIR FAITH. They were, most probably, under persecution. They were feeling the pull of their Jewish religious roots and the impressive Temple in Jerusalem. They were considering lapsing back into Judaism. Many Christians today, sadly, are wavering, feeling the strong, unrelenting pull of the world. This is a message for the moment to us!
NAS Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
“SYMPATHIZE” – A beautiful, interesting, comforting word, don’t you think? We get the word from the Greek word συμπατεω (sum-path-a-o) in this verse, which is found only here, chapter 10:34, and 1 Peter 3:8 in the entire N. T. The word means literally “to suffer with.”
IN THE ANCIENT PAGAN WORLD THE GENERAL FEELING WAS THAT THE GODS WERE FAR REMOVED FROM MORTALS. The average person of that time would not even consider what our passage tells us. To think that the gods actually sympathized with humans would be considered absurd. But our great high priest does suffer with us in our trials. He shares our pain and our grief…
NAS John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
“WITHOUT SIN” – Jesus was tempted (I prefer “tested”) in all ways as we are, yet as God He could not sin. This is the theological doctrine we call “The Impeccability of Christ.” This is difficult for our human minds to grasp: how Jesus could have been genuinely tempted or tested if He could not sin? I have studied this difficult subject for years. In a nutshell: I believe what the Bible says. The Bible says that Jesus was tempted or tested in all things as we are, yet He was sinless. To say that Jesus, who is God Almighty, could sin is heresy. To say that He couldn’t then have been tested as are we is to deny what the Scripture says…
KJV Isaiah 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.
“BECAUSE OF HIS SINLESS NATURE, the mind of the Savior much more acutely perceived the forms of temptation than we who are weak, not only during His earthly ministry but also during His service as the exalted high priest. He anticipates temptations we are going to face, sympathizes fully with us, and is able to help us who are being tempted.” – John Albert Bengel
NAS 2 Corinthians 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
A QUICK CLARIFICATION ABOUT 2 CORINTHIANS 5:21… Some wrongly teach that this verse, particularly the part about Jesus and sin, meant that Jesus did, in fact, sin. It does not mean this. It means that He took upon Himself the penalty for our sin…
KJV Isaiah 53:4-6 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. (“grief” and “sorrows” refer to the effects of sin – TR) But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (“iniquity” is sin; “the sin of us all was laid upon Jesus by God the Father” – TAR)…
NAS Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.
“THEREFORE” – Based upon the fact that this great high priest identifies with our human trials and sympathizes with our weaknesses, we are exhorted to…
“DRAW NEAR” – The Greek word προσερχομαι (pros-eng-geed-zo) implies a relationship between the one drawing near and the one to whom he is drawing near. I believe there is a religious connotation here in the use of this verb. The Hebrew equivalent קְרַב (ka-rahve) in one of its verb stems (causative active) can mean “to offer sacrifices.” The word in Hebrews 4:15 may be picturing the O.T. priest who approached God in the tabernacle with sacrifices…
NAS Leviticus 9:7 Moses then said to Aaron, “Come near (קְרַב) to the altar and offer your sin offering and your burnt offering, that you may make atonement for yourself and for the people; then make the offering for the people, that you may make atonement for them, just as the LORD has commanded.” (see also Lev 21:17, 21; 22:3; Num 18:3).
HERE FOR US THE REFERENCE IS PRAYER. Our sacrifices are our prayers. No matter how ashamed or covered with sin we may be, if we are truly God’s children and truly repentant, we can come to Him in prayer with the wonderful assurance that God will compassionately hear our prayer and bless us.
I MUST TELL YOU THAT WHEN I GOT TO THIS POINT in writing this blog, alone at my desk, 3:30 AM, the thought occurred to me that I was too overwhelmed with this passage to write soberly: so incredibly beautiful is God’s goodness. I felt like weeping. I often feel that way when I study God’s Word. Surely you have often felt the same way. There is nothing to compare with the exquisite beauty and unfathomable truth of the Bible. It is overwhelming. When we study God’s Word, we do draw near to Him. The only thing that can compare to Bible study is prayer. When we pray we draw near to God…
NAS James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
“CONFIDENCE” OR “BOLDNESS” – We are also exhorted to draw near the throne of grace with confidence. The Greek word παρρησια (par-a-see-a) describes an attitude of openness that stems from freedom and lack of fear. One book I read this week said that the word was applied to those who were citizens of Greece who were able to openly, freely express their true feelings before the throne, a privilege not accorded to slaves…
THE WRITER OF HEBREWS SAYS MUCH THE SAME THING IN…
NAS Hebrews 10:22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith,
“THRONE OF GRACE” – This is the throne of God. It is not a throne of judgment as in the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:11…
NAS Revelation 20:11 And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.
PEOPLE STANDING BEFORE THIS THRONE ARE AWAITING JUDGMENT for their sins and an eternity in separation from the presence of God. But believers in the Lord Jesus Christ may come boldly and confidently to the throne of grace, and notice what the Scripture tells us awaits us at the throne…
“THAT WE MAY RECEIVE MERCY AND MAY FIND GRACE” – Mercy is God withholding punishment we deserve; grace is giving us blessings we do not deserve. The Christian needs mercy for past failure, and grace for present and future obedience. “Mercy is to be ‘taken’ as it is extended to man in his weakness; grace is to be ‘sought’ by man according to his necessity.” – Westcott
AND PLEASE DON’T MISS THE LAST FEW WORDS: “TO HELP IN TIME OF NEED” – Isn’t that beautiful? We get this measure of God’s mercy and grace when we need it most…
“JUST WHEN I NEED HIM MOST… Just when I need Him, Jesus is near, Just when I falter, just when I fear; Ready to help me, ready to cheer, Just when I need Him most. Just when I need Him most, Just when I need Him most; Jesus is near to comfort and cheer, just when I need Him most.” – Hymn
NAS Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
FIX YOUR EYES ON JESUS… Hold fast to your confession of faith, just like a drowning man or woman would hang on to a lifeline.
WE HAVE A SYMPATHETIC HIGH PRIEST WHOSE PRIESTHOOD IS PERFECT and whose Person is perfect. The One who understands us perfectly will also provide for us perfectly. If our heart is heavy today, He will comfort us and help us to get through the valley. If we’re burdened by sin in our life or if we’re experiencing doubt in our walk with the Lord, He will cleanse us and correct us and lovingly lead us into deeper truth. He is sympathetic; He is able to suffer with us in our time of need.
HOW CAN ANYONE EVER REJECT JESUS?
“I’D RATHER HAVE JESUS… I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold; I’d rather be His than have riches untold; I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands. I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand…Than to be the king of a vast domain Or be held in sin’s dread sway. I’d rather have Jesus than anything This world affords today.”
JESUS, OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST. Greater than the prophets; greater than the angels; greater than Moses; greater than Aaron and all the earthly high priests. He is Jesus. He is the one like no other. Bless His holy name!
BECAUSE WE HAVE THIS GREAT HIGH PRIEST IN HEAVEN who sympathizes with our disappointments and doubts, our weaknesses and our grief, we can come boldly to the throne of grace and receive mercy and grace in our time of need. You will not find a greater priest; you will not find a greater message of encouragement in the book of Hebrews!
– Professor Thomas A. Rohm
