Enduring Admonitions (Pt. 3)

If God’s people would please
take your Bibles one more time and turn to Hebrews chapter 4
Hebrews chapter 4. Near the end of chapter four,
there is one of these clumsy breaks that we occasionally come
across in scripture. And I can speak of it in those
terms, clumsy, because chapters and verse numbers aren’t inspired. They weren’t God-given. They
were set down by scribes and copyists, publishers over time. And in this particular case,
The needed adjustment, if we were to do such, is pretty plain. In chapters three and four, which
chapters we just concluded last Lord’s Day, the writer is presenting
the third phase of the argument. For our purposes, and this has
been a bit confusing, I will admit, we didn’t even touch on
the first argument. We just took it in hand that
Christ is a better revelation by God than anything that he
had done before. Our first argument was that Christ
is better than the angels. His second argument was that
Christ was better than Moses or provided a better salvation
than Moses. There in chapters three, beginning
in verse one, all the way through four, 13. But there, the subject ends. And at verse 14, the writer takes
up a distinctly new topic. Jesus Christ is better than Aaron. His priesthood is better than
the priesthood of Aaron. And so the chapter break should
begin at verse 14, which if I were adjusting it, that would be our
verse one of chapter five. Remember the writer, this faithful
Jewish convert to Christianity, writing to those fellow Jews
who had experienced the same grace, had already tipped his
hand that Jesus was not only better than Moses, he was also
superior by far to Moses’ brother Aaron and his ministry. Remember, our writer had almost
tantalizingly floated this idea of Christ’s superiority, his
superiority over Aaron’s priesthood, all the way back in chapter 2,
verse 17. If you have a second, just flip
there. He speaks of Jesus as a merciful
and faithful high priest. And then again, just a few verses
later in chapter three, he urges, really he commands his readers
to consider Jesus the apostle and high priest of our confession. And so these Christians, whose
roots were deep in Judaism, were patiently waiting for this friend’s
explanation of these grand statements. How could Jesus be better also
than Aaron. But he had better make his case
quickly, because their beloved city and its temple were teetering
on the brink of utter destruction at the hands of the Roman soldiers
gathered outside the gates. And our writer is equal to the
task, because he knows that capitulating back into Judaism, as some of
these readers were likely tempted to do, away from Christ, away
from Christianity, it was a real temptation for them. Others were
still shuffling their feet on making any kind of a commitment
by faith in Christ. And so these professing Jewish
believers must be carefully and thoroughly and passionately addressed
with regards to Christ’s ministry and its superiority over Aaron.
These are enduring admonitions, however. They are as much for
us, they are as alive today as they ever were for first century
Jews facing the destruction of Jerusalem. We have begun to consider
these in light of our own day and its own trouble. These are
divine encouragements for saints imperiled, not only first century
Jews living in Jerusalem facing the destruction of their city,
but even us facing this uncertain time, a pandemic. Well, if we
are to glorify Christ in trial, as we have already begun to consider,
we must listen to the one who is greater than the angels. That
was the first point that we considered. The writer began with the point
that God’s revelation of Christ is better than all other previous
revelations, but it isn’t until he begins to discuss the angels
that he drives the point home. And we find it in chapter two,
verse one, for this reason, that because Christ is truly better
than the angels, we must pay closer attention to what we have
heard so that we do not drift away from it. If we are to glorify
Christ in great trial, we must listen to the one who is greater
than the angels, and we must come to the one, secondly, whose
salvation is greater than that of Moses. This was his second
major point. As we said, this was encompassed
in chapters three and four, or most of chapter four. He sustains
his argument that Christ is better, better than Moses. Jesus Christ’s
ministry was better than that of Moses. Jesus Christ’s salvation
is better than that of Moses. And he gives us in that argument,
those two chapters, four distinct portions of the consideration
or the comparison of Christ’s glorious ministry of salvation.
This is where we were for several weeks. where we assessed salvation
in Christ generally, we examined salvation in Christ personally,
we looked at the possibility of squandering salvation carelessly,
and finally we came to the conclusion there at the end of chapter four,
entering salvation in Christ conscientiously. But the writer
is not done. As grand a point as that was,
These enduring admonitions continue and they really continue throughout
the book of Hebrews. We have a long way to go. But
if we are to glorify Christ in times of great trial, we must
not only listen to the one who is greater than the angels and
come to the one whose salvation is greater than Moses. Thirdly,
we must draw near with confidence. to the throne of grace. We must
draw near with confidence to the throne of grace. If you would,
I want to go to the very beginning of this passage, chapter 4, verse
14. Chapter 4, verse 14, where we
begin to consider Jesus Christ’s priesthood as over against that
of Aaron. Look at verse 14, therefore,
since we have a high priest who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus, the son of God. And so he doesn’t leave it a
mystery as to who he’s talking about. He’s talking about Christ.
He’s, he’s really beginning to answer the lingering question
from chapter two, verse 17. If God’s people would turn all
the way back to chapter two, look at verse 14, start there. where the writer reminded them,
therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he
himself also partook of the same. The children that is really all
humanity share in flesh and blood because they are flesh and blood.
Jesus Christ as Messiah had to be flesh and blood. He had to
become flesh and blood because as eternal God he could not die. In order to fulfill his calling
as savior he would have to die. And so the only way that could
happen is for him to take on flesh. He had to be able to die. Jump down, if you would, to verse
17. Therefore, he had to be made
like his brethren in all things. He had to get down in the trench
with them. He not only had to be in the
flesh, he had to experience what they experienced. He had to be
made like his brethren in all things so that he might become
a merciful and faithful high priest. This statement had to
surprise the Jewish converts because priests of that day and
really historically were anything but merciful or faithful. They were often harsh and foreboding. But Jesus Christ having come
to be our high priest, And the offering of himself to pay for
our sins immediately perfected those two characteristics. He
was indeed infinitely merciful. And in offering himself as a
sacrifice for our sins, he was immediately faithful, exceedingly
faithful. And so just a few verses later,
look, if you would, at the opening of chapter three, where the writer
issues that gentle command we just reviewed. Consider Jesus,
the apostle and high priest of our confession. Think of him. Ponder him. Consider him. These people knew who Jesus was. They had seen his comings and
goings. They had watched his life and
ministry. They had seen the arrest. They had probably witnessed the
crucifixion. They had heard of the resurrection. They knew about Jesus. That isn’t what he’s asking them
to do. He’s asking them to consider him fully in his being, in his
fullness as Savior and Lord, to make Christ the great profound
study of their life. And whereas our writer had only
introduced the idea that Christ was not only better than Moses,
he was better than Aaron as well, now, here at the end of chapter
four, Moving into chapter five, he is prepared now to argue this
case. The Jesus Christ is really and
truly better than Aaron. His priesthood is superior to
that of Aaron. And so in order to do that, let’s
jump into that consideration first. Look at verse one of chapter
five. Let’s first consider the role
of the priest. the role of the priest. First
of all, consider the design of his ministry. Chapter 5, verse
1, for every high priest taken from among men is appointed on
behalf of men in things pertaining to God in order to offer both
gifts and sacrifices for sins. The Levitical priesthood was
instituted during Moses’ ministry, remember? It was bestowed upon
his brother Aaron and his family. The whole character of the ministry,
though, was viewed as being under Aaron’s influence. And so as
our writer begins to compare Christ with Aaron, it is actually
the Levitical priesthood that is in view, originally established
under Aaron, as the Bible records. Notice,
first of all, that our writer here says that these priests
are not a race of superhumans. They are, as he says, taken from
among men. At the end of the day, the priest
is a man, nothing more. It was not optional. A priest
had to be a man in order to represent humanity before God. He is appointed,
as the writer continues, on behalf of men. He was to function as
their substitute. And note the precision of God’s
word here. The priest wasn’t in charge of
everything regarding those whom he represented. He wasn’t in
charge of their groceries. He wasn’t in charge of schooling
their children. He wasn’t in charge of doing
their taxes. He wasn’t in charge of providing
their health care. He had one job, one task, one
calling. He was responsible for things
pertaining to God. He was a sinful man’s representative
before a holy God. And he had a very particular
function in that representation. It was his duty to offer both
gifts and sacrifices for sin. Most generally terms for offerings
of various kinds. Sometimes in scripture, there
is no distinction between these two words, gifts and offerings,
but when they are side by side, they are seemingly differentiated. There is an intended distinction
here. The gifts brought were gifts
of gratitude, thank offerings, if you will, for blessings enjoyed. But the sacrifices that a priest
brought, the sacrifices were for sin. the people’s sins, including
his own. And so not only do we see the
design of this ministry, but notice one of the attendant blessings
of hiring a human for this task. I mean, he could have appointed,
could God, could have appointed an angel. But he didn’t. He appointed a man, a mere man,
and we see one of the blessings in that. Not only the purpose
of the priest ministry, but look at the humility of this ministry
in verse two. He can deal gently with the ignorant
and misguided since he himself is also beset with weakness.
That, I will tell you, is best case scenario. As I’ve already
indicated, most priests did not get the picture. They thought,
began to believe that they were really and truly better, a cut
above the rest of the people. And they would look down their
noses at them. Not only is the priest given
a very precise job description, he has a very particular calling,
which encompasses even the man’s attitude. Note here, he can deal
gently with the ignorant and misguided. That is the heart,
the attitude with which he is expected to perform his function. It is by God’s design. Because,
in fact, he can do no other. Because he is a mere man, He
cannot help but to deal gently with others who sin in the same
exact way that he does. And so the word gently here speaks
of an exhibition of a moderate emotion. Commentaries describe
this emotional response as being somewhere between apathy, which
isn’t good either, or excitability. This is steady Eddie, right? He’s right down the middle. And
there is here the balanced feeling of soberness towards others’
sinfulness. It is the opposite of harshness
or severity. And I have to say here that this
attitude is not presented as a prerequisite. It’s not like
God went looking for the one who was most humble and most
gentle with dealing with sinners. It’s not what he did. Instead,
As a priest began to read the prescription for dealing with
sin, Leviticus 4 and 5 and elsewhere, he could not have helped but
to think of his own sin. And so the inevitable sentiment
that comes from service as a priest, ministering to people who are
at the core, no better, no worse than himself. Such a realization could not
help but produce humility. God didn’t go looking for humble
men. He made them humble when he put them in service. One of
the hard things in pastoral ministry is seeing the damage and the
harm that people do to themselves and to others. Sometimes it’s
heartbreaking and sometimes it’s just plain irritating. But when
it’s all said and done, any pastor, like the priests of old, have
to remember that they are subject to the same sinful temptations. They, too, have blown it in many
ways. And at this point, 30 years in,
nothing surprises me when people confess this again is God’s design. He must have a man who, because
only a mere man will naturally come to a compassion through
dealing with his own sin-sick heart, So he sends a mere man
because he is to deal with the ignorant and the misguided.”
Now to our ears, that word ignorant always kind of chafes us, doesn’t
it? It sounds harsh to our modern ears, but it’s referring only
to those who sin inadvertently. They just didn’t know. They forgot. They were weak. They had a weak
moment. They were ignorant in that sense. And as Christ said
it from the cross, remember, they know not what they do. The priest can deal with him
because he has the same problem. He himself is also beset with
weakness. The weakness is our sinful inclination
as humans. And so the weakness is as much
the priest’s experience as it is the people that he ministers
to. The older translations have it
as infirmity, weakness, sinful weakness. The priest sees others
sin in light of his own and it produces compassion in him naturally. The priest’s awareness of his
own transgression produces a gentleness with all who stumble, who stumble
just like he does, or who are tempted and inclined to stumble
just like he does. But the author isn’t finished
with his description of the human priest. Look at verse three.
We see not only the purpose of his ministry and the humility
of his ministry, but look at the service of his ministry.
What did he do? Verse three, because of it, that
is because of his humility at seeing other people’s sin in
light of his own, he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins. As for the people, so also for
himself. Well, you see, this moral weakness,
this tendency and proclivity to sin, even in the priest, produces
humility, but not just humility, because God has tasked him with
a means of help because of this weakness. Please note here that
while the attitude of humility may or may not be present, there
are harsh priests after all, his duty is a must. He is obligated. The Levitical law laid out strict
principles for these sacrifices, Leviticus 6, chapter 16. And it seems that the procedure,
much like our Lord’s table does, where every soul, pastors included,
must reconcile their life before God. In the case of the Levitical
priests, Their right was a reminder of their own sinfulness. God’s
plan of redemption was such that according to the old economy,
God had made a provision for sin through the sacrificial system. But the people’s sin was so detestable
in God’s holy eyes that they could not approach him. And so
it was that the priest’s job was to play the role of mediator,
a representative of the people, and go to that dangerous place
before a holy God. But the priest could not even
limit himself to the people’s sins, dealing with their sins
alone. He had to deal with his own sin first. His own sin must
be atoned. This was the ritual for the day
of the atonement the priest would sacrifice for himself first then
for others. As a writer here does not mince
words he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins for the people
so also for himself. As one put it under the gorgeous
robes of office there were still still the galling chains of flesh. Here were these priests decked
out in all their ornate regalia with these great titles and this
solemn responsibility. And beneath it all was a mere
man, a sinner. And so he had to atone for his
own sin before he could even think of attending to the sins
of the people. And so we see a fourth element
of the priesthood, the role of the priest, not only the design,
the humility, the service of his ministry, but look at the
reception of the ministry. Verse four, no one takes the
honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God,
even as Aaron was. In verse one, we observe that
God takes priests from among men, remember? That is his design. The simple thought there, the
simple sentence is that every high priest is appointed. No one takes it by force. No
one gains it by political maneuvering. Nobody ever buys their way in.
Nobody ever slides in through nepotism. No one becomes a priest
just because he or his mother wants him to. Well no one should
because biblical history tells us that several did right. They seized hold of that which
was not theirs. They were not called to it. They
did things that God forbade them to do. They had no title. What one said
no title what force or fraud could not give them there were
many that took hold of the office. When a writer says that every
high priest receives this call as Aaron did, he isn’t talking
literally here as if they all need to hear an audible voice
of God, as scripture records of Aaron in Exodus 28. It just
means that they are called, examined, trained, equipped, and sent by
God himself. Not of their own volition or
desire. Every legitimate priest, he says, was appointed. This is God’s design, and there
is no variation. That’s the basic thought. But
there’s so much more here, and our writer echoes that thought
here. No God-honoring priest takes
the honor as his own. He does not take the honor to
himself. It was an honor, and as one expositor
put it, to be employed in managing the religious interests of his
fellow man, to be allowed a particular intimate communion with the divinity
was perhaps the highest honor which could be conferred on any
mortal. And the gorgeous apparel and
the elevated station of the Jewish high priest were external indications
of the intrinsic dignity of the office. No wonder it was appealing. But no one ever barged their
way in and lived to tell about it. To serve in the priesthood
was indeed an honor, but God was utterly in charge of this
brigade. From its selection to its development
to its operation, the man must be called by God as a priest
or he does not serve at all. Violators and intruders like
Korah were met with a death penalty. And so with this foundation,
that’s all we’ve done really is lay a foundation, this foundational
understanding of the priesthood, the design, the humility, the
service, the reception, which served as a simple reminder for
those who were already steeped in an understanding of the priesthood,
the Jews, Our writer now proceeds to a consideration, a comparison
really, of Christ’s priesthood. And so for that, if you would
glance down, look at verse 5, where we begin to see Christ’s
service as a priest. And first of all, we see his
appointment. Just like a high priest had to
be appointed, Christ was appointed. Look at verse 5. So also Christ
did not glorify himself so as to become a high priest. But
he who said to him, you are my son today, I have begotten you,
just as he also says in another passage, you are a priest forever,
according to the order of Melchizedek. Just like the priests of old,
Jesus did not assert himself or manipulate the system in order
to serve in the capacity of a priest. Even Jesus Christ, the very Son
of God, did not press his way into this office. But catch this
change of terminology. In verse 4, he referred to the
call to this office as an honor. Remember that? But here he speaks
of Christ, and he says of Christ’s calling that it is a glory. He did not glorify himself by
way of self-appointment, not even Christ. God sent Christ,
as we’ve already seen in weeks past. God appointed him, God
bestowed upon him the office, and in that he glorified his
son. Christ did not seize the office.
He took nothing, not the title, not the work, not the honor,
nothing. Rather, all of it and more was
bestowed upon him. It was the father who appointed
him, as our writer calls attention to in two Old Testament references. The first from Psalm 27 speaks
of his sonship. He had an unparalleled relationship
to God the Father. And this just tells of the appropriateness. If you’re ever going to send
somebody, send your son, he says. This just speaks of the appropriateness
of God appointing Christ to serve in this capacity. After all,
he was his own son. The second quotation from Psalm
110 reveals his call to the priesthood. It was God who appointed him.
He appointed him and he appointed him as a son to serve as a priest. And therefore he was not subject
to any disregard by man. Even the Jewish scholars recognize
this psalm as being messianic. But here the writer, by inspiration
of the Holy Spirit, applies it directly to Jesus Christ. He
is the promised Messiah who would serve as high priest. Now among
the priests there were different orders. Some of this family and
some from that. Some who functioned in this way,
others who functioned in a different way. Jesus Christ, he reveals,
was of the order of Melchizedek. Okay. Now, any student of the
scriptures, if we know this name, we know just enough to be dangerous,
right? This is a surefire way to baffle
and impress your friends at Bible study. Just bring up Melchizedek. And just a forecast for you,
I’m not even going to get into it. Other than to say that Melchizedek,
whose name meant King of Righteousness, was a historical figure, King
of Salem, possibly an Amorite, But he’s a mysterious figure
and often seen as a type of Christ. Genesis 14, 18 introduces him
to us. Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought
out bread and wine. Now he was a priest of the Most
High God. Well, the psalmist there in Psalm
110 speaks of him as being a priest forever, an eternal priest. And thus there is this tie-in,
this allusion to Christ. The writer of Hebrews is going
to spend nearly three full chapters discussing Melchizedek and his
relationship to Christ and the things that flow out of that.
The writer, interested students rather, of scripture can go into
much further detail in their consideration of this mysterious
figure in Hebrews chapter 7, but that’s not the purpose of
our study. And so we will not follow the writer into that jeweled
mine, even in weeks to come. Christ is a priest, is the eternal
priest, appointed as all other priests are by God himself. He
too exhibits the chief virtue of humility, but here too Christ
is greater. He’s greater. And so we see not
only his appointment, that he was appointed by God, but we
see his sacrifice. Look at verse seven. In the days
of his flesh, he offered up both prayers and supplications with
loud crying and tears to the one who was able to save him
from death. He was heard because of his piety. Our faithful writer
here takes us from ancient Israel, The writing of the Psalms foretelling
of Christ to his time of ministry here on earth. What the writer
creatively refers to as the days of his flesh. He is speaking
here of Christ’s humanity, his incarnation, his time in a human
body here on earth. And he says that while Christ
was here in the flesh on earth, he was performing one of the
crucial functions of a priest, that of offering up both prayers
and supplications. Now, prayers we know. One careful
scholar aptly described supplications, however, as the requests of one
in need of protection or help in some overwhelming calamity. That’s what Christ was doing.
Well, the reference here in Hebrews with the descriptive phrase with
loud crying and tears can only reasonably point to one episode
in Scripture. In all likelihood, it points
to Christ’s agonizing prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane.
This was the ultimate act of obedience for Christ. And he
came to his father and said, my father, if this cannot pass
away unless I drink it, your will be done. Jesus knew just
who he should address his appeal to, his heavenly father, the
one who was able to save him from death, or as one writer
characterized it, a deadly anguish. There in the Garden of Gethsemane,
it was his own death in view. But Jesus knew full well that
God holds the scales of life and death in his hands. And the
sentence concludes with this hopeful note that God heard him
because of his piety. This is not works righteousness
here. This is God responding to all
that Christ is. not piety merely, but the holiness
manifested by no other than the Son of God. And so we see not only Christ’s
appointment in his service as a priest, we see his sacrifice
in his service as a priest, we see his obedience in his service
as a priest. Look at verse 8. Although he
was a son, He learned obedience from the things in which he suffered.
This is a difficult concept to hear on the face of it, that
Christ learned obedience, but it’s not a difficult thought
to explain. The writer says that just because he was a son, a
son of God, God did not cut any corners with him. You can hear
it in the opening words, although he was a son, Up to this point,
Jesus’ sonship had been nothing but a benefit to him. Remember
in chapter four, verse 14, he is introduced as the great high
priest, Jesus, the son of God. In verse five, it is Christ as
God’s son that commended him to this high service. But now,
although, even though Jesus is the son of God, There are certain
things incumbent upon him, things that he must do, things that
he must learn, like obedience and eternal glory and the fellowship
with his heavenly father. Christ did not need to learn
obedience. He was not there a subservient
as a slave to God, the father, nor was he disobedient or rebellious. I love the way one described
this development of Christ. Innocence is life untested. Do you get that? Innocence is
like, yes, so far they’re innocent and but they haven’t ever been
tested. Innocence is life untested while virtue. Virtue is innocence
tested and triumphant. That’s what Christ was. He was
tested and triumphant. Isn’t that helpful? And he goes
on, the son always possessed this disposition of obedience,
but for him to possess the virtue of obedience, testing was necessary. And may I add victory in that
testing was absolutely necessary. And so the things in which he
suffered referred to the entirety, the whole of his life on earth. He learned the noble virtue and
expressed it to God, not my will, but thine be done. And so as
we are considering Christ’s service as a priest, his appointment,
his sacrifice, his obedient, consider fourthly his accomplishment.
What did Christ serving as a priest really achieve? Look at verse
nine. And having been made perfect,
he became to all those who obey him the source of eternal salvation,
being designated by God as a high priest according to the order
of Melchizedek. And so as Christ’s priest, an
eternal priest appointed, as all other priests are, by God
himself, he too takes up the great service of the priesthood,
that of offering up a sacrifice, but here too Christ is greater,
because the sacrifice that he offered up to God was himself,
and that a perfect sacrifice. Jesus Christ was perfect not
only in the sense of his deity, but also in the sense of his
proven virtue, remember? He was not only tested, but tested
and victorious in that testing. But as the sacrifice that Christ
offered was greater, so also was the salvation secured. He became the source of eternal
salvation. You see, Moses priesthood offered
a temporary fix that had to be repeated. Christ looked up in prayer to
his heavenly father. To whom he knew he could turn
as the only one who could save him from death. And yet he submitted
to him as the God of life and death. And because of that, he
won eternal salvation for all who are in him. He is the savior
from death for all who believe. Because his was no ordinary sacrifice. It was a sacrifice of an unblemished
lamb, the lamb of God. And so in his ascended glory,
God, amid all the blessings, the glory restored to him by
the Father, highly exalted, as the scriptures tell us, by the
Father, he bestowed on him the name which is above every name.
He seated him at his right hand. He placed all things in subjection
under his feet. All authority, sovereign authority
was given to him and the superlative affirmations of the Heavenly
Father. But he received this one as well.
You are a priest according to the order of Melchizedek. And
so this overarching reference again to Melchizedek is the one
declaration by the Father which essentially ended Aaron’s Levitical
priesthood. It was over. Christ’s one sacrifice
of himself excelled them all. And so Christ is the superior
priest. The writer has conclusively proven
his argument. What the first century hearers,
these vacillating Jewish converts to Christianity, what could they
say? What could they think? What could
they do with all of this? They knew the priesthood and
they knew that Christ filled it out completely and excelled
at every point. What would they do with this
information? Turn back to the very beginning of the argument.
Chapter four, verse 14. Chapter four. Verse 14. Therefore, since we have a high
priest, 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 weakness, but one who has been
tempted in all things as we are yet without sin. Therefore, let
us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace so that
we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Look at verse 14. What is the
believer? Whether it’s a first century
Jewish convert to Christianity who is waffling on his or her
faith because of the conflagration that was about to come upon them
and their city. Or whether it’s down to believers
of our day, nervous about the effects, both physical and economic,
of a deadly pandemic. What are we to do with this information
that Jesus Christ is better? Perhaps these Jewish converts
were even caught in the trap of wistfully thinking that the
old way The priests who would approach the temple, ultimately
with the holy of holies in view, where they would go in and commune
with God himself. The Jewish people knew completely
that they needed a priest because they knew God as being austere
and unapproachable, a judge. Only a priest dare approach him. Perhaps they were beginning to
think that the old way was better. And now their temple is facing
destruction. This forms the content of our
writer’s third admonition. And remember, these are enduring
admonitions. They are for us. They’re as good
and lively and appropriate as the day that this mysterious
writer wrote them. The third admonition, we’ve already
heard it. that if we are to glorify Christ
in great trial, not only do we listen to the one who is greater
than the angels and come to the one whose salvation is greater
than Moses, we must draw near with confidence to this throne
of grace. Right on cue, here is yet another
of our subjunctive verbs that we’ve heard, verbs that have
an undefined, incomplete sense of encouragement. There is an
unrealized potential in them that lies in the not so distant
future. What must be done, what might
be done, this faithful friend again gives them an enthusiastic
encouragement. Given the argument that Christ
is better than Aaron, not merely a man, though that was true as
well, But better than Aaron’s priesthood, better than the Levitical
priesthood, not only does Christianity have a priest, he is the great
high priest. He is better far than even Aaron’s
entire priesthood, the founder and the standard. We began with
this point, we have a high priest. but it had yet to be proven.
The writer, as we saw, introduced the idea back in chapter two,
carried the idea in chapter three, but he presumes upon his readers
there, and even again in chapter four, but then he goes on to
prove his case, as we just read in chapter five. Jesus Christ
is everything and more than a priest ever was. Indeed, we have a great
high priest, And the first thing that we should observe is that
he injects a word that was never associated with any priest before,
the word great. Applied to one high priest who
was already held in such high esteem It had the effect of intensifying
that esteem, that value. Not just a priest, not just a
high priest, but a great, superior, stupendous high priest. Jesus
wasn’t just a part of Aaron’s priesthood. He was so far beyond
it. There had been many good priests.
Jesus Christ is great. Look at the verse, verse 14,
therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through
the heavens. The writer wants to proclaim
Christ’s greatness, and he does so by pointing out that Jesus
Christ is not like any other priest. All other priests passed
into the Holy of Holies, a remarkable event, and that only once per
year. Jesus, however, passed through
the heavens themselves. The ancients thought of the heavens
as kind of a curtain behind which God resided. Beyond the skies,
through the heavens, to the very presence of God where he would
resume his seat beside his heavenly father. And our writer goes on
to characterize him in chapter seven as a high priest, holy,
innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, exalted above the
heavens. Really throughout this entire
incredible letter, which purpose was to convince his unconvinced
readers that Jesus Christ is supreme. It is the point that
he makes again and again throughout this epistle. He speaks of Christ
as he could speak of no other human priest. Hebrews 8.1. We have such a high priest who
has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of majesty
in heaven. Hebrews 9.24, Christ did not
enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true
one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence
of God for us. Hebrews 10.12, he having offered
one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand
of God. No Levitical priest ever did
that. No one But, as he points out, Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus,
God in the flesh, man bound extricably with the eternal Son, only such
a one could boast and fulfill the demand of such a priest with
such a calling. And here, once again, this identification
of Son of God which was such a boon to him at the outset of
the discussion, but it had to be lived out. Remember verse
eight, although he was a son, because of all that, our faithful
friend urges, hold fast our confession. Let us hold fast our confession. Christ has proven himself. He’s
shown himself faithful. This was our confession. This
is what we said. We believed the significance
here is plainly to hold firmly to the faith in Christ, which
you had previously professed. If we still need such, the writer
provides the reasoning for this in verse 15 glance at the passage. If you would, 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. This
isn’t just anyone in whom we’ve placed our hope. This isn’t just
any priest. It is the great high priest,
Jesus himself. We can be utterly confident in
sustaining our faith in him. He knows and can truly sympathize
with our sinful weaknesses. There’s a beautiful old translation
tracing all the way back to the Geneva. Which reads, we have
not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of
our infirmities. Christ knows what we face. He lived it. It’s exemplified
in the news of Lazarus’s death, isn’t it? Recorded in John 11,
when Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who came with her weeping,
he was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled. At the end
of that passage, it says Jesus wept. He can empathize. He can sympathize. He knows exactly
what our burdens are. Sympathy isn’t like that which
we so often speak about. It is to be so close in tune
mentally and emotionally with someone who’s experiencing a
trial that we have endured. That’s what sympathy is. These
weaknesses or infirmities include all of the physical, moral vulnerabilities
that we face as people. Christ, too, is tempted in all
things as we are, yet without sin. As one pastor put it, being
tempted, Christ could sympathize with us. Being sinless, he could
plead for us. God would listen to him. And not just sin, but the everyday
trials and frustrations of life, which themselves become temptations
to sin. Jesus Christ knew because he
too was tempted in the same exact things. He knows our frame. He knows our weakness. He knows
our tendencies. But there’s a second imperative
encouragement with which we close in verse 16. Therefore, let us
draw near with confidence to the throne of grace so that we
may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Finally,
this closing admonition where yet another subjunctive encouragement
is used, let us draw near to the throne of grace. The foundation
is laid. An understanding of the priesthood
and its purpose and its nature and how Christ excels at every
point. Not only must this encourage
us to maintain our faith, but should encourage us to continue
to come to him in faith. This is the truth of Romans 8
1 lived out. There is therefore now no condemnation. For those who are in Christ Jesus,
well, if that’s true, then then what? That is the ground, the
foundation of this admonition. Given the confidence of God’s
work of salvation in our lives, we can be confidently eager to
approach him again and again. Even this idea of drawing near
is built on a biblical idea. It is used of a sinner approaching
God. Come, God says. For a priest
in the Levitical system, the idea of approaching God was the
heart of worship. But unlike the priest who would
draw near to the Holy of Holies, the saint, the believer in Christ,
is invited to come to draw near to the sovereign God himself
who is seated on his very throne. It is for the Christian no longer
the throne of judgment, which is to be feared. It is the glorious
throne on which the Savior is seated. It is the throne of grace
where God’s abundant supply of undeserved kindness is available
to his children. The throne of grace. is where any believer at any
time is welcome. It is where the children of God
need not come timidly, but rather boldly and confidently, not as
unwelcome sinners, but as those for whom Christ has redeemed. We are welcomed before him with
whom there is no condemnation, whatever need Whether mercy,
God’s withholding of punishment we deserve, or grace, the generous
reception of kindness that we do not deserve, for the true
child of God, the time of need is constant, isn’t it? The believer
is at every moment in need of either God’s grace, or God’s
mercy, or both. As one pastor said it, being
guilty and having no merits of our own, the believer’s foundational
need is mercy. But through the weakness of the
flesh, even after receiving mercy, he has no hope of conquering
sin. And therefore he needs God’s
grace. Would you humble yourself as
we go before the throne of grace? Oh, merciful God, we see this
simple illustration which was written to first century Jews,
which they would have grasped immediately. For us, Lord, not
steeped in the priesthood, these things must be considered and
explained and pondered. But we do see clearly that Christ
excelled them all. Because of that, Lord, we do
pray that you would not only grant us the grace to hold fast
our confession. But also make us to be eager. Help us to know that we are welcome. At the very throne of grace.
Lord God be glorified, we pray. It’s in Jesus name that we ask.
Amen.