The family in America is changing. Recent statistics show that the "typical" American household no longer mirrors Ozzie and Harriett - with two married people at home with the kids and the dogs and the Beav. The most common household in America now is a single parent. We’ve gotten used to going it alone. It seems as if more and more there is no one in our court, no one to hold our hand or wipe our tears away or guide us through a new and terrifying chapter in our life.
And so we have a hard time imagining the high priesthood of Jesus Christ. In some ways it is like our attorney, our agent, our father, and our teacher - all rolled up into one - and so much more. But for many of us - some of these authority figures carry with them bad memories - so I want you to lay aside what earthly examples of advocates you’ve had, and let the advocacy of a perfect father, teacher, and agent give you comfort you may have never felt before.
This section is really a continuation of the main argument the author of Hebrews has made so far - that Jesus is better than Moses. Chapter 3:7 through verse 13 of chapter 4 is almost a parenthetical thought about entering into the rest of God - but it relates to the main argument as well. At certain points the author points out that Jesus is like the fulfillment of the Jewish system, but then He is also so much more - providing a rest that no one got in the physical Promised Land, and though he is like Aaron the high priest - He can do so much more than Aaron could ever do.
The author has referred to Jesus as our high priest twice before in the book. First in chapter 2 he said:
Hebrews 2:17-18 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. ESV
Then in Chapter 3:
Hebrews 3:1-2 Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, 2 who was faithful to him who appointed him ESV
As we will see - Jesus must be perfect and do exactly what the Father told Him to do - but He is also so much like us that He can take that perfection and bring it down to us humans in need. To understand we need to look briefly at the qualifications and duties of the high priest. Remember - the high priest was appointed by God - Aaron was the first, then his sons after him.
The qualifications and stipulations about the high priest from Leviticus 21:
Anointing oil placed on head
Ordained
Must wear special clothes
Hair "unkempt" clothes in place (not torn)
Must be kept clean (cannot come near dead body)
Must stay in the Sanctuary
Marry a virgin from Israel
No physical deformity or disability
Duties of the high priest on the Day of Atonement:
Put on the special clothes, sacrifice a bull for his sins and his family’s sins, take two goats - one he sacrifices as a sin offering - the other is the scapegoat, upon which all the sins of Israel are laid - then it is set free. To enter the Holy of Holies he takes coals from the altar and mixes them with incense to create smoke that will cover the atonement cover - then he sprinkles the blood of the bull in front of the atonement cover 7 times. Then he kills the goat for a sin offering for the people - and sprinkles it in front of the atonement cover and over the Tent of Meeting to atone for the "rebellion" and "uncleanness" of the people. He is alone when he does this - a process which is repeated for the altar - I’ve left a lot out.
- It is as much a personal process as a public one - the sins of the priest will kill him
- It is an exacting process - one error and the High Priest dies.
- It is a repeated process - each year it had to be done
- It was an incomplete process - covering sins, never washing them away
Chapter 4 Verses 14 - 16
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.
Picture Jesus as the One who has already gone into the Promised Land. We who stand on the outskirts are wondering if going in with Jesus is the best way, or should we go back to our old practices and the things we were comfortable with.
The idea of "passed through the heavens" could be a picture of passing through the curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle. He’s gone into the presence of God for us - He’s found the way to God. In a way its like PPTP - Point To Point Tunneling Protocol for computers - it’s a secure tunnel to the Father.
Since He’s done that we need to "hold fast" to the confession of Jesus as Lord. It means "to seize or retain" something and comes from the word meaning vigor or strength. The Hebrews were in jeopardy of letting go of their profession of faith in Jesus - but that would be like giving up on your only advocate.
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
The author recognizes that it is because of weakness that they want to turn away. The old comfortable ways are easy - like legalism. If we see a list of things to do and a list not to do and we follow it then we will please God. This idea of God writing His character on the "tablets of our heart" - creating a new character in us and having to depend on Him for guidance instead of a set of rules frightens us.
Yet here it says that he can sympathize with our weaknesses. The word "sympathize" has its root the idea of feeling pain jointly. You’ve heard of twins where when one person experiences severe pain the other twin also feels something? I don’t know if that is really true or not - but in a much greater way Jesus feels what we feel.
He knows every temptation, every hurt, every frustration, every confusion, every doubt, and every pain you feel. In fact He feels them with you. I know that’s hard to swallow.
Could this really be true? Psalms 56:8 8 You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? ESV
So Jesus can truly identify with you - He has been tempted in every area you have - yet He didn’t sin. It doesn’t just make Him better, it also makes Him able to help you:
16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
This is one of the coolest verses in the Bible in my opinion. The surface meaning is that instead of drawing back or falling away because of weakness from our profession of faith in Jesus, we need to follow His lead and draw close to the forgiveness of God and the assistance that God gives us when we feel tempted to go back to the old ways - and especially when persecution made moving forward in Jesus more risky - more painful. They were in a time of need - and the grace of God, the unmerited favor of the Lord, was the help they needed.
But there is so much more here. The picture here is of the High Priest, who once a year entered the Holy of Holies, and applied the blood of the atonement sacrifice to the mercy seat of God, above which the glory of God appeared. You were struck dead if you went there in the Old Covenant - no one can exist with God’s presence unless you are holy - but now with Jesus we too can go into the Holy of Holies - not to be struck down. Because Jesus applied His own blood to the mercy seat - we get not only mercy but also help when we need it. We can draw near "with confidence" not with trepidation.
So now the author goes from comparing the high priest to Jesus, to contrasting just how much better Jesus is than any high priest they had ever known.
Chapter 5
Verses 1 - 4
5:1 For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
As I stated earlier - the priest was appointed to act as the interface between God and men - the purpose was to offer sacrifices for sin.
2 He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. 3 Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people.
Remember how Aaron had to make all kinds of sacrifices for himself before and after he made sacrifices to God for the people? The high priest knew full well how serious sin was because he had sinned himself. "Ignorant and wayward" means sins of omission and sins of commission - some things we do are wrong and we don’t know it, other things are wrong - we know it, but do it anyway. But because the high priest does these things too, he isn’t harsh and judgmental, but humble.
4 And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.
You couldn’t make yourself a high priest. Later on the high priests job became very political and corrupt, but the author isn’t going there - this is a picture of the high priestly system in its purest form.
5 So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,
"You are my Son, today I have begotten you";
6 as he says also in another place, "You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek."
We won’t go into detail on the Melchizedek angle just yet - that comes in more detail in chapters 6 and 7. In the Father’s grand plan, He appointed Jesus as a high priest - and made Him so human, yet without sin, that He can identify with our weaknesses like it says in verse 2 and at the end of Chapter 2. Paul the Apostle put it this way:
Philippians 2:6-8 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross! NIV
So the author concludes his point with just how much Jesus’ human form - human, yet perfect, is exactly what we need in a high priest:
Verses 7 - 9
7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.
Jesus was fully human. He faced the cross as a man with no help from the Father, except an angel who comforted him - something available to us as well (Heb 1:14).
Luke 22:39-44 And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. 40 And when he came to the place, he said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation." 41 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done." 43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. ESV
As a man Jesus prayed that if there was another way to get man’s salvation, then do it. But there was no other way. God heard Jesus, yes. But God the Father did not change the plan because there was no other way - and there still isn’t. Don’t get the idea that Jesus was trying to wiggle out of the cross. But this tells us of the extreme nature of what Jesus faced, His total humanity, yet His total obedience.
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,
This is a little difficult to understand - but first it’s important to understand that this does NOT suggest Jesus was in any way disobedient or imperfect.
I guess one way to understand it is that you can’t know what it’s like to drive a car by sitting at a computer with a driving simulator. It’s one thing to talk about the theory of swim strokes - it’s another to actually dive in the pool. There was something about the actual experience of obeying the Father to the point of suffering that gives Jesus an unparalleled knowledge of us, our condition, and then being able to take us with Him from where we are to where He is.
10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
So - Jesus can be our high priest - He was appointed by God and can identify with man.
Conclusions
Do you know how well Jesus knows you?
Jesus Christ is a man. He is human. He was tempted like us and made like us. He knows what makes us tick. That’s at once very comforting and very challenging. We are basically without excuse - He knows exactly what leads us to do things and think things. Yet He is without sin and is there not to judge but to help us not sin!
Are you willing to acknowledge just how well Jesus already knows you and let him in?
Will you draw near to the throne of God?
What keeps you out? Sin, fear, depression, doubt? "…find grace to help in time of need." Is this your time of need? Don’t be afraid to approach God’s throne. No more does certain death await you as an imperfect person who would be struck down were it not for personal sacrifices.
You have access to the sacrifice of the perfect One - His sacrifice washed away your sins forever. Come - come with boldness - not arrogance, but sureness and security - like a young child running into the boardroom of the CEO, knowing that his daddy will always open up his arms and welcome his child into his lap.
Next time - the importance of getting these basic things down, and moving on in your maturity and knowledge of God.
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