LESSON 5 - Heb. 4:14-16; 5:1-16 - OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST FOREVER
INTRODUCTION: Last week, in Heb. 3:7-15, we heard the writer of this letter issue a second warning to his Jewish Christian audience. These converted Jews were not only facing the persecution that early Christians faced generally but were being pressured by their Jewish friends and families to renounce their newfound Christian faith and return to their Jewish roots. Specifically, the writer pressed them to not "harden their hearts" and instead listen to what the "Holy Spirit's voice" was telling them about their newfound faith in Jesus Christ. Using Psalm 95 as an object lesson, he warned them that they were in imminent danger of suffering a similar fate to that of their Israelite ancestors whose hard hearts caused them to wander 40 years in the wilderness and never enter their "rest"-the Promised Land. While they wouldn't lose their salvation, they were sure to lose spiritual rewards, both in this life and the life to come. To prevent this, the writer exhorted them to take action TODAY-to "hold fast" to their eternal partnership with Christ, encourage one another to keep faith in the promises of Jesus, and reach out to those tempted to drift away from the church.
This week, in Heb. 4:14-16; 5:1-6, we'll hear the writer of Hebrews inform his Jewish audience that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is in heaven right now as our ultimate High Priest and is superior in every way to the human priests of Judaism. These Jews would have been very familiar with role of the High Priest in God's Temple, especially his responsibility to make sacrifices for the sins of the entire nation once a year on the Day of Atonement. Even though Jesus High Priestly role is one of the central themes of a letter written to Jews, it also forms a valuable theology lesson about the person of Christ for Gentile believers like us.
Read Heb. 4:14-16 - SINCE WE HAVE A GREAT HIGH PRIEST
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast 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 as we are, yet without sin. 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.
v. 14a1: "Therefore, since we have a great high priest" - First, it's good to know that we "have a great high priest," a mediator who is interceding for us in heaven in God's presence right now.
v. 14a2: "who has passed through the heavens," - Our Lord Jesus passed through physical heavens into the immediate presence of God. where He sat down at the right hand of the Father and was given exalted status as our ultimate High Priest, superior to all earthy priests who could only atone for sin one day a year. As our chief supporter, we will follow Him through the heavens one day.
v. 14b1: "Jesus the Son of God," - Our High Priest is not an angel nor a human type like Moses, but is the very Son of God, who now occupies the place of highest honor in the heavenly realm.
v. 14b2: "let us hold fast our confession." - "our confession" (Gk. homologia) literally translates to the "Good news of Jesus Christ," the gospel message. The writer is telling his Jewish audience that the ministry of Jesus as their High Priest gives them certainty that God's people will "rest" in the enjoyment of all the rewards God has promised them in addition to eternal salvation. (Heb. 3:11).
v. 15a: "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses," - From this we learn that we can put all our faith and trust in Jesus because He has walked in our shoes, experienced temptation in every area of His life, just as we do.-from birth to death.
v. 15b: "but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin." - Similarly, Jesus' temptations were even greater than ours because He never gave-in to them. And since He endured every temptation successfully, without sinning, he understands the enticement of those temptations far better than we do. The writer's point is that Jesus completely understands and sympathizes with our struggles and the impact that sin has over our lives. In short, He understands you and me better on a deeper level than anyone else in the world. He knows our inner-most self inside and out.
v. 16a: "Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace," - The word used here for "confidence" (Gk. parresia) literally means freedom to speak. And the context-"to draw near"-gives us a picture of how Christian believers can approach Jesus' "throne of grace" in prayer.
v. 16b: "so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." - As Christians, our access to Jesus' throne of grace as our ultimate High Priest is unlimited-available to any of us on a 24/7 basis. This is a complete contrast to the high priests of Judaism who could only approach God at His earthly throne in the holy of holies just once a year. The main point the writer is making to his Jewish audience-which is equally applicable to us-is that God's throne of judgment in Judaism has been transformed by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ into a throne of grace-i.e., undeserved "help in time of need." As our High Priest, Jesus is always merciful-not meting out the condemnation we really deserve-but instead, is gracious-extending to us the love and forgiveness we do not deserve.
APPLICATION 1: Jesus Christ is our ultimate High Priest because He is interceding for all Christians in the presence of God right now. When Jesus ascended to heaven, He sat down at the right hand of the Father and was given exalted status as our ultimate High Priest, superior to all earthy priests who could only atone for sin one day a year. Jesus not only understands and sympathizes with our struggle against sin, He is always merciful-not meting out the condemnation we really deserve-but instead, is gracious-extending to us the love and forgiveness we do not deserve. Our job-until He takes us home-is to hold fast to our confession of faith-the gospel of Jesus Christ as Lord.
Read Hebrews 5:1-6 - A FOREVER PRIEST OF THE HIGHEST ORDER
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; 2 he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness; 3 and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people, so also for himself. 4 And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was. 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"; 6 just as He says also in another passage, "You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek."
NOTE: Up to this point, the writer of Hebrews has conclusively shown Jesus to be superior to the prophets, angels, and Moses. Now he turns to the important Judaic theme of priesthood to demonstrate that Jesus Christ's high priesthood is far superior to the order of Aaron. When God gave the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai, he established a human priesthood to allow His people, the Israelites, to draw near to Him. In doing this, God commanded that all priests must be descended from the Tribe of Levi and family of Aaron.
v. 1a1: "For every high priest taken from among men" - First off, for one to qualify for the Aaronic high priesthood in Israel, the candidate was required to be a man from the lineage of Aaron.
v. 1a2: "is appointed on behalf of men" - The idea of being "appointed" is important. A high priest had to be selected for this role by God. This is what became was known as the Levitical priesthood under the stringent qualifications which are detailed in Leviticus Chapter 21 generally.
v. 1b1: "in things pertaining to God, - The fundamental role of every high priest was to mediate, to bridge the gap between God and humans.
v. 1b2: "in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins;" - As a mediator, it was the function of the high priest to offer both gifts and sacrifices to God. Gifts were presented for praise and worship of God and sacrifices as blood shed for the atonement of sin.
v. 2: "he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness;" - The phrase "deal gently," meant that a high priest needed to be a compassionate and caring man whose understanding of humanity grew out of his own awareness of being a sinner himself. In other words, he not only needed to carry out his duties according to the procedures prescribed by the Law but needed to perform them with a proper attitude and manner toward the people whom he was serving, as opposed to being judgmental and harsh.
v. 3: "and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people, so also for himself." - Evidence of the fact that Israel's high priest was himself an imperfect and sinful example of humanity was demonstrated by the fact that he was required to offer sacrifice for himself as well as the people he served. Jesus Christ, however, who is sinless and perfect, was not required to do this, which stands Jesus apart from all other high priests. In His high priestly role, Jesus can sympathize and identify with us on the basis of His temptations-which gives Him the ability to understand sin far more objectively and wisely than fallible humans who've allowed themselves to become the victims of sin. And as to offering "sacrifices," Jesus shed His own blood as the ultimate sacrifice for all human sin for all time.
v. 4: "And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was." - The office of high priest wasn't something a man could arbitrarily choose as a vocation. Aaron the first high priest was called by God to this office. He did not seek it, nor did he merit it, but he was God's choice. Later, you might remember the rebellion of Korah, a Levite, against Moses' and Aaron's leadership in Numbers 16, when God literally opened up the earth and swallowed up the Korahite rebels. Thus, God's call was limited to Aaron and his descendants so that no one outside his family could serve in the tabernacle or inside the temple.
v. 5a: "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"; - When Jesus Christ ascended to heaven following His resurrection, God the Father appointed Him as King-Priest (the place of honor) when He sat down at the right hand of God. The title "Christ" (lit. Anointed One) emphasizes Jesus' humility, because during His earthly ministry, Christ never exalted Himself, even though He was capable of doing so. These two offices and their functions-kingship and priesthood-were primary to the writer's argument in this epistle.
v. 5b: "YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU" - "Here, the writer quotes Psalm 2:7 as a prophecy that foreshadowed the reign of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, in heaven.
v. 6: "just as He says also in another passage, "YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK." - Here, the writer quotes Psalm 110:4 and yet another prophetic announcement of Christ's forthcoming ascension to the office of High Priest in heaven. Melchizedek, whose story is reported in Gen. 14:18-20, is identified as the king of Salem, the original name of Jerusalem, and "priest of the God Most High." He also gave Abram bread and wine and blessed him. He is the first priest of God mentioned in Scripture and is the archetype for all priests. The writer is making an important point that validates Jesus' priesthood as both different from and superior to the Levitical priesthood. The preeminent thought here is that, unlike the Levitical/Aaronic priesthood, the priesthood of Christ is forever.
APPLICATION 2: Jesus is superior to all other high priests because He is God's appointed High Priest forever. Like Aaron and those who followed him, Jesus was appointed High priest by God, but unlike them, he is without sin and perfect. In His high priestly role, Jesus is able to sympathize and identify with us on the basis of His temptations-which gives Him the ability to understand sin far more objectively and wisely than fallible humans who've allowed themselves to become the victims of sin. And as to offering "sacrifices," Jesus shed His own blood as the ultimate sacrifice for all human sin for all time.
