HEBREWS: "A Greater High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-5:10)" | 9/24/23
Hebrews 4:14-5:10 | 9/24/23 | Thad Yessa
Maybe you remember this news article from a couple of years ago.
Hang glider forced to cling on for his life after launching unattached
A first-time hang glider has spoken of how he was left holding on for his life after his pilot failed to fasten him to the glider.
Chris Gursky was forced to cling to the glider with one hand and his pilot with the other for more than two minutes or face a probably fatal fall to earth.“I was expecting to level out above the pilot as we went, but quickly discovered that my harness was not attached to the hang glider or anything else.”
Gursky’s grand adventure quickly turned into a terrifying fight for survival, with him grasping desperately at the instructor’s leg, shoulder, and crossbar to avoid plunging to his death.
“I remember looking down and thinking, this is a nice place to die, his 2min 14sec ordeal from a mountaintop in Interlaken.
“I was losing grip with my right hand that was holding onto a strap on the pilot’s right shoulder … my left hand was on the crossbar. As we were going down for a hot landing, I was slowly losing my grip with my right hand as I was swinging in the wind with the glider.
“The pilot grabbed my hand, but like in the movies, it was a slow-motion slipping of the grip until my right hand slipped off and I grabbed another strap on his left side for a bit, but this slipped off also.
“I ended up holding on to the bar with the left hand and the lower part of his leg with the right when we were nearing the ground.”
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Sometimes you don’t know you need help until you need it. Movies, books, TV, and suspense, all use the tool of letting the audience know ahead of time that the main character is going to find themselves in need of help or some kind of trouble, even if he or she doesn’t know it yet. Tension builds, the camera pans, you hear a small sound, and then the crisis breaks.
Sometimes you don’t need help until you need it. I wonder if there are some here who are in that situation.
You suddenly feel as if your harness is not attached.
You have been struggling for a long time with the same sin issue.
Concerns about your health/ health of your spouse.
Frustrations at work seem to keep building.
You feel as though you are at a breaking point with one of your children.
You feel like a mature Christian, yet you find yourself in the wilderness or crisis.
The reality is we can be here in church and it can seem as though everything is going well on the outside, but the reality is that on the inside, we are in desperate need of help.
Jesus the Great High Priest
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. 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. 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.
5 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. 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. 4 And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.
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.”
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.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, 10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
I.) Jesus’ CONFIRMATION as greater High Priest. (4:14-16)
For the original audience, the idea of a high priest was not a new concept for them. The high priest would enter once a year on the Day of Atonement into the most Holy Place and make a sacrifice for the people of God (see Leviticus 16) to act as a covering for their sins. But this is not what Jesus did. The reason why he is a greater high priest is because he presented himself as an intercessor in God's own personal presence in the heavenly places. He "passed through the heavens" (Hebrews 4:14), entering not a man-made building but the real heavenly temple itself.
What the author is confirming is that Jesus has unique access to God, and therefore, he can be with Him in order to plead our case. He alone has the standing with God to be the intercessor we need. His intercession is effective.
The difference is made not just by where he does it but also by how long he does it. Notice the language the author uses: he says, "Jesus, the Son of God." He adds that title here very particularly. Jesus can intercede for us forever because he is the eternal Son of God.
The implication of that comes at the end of 4:14: "Let us hold fast our confession." Do not abandon what you believe about Jesus because there is nothing better to turn to than this intercessor. If you want to get through the hard times, hold fast to the confession that Jesus is greater, which has been the argument that has been traced through Hebrews, Jesus is greater than the prophets, angels, Moses, Joshua, priest, and now the high priest/Aaron. Remember, the author is writing to primarily Jewish Christians who grew up in Judaism but have believed in Jesus. They have embraced him as the long-awaited Messiah, yet they have hit a snag; they have found themselves in desperate hardship, persecution, and opposition — they are thinking about going back to Judaism. They are considering leaving this new-found faith and going back to the old ways: animal sacrifices, worship at the temple, etc.
How does this confirmation of Jesus as the Great High Priest really bring us comfort? Perhaps you relate to finding yourself in desperate times.
“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. 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. - Hebrews 4:15-16
Jesus sympathizes with our weakness. Jesus did not shield himself from the fallenness of the world. He was “despised and rejected by men (Isaiah 53:3)”. He really did experience everything in this life that is dark and difficult and problematic, from physical suffering to relational troubles.
He was tempted in every way we are. He was tempted by the Great Temptor Satan in the wilderness through: wealth, power, and comfort. He was tempted in the garden of Gethsemane to avoid suffering, suffering that would lead towards your and my salvation.
Have you ever shared a struggle that you have been going through with someone, and they just don’t get it? You share with them your financial struggle, your struggle with singleness, your marital struggle, your addiction to pornography, your cancer diagnosis, and they just don’t understand your struggle, it almost makes you feel as though something is wrong with you for experiencing this hardship. Whatever you are troubled by, Jesus can sympathize with you in this way as well. He faced all temptation yet without sin, which means that because Jesus is the perfect high priest, we can, with confidence, come before God in our unworthiness and point to Jesus as the reason we can draw near, and when we do, we do not receive shame, mocking or disappointment; instead, we receive mercy and find grace now and in the future!
“If you are in Christ, you have a Friend, who in your sorrow, will never lob down a pep talk from heaven. He cannot bear to hold himself at a distance. Nothing can hold him back. His heart is too bound up with yours.” - Dane Ortlund.
If you are a follower of Jesus, he will never, ever stop loving you, pleading your case, and representing you before God. That means that when God looks at us, he sees the righteousness of his Son surrounding us. That is what it means to be represented by Jesus, and that never stops. We can have eternal security in heaven because we have someone who is able to intercede for us, not one day a year like the previous high priest, but forever. Jesus holds the universe together (Hebrews 1:3), and yet He isn’t too busy for you. Hold fast to the confession that Jesus is the Son of God and YOUR High Priest.
The amazing discovery of the gospel, the good news that we would never dare to believe if God hadn't said it, is that when we draw near to God, we find not anger at our failures and sins but sympathy, mercy, and grace to help us in our time of need (Heb. 4:15-16).
II.) Jesus’ QUALIFICATIONS as greater High Priest (5:1-10)
But what makes Jesus qualified to be a high priest, let alone OUR greater high priest?
These first four verses describe the typical high priest. Hebrews 5:1 identifies one of the defining marks of Judaism. Israel could trace a succession of high priests back to Aaron. Aaron, brother of Moses, was the first high priest and representative of the people chosen "from among men." But who chose him? Did the people, through some kind of democratic process, choose him? No. Only God-appointed high priests. The author is making the case that it is no different with Jesus. God, just as he had with every other prior high priest, appointed Jesus as the final true fulfillment of high priest. The Father chose and assigned him to his priestly task.
The purpose of God appointing high priests was so that the high priest could act “for the people”; it was necessary for the high priest to be chosen from among the people. He represented the people as he went about his duties to perform sacrifices, burn incense, offer gifts, and perform other priestly duties on behalf of Israel. He did them in the people’s place.
The high priest can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward since he understands weakness. The high priest does not belong to a different class of humanity. He is able to relate and minister with the messiness of life because he is also stained with sin. The high priest can sympathize with the people. As comforting as it may sound for the high priest to be able to sympathize with the people, it was also the great weakness of the high priest. He doesn’t only offer sacrifices for the people, but he needs to offer sacrifices for his own sinfulness.
Here the author shifts focus from the human high priest to the God-man high priest, Jesus Christ. Jesus is like all other high priests in his appointment. Verse 5 quotation from Psalm 2:7 that highlights Jesus did not exalt himself to be a high priest or seek his own glory in any way. The Father sovereignly appointed the Son, and the Son obediently accepted the role.
But then, you may ask, What does Melchizedek have to do with the high priesthood of Jesus? Who is Melchizedek anyway? Melchizedek is a rare figure in the Old Testament. He appears in only two specific Old Testament texts. We first meet him in
Genesis 14:17-20: After Abram returned from defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the Shaveh Valley (that is, the King's Valley). Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; he was a priest to God Most High. He blessed him and said: Abram is blessed by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and blessed be God Most High who has handed over your enemies to you.
And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Melchizedek (KING OF RIGHTEOUSNESS) appears and then disappears quickly. Genesis first identifies him as a king of Salem (PEACE), a Gentile and pagan territory. Melchizedek is a king and yet performs a task not common to kings: offering bread and wine. Genesis then identifies Melchizedek as a priest of God Most High. Thus, in some mysterious way, God appointed a priest from a foreign people unto himself. He then brought this foreign king, who was a priest, to Abraham, the one with whom God had established his covenant. Melchizedek first blesses Abraham, and Abraham responds by giving him a tenth of everything.
Then Melchizedek abruptly disappears. He appears again in Psalm 110:
This is the declaration of the Lord to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool." The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion. Rule over your surrounding enemies. Your people will volunteer on your day of battle. In holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, the dew of your youth belongs to you. The Lord has sworn an oath and will not take it back: "You are a priest forever, according to the pattern of Melchizedek." The Lord is at your right hand; he will crush kings on the day of his anger. He will judge the nations, heaping up corpses; he will crush leaders over the entire world. He will drink from the brook by the road; therefore, he will lift up his head.
This psalm's immediate fulfillment happened in David's own kingship, but its ultimate fulfillment came later in David's line –- in the one who sits at the Father's right hand, Jesus Christ. Given that Melchizedek seemingly has little to do with the messianic nature of this psalm, the inclusion of his name likely would have surprised the original audience. "A priest forever" points to the messianic figure who fulfills this prophecy and distinguishes the order of Melchizedek's priesthood from other priesthoods. Other priesthoods had a termination date because all other priests died. Death prevented them from serving as priests forever. Jesus Christ, however, on account of his resurrection from the dead, serves as a priest forever. His priesthood knows no end. What does it mean for Jesus's priesthood to be "according to the order of Melchizedek"? While it is tempting to think that "according to the order" refers to a Melchizedekian line of priestly succession or that Jesus came from outside the tribe of Israel as Melchizedek did, this is not the case. There was no Melchizedekian line of priestly succession, and only someone from within Israel could fulfill the Davidic monarchy. Therefore, "according to the order" must mean that Jesus's priesthood, like Melchizedek's, is born out of the sovereign purposes of God. The nature of Jesus's priesthood is of a sovereign order, a sovereign nature. Like Melchizedek, Jesus did not take the honor of priest upon himself; he was sovereignly appointed. And in his appointment and service as high priest, he was exalted above all others.
Just as the high priest could identify with human beings, the author again emphasizes that so too can Jesus, “In the days of his flesh” Even though he was without sin, he knew the anguish of human experience. As one who was fully human, Jesus shared with other human beings and was plagued with the sorrows and heartache of human existence. Jesus offered up prayers with loud cries and tears; we certainly think of Jesus’ experience in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26-45), but even then, I think that is the climax; Jesus knew suffering, and I think the author is comforting the readers by reminding them that they weren’t encountering anything that was foreign to Jesus’ time on earth.
In verse 8, the author explains that Jesus learned obedience to God through what he suffered, even though he was God's Son. That Jesus learned obedience should not cause us to think that Jesus needed to be taught obedience because he was disobedient at one point. Hebrews is clear that Jesus never disobeyed. Rather, this verse highlights his humanity. As Jesus experienced the trials associated with human existence, he learned how to obey his Father in them. Suffering taught Jesus how to submit his will to his Father's will. We see this lesson at its sharpest point in Gethsemane and on Calvary. The cross meant terrible agony of heart and body for Christ, but he remained resolute in his willingness to be obedient, even obedient to the point of death (Phil 2:8). By faithfully enduring the suffering ordained by the Father's plan to redeem sinners through his own blood, Jesus learned obedience.
Verse 9 tells us that Jesus "was perfected" through suffering, so much so that "he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him." What does it mean that Jesus was made perfect? Wasn't he already perfect? What does it mean that Jesus became the source of eternal salvation? We have already seen how suffering played a part in Jesus's perfection in Hebrews 2:10. The author is echoing the same reality in this verse. Jesus was not made perfect in the sense that his nature was once lacking and needed to be improved. Rather, he was made perfect in the sense that learning obedience through suffering was a prerequisite for becoming a qualified and sufficient high priest.
In being made perfect through suffering and death, Jesus became "the source of eternal salvation." This simply means that Jesus's suffering stands as the basis for our salvation. Christ as the source of our salvation is synonymous with Christ as the founder of our salvation (cf. 2:10).
The eternal salvation that Jesus pioneers is only granted "for all who obey him." It is fitting that the One who learns obedience through what he suffered would stand as the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. The author of Hebrews is once again encouraging his people to hold onto the confession of Jesus and not abandon the faith.
The assurance of our faith is in the fact that Christ himself is a priest forever after this order. Thus, the assurance of our salvation and our standing before the Father is rooted in Jesus's priesthood--a priesthood that sovereignly comes from the Father's appointment. It is a priesthood that was made perfect through suffering and death on the cross.
Conclusion:
This morning, let me simply leave you with this: You are going to pass through the fire and through the temptation of sin, through opposition and through boredom, and through all sorts of trials, testings, troubles, and tribulations.
In it all, obey verse 14 by way of verse 16: Hold fast your confession by living ever before the throne of God’s mercy and grace, the place where he not only beckons you but beckons you with a smile.
Our High Priest delights to pour out this grace on his people because it magnifies his awesome glory as we lean on him and so bear the fruit of his gospel in our lives. Don’t dare not to come. Don’t dare hold back from this throne. Go there with me now as we pray and come to the table of our Lord.