Our Great High Priest

Our Great High Priest

Hebrews 4:14-5:10

Jesus as our High Priest is a theme we see throughout this book. This section deals extensively with that subject.

v.14 Jesus is a “Great High Priest”. This language is used to show He is distinct from all other High Priests. The Jewish community relied heavily on the High Priest. The most holy day of the year was the Day of Atonement. It was on this day the High Priest made atonement for the sins of the people.

The High Priest would pass through the Outer court of Temple, into the Holy Place of the Temple and finally pass into the Holy of Holies where he would offer a sacrifice. He was the only one allowed to enter that part of the temple.

Jesus is greater because He has passed through the heavens into the very presence of God. The Holy of Holies represented heaven. Jesus passed into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. The greatness of our High Priest should encourage us to hold fast to our confession. Why would we give up when we know Jesus is seated at the right hand of the father. He is our Great High Priest. He represents us well.

v. 15 Here we have a beautiful description of our Great High Priest:

He can sympathize with our weaknesses.

He was tempted in the same ways we are tempted.

He never sinned.

What are the weaknesses of humanity?

Hunger & thirst

We get tired.

We get physically weak.

Jesus knows what it is like to be hungry, thirsty, tired, and weak. When He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness these were areas He was tempted in.

Yet Jesus never sinned. The only thing Jesus did not have that we have is a sin nature. But not having a sin nature did not keep Adam and eve from sinning. We should not think it was easy for Jesus to endure the weakness of humanity.

In fact I would argue that Jesus experienced more difficulty because He is the only One who has experienced the full weight of sin without actually sinning. None of us have done that. Once you give into sin you have stopped struggling against it. Christ endured the full temptation without ever giving in once.

v. 16 Knowing this about our High Priest should encourage us in our spiritual lives.

Who are we to approach in our time of need? Where do we go when we need grace and mercy?

In times past the Jews would have gone to the High Priest to mediate between themselves and God. Now they are encouraged to come to Christ. They can come with absolute confidence. The Temple system and the High Priest were no longer necessary.

Notice it is called the “throne of grace”.

Throne- Kingship

Grace- Kindness

In this section we see the Jewish Christians are introduced to something they were not accustomed to:

A High priest who is sympathetic

A King who is kind

Jesus is both of these things.

There is something else I want to point out. The High Priest went to the Holy of Holies by himself. Jesus. Our great High Priest goes into the presence of God and takes us with Him.

We can approach God with confidence that:

He will not judge us

He will receive us

He will hear us

There is no greater practical application for verse 16 than prayer. We can approach God in prayer ourselves through Christ. It is good to have people praying for us but it is not necessary. Because of Jesus every believer is a part of the priesthood of God. You can boldly come to God on the merits of Christ. You can pour out your heart and you can find mercy and grace in your time of need.

In 5:1-4 the writer gives us the qualifications the Jews had for the High Priest. This is important when you consider the writer’s audience. He will show the Jewish people that Jesus meets the requirements of the Law to qualify as a High Priest in 5:5-10.

v. 1 The High Priest was chosen from among men.

Why did he have to be a man? He acts on behalf of man in relation to God. Hebrews hammers that point. It was important that the High Priest be human because he represents the people. He needs to do so with a personal understanding of what it means to be a human.

He was a man. The High Priest had to be male. A woman could not serve in this position.

He had to be appointed by God. He could not just be any man. Some men made this mistake in Numbers 16 and the earth opened and swallowed them. Specifically, the High Priest had to be a descendant of Aaron (Ex. 28:1).

What does he do?

He makes sacrifices for sins and offers gift to God for the individual.

v. 2 The priest is able to deal gently with:

The ignorant- sinned because of a lack of knowledge.

The wayward- Sinned because they strayed from God.

To deal gently means to deal appropriately. He doesn’t excuse sin nor does he deal harshly with people because they have sinned.

The priest knows what it is like to be a sinner and he knows what God’s law says about sin. How does he know this? Because he is “beset with weakness” himself. He lives in a human body.

v. 3 He is reminded he is a sinner every time he makes a sacrifice for his own sins. There is a great principle for us here. When we stop confessing our own sins, we risk losing compassion for others when they sin.

v. 4 We mentioned this earlier. You could not volunteer yourself for the priesthood. Not everyone was qualified. “Called by God” doesn’t refer to a subjective call known only to God and the person called. It implies qualifications have been met. The Scriptural qualifications were they had to be a descendant of Aaron (Exodus 28:1-3).

“No one” should be read as a warning. Those who take the initiative to make themselves a priest can expect judgment. Uzzah touched the Ark of the Covenant, a privilege enjoyed only by the Priesthood, and was killed immediately (2 Samuel 6:7).

After the qualifications of the High Priest is given the writer is now going to show that Jesus meets those qualifications.

v. 5-6 Jesus was appointed as High Priest by the Father.

The writer quotes the OT as a reference. He quotes Psalm 2: 7 and Psalm 110:4.

Psalm 2:7 is a Messianic Psalm attributed to Jesus in the NT.

Psalm 110:4 is another Messianic reference attribute to Jesus in the NT.

The coming Messiah would be a King and High Priest as both of these verses suggest.

Two things should be noted:

1) Jesus will be a priest forever.

2) Jesus’ priesthood is after the order of Melchizedek (v.10). This is important because Melchizedek was a King who was also a priest. But he was also a priest before Aaron existed. Therefore, Jesus’ priesthood preceded the Aaronic priesthood.

What does “exalt Himself” mean?

Jesus should not be seen as a charlatan who unworthily took upon Himself the priesthood. In eternity past it was decreed that the Father would appoint the Son as the High Priest. This is proven in Old Testament prophecies being fulfilled in the life of Jesus.

v. 7-8 Jesus is a sympathetic High Priest

verse 7 is a beautiful verse. It describes Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. You remember the garden prayer of Jesus. It is the famous “Let this cup pass from Me…” prayer.

Jesus struggled with His humanity in the garden. It was in His humanity that He would experience the pain of the cross and of hell itself.

Loud cries

Tears

Jesus was heard in the garden. His devotion to the Father was proven. His reverence was rewarded. The cup did not pass from Him, but He was strengthened to endure the suffering of the cup. He rose from the dead three days later.

When it says Jesus “learned obedience through what He suffered”, what does that mean?

It means He learned by experience what it is like to obey and suffer. Jesus obedience led Him to suffer.

If you ever struggle wondering if Christ is sympathetic toward you remember the Garden of Gethsemane.

When you pray and it seems God does not hear, remember the garden.

When you hurt and it seems the pain will not stop, remember the garden.

When you ask God to remove something, but it remains, remember the garden.

v. 9 Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice.

The High Priest offered sacrifices. Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice. In doing so He became the source of our eternal salvation.

“Made perfect” Means that He fulfilled all the requirements of our High Priest. He didn’t skip anything. His suffering (v.8) resulted in Him being made the perfect sacrifice for our sins.

To participate in the eternal salvation He offers we must obey Him. We must repent of our sins and place our faith in His person and work.