Hebrews 4:14-5:10 - Jesus is a Better High Priest

Let's turn over to the Hebrews chapter 4.

And we're getting into the the the second half of the author of Hebrews sermon as I mentioned at the beginning of this series The Book of Hebrews is a sermon on Psalm 110 and Psalm 110 breaks out into two parts. We're not going to go back and read the whole song but it begins with the Lord says to my Lord sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet in first one. So the Yahweh speaking to a Donna and David is hearing this and receiving this prophecy and speaking about one of his descendants who will sit at the right hand of God the Majesty on high and we know who that is. That's Jesus and he's ruling and reigning with the greatest Authority. So these first four chapters has been the author talking about Jesus being a better King ruling with greater Authority. The angels are subject to him the people he's leading through the Wilderness aren't going to die in the wilderness like Moses lead. Israel instead he's going to bring his people into the promised land of God. Not only that. He's a better leader than Moses or Joshua who even brought them into the land because he's able to save to the uttermost and now the author is transitioning to the second half of the song which he's going to quote In this passage in verse 4 of Psalm 110 that you are a priest Forever After the order of milk is a deck. So this promised descendants of David was going to be king of kings and he was going to be high priest ruling of ministering like this guy milk is a deck in the Old Testament into the author of Hebrews is going through this. He's resuming his thoughts here from 2:17. Where he says 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 for because he himself has suffered when tempted he's able to help those who are being tempted. So Jesus had to become a man the Eternal Son of God became the incarnates son added to himself a human nature and his name is Jesus and he did this so he could be our high priest forever. He did this because he knew that he had to assume Humanity so that he could die for us because as God he could never die. What is fully God and fully man in that blows our minds about the mystery of who Jesus is and get we heard it in chapter one that he's the son of God who is the exact representation of his nature? But he also is the son of man who took on this humanity and because he suffered when tempted he is able to help those who are being tempted even tempted today. Tempted to sin we sang about it to keep us. Oh great. God keep us from the evils that we Face protect us from it. If it's the Lord's Prayer Deliver Us from the evil one lead us not into temptation, but Deliver Us from the evil one in and yet we're tempted every day to sin and Jesus knows what that's like he's able to help those who are being tempted. And so he says consider Jesus. He then takes a rabbit Trail in chapter 3 to warn us about you need to listen to Jesus while it's called today and by faith believe these promises because he's our high priest. And any resumes this thought in verse 14 since then we have a girl 4:14 since then we have a great high priest who's passed through the heavens Jesus the son of God, let us hold fast our confession for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with Ark Genesis, 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. You can see the parallel from 2:17. He's resuming his thoughts and he's switching to this idea of what does it mean that Jesus is the greater priest the perfect high priest he's going to summarize these 10 verses of chapter 5, but then he's going to talk about this all the way to chapter 10. So the next number of weeks. To dig into this I was mentioning to Tony right before church that I'm going to feel like I'm repeating myself. And so that challenge of sort of looking at it from different angles and not stealing my own Thunder from future sermons. I got to not get in too deeply about who Melchizedek is cuz all of chapter 7 of Hebrews is about that. So I will try to rein myself in what I want you to see this morning. Is really just two things from this passage to realities number one. We have access to the father. We have access to the father and that's in Chapter 4 verses 14 to 16. And then number to Jesus is the means by which we have access because he's appointed as a perfect high priest. So the guy was wholly who who dwells in unapproachable light who no, man has seen or can see the God who can't have sinned and his presents and by that definition apart from any help. We cannot be in the presence of God, and we can't draw near now. There's a way to draw near Because Jesus is a perfect high priest whose Made A Way. And what we get when we draw near to God, he says his grace and mercy to help in our time of need. Are you needy? Are you needy today? Do you have a great need that you can't provide that no one on earth can provide that only God can provide will Jesus is able to give you access to the father so that you can draw near and receive help in your time of need and find grace and mercy in that. This is the good news of what it means that Jesus is our high priest and he's a better high priest we have access to the father. So what should we do about it? It's interesting here in this is one sermon the whole book and we're jumping in right on an application something to give you the application right at the beginning cuz these versus have it here in verses 14 to 16. What should we do about the fact that Jesus is our high priest and we have access to the father. He says in verse 14 first since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens Jesus the son of God, let us hold fast our confession. That's the first application hold fast our confession. In times of Temptation and Times of sin and Times of darkness and wonderness a Wilderness wandering this journey through life. It is so easy to be tempted to doubt the truth of all of this gospel to think is it really true? Should I still be believing this? It seems like the wicked prosper and those of us who follow Jesus? We don't doesn't it just seemed better that we should just do what the world does. The author says oh, that's the Temptation is to not hold fast our confession like Israel in the wilderness to be on believing in to wander away. But he says no because we have a high priest Jesus whose path through the heavens hold fast our confession. Think about that phrase. He says Jesus the son of God. This is he doesn't use the name Jesus very often in this sermon. He mentions Christ. He mentions the Sun. So why does he bring up Jesus now in verse 14 will the name Jesus comes from the Hebrew Yeshua, which means he always saves God save so we have a great high priest. His name is Yeshua. His name is Jesus is his name is Yahweh. Say is God Saves embedded in his name. It's it's like when the angel comes to Mary and says, you should call his name Immanuel because he's God With Us. This is really good news. He saves us from our sins. He then he says is our high priest who he's our great high priest. He's going to go into that. I'm going to pass over that statement for a moment and he says Jesus is the son of God. That's a Mastiff. Because the reason we have access is because the sun has access and how much access to the father. Do you think God the son has All access full access so if he's the one who's interceding in mediating for us, what kind of access do we have full access? That's right. The logic here to hold fast to our confession hold fast to these truths. Jesus is a better high priest. Now what's amazing to me? Is this same phrases used in chapter 11 of Hebrews verse 6 when he says without faith. It's impossible to please him for whoever would draw near to God same phrase must believe that he exists and he rewards those who seek him. You remember in last week that in the wilderness wandering the warning was don't be unbelieving but be believing. So the way we obey and we is We Believe belief in obedience go hand-in-hand and here he's saying we have Jesus the son of God who's our high priest who has gone before us and so we have access to the father in later when he digs into this idea of faith in chapter 11, he's going to say the way we draw near to God Is by faith. So how do you draw near to God this morning? I can see Mystikal that can seem kind of hard to imagine and understand but what was the author of Hebrews his teaching is the way we draw near to God is Not By going to a location anymore like Jerusalem, we draw near by believing the truth by believing the confession by faith. We draw near to God and we do it when we pray don't we we do it when we seen we were just singing praise to God in his presence. We're praying to him. We're taking communion later. We're we're remembering Jesus our mediator so that we can draw near to God.

This is not some sort of super spiritual two-tier Christianity. This is the access every Christian has U&I right now is we can draw near to God by faith through prayer and we can hear God speak to us through his word. That's what he had just said we had ended last week. The word of God is living and active the word of God is alive. It's not a dead word. It's a Living Word and it's sharper than any two-edged sword and they can get as deep into are the issues of our heart as we need to go to stolen spirit and Joint in Merrill with discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart 4:12. And so we have a great high priest who's giving us access to the father now think about this question cuz this might be something you thought about if Jesus is so great. And he's the son of God and he is without sin. How can he sympathize with us? Can you really understand what I'm going through? Have you ever done that? I I remember when I was younger as a young Pastor in my 30s, I would sometimes get people say to me. Will you just haven't experienced enough life yet? You really I really don't trust you with my problems cuz you just don't know what you're talkin about. And there was some truth to that. I was young and I didn't experience those things and I probably couldn't sympathize. I didn't have teenage children yet teenage parents. That's all we do is sympathize with one another isn't it? I don't know that we have any advice. We just give a lot of sympathy adult children to So Jesus, sometimes we can think what how can you sympathize with us? Because he's perfect. He's God. He's the son of God. Can he really sympathize with us? Really? Should we be bold in our approach to the father? Shouldn't we be more like Peter and Luke 5 who said go away from me Lord. I'm a simple man.

Well here we see in the passage that Jesus can sympathize with our weaknesses because he's fully man Jesus and he can sympathize with our weaknesses because in verse 15, he was tempted in every respect as we are yet without sin. So because he was fully man. He was really tempted. The Puritan Thomas Goodwin probably not a name you've heard before unless you're a Puritan nerd. He wrote over 100 pages on this single verse. It's called the heart of Christ and you can get it for free and you can read it and it will encourage your hearts and it's not actually some Puritans are hard to read. He's not that hard to read. So I do commend it to you Thomas Goodwin the heart of Christ. In fact, I want you to hear the long title there. The Puritans would have these long titles and when I was younger, I always wondered why the whole paragraph for a title. Well, it was a marketing Ploy back then when they were on the Shelf people couldn't just pick him up and open them like a Barnes & Noble. They had to see the title in the title was the whole argument of the book. So the title was the table of content. That's the reason it was a marketing Ploy. I didn't know this until later when I did, you know PhD history nerd studies. So listen to this whole title the heart of Christ in heaven towards Sinners on Earth or A Treatise demonstrating the gracious disposition and tender affection of Christ in his human nature now and Glory unto his members church members under all sorts of infirmity is either of sin or of misery.

I read this yesterday. This book is 130 pages in the banner of Truth Edition. It's not super long. Oh my goodness. It was like a cup of cold water in a desert. It was just refreshing. Jesus can sympathize with us and he does sympathize with us. He's gentle and lowly in heart. This is the very definition of him as a Good Shepherd. This is the definition of him as our savior is that he sympathizes with us. He wept over Jerusalem. He had compassion on the multitude because they were like sheep without a shepherd. In the midst of your stand in the midst of your misery. Jesus is not standing in heaven scolding you and shaking a finger at you. He is sympathizing and he's weeping over you and he wants you to come back to him and to draw near to him to repent of your sin to cast your burdens upon him because a bruised Reed he won't break in a smoldering Wiki won't put out. He's a gentle Saviour. He's a gentle Shepherd. Pizza sympathetic high priest

And what's remarkable in this argument of the author of Hebrews is this is how the high priests were supposed to be in the old Covenant sympathetic. Look at 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. So this is like a job description of of a high priest verse to he can deal gently with the ignorant and Wayward since he himself is beset with weakness. So even the high priest in the Old Testament, we're supposed to be gentle. We're supposed to be sympathetic. They should understand it and get it. In fact the Old Testament priests verse 3 had to offer sacrifices for their own sins as well as for those of the people. Jesus on the other hand never sinned. He's tempted in all ways yet without sin is why he's a better high priest. That's the argument of the book of Hebrews is Jesus is better. And so he's without sin yet. He can sympathize. I was a couple of theological things we have to come to wrestle with you. And I think this is the time to to bring it up historically. There's been a teaching on the impeccability that's coming from a Latin word or the sinlessness of Christ and traditionally the church has taught that it isn't merely that Jesus did not send which is true that he did not send but more strongly that he could not send. Because he's God he could not send so then that raises a conundrum.

How can Jesus one be genuinely tempted but to not be able to send? Do you see that issue? This is something the church has wrestled with for two thousand years. They've come up with a very good answer. How can both be true? Well one Theologian Herman bavinck says we must distinguish between the innate Holiness of Jesus as God and His ethical Holiness of Jesus as man, what does he mean by that boy has he's fully God and fully man. He has a fully divine nature and a fully human nature in his divine nature. He cannot send he's a neatly wholly separate from sin and it's human nature. He did not send because he lived a perfect life. But he's not two people. He's one person Jesus with two natures and that just blows our minds and that's the whole issue. So let me turn to my mentor Bruce where he was my PhD supervisor dear friend. Here's what Bruce wear says in his book The Man Christ Jesus Jesus resisted the Temptation and in every way obeyed his father not by recourse or appealing to his divine nature, but through the resources provided to him in his full Humanity in shorts this proposal suggests that coming to terms with a distinction between why it was that Christ could not send mainly because he was God and why it is that he did not send namely he was human. He was the human Jesus anointed and empowered by the spirit. In fact presents us with an answer to this theological problem that promises to account fully for the Genuineness of both his impeccability his sinlessness and his Temptations then he gives an illustration and I think this is what I love about Bruce doctor where he says this here's the illustration a swimmer attempts to break the distance record for swimming. Guinness Book of World Records due to safety they decide to follow the swimmer with a boat now one the swimmer could not drown because the boat was right beside them the whole way but to the swimmer did not drown because they kept swimming until they broke the record. So Jesus and his deity cannot send and in his Humanity, he did not send because he was perfectly obedient. That's what verse 15 says he's been tempted as we are as in every way yet without sin and the man Christ Jesus cannot send but was genuinely tempted to sin yet. He fully obeyed the father empowered by the spirit as a man and if it still doesn't make sense, we can wrestle with it together the rest of the summer. But I'm going to move on I just felt like I needed to address this issue because it's brought up from this verse over and over and over again. And I know that some of you are aware of this issue. So Jesus is our better high priest. The first application or command is hold fast to this confession hold fast to what were proclaiming and believing. The Jesus is a better high priest. The second application is inverse fist 16. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find Grace to help in our time of need so draw near to the father draw near with confidence this word parousia in the Greek boldness confident access and draw near to the throne and it's no longer a throne of Wrath the Throne of judgment. It's a throne of what a Grace Jesus in chapter 1 verse 3 after making purifications for sins. He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high and then later and 8:1 he's going to say this is the main point of what we're saying. We have such a high priest one seated at the right hand of the Throne of the Majesty in heaven. Remember, he's preaching on Psalms 110 sit at my right hand and so he goes so far in chapter 8 verse 12 say this is the main point of everything I've been talking to you about in this sermon in this whole book of Hebrews. We have a high priest seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high and you can draw near because he's your high priest and he's not just your high priest for a day or a week or a month. He's your high priest forever. That's good news why we find grace and mercy to help in our time of need we find grace and mercy to help in our time of need has the Lord given you grace and mercy in your time of need in your life. He has me over and over again. In fact, I rehearse it with my family. It becomes part of the stories. We tell them this is what the Lord did he provided me a job. He provided me help. He he gave us safety when when Ainsley was born and had to have heart surgery a couple weeks after she was born and we didn't know if she was going to live or die. He gave us grace and mercy to help in our time of need in in in some ways. That was one of the easiest trials I ever went through in my life because whether she would have lived or died, I was content to say the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, but he had so blessed me with peace that when I was sitting at UCSF talking to other parents. I was not in just I was I was weeping but not with with great hopelessness, but rather great hope in God and it was something only the spirit can do I can't do in my temperament. Jesus did what I couldn't do. I found grace and mercy to help. I have these stories. I know you have them as well. We need to be rehearsing these with one another to remind one another to hold fast to this confession. Keep believing keep is true keep believing in draw near to the father. So the application is front-loaded on the sermon now the author in verses 1 to 10 in this section is going to just basically give you the reasons why Jesus is a better high priest and he's the reason we can draw near to the father. We read a 5:1 the typical job description the typical high priest under the Mosaic law every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God to forgive sin sacrifices for said he can deal gently with the ignorance in Wayward since he himself is beset with weakness and because of this he's obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people and no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God just as Aaron was so verse 1 he offers gifts and sacrifices for sinvr Stewie deals gently with the people verse for Nonna points themselves a high priest and again in For we have that it's an unbroken line of high priesthood Since Aaron that's mentioned at the end in verse for but the author of Hebrews is saying this priesthood the old priesthood its insufficient. Why will inverse to their beset by weaknesses their centres themselves? This would be a case of your going to court and your lawyer needs a lawyer. He's on trial right next to you. That's not a good lawyer to have you want a lawyer that's not guilty like you are and yet that's what was going on with the old priesthood. Also, he has to make sacrifices for his own sins and verse 3 and embedded in that plural sacrifices is they have to be made over and over and over again and they never really deal with the sin. There's going to bring this up later that Jesus. He didn't offer the blood of bulls and goats. What are the offer his own blood and not over and over once for all. That's it one time and it's done. He's a much better high priest. In fact, the Drawing Near to God is insufficient in the old Covenant because Drawing Near in the old Covenant to God's presence in the holy of holies was with fear and trembling. Turn over to chapter 10. Hebrews Bruce one since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities. It can never by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year make perfect those who draw near so this phrase draw near if you trace it out a by the way, I'm doing that in the sermon. I'm just looking at all the passages where the author of Hebrews brings out this drawing here. We can draw near with boldness. But in the old Covenant, they drew near not with boldness, but with fear and trembling and because the law was a shadow of its insufficient, it can never make anyone perfect who draws near he's going to say in chapter 12 that it's like coming to that old Mount cyanide that is blazing fire and darkness and Gloom in a tempest. This is what the Drawing Near was like under the old priesthood. But Jesus back in Hebrews chapter 5 he's been appointed our high priest verses 5 and 6 Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest but was appointed by him. You said to him? You're my son today at begotten you as he says in another place, you're a priest Forever After the order of Melchizedek. So the father just like he appointed Aaron and all his descendants to be high priest. He appoints Jesus, but it's not after the order of Aaron. It's after the order of Melchizedek. Now what the author is doing is quoting to Psalms Psalm 23 Psalm 110 in Psalm to you have this quotes. That says you are my son today. I have begotten you this refers to the exaltation of the Sun at the father's right-hand that we saw in chapter 1 the father appointed the sun the sun accepted this role in this appointment is with great Authority sit at my right hand until I make all of your enemies your footstool for your feet. He's going to stay in Psalm 110. And so I'm too it's today. I be gotten you now you're going to rule over the nations with a rod of iron and saw him to let me quote Psalm 110 verse 4 You're a priest Forever After the order of Melchizedek. He's going to explain this further in chapter 7 will be there soon. You can read ahead if you'd like spoiler alert. It's all right there in chapter 7 mean in Psalm 110 and we don't know much about it. He comes and all we know is that Abraham offers tithes to milk is a deck in milk has a dick is a priest of the most high God now we can pull a part is named Mel Mel kids that comes from to Hebrew words melek, which means king and Saturday which means righteousness. So he's the king of righteousness is not interesting. He's a righteous King who Abraham pays tides to in chapter 7, he's without beginning of days or end of life. He just swooped in and has this cameo in Genesis 14 and he's gone, but we don't know where he was born. We don't know when he died. He just comes in and the author of Hebrews picks up on this and says will someone 10 had picked up on this and said the mess them. Guy who comes is going to be a priest forever like Melchizedek was this king of righteousness and the author of Hebrews picks it up and says, oh, yeah. This is the order of priesthood that Jesus is not Aaron that's insufficient and deficient and a shadow, but Melchizedek, Which is forever. That's the whole point. It's an eternal appointment. That's what he's going to say in verse 10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek Hebrews chapter 5. And so Jesus is appointed high priest and then versus 7210. He's a perfect high priest look at the sufficiency of his priesthood verse seven in the days of his flesh. Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to him who is able to save him from death and he was heard because of his reverence and although he was a son he learned obedience through what he suffered and being made perfect. He became the source of Eternal salvation to all who obey him being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek verses 7 & 8 we see his sufficiency that even though he's fully human like all the priests that were Aaron's descendants. Even though he's fully human. He did not commit sin. So he doesn't have to make sacrifice for his own sins. He only has to make sacrifice for our sins back over in 7:27. It says he has no need like those High priests to offer sacrifices daily first for his own sins. And then for those of the people since he did this once for all when he offered up himself and his perfect obedience and verse 9 being made perfect. What does that mean? It doesn't mean that he wasn't perfect before. What is the author getting at that his obedience to the point of death qualified him to be our substitute at our high priest forever a qualified him for ever. And what do we get? We get Eternal salvation by later in 7:28, the law of points men in their weaknesses High priests, but the the oath which came out later than the law of points his son who has been made perfect forever. So the authors basically reminding you and me Jesus is our high priest forever. He's perfect your sins are taken care of you can draw near to the father with confidence hold fast to your confession in Jesus. That's his whole point in this section. Any Inns it's interesting in verse 9. He became the Eternal source of Salvation to all who obey him. I have been talkin about faith over and over and over up to this point that unbelief in the wilderness. Let is real to perish in the wilderness. But believing in Jesus is the same thing as wallet still called today believing in him holding fast. Our confidence will let me just Trace out this idea of listening to Jesus in order to obey him is the same thing as believing in him 1:2 in these last days. God has spoken in his son. So he he spoke in the Old Testament through various ways to our fathers through the prophets in these last days. He's spoken by a son 2:1. We must pay attention to what we've heard. 2:3 it was spoken to us by the Lord Jesus 4:2 the message benefits us when it's mixed with belief and we who have believed have entered his rest then 3:7 today if you hear his voice again, 3:15 today if you hear his voice again 4:7 today, if you hear his voice, how are you going to respond to the voice of Jesus that speaking today will 4:14 the beginning of our message since we have a great high priest. Let us hold fast our confession. And he says this holding fast of our confession this keeping hold of our belief in the confession that Jesus is Lord and he's King and his high priest. This is the same thing is what he's talkin about that he's the source of Eternal salvation to all who obey him. Listen to how Charles Spurgeon put it to a big Christ is in its very essence to trust him or believe in him and we might read our texts is if it said the author of Eternal salvation to all those who believe in him, if you would be saved your First Act of obedience must be to trust Jesus. Holy simply hardly in a loan recline your soul. Holy on Jesus and you are safe. Now is that all certainly that is all but it says obey precisely so and do you not know that every man who trusts Christ obeys him the moment you put your yourself into his hands. You must obey him or you have not trusted him the doctor feels your pulse and says, I will send some men That will be very useful in besides that you must take a warm bath becomes the next day and you say to him doctor. I thought you were going to heal me. I'm not a bit better why I said he you do not trust me. I do sir. I am sure I have every faith in you know says the doctor you do not believe in me for there's that bottle of medicine untouched and you've not taken a drop of it. Have you had the bath? No, sir. What you're making a fool of me. The fact is I shall not come again. You do not believe in me. I am no physician to you. Likewise every man who believes Christ obeys him believing in obeying always run side-by-side is not good. That's what the author of Hebrews is getting at here. And so back to this application holdfast our confession and draw near to the throne of grace with confidence. He had said in 3:6 that we hold fast our confidence and are boasting in our hope. He's going to say in chapter 7 when he talks about milk is a deck. Jesus is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him because he ever lives to intercede for them and he's going to say in chapter 9 christ-centered not into the holy places made with hands with your copies of the true things, but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. So, what is Jesus doing right now? Right now today he is at the right hand of the father and he's interceding for us on our behalf to the father. And so right now you can draw near with confidence to the throne of grace and find grace and mercy to help in your time of need. That is a high priest. That is one who is all-sufficient. We don't need anything else. But Jesus Jesus is all that we need all of God's promises are yes, and amen in him and so beloved draw near to Jesus draw near to the father through Jesus. I should say in the power of the spirit. We have this approach we can ask our father in Heaven, whatever we want. And as we heard in Ephesians the last sermon series he is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think we can't ask her think too much cuz he can do exceedingly abundantly above all the fit. Father thank you for this time to look at your word and to hear from you. Thank you for our savior. Jesus who is our high priest. Thank you that you've not left us as orphans, but you've poured out your spirit to indwell us so that we now

Are being made into a temple a fit Place For Your Presence by the spirit as Paul says in Ephesians 2. And so are drawing near we don't have to move locations. We don't have to go to Jerusalem. You're here with us. And we can draw near. We can find forgiveness of sins. We can find help in our time of need.

We find a friend in Jesus one who sympathizes with us in our weakness who won't turn us away father. We find in you a good father who gives good gifts to his children.

You giving us the best gift ever you've given us your son and you've given us your spirit. May we never forget this may we rehearse this over and over? Tell it to our children and our children's children. You are good and you do good. Can you give grace and mercy to help when we're in need? I pray all of this in Jesus name. Amen.