Our Great High Priest

The word “wherefore” here is an archaic word that essentially means ‘why’. (“Wherefore are thou Romeo? Why do you have to be Romeo, a member of the Montague family and enemy of the Capulets?) Here the writer of Hebrews is asking, “Why must we to consider Christ Jesus?”

First, we are to consider Christ was a partaker of our earthly nature (). Moreover, if Christ was faithful to partake of our flesh and earthly nature, we are to be faithful in taking on His divine nature ()!

Second, we are to consider how Christ has been appointed as our High Priest (). As our High Priest Jesus is responsible for cleansing and sanctifying His people (). The blood of bulls and goats only had the power to cleanse man’s flesh (outward man). The blood of Jesus, however, is able to cleanse our conscience (inward man). But, as we learn from , Christ is the High Priest of our confession. As our High Priest Christ is only able to sanctify (save) those who bring Him a sacrifice. It was the job of the head of the house (and later the priest) to bring the blood of the sacrifice to the High Priest who, after receiving it at their hand, sprinkled it upon the Mercy Seat in the inner sanctuary of the Temple.

Moreover, just as He was faithful in the calling to take on flesh and become our High Priest, we ought to be faithful in our calling to take on His divine nature ()

Today, our Passover Lamb has already been sacrificed for us. Therefore, what Christ is offering upon the Mercy Seat is not a new sacrifice, but the confession (agreement) of the sacrifice that has already been made on our behalf! If we are going to receive the ministry of our High Priest (sanctification, salvation), then we must give Him a sacrifice/offering from our mouth (). Here we are admonished to “hold fast” (retain) our confidence and the rejoicing of our hope until the end. We have confidence in Church, but we lose it by the time we get to the parking lot. We have to keep it until the end. The ‘end’ of what? The end of the trial (, ). The Israelites lost hope each time they were tested (tempted) in the wilderness. This is what provoked God to anger and the reason they didn’t receive the promise ().

How do we hold fast to our hope? We do it by confessing our hope ( ASV). The secret to receiving the promise (sanctification, salvation, deliverance) is to maintain your hope. The key to maintaining your hope is found in your confession.

This is what the writer of Hebrews is saying. Christ is our High Priest, but in order for Him to intercede for us we need a confession. There’s no more work that needs to be done. There’s no need for a new sacrifice. The work has been done and the sacrifice has been made. These are all facts. What is needed now is a confession (agreement) of the facts!

The idea here is that there’s nothing more that needs to be done. We don’t have to do anything so that Christ might come down and bring us salvation. We don’t have to hope that He is raised up from the dead. These things are already facts! The only thing needed is a confession of these facts.

In fact, there was a belief in that day (one that still exists today) that if enough of God’s people obeyed the law perfectly, God would be pleased and send Christ to save them. Well, the fact is God has already sent the Savior, and He sent the Son according to His grace and mercy and not in response to anything man has done (“While we were yet sinners Christ died for the ungodly”).

We don’t BRING Christ down. God has SENT Him down! Righteousness, or being put right with God, is not something we work for. It’s something we accept. It’s not about God showing us how to get right with God. Instead, it’s about understanding that all things have been put right by God already in Christ. All that is left is our confession and hope.

Everyone is asking, “Lord, what do we do?” His response to this is, “Trust that I have already accomplished it and learn to put the word of faith in your mouth” (). The answer already exists. In fact, it’s in your mouth. All you have to do is acknowledge it with your mouth and accept it in your heart/mind ().

Sometimes you have to speak it with your mouth before you can fully accept it in your heart.