Jesus Is Better - 6

Ian Stamps

Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

Hebrews 4:12–5:10

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Jesus Is Better - 6

Introduction

Late last year, Ashley Guice had a problem [Pic 1]. Her best friend’s sister had just gotten engaged. She and her new fiancé had taken a picture in the restaurant where he had popped the question. Unfortunately, her fiancé popped the question in what only can be described as a less-classy Margaritaville restaurant. The problem is the topless guy in background.

Ashley needed some help. She tried to photoshop the guy out of the picture, but couldn’t make it work. So, she sent out a request on Facebook, asking for someone to help her remove the guy from the picture. Sadly, she forgot the first rule of the internet: Never ask for help from the internet! Here is some “help” she received: [Pictures 2-6]

TS - When you have trouble, who do you turn to? How do you know they can actually help you? We’ve been in the book of Hebrews for about a month and a half now. Let’s review for just a minute so we can be sure we’re following his argument here.

Back at the beginning of , we were reminded that we are God’s house. The place God dwells. Then, we were reminded of what it means to be a part of God’s home. A house is a place of rest, so we rest in Him. But, a house is also a place of expectations and rules. When we hear our Father’s voice, we should respond in obedience to Him. Hebrews reminded us of what’s at stake here. If we disobey and distrust God, we are no better than the Israelites who disobeyed and died in the desert. We want to avoid their mistake. There’s been this reminder that we want to do what God has told us to do. We want to obey His Word. He ends this section with a powerful reminder of the obedience we’ve been called to:

- 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Lots of very vivid pictures to describe the power of God’s Word. Hebrews is simply reminding us that God’s Word is authoritative. Look again at some of those descriptors:

—The Word of God is “living and active.” Means that the Bible isn’t merely meant to be studied. It is meant to be lived. It is not a history book that informs us of cultures from a bygone era. It speaks to what we do now and how we live every day.

—The Word of God is “sharper than any two-edged sword.” It is a weapon. Not one we use on others, but one we use on ourselves. A scalpel that pierces into our hearts and souls. We open up God’s Word to find that it opens us up!

- Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.

The word used there for “seem” can be translated as “found.” It’s a forensics term. Since God invites us into the rest that the Gospel brings, we don’t want anyone to be “found” to not reach it. A forensic investigation into their soul, only to find that their faith isn’t real. How does that forensic investigation take place? By the penetrating scalpel of the Bible that opens us up and reveals reality.

—The Word of God leaves us “naked and exposed.” We can’t hide from it. We can’t run from it. The Bible helps us see who we really are. Exposes our sin. Shows us the nakedness of our souls. The Bible cuts and convicts like nothing else.

Just as a side note, I think this is one of the reasons why we struggle to read the Bible like we should. We always throw out excuses. “I don’t understand it.” “I don’t have time.” Can we admit those excuses are garbage? We don’t read the Bible because this is what it is, this is what it does to us.

TS - So, what do we do when the Word does its work? Who can we turn to when the Word cuts us open?

Under the Old Covenant system (think OT Judaism), the Jewish priests were there to help you spiritual issues. But, if you wanted to find real forgiveness you didn’t need just any priest. You needed the High Priest. If you really wanted to deal with your sin, only the High Priest could help you. Though there were a lot of priests, the High Priest was a big deal, because he had a big responsibility.

Every year, the Jewish people celebrated a very important holiday – the Day of Atonement. Still celebrated today as Yom Kippur. It’s the day when the Israelite people would make sacrifices for sin.

- 30 For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the Lord from all your sins. 31 It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict yourselves; it is a statute forever. 32 And the priest who is anointed and consecrated as priest in his father's place shall make atonement, wearing the holy linen garments. 33 He shall make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 34 And this shall be a statute forever for you, that atonement may be made for the people of Israel once in the year because of all their sins.” And Aaron did as the Lord commanded Moses.

On the Day of Atonement, the High Priest had a very important job to do – a job only he was allowed to do. He alone could enter the Holy of Holies, the place where God’s presence dwelt. He would go in there before the Ark of the Covenant and offer sacrifices. The sacrifices on that one day would cover their sins for the year. Offer forgiveness and peace to the nation.

Now, we might not understand all the ceremony around this or all the pomp and circumstance. But, we still understand the basic idea… we need someone to go to God on our behalf. We need someone to go before God and plead our case. We need a High Priest! The good news of is that we have one:

- 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.

We have someone who will go to God on our behalf! We have someone who will stand before the throne of God and plead our case! We have someone who has made a sacrifice for sin! Jesus, the very Son of God, our High Priest! With this, Hebrews introduces a theme here that is going to be significant for the next couple of chapters. Jesus is our High Priest. He’s the High Priest who makes a perfect sacrifice. He is the High Priest who serves in the Heavenly Tabernacle. Theme he begins to expound on.

- 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.

Hebrews spends these verses detailing Jesus’ credentials as our High Priest, comparing Jesus to human, Jewish High Priests. Even compares him to some guy named Melchizedek, which we’ll talk about in a few weeks. How does Jesus compare to these earthly representatives from the OT? Well, let’s start by considering the OT High Priests for just a minute. There were some qualifications for this position. Only filled by one person at a time, so it was very exclusive. How did someone get this position?

First of all, Hebrews reminds us that the office of High Priest has to be filled by a human. The one who represents us before God has to be one of us.

If anyone was going to represent you before God, they had to be like you. If someone can’t understand you, if they can’t relate to you, then they can’t represent you before God. You want your High Priest to “deal gently” with your sin. You want them to deal with it, yes. But, don’t you also want a certain amount of sympathy? A good High Priest will deal with your sin using a balance of grace and truth. They will speak the truth to confront and correct. But they will also speak grace to restore and repair. The High Priest must be one of us so that He can relate to us.

That’s exactly what Hebrews says we have in Jesus. We have a High Priest who was made exactly like us. That was the argument way back in . This Jesus who was higher than the angels became lower than the angels so He could be one of us.

- 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.

Jesus was made like us in every way, save one. He was without sin. He never disobeyed God. And yet, He knows what it’s like to be tempted. He knows what it’s like to walk in that valley where wrong looks right. He may not have bothered with sin, but that doesn’t mean sin didn’t bother Him. Gospels tell us He was tempted by Satan Himself. So, Hebrews assures us that our High Priest is a man just like us. He knows what it’s like to be tempted. On His cross, He knew what it was like to bear the burden of sin. Jesus knows what sin and temptation feel like. Can sympathize with us.

But, remember, not just enough for the High Priest to be a person. The High Priest also had to be qualified to offer sacrifices. Had to know what the Law called for.

- 3 Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people.

Again, the High Priest’s greatest responsibility came on the Day of Atonement. Would enter the Holy of Holies to present sacrifices. The people needed forgiveness. More than that, the priest needed forgiveness. Would go in for their sins and for his. A High Priest had to know which sacrifices were right. He had to know which sacrifices were effective. Hebrews reminds us that Jesus did the same. He offered a sacrifice. Only, this sacrifice didn’t involve a bull or a goat. Not even a spotless lamb. The sacrifice Jesus offered up was Himself.

- 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,

Jesus suffered. Jesus sacrificed. His sacrifice on the cross offered eternal salvation for all those who believe in Him. Not a sacrifice that had to be repeated once a year. A sacrifice that was once for all time. He could do that because he didn’t have to offer any sacrifice for his own sin. He didn’t have any!

So, the High Priest was human. The High Priest had to offer a sacrifice. Another requirement is that the High Priest had to be selected by God.

- 4 And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.

Even Aaron (the first priest), Moses’ brother, didn’t presume to take the office for himself. God gave it to Him. Couldn’t be High Priest unless you had a clear calling to that place. Only God could declare someone was qualified. Again, same is true for Jesus. Jesus didn’t just declare Himself High Priest. God chose Him for that position. Gave Him that honor.

- 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”;

This great High Priestly office that He holds was given to Him by God. The God we want to get back to has declared Jesus is the way to get to Him. What the writer of Hebrews has done here – particularly for his Jewish audience – is make an ironclad case as to why Jesus is the true High Priest. Fulfills all the requirements for the office. Checks all the boxes. We can trust Him as our High Priest because He perfectly matches the profile!

TS - But, what does this mean for us? We would all agree, I think, that this is good news. We have a representative before God. We have someone who has made sacrifice for sin. It is Jesus Christ. He is better because He is our eternal High Priest! How do we respond to this? Hebrews has already told us.

These introductory words are built around two commands. Because of who Jesus is and what He has done, we do two things. Those two commands are: “Let us hold fast our confession,” and “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace.” Two practical applications of what it means to have such a great High Priest. It means we can STAND FIRMLY and that we can PRAY BOLDLY. Let’s talk about each of these:

STAND FIRMLY

Look at that command again: “Let us hold fast our confession.” This will be a continuing theme going forward in Hebrews. Hold fast to the confession of our faith. Cling tightly to what we believe as Christians. We have confessed Christ as Lord. Don’t let go of that truth. As we’ve talked about multiple weeks, the original audience of this letter was tempted to walk away from their faith. Life was getting hard. Their suffering was too great. So, they wanted to let go of Jesus. Author of Hebrews tells them to hold tightly to Him. Don’t let go.

In fact, he uses Jesus as an example of this. Jesus’ life wasn’t easy. He knew what it was like to suffer. He experienced pain. But, He didn’t give up. He learned greater obedience. He did what God told Him to do, even at great cost.

- 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,

Language here calls back to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed on the night before He died. He asked God to deliver Him, to take the cup of suffering away. But, He ended with this prayer: “Not my will, but yours be done.” Submitted even to suffering. So our High Priest who tells us to hold fast and stand firm…is our High Priest precisely because he held fast and stood firm. We can stand firmly because He stood firmly.

2. PRAY BOLDLY

We can approach the throne with confidence, knowing that we have a representative standing there on our behalf. Jesus, the One who died for us, now lives to intercede on our behalf. He pleads our case before the Father. When we approach God, we find that Jesus is already there on our behalf. So, what will we find at the throne of God? We will “receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

In His presence, we find mercy. We find that we don’t get the penalty our sins deserve. We find that He has forgiven our sins. In His presence, we find grace. In fact, his throne is the throne of grace.There’s more love there than we could imagine. God doesn’t just allow us to come into His presence; He wants us there! He has invited us. But listen: that’s not even the best news. Let me remind you of the best news. When we come before God we find someone who can understand us. We come into the presence of One who knows what we’re going through.

- 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.

When you pray, you are praying to One who understands you. You are praying to One who can sympathize with you. Don’t have to be ashamed. Don’t have to be afraid. He understands. He knows the struggles. He knows the temptations. When you pray to Jesus, He doesn’t look down at you with condescension. He doesn’t glare at you saying, “How could you do such a thing?” He knows your weakness. He sympathizes with your failings.

Remember, though, that Jesus was only tempted. He didn’t sin. So, we can learn from Him. He can show us how to walk away from sin. He can show us how to stand firm. Some of you are caught in sin. Pray this prayer: “Jesus, you learned what it was like to be tempted like I am. Help me to learn what it’s like to be obedient like you were.” Pray boldly. Come before God’s throne knowing that you have an advocate.

Conclusion

Earlier this year, Crenshanda Williams, a 911 operator in Houston, was arrested by police. Her crime? Turns out she was hanging up on people who called into 911. Over the course of her 18 months working there, she literally hung up on thousands of people. These weren’t prank calls she was hanging up on, either. Investigators said that she hung up on everything from reported robberies and homicides to reports of high-speed vehicles. She would answer, listen for a few seconds, and then hang up on the callers without saying anything, without helping at all.

When asked why she did it, Mrs. Williams simply said that she would hang up on people during times when she didn’t really feel like talking to anyone. Can you believe that? I know your house is on fire, but I’m just not feeling it right now. Call back and talk to someone else. Ultimately, she received only 10 days in jail and 18 months probation for her crime. People called her for help – people in desperate need turned to her for assistance – only to be turned away.

I think that there’s part of us that wonders if God is like that. When we call to Him, when we cry out in prayer for help, there’s a part of us that wonders if He’s listening. Maybe we think He hung up on us. He’s not really interested in talking to us. Not feeling it on that day. Maybe he’s busy. But friends, that is not what we have in Jesus. That is the good news of this passage. When we cry out to God, there is an advocate who pleads our case. There is someone who listens. Don’t have to fear that no one is paying attention. Don’t have to worry about being ignored. Our great High Priest listens!