The Sympathy of Jesus

English Standard Version Chapter 4

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.

Introduction

As we delve into Hebrews we remember that it was written to help those who are facing, or soon will, a tremendous amount of persecution and suffering. They will face all kinds of temptations to turn away from God. And the reason for this suffering is because of the apostate condition of Israel. God is about to bring his hand of judgment down upon it, which he did in 70 AD. The understandable fear stems from this: if they failed, how can we succeed? It was a time of transition. Those who followed Christ were being pushed out of the synagogues and losing connection to their Jewish roots. While you might think that was a good thing, it was a struggle. Their Jewish roots were imbedded in rich tradition and ceremony. It was to the Jewish people that God gave the law. It was the Jewish people that God rescued from 400 years of slavery and brought into the Promised Land. It was to the Jewish people that God gave the temple and the sacrificial system and the means to enter into his presence. They had the prophets and the priests. These things were tangible connections to the promises and hope in God. You could hear the bleating of the sacrificial lambs when you were offering your sacrifice to the priest. You could see him cut its throat. You could smell his blood as it was poured out upon the altar. And as you meditated upon the atonement that sacrifice brought you, you could walk away with a lighter step. There was relief associated with it. As you meticulously practiced the dietary restrictions, keeping your dairy separate from your meat, making sure you drained every ounce of blood from your meat, there was a certain measure of comfort as you were reminded of your being set apart from the other nations by God. Without these reminders what did you have? This new body of people, pushed away from the synagogues and the temple and their Jewish roots, were having to figure that out.

As they sought to work through it, suddenly the Jewish state was wiped out. The temple was destroyed. The sacrifices by the high priest were no more. It was a crushing blow. If all of these things that once tied the Jewish people to God failed, what did they possibly have? The writer of Hebrews takes his time to go through, line by line as it seems, showing that they have something superior in every way to hold them firm in their faith. In this particular passage he explains how they have a better high priest than those of the Jewish nation. Whereas the high priest in the temple passed through the Holy of Holies in the temple, God’s representative throne on earth, once a year on the day of atonement, they have a high priest who passes through the true throne room in the heavens. We have someone better to give us confidence to approach God in times of need.

Jesus is a great high priest and that should fill us with confidence in approaching God’s throne of grace.

Tim Keller highlights two characteristics of that priesthood which I would like to flesh out as we work our way through this text. Each of these characteristics assure us that he is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. We find them introduced in 4:15.

English Standard Version Chapter 4

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.

Tempted

He is able to sympathize with our weaknesses because he is “one who in every respect has been tempted as we are.” This was not meant to be unique to Jesus. This is something that a Jewish reader should have understood. A priest was one of them. He was not like the priests you might find in a church today, who present themselves as wholly other than the people. That’s what you find in the trappings of someone like the pope or a cardinal or someone else who has become unapproachable. That was not the original intent of someone appointed as a priest.

When the priesthood was instituted at Sinai, God chose one of the tribes of Israel, the Levites. There was nothing particularly unique about that tribe. Levi was the 3rd son of Leah, Jacob (Israel)’s first and lesser loved wife. He wasn’t first or the last, and he wasn’t a favorite. He was just one of the 12 boys Israel had. His experiences were their experiences. He could sympathize with them in every respect because he experienced everything they experienced. He understood them because he was one of them. God chose this tribe to serve as priests.

When Jesus is described as a priest, this is the meaning. He was made like us which allows him to sympathize with us as he goes before the Father for us. It means he understands what the pain we feel, the misery we feel, the temptations we face.

He was “tempted as we are.” That’s an interesting word. In the Greek it means more than we typically mean when we say “tempted.” We think of temptation as a situation in which we are encouraged to do something wrong. The Greek word is broader than that. It means to be tested; to “let trial be made.” The idea is to put through every experience and every trial. So when we read that Jesus was “tempted as we are” it means he faced all of the same pressures, all the same heartaches, all of the same levels of emotional pain that we face. It doesn’t necessarily mean that he face every circumstance we face. Obviously he didn’t. But circumstances aren’t the heart of the matter, the pressure the circumstances put upon the heart is what matters. And he faced no shortage of those. The essence of trial and temptation is to put your heart, your emotional state in such a place that you grasp for things for rescue that you shouldn’t grasp.

A trial is when a well-to-do man who has always worked hard and never lacked suddenly finds himself out of a job, maybe even out of his home, and desperate in his debt is faced with an opportunity to steel. It isn’t the circumstance so much as the level of desperation he feels that drives him, affects his thinking, clouds his judgment. While Jesus didn’t face that specific circumstances, he knows what it feels like to be hungry and desperate. He can sympathize. When a woman is betrayed by a husband addicted to porn or worse and feels the darkness of being abandoned, unloved, unwanted, and the anger of being wronged, exposed, betrayed it isn’t a circumstance that Jesus has faced, but it is certainly a pain that Jesus has felt. Jesus was never cut off in traffic or fired unfairly by a boss, but he has felt the pain of being disregarded and falsely accused. Do you see? Jesus can sympathize with the pain that you feel in the midst of your trial. He knows your heartache. This is what you want, is it not, in the person you go to when hurt? This is the person, is it not, that you want representing you before God, wearing your name upon his chest?

This was the role of the priest. His job was to represent the people before God. He wasn’t a prophet who spoke to them for God. That was reserved for another office.

What was the priest’s role? His job was to represent the people before God. He wasn’t a prophet who spoke to them for God. That was reserved for another office. He received the people and their offerings and presented them before God on their behalf. He was dressed in clothes that facilitated as he wore breastplate fashioned with 12 stones, one for each of his brother tribes, so that every time he approached God, he approached for all of them. explains,

English Standard Version Chapter 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.

He received the people and their offerings and presented them before God on their behalf. He was dressed in clothes that facilitated as he wore breastplate fashioned with 12 stones, one for each of his brother tribes, so that every time he approached God, he approached for all of them. explains,

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.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Heb 5:1–2). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.He received the people and their offerings and presented them before God on their behalf. He was dressed in clothes that facilitated as he wore breastplate fashioned with 12 stones, one for each of his brother tribes, so that every time he approached God, he approached for all of them. explains,

English Standard Version Chapter 28

So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the LORD.

Sinless

But we need more than than someone who can relate with our weaknesses. We need someone who knows the way through them. And so we desperately need the other half of verse 15,

English Standard Version Chapter 4

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.

What we’re looking for is way to God. The biggest problem with our weaknesses in the midst of our pain is that it keeps us from the only one who can really help—God. Pain, suffering, and the weakness in the midst of those things keep us nursing our wounds, feeding our pain and so we drift deeper into our hole. This is what depression is. There is a certain measure of comfort in feeding our bitterness and misery. We eat it. It tastes good in the mouth. The problem with is that it grows sour in the belly. It makes things worse. It pushes people away or hurts them. We need a way to God and Jesus is the way.

Because he can relate with your weakness he can find you in the darkness. He’s familiar with it. He’s walked there and he knows the hiding places. But he also knows the way out and can take you to the Father. That’s what it means for him to be sinless. He has nothing standing between him and God.

The earthly high priest was beset with his own sin. Before he could offer your sacrifice, he had to offer his own. And while you might think this is who you want for a comforter or a counselor, remember this: he has his own problems to deal with. He can give you some time, some attention, but ultimately his own pain and weakness gets in the way, puts limit on how far he’s willing to walk with you, and certainly puts limits on how far he can lead you. He might know more than you but still has his own blindness. You need to sinless savior.

Let me give you a firsthand example that is also a confession. I haven’t been the best pastor over the past few months. Maybe even the past few years. I want to be, don’t get me wrong, but I am broken. I’ve been running on fumes for some time. I was running on fumes when Harvey hit and started to experience difficulties sleeping. Family stress added to that. The point is, I haven’t pursued you as well as I wanted to when you were going through hard times and the reason is simply that I have been overwhelmed in my own hard times. I can relate with you, that much is true, but my own struggles and my own weakness have limited my leadership of you. What you need is a sympathetic but sinless savior. The best thing I can do for you as a pastor is point you to him.

Now, the good news is that your suffering isn’t pointless, while it might seem pointless or miserable and unbearable at the time. This has been the pattern of history. Suffering has been a primary means of bringing wayward Israel back to God. But there is more to it than just serving as a wake-up call. Look at verses 7-9

English Standard Version Chapter 5

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,

Here we see the Jesus knew what it felt like to cry out loudly and be filled with tears. He knew real pain. And the amazing thing is that he learned obedience through what he suffered. Obedience is simply the exercise of trust. He learned to trust God, really trust God, through his pain. The difference between Jesus and you is that his pain went farther than yours will ever go. He offered his loud cries and tears “to him who was able to save him from death” which is what we should do. “And he was heard because of his reverence.” That’s an interesting thing to write for it seems to imply that he was thus rescued from death. But he wasn’t. He was heard by the one who was able to save him from death but didn’t save him from death. He was a son and yet God would make him perfect, that is complete, mature, through a complete suffering which was death. Now we read verse 9

English Standard Version Chapter 5

9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him