Our Priest Covers Our Shame

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, tonight we begin our lenten series as we prepare for Holy Week. To understand what Christ is going to accomplish during Holy Week, we must look at the sacred Scriptures and understanding something to us which is a bit foreign. That is the priesthood of the Old Testament. It is very important for us to understand what it means for Jesus to be our Great High Priest, so that we may learn of the wonderful hope that we have in Him. That we no longer have to fear the devil, and that the shame that comes from our sinfulness has been covered by His gracious and merciful work upon the Cross.

I. Jesus is our Great High Priest.

So what does it mean that Jesus is our Great High Priest? What does that mean for you? Why should you care? Well the High Priest in the Old Testament is the one that had the authority and position to appear before God in the Holy Place. He would enter into that holy place to plead on behalf of the Congregation of Israel.

He would offer up sacrifices for the sake of the people that theirs sins might be atoned for, that is covered, and they might be forgiven. Even though he was just one man, the high priest served as the representative for all of the nation. So even though he went before God by himself, he was able secure forgiveness for the whole nation.

Now according to the Scriptures we are a chosen nation, a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9) with Christ himself as our high priest who offers up a sacrifice on our behalf. But how could the Second Person of the Trinity, the one through whom all things were made serve as our representative of mankind? He could only serve as our representative, if he shared in our human nature.

Look at v14 since therefore, the children share in the flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, and again in v17 therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect. To be our high priest, Christ became like us in every way except he was without sin.

This was done for a reason, so that you may no longer have to fear the devil.

II. We have then no fear of the devil

For the devil is one that has plagued mankind, for the text say about the power of the devil, what power does he wield? The devil has the power of death, by leading mankind into sin, the devil had stripped from us the gift of life that we had from God in the beginning and now we die. We know the power and the fear of death that plagues. We have watched how the power and the fear of death has driven mankind over the last year.

Why are so many scared of contracting COVID? Because they might die. Make no mistake the devil wields great power in our present day as he has throughout the centuries. He reminds mankind that for all our power and all of our great technology and medicine that we are mortal. It doesn’t matter what type of life you have led, or how great you have been, death will come for you. The book Ecclesiastes written by Solomon 3000 years ago consider that very fact. It doesn’t matter if you are a beggar, or the wealthiest person, if you are hated or praised, you are dust and to dust you shall return.

That is our curse, that is the power of sin, and the one who wields it against us is Satan himself. The fear of death enslaves mankind and guides everything we had done. Worrying about a life that we cannot add a single hour to. But look at v15, Jesus partook of our flesh and blood that he might deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

Jesus came that you may no longer fear death or the one who wields it against you. That you may no longer be a slave, but instead might be a son in the house of your heavenly father. To do that He became like us so that He might go into the grave, and open the way to eternal life. He destroyed the power of death by dying, and rising again. Which means we no longer have to fear death. In a sense we have been vaccinated against it. So what if the grave tries to lay hold of me, I will get better and live again. This is why Christians have been able to face death without fear. For we know that the power of death has been overthrown by Jesus. The devil no longer holds power over us, and so we are no longer slaves, we are free.

III. We have no shame before God

There is more that Jesus does as our High Priest so that we might stand before God joyfully. Jesus also covers our guilt and our shame. There is shame that accompanies our sin, and especially if we have lived as slaves because by fearing death we were held under the power and sway of Satan. He tricked us into doing what was wrong so that we could extend our temporal lives.

This shame has accompanied sin since Adam and Eve when they realized they were naked and had done what was wrong. That instead of listening to the Lord they had chased after their own desires and heeded the advice of that serpent. The same has happened to us. We feared the power of death, which means we feared the devil and so made decisions based upon our fears instead of decisions based upon what is right and true. That is what made us slaves.

We were slaves because we took the easy path, the path that let us save money, that avoided confrontation, that brought short term pleasure. When doing the right thing would have meant losing money, speaking the truth, or suffering in the short term, we didn’t want to risk losing these earthly and temporal treasures and that was wrong to hold to things that pass away and let that which is eternal slip from our grasp. We try to justify it that since our days are short and why shouldn’t we make life a little easier for ourselves? But those excuses fall short when we stand before the Judge and though we could lie to ourselves, we cannot lie to the one who sees all things.

This shame is why many still shy away from God, and why many fall away, while they will boast loudly before men, they cannot boast before God, and they are afraid to stand before God because they know their shame, they have failed to be good people, and shame is a powerful thing. That is why they also need to understand that Jesus our high priest has covered our guilt and our shame.

For look again at verse 17-18 That 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. in that propitiation he has come not only to forgive our sins, but to take away our guilt and our shame to cover our sins. He so earnestly desires that we be with our Father in heaven, and sharing with us in flesh and blood, carries not only our sins, but also our iniquity that is to say our guilt, our shame, so that the burden might be lifted off your shoulders that we may not be ashamed to stand in the presence of God but that we might be of good cheer.

So Jesus our High Priest, became flesh and blood that we may no longer fear the devil and the power of death, and that you may stand before God with the sin, your shame, covered, and that we may enter into paradise full of good cheer. For the role of the high priest is to make atonement for the people of God that the people of God might be acceptable in the Lord’s sight and that is what He has done for you. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.