Our Faithful High Priest
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Good morning Church! Happy Easter! I hope you’ve had a pleasant week.
So if this is your first time with us here at Harmony or just your first time in a while, the past few weeks now we’ve been in Hebrews. And just to give you a brief recap of what we’ve been discussing, we’ve talked about the fact that Jesus is better - He’s a better High Priest, a better Sacrifice, and a better destiny. We’ve talked about how He alone satisfies the need that He creates for that destiny and for us to be reconciled. We’ve talked about how He’s better than the angels and how the book of Hebrews is meant to exhort us and give us a hope that is in Him. A couple of weeks ago we discussed how for those of us that are in Christ this is not our home, and that Jesus is preparing a home for us and last week we discussed that He is going to bring many sons to glory through the results of His suffering and the relationship we have because of His suffering.
And today, we’re going to talk about Jesus as our faithful High Priest.
And I hope that through today’s message you’ll be able to see the Victory of Easter Sunday. My hope is that you will see the results that a relationship with Christ brings - My hope is that you will see exactly how the Resurrection brings those that are in Christ the victory over the devil.
So as we’re preparing to get into today’s message, let’s take a moment and stop and pray.
Now as you can tell as we’ve been going through Hebrews thus far there are several different main truths expressed over and over again in the book of Hebrews. The writer of Hebrews constantly reminds us that Jesus is better in every way than anyone or anything that has ever been or ever will be. The book of Hebrews exalts Jesus as the Lord, superior to all.
And Deuteronomy 6:23 reminds us that God brought us out in order to bring us in.
And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers.
He has to bring us out of our sin in order to bring us into His kingdom. And as we look at Christ in these writings, at who He really is and all the things He has done for us, we can’t help but love Him more.
And today we’re going to look at just a few things that Jesus has done for us, starting with number one:
1. OUR HIGH PRIEST DEALT WITH SATAN v.14-15
Look with me at Hebrews 2:14
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
The first thing we see here is His display of deity. “He himself likewise partook of the same things”
One of the most astonishing claims in the entire Bible is that when Jesus was born, God became a man. Just think about that for a moment.
Think of Christ, part of that eternal Godhead, condescending to become a partaker of flesh and blood.
One moment He’s dressed in robes of Glory; the next He’s wrapped in swaddling clothes.
One moment He was walking on the streets of gold, the next He’s lying on the course straw of an animal trough.
When Jesus Christ took upon Himself the flesh and blood of man, it was God, come down to earth, a man.
The Godhead, the Infinite, and infant.
God, Creator, prepared to die, and actually dying.
You and I could not go up to where God is because of our inherited sin nature, but God, in all of His grace and mercy, came down to us because He loved us.
The second thing we see in verse 14 is His disarming of the devil.
“that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil”
The devil’s power over us had to be broken in order for us to be brought to God. The devil’s primary power over man and his supreme weapon is death. Sin, of course, gives satan his power over us; but the power itself is death. The only way to destroy satan was to rob him of his weapons, death - physical death, spiritual death, and eternal death. Satan knew that God required death for us because of sin.
If you have a more powerful weapon than your enemy, his weapon becomes useless. God’s weapon was eternal life. The way to eternal life is through resurrection, but the way to resurrection is through death. Jesus’ dying destroyed death.
Luke 11:21-22 exemplifies what Jesus did:
When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe;
but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.
“destroy” in verse 14 - it rendered him potentially inoperative in the lives of believers.
The third way that He dealt with satan is that He delivered those who feared death. Look at verse 15:
and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
Death would still try to frighten us, but as an old preacher by the name of Charles Spurgeon said, since death is “the last enemy” as seen is 1 Corinthians 15:26:
The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Since death is the last enemy, we should leave him till last. We are not given dying grace for living, only for dying. When the time comes for us to make our exodus, we who are in Christ shall pass over on dry ground.
The salvationist says “it can only promote us to glory; it is one of God’s gifts to us and it cannot harm us.”
An example of this can be found in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim Progress. In it He depicts a man named Christian who is headed for the Celestial City, but upon arrival to the city he finds it surrounded by water. Christian has a difficult time, as many do, not finding it easy as a saint to pass over. But Christian’s companion, Hopeful, had a word of encouragement. “Be of good cheer, my brother,” he said, “I feel the bottom, and it is good.” Then Hopeful gave away the secret, “You shall find it deeper or shallower as you believe in the King of the place.”
Death can bring on fear, but to those in a relationship with Jesus it is no longer the great unknown. Jesus has chartered a course through it - it is no longer a “leap in the dark” for He has kindleed the bright and morning star of the resurrection. Jesus has taken the sting of death in His own body.
Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Death has lost it’s victory for those that have their faith in Jesus and His resurrection.
And that brings us to point number 2:
2. OUR HIGH PRIEST IS SYMPATHETIC v.16-18
Look with me at verse 16:
For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.
Jesus did not take on Himself the nature of angels in order to save fallen angels. He lowered Himself a little lower than the angels to become a man to save us. And He didn’t come just to save us, He also came as a man to sympathize with us.
Continuing in verse 17:
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.
Jesus has been made like His brethren so that He can be to us all that we need. We need someone to intercede for us compassionately.
He has been where we are - tempted, tried, mocked, scoffed at - He knows what we’re going through. The writer in Hebrews is reminding us that wherever you go, He has been there before you. You can have the confidence that as a believer you can get down on your knees when the going gets tough and you can pray “Lord, you know what I’m going through,” and He will say “yes I do.”
Jesus came to identify with us, to experience that we experience - not because He had to for Himself, but so that we could have that relationship with Him knowing that He understands.
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.
Look again with me at the second part of verse 17:
“faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”
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.
He can be depended upon to represent us adequately and continuously before the Heavenly Father. He is trustworthy.
Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
As a man, Jesus is a merciful High Priest. He understands us. But as God He is a faithful High Priest. He understands God because He is God.
Propitiation - it means to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. It’s the atoning sacrifice that Jesus made for all. This involves satisfying the demands of the holy law of God. it involves making payment for the broken law of God. Jesus paid that price on the cross at calvary. He made it possible for sinful man and Holy God to be reconciled.
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
Verse 18:
For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
He himself has suffered when tempted -
Truth be told, not everyone suffers when they are tempted. Some rather enjoy that temptation, because there is something enticing and tantalizing about temptation.
Temptation is fun, but if we give in to that temptation it can lead to sin.
Temptation is not the sin - understand that, because as we saw in Hebrews 4:15 a moment ago:
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.
Our sin comes when we give in to the temptation. The temptation to do wrong, as well as the temptation to avoid doing right.
Temptation comes by way of the internet, phone, television, friends, enemies, you name it in this world and it probably has a way of tempting us.
And we are tempted away from doing right too. When we have the ability to help someone and we choose not to, or when we don’t act when we should to intercede.
All of this is sin, because it goes against everything God created us for.
“He is able” in verse 18
He is able to go through that temptation without sinning - He is able to show that sympathy, that mercifulness because He is that better sacrifice, that better high priest, and because of all of that He is able to give us a better destiny than this world has to offer.
And now Hebrews 7:26-28
For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.
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.
For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.
Back to verse 18:
“to help” to come to the rescue; to run to the cry of a child; to answer the call.
He is able to help us through our temptations. Those moments where we’re being drawn into something that will do us harm, either physically or emotionally or spiritually, and if we will just call out to Him He will be faithful to us and help us in our temptations.
“Those who are tempted”
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
We’re not going to be tempted beyond our ability to call on His name. He’s going to give us the escape from that temptation, with His help, and He’s going to give us a way to endure that temptation.
But the only way we can have that help, the only way we’re able to see that escape, is if we are in a relationship with Him, if we’ve placed that trust in Him, if we’ve called upon His name and acknowledged just who He is and what He did.
And what did He do?
He came to earth, to be a man, so that we could relate to Him.
He lived a sinless life, because He was still God in His humanity, born to a virgin without an earthly father.
He went to suffer a sinners death as the Lamb of God to be the sacrifice for all of our sin. But He didn’t stop there.
Three days later, He arose from the grave, proclaiming victory over sin, death, and hell - forever - just because He loves us, and wants to be with us. And that’s the Good News.
Let’s pray.
Father God thank you for revealing yourself to us and thank you for your victory over death, hell, and the grave. Thank you for the Word that tells us of the story of your glory in the beginning, how you set it aside to come to suffer for us to have a relationship with you as you were glorified and victoriously conquered the grave.
As you keep praying today, I want you to really take a moment and just think of the greatness of our King - and on Easter Sunday He was resurrected, proclaiming that victory - This past week was holy week and last Sunday we celebrated His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, where He knew He was going to die a sinners death on Friday and He knew he was going to have the victory on Resurrection Sunday. He knew all of that before He even entered the city. He knew that He had glory, He stripped Himself of that glory, and through a massive amount of physical and inner anguish and suffering that He was going die, but in the end He has returned to glory, and He has redeemed us who have placed our trust in Him. He is better than anything this world has to offer. He has done the work to bring us redemption.
Father, show us the perspective we need to see your promises fulfilled and your greatness. Show us your presence that is alive and flowing today. Open our eyes Lord to your all day every day glory, that we can see that you are THE way and THE truth and THE life, and that we can live our lives fully devoted to your current and coming Kingdom.
And as you remain in prayer there are some here that may have realized that they don’t have a relationship with Christ. Maybe you’ve been a churchgoer for years, but you don’t know God personally. Maybe you’ve been trying to “find God” on your own, maybe your family were believers or took you to church or maybe you just haven’t wanted anything to do with religion because the darkness has felt good for you. Maybe you’ve always looked at God in the past and never really looked at Him as ever present and as the ruling King, and you feel like there’s something missing - you’re tired of looking around in the dark, and the Light is what you need and that Light is a living relationship with Jesus Christ.
And there are those of you who Christ desires to reveal Himself to today. So today, call on His name, Jesus, the Son of God who to save you was born in a manger without an earthly father so He didn’t inherit the sin nature, so that He could be your Savior, becoming sin on the cross, shedding His blood, dying, and being raised to life so that anyone who calls on His name will be saved. That’s why you’re here.
If that’s you, if God is calling to you to draw into a relationship with Jesus, answer Him today. If you don’t know how it’s as simple as ABC. A- admit to God that you are a sinner, B-believe that Jesus came to redeem you through that sinless life, death, and resurrection, and C- confessing Christ as Lord and Savior with your mouth, choosing to follow Him. if you don’t know how to start, you can simply pray something like this:
Dear God, I know that I am a sinner. Lord I believe that you came to free me from the bonds of sin and hell, and Lord I thank you for what only you could do. Lord I choose you, to follow in all that you are and to walk in the Spirit in a relationship with you, and to spend eternity with you. In Jesus name, amen.
Father, thank you again for this body, and Father as you are speaking to those here today, I pray that they will follow you where you lead, that they will see you revealed, and that we will follow in your presence today.
The altar is open, if you need someone to pray with you come forward and myself or one of the leaders will come to pray with you. Don’t delay, don’t let this moment pass you by, answer His call today, come as He leads.