The Better Priest

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

It continues to be a privilege to share the Word of God with this church.

It is a joyous day to be in the house of the Lord. We have an exciting evening planned today and I hope all of you are able to join us for it. Throughout the passed few years, we all have gone through a lot. Our night of praise this evening isn’t serving as a declaration of no more difficulties, but rather as an emphatic statement to praise the Lord regardless of the circumstances. It will also serve a bit as a summer kick-off. There are a lot of things to do in the summer, places to travel, people are more out and about. But as we enter this busy season, let us remember to praise the God from whom all blessings flow. As we go out and about our lives, let us declare the goodness of God. One of the great ways to do that is through song. I am reminded of a few weeks ago when Brother Larry had us do the last chorus of It is Well a cappella. It was a pleasing noise to hear the church united in song and voice.

Let our hearts be united in the Word of God. May be like the Psalmist in Psalm 104: .

Psalm 104:31–35 ESV

May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works, who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke! I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord. Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more! Bless the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord!

As we go joyfully about our summers or even through times of difficulties let is sing to the Lord as Long as we live, Sing praise to God as long as we have being, as it says there in verse 33.

This brings us back to one of the points we looked at last week. God is God and I am not. God is worthy of our praise in both our ups and our downs, because He is still God. He is the one who looks on the earth and it trembles. He touches the mountains and they smoke. Trying to contemplate the greatest of God is a heavy endeavor that is ultimately unachievable by the finite mind.

We can’t even begin to realize the great providence and control that God has on every happening in this world. In our great hubris, many of us humans believe that we are the masters of our destiny and we reject the reality that God is the one holding all of it together.

The reality is that many of us don’t want to have to rely on anyone else. Which is really silly because while I have met plenty of know-it-alls, I have never actually met someone who did in fact know it all. Humans were made to be dependent creatures. All the way back in creation narrative, we see that it was not good for Adam to be alone so God made Eve. Community and interdependency has always been a part of the design of humans even before the fall. We were not created to be self-sufficient and sustaining.

I, for one, am very glad that God has created each us differently and gifted us in particular ways so that we can work together. Just this week, I was having some car troubles and I didn’t really know what to do, so I called on one of the brothers here at church and they helped me out. I needed to get a part tested in my truck so I drove it over to Advanced Auto and I was dependent upon the workers there to administer the test and make the proper recommendations.

We’re all dependent upon others. Most of us depend on farmers to yield crops. The farmers depend on distributors to get their goods to the store. The stores provide a service but they depend on customers walking through the doors.

Within the church, we are dependent upon each other for encouragement and support.

I bring all of this up because once you strip back the blinders of pride you can see just how dependent on others we are in just about all of our daily activities, and this morning, we are going to see how dependent we are, not just in our daily activities, but for the greatest need of all, being reconciled to the Holy God.

If you would, open your Bibles to Hebrews 4.

Throughout our look at the first few chapters of Hebrews, we have seen in a variety of ways, the “better-ness” of Jesus. Today, we are going to be looking at how Jesus is the better priest. In fact, in the Scripture we read today He is called the GREAT High Priest. It is my aim that by the end our time today you will understand the absolute need of the Great High Priest, the Greatness of Jesus as the Great High Priest, and the right response by those who know the Great High Priest.

Look at Hebrews 4:13-16 with me.

Hebrews 4:13–16 ESV

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. 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. 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. 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.

The other night my wife and I were having a discussion about our court system. We were specifically talking about defense attorneys. Now, defense attorneys are important. We know that we live in a world in which justice is not always perfectly administered. Innocent people are charged with crimes they did not commit and we should want the innocent to be acquitted. But what would you do as a defense attorney when your client is undoubtedly guilty? Justice would be properly served by giving a fitting punishment to the crime. In preparing for this message, I went down the rabbit hole of factual guilt vs legal guilt and I realize there is a difference. But it would be very hard to develop a defense for someone who is guilty.

In verse 13 of Hebrews 4, we see a trial of sorts. When you read this with the context of all of chapter four, you see that what is at stake is entering God’s rest. Everyone will be tried. Everyone will stand before God naked and exposed and give account for their lives. Those who stand in disobedient, unbelieving rebellion of God will not enter His rest, while the obedient, believing faithful will enter God’s rest.

And the big problem we all face is that none of us on our own accord are the obedient, believing faithful!

Psalm 14:1–3 ESV

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

You might say, I’m not a fool! I don’t say there is no God! Maybe not in word, but verse two there says that Lord looked down, and in verse 3 saw no one who does good, not even one. Even the most magnanimous among us naturally do their charity with a twinge of evil. By our own power, humans can’t do anything better than virtue signalling, which is appear as good for our own selfish promotion and benefit.

And, as we see when we keep in mind Hebrews 4:13 in mind while reading Psalm 14, this is a big problem! There is none who do good, not even one and even still everyone must stand before the all-righteous God, naked and exposed, and give account.

Not even the most creative of defense attorneys would be able to get an acquittal before the all knowing, all seeing, God of the universe. When it comes to standing before God, we don’t need a defense attorney, we:

We Need The Great High Priest.

As you’re reading through Hebrews 4, if you were to stop at verse 13, you would rightfully be left vulnerable and helpless. The thought of standing before God, trying to justify yourself should send shivers down your spine. The thought is dire, because the reality is dire. A lawyer may be able to find a legal loophole for the acquittal of their client, but a priest, and in this case, the great high priest, does something better. The role of the priest is defined for us in Hebrews 5:1

Hebrews 5:1 ESV

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.

All throughout the Old Testament, we see God using a system of priests, men called by Him, to act on behalf of the rest of His people and to offer sacrifices to God. If you want to look more in detail of the structure of the Sacrificial System, read the first ten chapters of Leviticus. For our purposes this morning, you can boil it all down to see that the priest acts as a mediator between man and God. Even though the Israelites were God’s chosen people, they were still a sinful people. The priest would act on behalf of the people. The priest didn’t try to prove to the Judge that the people were innocent despite all evidence, the priest made sacrifices for the very fact that the people WERE guilty. “The purpose of the [Old Testament] priesthood was to teach the people that atonement for sins requires the provision of [something] innocent in the sinner’s place and the shedding of blood as that [innocent thing] dies the death due to the sinner.” Even in the Old Testament the sacrifices given should have caused people to see the immense weight of their sin. But the problem with the Old Testament priesthood was two-fold. First, the sacrifices didn’t stick. People were in need of atonement time and time again. And secondly, the priests themselves failed miserably and brought dishonor to God. Think back to our look at 1 Samuel and the horrendous actions of Hophni and Phinehas.

So we see from the serious warning in Hebrews 4:13 that we are all in need of priest. But the priests from the Old Testament were inadequate. They were nothing more than glimpses toward the forthcoming Great High Priest we read about today. We don’t just need a priest, we need the great High Priest.

Look back at verse 14-16

Hebrews 4:14–16 ESV

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. 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. 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.

When we conclude, I want to show us four responses we should have knowing that Jesus is the Great High priest, but first, we need to understand why it is so great that

Jesus is The Great High Priest.

Looking at verse 14, it doesn’t take long to see who the the great priest is. He is identified by name. It is is none other than Jesus. But what is it that makes Jesus this great High Priest. Just moments ago I explained that the priests of old served a role, but were utterly inadequate in being the complete mediators for God’s people. Let’s see why Jesus is Better.

The first superiority of Jesus is that He passed through the heavens as we read in verse 14.

This may seem at first like simple language saying Jesus is in heaven. That is true and incredible in its own right. But saying that Jesus “passed through the heavens” is intentionally drawing a connection to the practices of the priests in the Old Testament. Once a year the high priest at the time passed through the Holy Place of the Tabernacle, into what is called the Holy of Holies. We’ve talked a lot about the Word Holy lately. Remember that it means set apart. So within the temple or tabernacle there was a place that only priests could enter. It was the Holy place and at the back of the Holy place was the Holy of Holies. It was so set apart that only the High Priest could enter. The high priest would enter (The Holy of Holies) with smoke (from the altar of incense found in the Holy Place) … and sprinkle blood on the ark of the covenant to atone for the sins of the people. Anyone who entered this chamber when he was not supposed to would be killed. (GotQuestions)”

So the high priest would pass through the Holy Place year after year into the Holy of Holies and make atonement for sins, year after year, again and again.

But Jesus, as the great high priest, doesn’t make atonement again and again.

1 Peter 3:18 ESV

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

Christ suffered once for sin! The Great High Priest did not have to enter the Holy of Holies year after year, but instead died once on the cross to atone for all the sins of everyone who would ever believe in Him. He didn’t just pass through the place that represents the holiness of God, He passed through the heavens and is now seated at the right hand of God! Christ cried out on the cross that it is finished. Atonement has been made. “Jesus has passed through and up to the throne of God of which He wields power, and is thus able to fulfil for His followers the divine promise of rest.” Much like we saw that two weeks ago that Joshua was unable to give the Israelites true rest, neither were the levitical priests able to atone for their sins, but Christ brought both the promised Rest and the needed much needed atonement.

So First, Jesus is better in that He passed through the heavens,

Then we see secondly, He sympathizes without sin.

Return to verse 15:

Hebrews 4:15 ESV

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.

We see here that Jesus is the compassionate and caring, sympathizing, Great High Priest.

This tells us a lot about the humanity of Jesus. We often talk in passing of the Hypostatic Union in Jesus Christ, that is the reality that Jesus was both 100% man and 100% God. In His humanity, Christ relates to us in many ways better than we even relate to one another. In full transparency, I often struggle to relate with others. I want to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep, but my wife can tell you that it is a struggle of mine. We joke that I can be quite the robot in some circumstances. When I don’t understand something I struggle to sympathize.

But Jesus, in His humanity does not struggle to sympathize with us in our weakness. One theologian says that “Weakness [in this verse] does not refer directly to sin, but to feebleness or infirmity. It refers to all the natural limitations of humanity, which, however, include liability to sin. Jesus knew firsthand the drive of human nature toward sin. His humanity was His battleground. It is here that Jesus faced and fought sin. He was victorious, but not without the most intense temptation, grief, and anguish.

We touched on this when we looked at Hebrews 2:18 not long ago, in His humanity, Christ understands and sympathizes with out weakness. He was tempted in every way. Yet in His divinity, He never once fell to temptation. He never once sinned. I recently read that 40% of Generation Z believes that Jesus sinned. This thought must be corrected, because He was the spotless lamb, the righteous one, slain for the unrighteous, us. He knows the weight of temptation in all the ways we do and even more so, but without ever succumbing to it. “Therefore, when we come to Jesus Christ we can remember that He knows everything we know, and a great deal that we do not, about temptation, testing, and pain.”

This understanding of Jesus would have been revelatory to the hearers. Especially when combined with their way in which Jesus is the better priest. In verse 14 you see that He is identified as Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus is the Son of God. This is the stamp of His divine nature. Understand that the Divine came in human flesh and identified with humanity would have been completely unthinkable to most at the time the book of Hebrews was written.

Everyone thought the gods were distant beings uninterested in the happenings of the individual. But we see that is not the case. The divine became flesh, experienced immense pain, wept, laughed, and love. All without succumbing to sin.

[Dr. John Wilson often told the following story. Booth Tucker was conducting evangelistic meetings in the great Salvation Army Citadel in Chicago. One night, after he had preached on the sympathy of Jesus, a man came forward and asked Mr. Tucker how he could talk about a loving, understanding, sympathetic God. "If your wife had just died, like mine has,'" the man said, "and your babies were crying for their mother who would never come back, you wouldn't be saying what you're saying.”

A few days later Mr. Tucker's wife was killed in a train wreck. Her body was brought to Chicago and carried to the Citadel for the funeral. After the service the bereaved preacher looked down into the silent face of his wife and then turned to those who were attending. "The other day when I was here," he said, "a man told me that, if my wife had just died and my children were crying for their mother, I would not be able to say that Christ was understanding and sympathetic, or that He was sufficient for every need. If that man is here, I want to tell him that Christ is sufficient. My heart is broken, it is crushed, but it has a song, and Christ put it there. I want to tell that man that Jesus Christ speaks comfort to me today." The man was there, and he came and knelt beside the casket while Booth Tucker introduced him to Jesus Christ.

We have a sympathetic High Priest, whose priesthood is perfect and whose Person is perfect.] (MacArthur commentary)

Jesus Christ is the Great High Priest because He passed through the heavens, sympathizes without sin, and is the very Son of God.

From this understanding, let us look at responses to the Great High Priest.

Read verse 14-16 once more:

Hebrews 4:14–16 ESV

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. 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. 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.

Here we see

Four Actions from Understanding Jesus as The Great High Priest

1. We hold fast to our confession.

When we understand that Jesus is the Great High Priest who offered Himself as the perfect, once-and-for-all, atoning sacrifice for our sins, we hold tight that understanding! Romans 10:9 says

Romans 10:9 ESV

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

When we are saved we CAN’T NOT confess Jesus! If you’re the type of person that hates double negatives then we can state it as when you are saved you absolutely confess Jesus! Remember what we read in Hebrews 3:1

Hebrews 3:1 ESV

Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,

We are confessing Jesus! And we best not be solely confessing Him as a part of our corporate Worship. We will praise and confess Him during our song night tonight, but we will ought to be confessing Him as we go about all of our business. We hold fast to our confession. We ruminate on it. We share it. We hold fast to the confession of our faith because as we sang this morning we know that He unwaveringly hold us fast! Hold fast to our confession.

Another action is this;

2. We draw near to God in His glory.

We spoke last week and at the beginning of today’s message about the seriousness of facing God naked and exposed. That is very serious. But when we have been covered by the blood of Jesus by confessing Him as Lord and believing in Him in our hearts the throne of judgment is transformed into a throne of Mercy. We don’t have to dread the judgment that is to come, but we can look forward to it! The Apostle Paul talked about how he longed for heaven! In the meantime we understand that we have a work to do, that God has prepared many good works for us to accomplish in our lives, but we do not dread the judgment, rather we draw near to God in all His glory. And with understanding the confidence we will have because of the mercy we will receive, we should be evermore encouraged to serve and draw near to God in the here and now. If we truly believe that Christ has Saved us, why wouldn’t we want to better know our Savior? If God has spoken to us through His Word, why would we not draw near to Him through the study of His Word! Understanding Christ as the Great High Priest who provided atonement for sin gives us the confidence to draw near to God in all His glory.

Though we can be confident in Christ, there is a third action.

3. Broken and inadequately we receive mercy and grace.

This isn’t as much of an action as it is a reaction. When we understand that Christ is the Great High Priest who atones for the sins of all those whosoever believe in Him, we realize that we can only really receive mercy. When I say broken and inadequately, I am talking about our pride and lack of self-sufficiency. We have seen today that Christ is the only one capable of being the Great High Priest. The Levitical priests couldn’t do it, nor can we. We understand that our sin has a cost and Christ paid it. We live humbly understanding it is only by the great grace of God that we would receive mercy for the cost of our sin.

But all of this is only matters if the final action occurs.

4. We receive Him, Christ, the Great High Priest.

Look back to the beginning of verse 14

verse 14 says, “since then WE HAVE a great high priest.”

That word means we posses. We hold. We Have Jesus as OUR High Priest.

John 1:12 ESV

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

Jesus becomes our Great High Priest when we have Him, when we receive Him, which we see is when we believe in Him.

So do you believe in Him? Do you believe you have sinned? Do you believe that God will judge sin? Do you believe that Jesus gave atonement for all those who believe in Him? Do you believe that is the only way to be made clean and stand confident before the throne of God?

If you do, confess Him.

I find it interesting how this chapter we have been looking at ends:

Hebrews 4:16 (ESV)

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.

The whole context of chapters 3 and 4 has been the immediacy and urgency of obeying the Lord and believing in Him. We’re told to do so TODAY. If you have never confessed Jesus as you Savior and Lord, your time of need is NOW. Today is the day. When you are broken of your pride and self dependency and realize Jesus paid it all, all to Him you owe, you will receive mercy and grace and then draw near with confidence to the throne of grace.

Respond today.

Let’s pray.