Today we’re continuing on in our Advent series, Expectations, where we’re covering the kind of expectations we should have of Jesus and how Scripture helps us greatly in bringing our expectations out of the realm of wishful thinking, or fancies of our own imagination, and back into line with what Scripture says Jesus will be and will do for us. Last week we considered Jesus as our True Prophet, how ever since that first Christmas Jesus is how God has spoken to the world. Today we turn to Priest, Jesus as True Priest.
As we turn to it let me say this: the reality of Jesus as Prophet brings us many benefits. We saw those last week. But Jesus as Priest, brings us a great gift. All who come to Jesus, get many great gifts in knowing Him, but as we look at Him as Priest, the gift of a great and sure confidence comes into view. Not confidence in ourselves, in who we are or in what we can do, that would be confidence misplaced, but confidence in Christ. In who He is and what He is for us, and in what He’s done/doing/and will do for us. Confidence that once given remains forever.
So what does true confidence look like, what does it feel like, what does it lead to? Let’s look into it now.
The passage before us is Hebrews 4:14-16. It’s a brief passage but it’s a pivotal passage for two simple reasons.[1] First, this passage is a summary of the entire book of Hebrews. It shows how the Lord Jesus is our true, great, and high Priest, and how His priestly work enables us to have great confidence. Second, this passage is a transition text. Meaning, it’s both an ending and a beginning. An ending to the first large section of Hebrews, as well as the beginning of the next large section of Hebrews that’s all about the excellencies of Christ’s priestly work. Perhaps then we see why this passage is often seen as the summary of Hebrews, because so much of the content of Hebrews is present in it. All in all, 4:14-16 is one of the most important texts in the whole of Hebrews. It not only deserves our attention, it deserves a prominent place in the hearts of all believers.
Two headings to cover, see first in v14-15…
Our Confession (v14-15)
“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.”
v14 begins with a reference to us having a great high priest. This priestly language doesn’t come out of nowhere. Hebrews has already presented it to us in each chapter up until this point. In 1:3 refers to Jesus as One who “made purification for sins.” In 2:17 Jesus, “had to 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 atonement for the sins of the people.” In 3:1 Jesus is called “the apostle and high priest of our confession.” Now in 4:14 the priestly language continues but this time it’s raised to the highest degree with the addition of the word “great.” So Jesus, who is spoken of by name here for the first time in the book of Hebrews[2], is said to be our great high priest. What does that mean?
To see this reality, we must go back to the OT high priest.[3] As the prophet was a mediator between God and Israel, so too was the priest. But while the prophet spoke for God to the people, the priest in the OT spoke to God for the people.
When thinking about the high priest of ancient Israel some might think of a kind of mythical figure, walking with a staff in hand, clothed with long robes, who deals in mysterious work. But in reality this role was a boots on the ground role, who labored in and among the people. This high priest was the one who led and oversaw the worship of God as the chief representative of the people before God. And they’re many titles for this position: the priest (Ex. 31:10), the anointed priest (Lev. 4:3), the chief priest (2 Chron. 26:20), and the high priest (2 Ki. 12:10). This high priest did share many duties with the other priests, but only he entered through the veil to the most holy place, the holy of holies, once a year on the Day of Atonement. Once in this inner sanctum, the priest was in the very presence of God, so he did not sit down or take his time, no, he would get right to work making offerings and sacrifices for the sins of the people by sprinkling blood on the altar. When the sacrifice was made he left immediately and did not return for another year to make the same sacrifices again.[4]
It became apparent overtime that the ministry of the priests, particularly in making sacrifices, was not enough. They had to be repeated, year after year, generation after generation. Yet, the OT said there was a priest coming who would bring a greater purification through a greater sacrifice. And in using this priestly language in regard to Jesus, calling Him our great high priest in v14 Hebrews is saying Jesus is this Priest! And He is both like and greater than the high priest of old. Jesus is like the priest in that He too as the representative of the people of God made a sacrifice for sin in the very presence of God. But Jesus, the Son of God, is greater than the priest in that He Himself was both Priest and Sacrifice. Jesus is greater because the sacrifice was the sacrifice of Himself! And, His sacrifice was so complete it never needed to be repeated, it fully and finally satisfied the demands of God’s wrath and brought forgiveness of sins to all who believe for all time. And Jesus is greater than the priest of old because, as v14 says “He passed through the heavens.” Meaning, after leaving the heavens to become like us at the first Christmas and making this sacrifice for us on the cross, Jesus rose and ascended back up into the heavens to sit in the very presence of God forever. You see, the priest of old was sinful himself and could not remain in God’s presence so he had to leave the holy of holies, but Jesus is our great high priest because He not only can remain but does remain forevermore in the holiest of all holies, seated at God’s right hand.[5]
Our passage doesn’t only tell us that Jesus is our great high priest, near in His incarnation as well as exalted in the heavens, it goes further, it tells us to hold fast our confession. What does that mean? The word confession here isn’t used as a verb, where we confess sins to God or to another. No, the word confession is used here as a noun. In other words, because of who Jesus is as our priest and because of what Jesus has done in His priestly work we can hold fast, we can tightly grasp, we can strongly grip our confession…meaning our belief, our faith. But then a question comes, how do we hold fast our confession? Answer: the answer is in our confession. As Christians we confess what we’ve already seen in v14, that the Lord Jesus is our Great High Priest who became like us, who represented us on the cross, and who now represents us in heaven. But we also confess what is found in v15. We hold fast our faith because we confess that the Lord Jesus knows how we feel. Look at v15, “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.”
Usually when we use the word sympathy or say someone is a sympathetic person we’re paying them a complement. Saying they’re a person with great compassion, great kindness, someone who seeks to understand the plight of others and help them in the midst of it. In v15 a divine sympathy is in view. Jesus doesn’t just imagine what it’s like to be human and doesn’t just seek to understand what it’s like to be plagued with the corruption of sin, no. Jesus goes further. He knows it, He feels it, He’s actually been in our shoes. Church, I wonder if it has hit you this season yet…Christmas is real. The Christmas moment wasn’t just a show or a trick, like a Wizard of Oz type trick, or deception behind the curtain. The eternal Son of God truly became Man. He had a real body, a real mind, real emotions, the whole human package. Do you know this? He had to learn to walk. He was young and actually grew up. He didn’t know things and had to be taught. It’s not irreverent to say it, but He had to use the bathroom. Church, Jesus was true human. How wonderful is it to know that He gets it? Rejoice in this – He understands, glory in this – He knows, praise Him for this – He sympathizes with us in our humanity because He was human and shared all our weaknesses and limitations. Of course, all but one – sin.[6]
I have known some Christians, perhaps you’re one or you know one yourself, who seem to be pursued by guilt and riddled with despair because they can’t seem to ever get away from temptation. Sin surrounds on all sides, and guilt remains every second of every day because there’s never a break from the allure of sin. But Church, in v15 is temptation the same as sin? No, it’s not. See that? Jesus has been tempted, in all ways common to man, and yet was without sin. See what this means? Temptation, though strong and ever near and ever eager to deceive us, isn’t sin. It’s not sin to be tempted. Take heart! To be tempted is to be human. What then is sin? Sin is giving in to that temptation, sin is acting on it, sin is taking the bait. This is sadly what we do so often, but praise God, this is what Jesus never did!
Some wonder at this point and say, ‘Jesus can’t really know what it’s like to be human because of this very thing. He’s never sinned, He’s never messed up or failed and had to deal with it.’ In a sense, that’s true. Jesus doesn’t know what it’s like to sin. Jesus was sinless. But, does that therefore mean He doesn’t know what it’s like to be truly human? Not at all. In fact, I think Jesus knows more of what it means to be human than we do. Why? Because He is the only human to completely resist temptation. C.S. Lewis expressed it like this, “A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie…A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it; and Christ, because He was the only Man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only Man who knows to the full what temptation means…”[7]
So Jesus though He never sinned, knows sin better than everyone, sees sin clearer than everyone, and fought sin more vigorously than everyone. Remember Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness? He had just been baptized by John, He heard the Father’s voice saying how well pleased He is with Him, He saw the Spirit descend on Him like a dove, all the while knowing what’s before Him in the cross, and that the Father will give all things into His hands after He accomplishes His mission. Then Satan comes to deceive, and what does He offer Jesus? Nothing short of the whole world. How tempting was it to hear that He could get all this with no cross, no pain, no death… if only He bowed down and worshiped Satan. You really think Jesus doesn’t know about sin? Church, Jesus knows about sin, far more than we do. Therefore, whatever Satan brings our way, Jesus understands and Jesus can help.[8]
So, as Christians we confess that the Lord Jesus is our Great High Priest. That He became like us, truly Man, that He was tempted in all ways common to man but never sinned, that He represented us on the cross, and that He now represents us in heaven. This is our confession and knowing how sympathetic our Savior is helps us hold fast in faith. All of this in v14-15 about our confession leads to v16 where we see…
Our Confidence (v16)
“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.”
In v14-15 we answered the ‘What does this mean?’ question, and the ‘What does this mean for us?’ question. Now as we move ahead to v16 we continue to see more of what this all means for us. Because of Jesus’ priestly work we’re invited to draw near to God with confidence.
In ancient times rulers and kings were by and large unapproachable. Often kings wouldn’t allow anyone into their presence unless they had his invitation or permission to come. Think of Esther, she’s a great example of this. She was married to the king and she couldn’t even come into his presence uninvited without the threat of death. How much greater is the danger and the threat of death when we think of a sinner standing in the very presence of God Himself, the One perfect in holiness and matchless in glory?[9] No sin can be in His presence at all because “He is light and in Him there is no darkness” (1 John 1:5). Yet, my oh my, what do we see in v16? We see that sinners, because of Jesus’ work as our Great High Priest, no longer have to keep our distance from God and no longer need fear being near God but are invited to draw near to God, and more so, we’re invited to draw near to God with confidence, and even more, we’re invited to draw near to God…see it…with confidence… to what? To receive grace and mercy in times of need.
This language is striking indeed. That we’re invited to come before the very throne of God reminds us the way is open for us to come to this throne. Blood has been shed, the sacrifice offered and accepted, sins have been forgiven, redemption has been achieved, and the great gulf between God and man has now been removed. And that we’re invited to come before the very throne of God reminds us that it is a King we’re coming before.[10] But His throne is now to us, what? Not a throne of thunder or threat, but a throne of grace.
Do you see how great our confidence can be in this?
Anyone who is in need, need only come to Christ and find their wants supplied.
Anyone who feels filthy and rotten in sin need only come to Christ and they will be washed white. His fountain is always flowing and full for any sinner who comes.
Anyone who feels naked and ashamed, need only come to Christ and find new clothes, garments of purity and perfect righteousness that can cover us from head to toe.
Anyone who feels weak and needy, need only come to Christ and they will find a strength strong enough for any fight in this life.
Anyone who doubts, need only come to Christ and they will find a light and truth able to dispel all clouds of doubt and uncertainty.
Anyone who feels overwhelmed, need only come to Christ and they will find a peace and rest that refreshes the heart and stills the mind.
In short, what is our confidence in Christ? In His Priestly work on our behalf, God truly saw to and met our greatest needs in life. Add to that Romans 8:32. “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”
Church, since the throne of God is now a throne of grace, may you run hard to that throne today and ask great things of our great God. Don’t leave His throne until you’ve spread all your heart out before the Lord. Christmas has shown that He has come to us, this text invites us to come, so what’s stopping you today?
Conclusion:
Church, at Christmas God gave us a great gift in His Son. Now, because of the work of Jesus, our Great High Priest, that Christmas gift keeps on giving…as all who believe can now forever draw near the throne of God with confidence, to receive – to receive grace – to receive mercy – to receive help in times of need.
[1] George H. Guthrie, Hebrews – NIVAC (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998) 173.
[2] R. Albert Mohler Jr., Exalting Jesus in Hebrews: Christ Centered Exposition (Nashville, TN: B&H, 2017) 65.
[3] Guthrie, 174.
[4] John MacArthur, Hebrews: MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago, Ill: Moody, 1983) 109.
[5] MacArthur, 109.
[6] R. Kent Hughes, Hebrews: An Anchor for the Soul: Preaching the Word Commentary (Wheaton, Ill: Crossway, 2015) 132.
[7] C.S. Lewis, quoted in Hughes, 133.
[8] MacArthur, 113.
[9] MacArthur, 115.
[10] Richard D. Phillips, Hebrews: Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2006) 150.
