FOCUS Day Thirty | HEBREWS 4:14 -5:10
DAY THIRTY | HEBREWS 4:14 -5:10
Seeing then that 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 cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness. Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifices for sins. And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was.
So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him:
“You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.”
As He also says in another place:
“You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek”;
who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,” of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
Jesus, Our Forever High Priest
This passage is so beautiful, establishing Jesus as the ultimate high priest for us. The Son of God, is uniquely qualified as He has both passed through the heavens and humbled Himself to walk this earth. During His incarnation, He became aware of our weakness by enduring every temptation known to men.
Since we have such a great high priest, we are charged to hold on to the confession of our faith and boldly come into the presence of God. This is exactly what we were created for, to abide in the courts of the King in heaven. There we can receive mercy and grace and find help every time we need it.
The first few verses of this passage give us enough substance to follow after Jesus by releasing a powerful witness here on this earth, and by making a bold entrance into the throne room of heaven. The truth in this passage reveals a glorious facet of the gospel, and speak to the sufficiency of Christ. You could almost stop at the end of chapter four and call it a day, but if we take a closer look at the beginning of chapter five, we can grow deeper in our understanding of Jesus as High Priest.
The writer of Hebrews takes time to describe some of the duties of the high priest, and then makes an interesting connection.
He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness.
I have read over this line many times without catching it’s significance. There is a direct connection between the priests capacity to minister out of compassion and his ability to relate because of His own weakness. Then, we are reminded that no one chooses this kind of “honor” for himself, but is selected by God.
Next the author pivots away from the general rules connected to the position of high priest and begins to focus on the person of Jesus. Remember, He has already written about how Christ walked the earth, becoming familiar with our weakness, allowing Him to connect with us in great compassion. We are also reminded that He, also, did not choose this role, glorifying Himself. No, it was the Father who purposed for Him to walk this earth as a Son and internal High Priest.
What does it mean that Jesus is our High Priest? I do not have the time or the words to describe it all, but in short, a priest ministered to God on behalf of man. He also would minister to man on behalf of God. Because of His obedience to the will of the Father, Jesus became the mediator that ministered our redemption and restoration back into good standing with the Father.
He not only served as the High Priest, but also laid down His life, becoming the only worthy offering for us. There is no one like Him. His love and humility towards us is stunning. He truly is worthy of our adoration and complete surrender.
But His role as High Priest was not limited to the way that He died for us. I love how this passage highlights the earthly ministry of Christ as priest.
In the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear…
Part of the ministry of Jesus on this earth was a life of prayer and intercession. The One who would author our salvation through His death, spent His life weeping and crying out to the Father on our behalf. This is an important aspect of the life of Jesus that is often overlooked, in view of His great teachings or wondrous miracles.
But this ministry of intercession was a constant in His life while He walked the earth. In fact, there are dozens of scriptures that describe what the prayer life of Jesus looked like. Several times we see Him specifically praying for His disciples, and teaching them how to pray. We also know that He took time to pray for future believers just before He was betrayed in Gethsemane.
It is humbling for me to think of Christ as my Intercessor and Priest. Honestly, it is a dimension of His majesty and person that I have not spent enough time looking at to grasp or understand. But the writer of Hebrews knew it was important, and consistently refers to Jesus as our High Priest throughout the book.
The role of priest is significant to us today, as we have been called to follow Jesus as a part of His royal priesthood. 1 Peter 2:9 says:
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…
We have the honor of following after Jesus, the one great High Priest, ministering to God on behalf of the people, and ministering to the people on behalf of God. I believe that intercession is the primary way we walk this out. We take our cue from Jesus, crying out to the Father for His mercy on the people. And in the place of prayer for others, we discern God’s heart and go and minister to people on His behalf.
I pray that as you fix your eyes on our great High Priest, you would be drawn into a deeper dimension of His kindness and humility. I also pray that you would catch His heart for intercession and grow in that area of your prayer life. Finally, I pray that as you spend time with the Father, praying for others, you would be confident that He is equipping you to minister to those people on His behalf.
