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#12: Our Compassionate High Priest

Hebrews

Mar 22, 2015


by: Jack Lash Series: Hebrews | Category: NT books | Scripture: Hebrews 4:14–4:16

I. Introduction
A. In 3:7–4:13, the author of Hebrews has been exhorting his readers in light of the story of Israel in the wilderness.
1. Now in Heb.4:14-16 the author doesn't seem to be thinking Israel in the wilderness any longer.
2. He seems to go back to what He was saying before the Israelites in the wilderness section, when he was talking about Jesus as our sympathetic high priest in Heb.2:17–3:2, when he was talking about how we should hold fast our faith in light of what a great Savior we have.
II. Hebrews 4:14–16 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
A. This is a passage which should be familiar to you if you’ve been around here for awhile.
B. It is not a complicated or obscure passage.
1. “high priest” is used twice here, in v.14 & 15. We’ve already seen this concept in 2:17 & 3:1, but now we’re on the verge of really delving into it. But we’ll leave most of that for the weeks to come.
a. But I would like to point out one cool thing. Jesus here is called our GREAT high priest. The Greek word for GREAT is MEGA. We get our word mega from Greek. We have a mega-high priest!
2. “who has passed through the heavens” in v.14 seems to refer to the ascension.
C. This is a precious message about Jesus. He is a wonderful high priest, One who, when He lived on earth, was tempted in every way, just as we are. So, He can empathize with our weaknesses and vulnerabilities, and He is always ready to provide mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
1. No matter what we’ve been struggling with — sin, self-pity, loneliness, fear, worry, anger, bitterness — Jesus knows what we’re going through, Jesus is calling us to come to Him, Jesus wants to help.
a. It’s always scary to come before a king. But the throne He sits on is a throne of GRACE.
2. It portrays Jesus in three stages:
a. On earth: Like us in every way and tempted as we are (15)
b. The Ascension: Passed through the heavens (14)
c. In heaven: Seated on the throne of grace (16)
D. This passage is precious to us even removed from its context. But I think it is significantly more precious when we understand it in its context.
E. So, let’s refresh our memories about the context. As we’ve seen, the epistle written to the Hebrews is written to a group of Jews who converted to Christ but are now struggling in their faith.
1. It is no surprise that their embrace of Christ was met with opposition from their fellow Jews.
2. The author refers back to this original opposition in Hebrews 10:32–34 “Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.”
3. But although at first they endured the opposition without wavering, eventually it began to wear on them. This also is understandable.
a. The opposition probably became more intense, and perhaps more strategically planned.
b. But also, it is our nature to be able to withstand short-term pressure but struggle to endure long-term pressure.
(1) The story of Job, who was a model of godliness when his sufferings first crashed upon him, but later his sufferings began to wear on him and he struggled.
(2) The same seems to have been true in the story of John the Baptist, who, after he had sit in prison for awhile, began to doubt and sent a message to Jesus asking if He was really the promised One.
4. It seems that the struggle of these Hebrew Christian readers is related to continued and perhaps intensified opposition from their fellow Jews, pressuring them to forsake Christ and return to Judaism.
5. This is pretty much the entire subject matter of this epistle. The author brings argument after argument, and exhortation after exhortation, marshaling everything he can think of to try to persuade his readers not to abandon Christ.
6. Now in light of who he’s talking to, let’s reread these verses: 14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
III. The glorious song of Hebrews 4:14-16
A. Do you realize what this means? Even those who struggle in their faith can approach God’s throne of grace with confidence that they will receive mercy and find grace to help them in their time of need.
B. Jesus doesn’t just tolerate struggle. He isn’t just patient with us when we are struggling. He is there for us — to help us. He is there to give mercy and grace to us to help us in our time of need.
C. And He wants to assure us of this fact. He wants us to be confident of His help, confident of His willingnesses and desire to help.
D. He cares about you so much that He’s willing to help you even when you’re not feeling sure about Him.
E. I think marriage provides us with a good illustration of this.
1. Sometimes after a while your feelings for your spouse wane, sometimes you might even begin to feel attracted to someone else.
2. If a person were to go their spouse and say, “My love for you seems to be wavering.” or “I’m beginning to feel attracted to someone else.” how would the spouse probably respond?
3. Most of the time, I think, saying something like this would be met with anger, hostility, outrage, withdrawal, resentment. “After all I’ve done for you, you have the nerve to be tempted by someone else?” The spouse would feel offended and maybe even vengeful.
4. But not always. There are marriages in which the spouse would react very differently. Though alarmed, they would welcome the honesty, they would be glad to hear about this before things got out-of-hand, and they would respond with compassion and love, eager to help their beloved get through this.
a. Thank you for not hiding this from me.
b. Do you need to change jobs?
c. Do you need to cut off contact?
d. How can we cultivate our relationship?
e. Do we need to get counseling?
f. How can I help you overcome this?
5. Most can only imagine having a spouse that loved so dearly that they could go to them like this in the confidence that instead of being offended, they will be grateful for your honesty, they will react with love and compassion and be very willing to help their loved one get through it.
6. We just don’t love each other enough. We’re too insecure. We tend to think first of ourselves instead of the other, instead of seeking the welfare of the relationship.
a. It’s also a failure of compassion and humility. We are outraged at the weakness of the other, not realizing that we just are vulnerable as they are.
F. Well, this passage introduces you to a dream Spouse, a Spouse who loves you so much that He invites you to come to Him even when you’re struggling with your love for Him.
1. He says that in those times we can still come confidently, boldly, courageously to Him.
2. Just because we’re being lured from Him doesn’t mean He’s being lured from us.
3. Just because we are drifting from Him doesn’t mean He’s drifting away from us.
4. Even those who are struggling with a temptation to turn back and abandon the Christ of their deliverance, the Christ who now leads them through the wilderness, EVEN THEY are invited to come confidently into His throne room of grace.
G. Are things going poorly in your relationship with Jesus? How do you get back to Him? Amazingly, Jesus is the One who will help you get back to Jesus!
1. Our faith does not grow by toil and effort. It grows by coming to Jesus for help, again and again.
2. The solution for those feeling the weight of wilderness life is not to go back to Egypt but to go into the Holy of Holies for grace to help in time of need. And remember that when Jesus died, the curtain into the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom, signifying that the door is now always open for God’s people to come to Him.
3. Here is an invitation from Jesus to come to Him in our struggles, to lay our burdens and needs at His feet, in the assurance that He will welcome us into His presence and help us — even when our struggles are with Him!
H. You see, He understands our struggles. He felt those same temptations.
1. Think about how He was tried just like the Hebrew readers were being tried.
a. Like them He longed for the acceptance of His people — “How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” (Matt.23:37) — but didn’t receive it.
b. He faced the opposition of His people just like the Hebrew Christians were experiencing.
2. And He was tried even as we now are being tried. Christ understands struggle and opposition.
a. He was a parent in pain looking with grief upon rebellious children who would not listen and would not receive Him.
b. Though He was pouring out His life for His people, He was being falsely accused as having malicious motivations.
3. His trials were so daunting that He cried out, “Let this cup pass from Me!”
a. So He understands how hard it is to keep loving Him, obeying Him and seeking Him in the face of temptation and pressure.
I. The love of God keeps coming — at least until the divorce is final.
1. Honestly, in Hebrews we find very little sympathy for those who actually give up and repudiate Jesus.
2. There is nothing but dire warnings about falling away from Christ, including telling them that if they actually do, they’ll never return to Him again. (Heb.6:4-6)
J. But, as we see here, you shouldn’t doubt your election just because you’re struggling in your faith.
1. Everybody struggles in their faith.
2. You should fear losing your faith, of course. (Heb.4:1)
3. But struggling in your faith isn’t at all the same as losing your faith.
IV. Two final points from Hebrews 4:14–16
A. Let’s reflect on the expression “throne of grace.”
1. One of the great challenges to the Christian faith today is the question: “How can God be both sovereign and good?”
2. Recently a cousin of mine posted a video on Facebook of an atheist named Stephen Fry being asked the question, “If you died and found yourself before God, what would you say to Him?” His answer began like this: “Bone cancer in children: How dare you? How dare you create a world where there is so much pain, injustice and evil!”
a. Now I don’t begin to suggest that I can explain why God does everything He does. But let’s think about bone cancer in children for a minute.
b. First of all, the Bible tells us that things like this came upon mankind in the curse which God imposed in response to human sin. So there is justice in it. (And, yes, I believe that even children are sinners.)
c. However, I think we can go farther than that. Is it not possible that God has a good and loving purpose for many cases of bone cancer in children? Haven’t many children been brought to paradise through bone cancer? Haven’t many children and parents come to experience the ever-present help and comfort of Jesus through bone cancer? Haven’t many children been taught the hard but important lesson of human mortality through bone cancer?
d. Talk to Christen, our own bone cancer survivor. Talk to her parents. They will tell you about the ways God blessed them through bone cancer.
e. All of us have experienced painful and evil things in our lives. Do we regret them all? Cannot we see already that through many of them we’ve actually been helped and blessed? Is it not possible that in the end we will see that they all were sent to help and bless us?
B. The last point is this: When the faith of his readers begins to falter, the author of Hebrews doesn't just leave their destiny to the sovereignty of God. He rolls up his sleeves and fights for them. He thus provides us with a splendid example of Christian love. Sometimes helping people involves risk, sometimes it involves rejection, sometimes it involves awkwardness. It is so easy to cop out by walking away. Think about how this applies to marriage. Think about how this applies to parenting, and to sibling relationships. Think about how it applies to friendships with brothers and sisters in Christ. Love compels us to be like the author of Hebrews and not just back off when a fellow Christian is having faith struggles. We need one another. Remember what we read a few weeks ago: “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” (Hebrews 3:12–13)