Hebrews 4:14-16: A Great High Priest, That Is Passed into the Heavens
2022-10-22
Hebrews 4:14
Here, we see Jesus, the Son of God. This was written intentionally to contrast with Hebrews 4:8 where it refers to “Jesus” the son of Nun. Unlike Jesus, the son of Nun, that we discussed previously, a superior has secured the eternal rest, better than that of earthly Israel, where there was no lasting rest. Conquests and exiles continued because sin continued. Jesus the Son of God ended all of that, and we now rest in Him forever.
Unlike Jesus, the son of Josedech, the former high priest, Jesus the Son of God is “a great high priest.” He passed into the heavens. He did not pass into an earthly holiest place, as the earthly high priest did once a year, but He ascended to the highest heaven and sat at the right hand of the Father. This demonstrated that He was accepted by God. He put an end to the day of atonements executed year after year.
Being superior to any previous Joshua/Jesus, we should hold fast our profession of faith. There is nothing “better” out there. Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled every covenant, the office of the high priest, and was a better successor of Moses.
Hebrews 4:15
This great high priest of ours can “sympathize” with our weaknesses. He understands them. The phrase “be touched with the feeling” is one word that looks like the word “sympathize.” He knows what it is like to be human, because “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).
Jesus was tempted like us. Consider this: “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred” (Matthew 4:1-2). Unlike Adam and Eve in the garden, who were in a paradise, Christ was at a low point when Satan came to Him.
Again, in Luke 22:41-44, we see how Jesus was even beseeching the Father in Gethsemane if there were another way around the cross. It was bad enough that the Lord would have to go through all the physical pain on the cross. However, He was about to be spiritually assaulted by the enemy and feel the wrath of God coming down upon Him. Even He needed an angel to encourage Him. Our Lord was in “agony.” Sweat poured down like blood onto the ground. He said, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death” (Matthew 26:38).
Unlike former high priests, from Aaron to Joshua, Jesus did not sin. He may have felt the temptation, but He did not sin once. We discussed this previously when discussing Hebrews 1:9. However, as a quick review, if the Lord were a sinner, how could He be the perfect Passover lamb to deliver us from our sin? How could a sinner take away the sin of another sinner? It could never be. No, He must have been sinless, and better yet, it was impossible for Him to do so, being the Son of God.
Consider Aaron in Exodus 32:1-5. Not only did Aaron make an idol to worship, but he also referred to it as the LORD (covenantal name) and also “gods.” He proclaimed a feast to this idol. He defended himself to Moses, saying, “For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf” (Exodus 32:23-24). He makes it sound like this calf materialized itself. This pathetic lie may sound humorous in a sense, but maybe he was deceived into thinking something mystical happened here?
Consider Joshua the high priest in Zechariah 3:1-4. We see Joshua covered with filthy dung. This man had iniquity, and the Lord had to cleanse Him of it. Here, we consider the man, Joshua, but we also consider the entire office of the priesthood. This office is defiled, and it needs to be purified. Ultimately, we know that this Joshua son of Josedech was replaced by a higher priest, Jesus Christ. This new priesthood of the order of Melchizedek will be considered in later passages.
Hebrews 4:16
If our sinless high priest was accepted into heaven by the Most High, ending sacrifice and the endless succession of Levitical high priests, giving us rest from sin and the power of darkness, how much should we “come boldly unto the throne of grace”? Having been saved from the wrath of God, let us go where we can find mercy. Let us seek the one who gives us grace in our time of need. It is always our time of need. Even when we do not feel like we are in want, we are, because we cannot do anything on our own. Feelings do not matter. We need His power to overcome sin and accomplish the works He set us out to do.
Every time we see someone saying they want to find grace in the sight of someone, it is a sign of humility and fear, seeking peace when they do not deserve it.
Jacob said to Esau that he wanted to find grace in his sight three times (Genesis 32:5; 33:8, 15). He left his angry brother because he had stolen their father’s blessing by intentional deception. Esau wanted to kill his brother (Genesis 27:41). Even though years had passed since had seen him, Jacob was appealing to him for grace with fear and many gifts.
Shechem appealed to Jacob and his sons to find grace and to accept any gift for Jacob’s daughter, Dinah, even though he raped her (Genesis 34:11). He would do anything to get her as a wife.
The people of Egypt sought grace in getting sustenance from Joseph during the famine (Genesis 47:25). They gave Pharaoh everything they had, and they were still lacking.
Moses sought grace so that the LORD’s presence would go with him (Exodus 33:13).
Ruth the widow sought grace from someone to glean for food among his fields (Ruth 2:2).
Hannah sought grace from Eli, since she was thought to be a drunkard, though she prayed for a child (1 Samuel 1:18).
Ziba, after receiving Mephibosheth’s inheritance, falsely sought grace in the eyes of the king (2 Samuel 16:4). He lied, making his master look bad so that he could gain all that he had.
Notice, in all these cases, these people had needs, and the one they sought grace from had power to show grace and kindness. How much more, we as sinners before a God who has wrath against sin, should we go to him to find mercy and grace? And unlike those cases above, where the grace was uncertain, the grace that God extends is guaranteed in the person of Jesus Christ. We just need to go before Him and remain before Him forever.
Unlike the high priest who went alone into the holiest, our great high priest has opened the door for us to join Him in the heavenly holiest. Let us go to Him.
And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. (Mark 15:38)