TEXT: Hebrews 4:14-5-11.

SUBJECT: Exposition of Hebrews #5: Christ our Compassionate High Priest.

Today we come to the fifth sermon in our study of Hebrews. Its theme is Christ Over All. In the previous chapters, we have found Him "over the prophets, angels, Moses, the Sabbath, and Canaan". Beginning in 4:14, He is placed "over Aaron". The idea begins here and runs through the end of chapter 10. But this is too much for one sermon, and so, we'll divide it into several parts. Today, we see Him as "Our Compassionate High Priest".

The paragraph begins with a directive, 4:14-16, "...let us hold fast our confession". To confess means "to speak the same thing". Its object is not our sins, but our Savior. Why? Because He is the "great High Priest". The words "High Priest" struck reverence into the Hebrew heart. Because this man had unique access to God, he was accorded the deepest respect--even if he was a scoundrel. If this is so, how much more honor is owed to Christ, the great High Priest? His glory is lifted even higher when you consider where He is and Who is He. Where is He? He has "passed through the heavens"--into the presence of God. Who is He? He is "Jesus the Son of God".

To this confession, we must "hold fast". The word means "to take a firm grip". It is used of policemen taking a suspect into custody. We might paraphrase the idea thusly: "Don't let go for anything!" Note, too, the present tense. "Keep a firm grip on your confession". Don't deny it, don't compromise it, don't "hide it under a bushel".

"Jesus, and shall it ever be,

A mortal man ashamed of Thee?"

We must, therefore, "hold fast our confession" of Christ. A reason is given in v.15: "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". We ought to "hold fast our confession" because our Savior is sympathetic. How different is He from the pagan gods! They were far removed from the cares of humanity. But in Jesus Christ, God became a man. Not a superman, but One "tempted as we are". This was hinted at long before: "In all of their afflictions, He was afflicted". But in the Savior's coming, it was realized. He was tempted as you are. He was misunderstood (Luke 2:48); He was ridiculed (Mark 3:21); He was poverty-stricken (Matthew 8:20); He was bereaved (John 11:35); He was disappointed (Luke 22:61); He was betrayed (Matthew 26:50); He felt pain (John 37); He felt embarrassed (John 19:23); He felt alone (Matthew 27:46); He tasted death (John 19:30).

His sympathy, therefore, is both deep and wide. Because He suffered as no man ever had, He has a unique appreciation for your suffering. Because He suffered "being tempted in all points as we are", He can sympathize with your every pain of body and soul. Therefore, you can be assured,

"Casting all your cares upon Him,

For He cares for you".

From this doctrine, we learn a practical lesson, v.16: "Let us, therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need". What's the connection? This: Because the Lord Jesus was "tempted in all points as we are", we can freely ask Him for help. Why? Because He knows had badly we need it! It is good to know that the One to Whom we pray was once needy Himself!

But more than sympathetic, He is able to help us with our problems. He sits on a throne of grace. Because it is "of grace", He is willing to help; because it is a "throne", He is able to help.

Because we have this "Great High Priest", therefore, "Let us hold fast our confession".

Having mentioned our "great High Priest", the writer backtracks a bit, and briefly describes the priesthood to us, 5:1-6.

Its function, v.1: "...appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins". A prophet represented God to man. He spoke God's word to man. A priest, however, did the opposite: He represented man to God. In the place of sinful men, he appeared in God's presence to seek His favor by gifts and sacrifices. This is what the High Priest did once a year on Yom Kippur--the Day of Atonement.

His qualifications, vv.2-4: sympathy and a special calling. "He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also beset by weakness. Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was". A man who couldn't "feel" for others was debarred from the priesthood. Why? Because he represented man to God. And so, had to be a real man. But more than sympathy was needed. A special call was required. If a man tried to entered the priesthood without it, he would pay dearly for his presumption. The first men who tried it were swallowed up by the earth and "went down to the pit alive".

And so, only if a man was called by God--and properly gifted with compassion--could he occupy the Priesthood.

Is the Lord Jesus qualified for this high office?

He has the sympathy for it. He is "touched with the feeling of our infirmities". No Priest was ever so moved with compassion. Some of them were hard-hearted. And even the best were less than perfect. But Christ? Never a man wept as He did. He had the pity.

But what about the calling?This is a legitimate question. For the priests came only from the Tribe of Levi. And the High Priests descended from Aaron. Did the Lord spring from either? No He didn't. He was from the Tribe of Judah "of whom Moses spoke nothing concerning the priesthood". The one son of Judah who thrust himself into the Temple was driven out full of leprosy. It seems, therefore, that the Lord Jesus was not qualified for the office. And so He wasn't by the conventional means.

But He was never meant to be a "conventional" priest. Why should He be? They were but sons of Aaron, He is the Son of God. Therefore, He is uniquely qualified to occupy the High Priesthood. Hence, He is not like Aaron, but like an earlier priest, the one whom even Aaron paid obeisance. Who is he?

"You are a priest forever

According to the order of

Melchizedek".

Who is Melchizedek? He was the priest of Salem whom Abraham met after the slaughter of the four kings. His brief story is told in Genesis 14. Was he a true priest? He was. Was he a son of Aaron? No, he lived long before Aaron was born. Therefore, the priesthood does not depend upon descent from Aaron. Hence, the Lord Jesus could be a priest without coming from Aaron's family. But what kind of priest would He be? He would be a priest like Melchizedek. What was his relationship to Aaron? He was Aaron's superior. How do I know that? Because Aaron paid tithes to Melchizedek. How could he do that if he was born centuries later? Hebrews 7:9-10 explains: "Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak. For he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him".

Therefore, the Lord Jesus is fully qualified to be our "great High Priest"--not because He took it upon Himself--but because He was uniquely appointed to it by God.

In short: Aaron was the shadow. Christ is the substance. "In all things--including the priesthood--"He must have the preeminence".

In vv.7-10, the Lord's Priesthood is demonstrated. Some readers--it seems--are still leery. They're not quite sure. Some of them may be thinking of quitting Christ and returning to Aaron. To keep them from doing so, the writer proves that the Lord Jesus is "our great high priest".

His first proof is the Lord's intercession, v.7. One of the priestly duties is prayer. When it is offered by the right man at the right time and in the right way, it will be surely answered. Was our Lord's intercession answered? It was: "...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".

To what do these strange words refer? His most vehement prayers were offered in Gethsemane where He "sweat great drops of blood". Were those intercessions heard? The casual reader would say, "No". "The Lord prayed, `Let this cup pass from Me...', but He drank the cup of death to the dregs. Hence, it wasn't heard". But this is sloppy reading. The Lord did not pray that "the cup would pass from Him", but only "If it be Your will, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not My will, by Yours be done..." And so, His prayer was heard. Had He not been a priest, His intercession would have been unacceptable to God. Therefore, because "He was heard", He must be a priest.

The second proof is this: Only His unique priesthood explains His unmatched suffering, vv.8: "...though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered." The Lord Jesus suffered as no man ever had or will. But why? Was He being punished for His sins? Was He being chastened to build his character? Was it all just a misfortune? No. His suffering was appointed by God to qualify Him for the priesthood. In this way, the Lord experienced the obedience (i.e., death) necessary for our salvation. The suffering of Christ, in other words, proves His calling to the priesthood.

The consequence of His priestly work is given in short order, v.9, "...and having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him". The word "author" means "source". He is the "source" of our salvation. "Salvation is of the LORD". And by "salvation", he doesn't mean a temporary rescue from some predicament, but an "eternal salvation". This refers both to quantity and quality. We are fully saved by Christ...forever. "He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God by Him, for He ever lives to make intercession for us" says 7:25.

Who is "saved"? Those who "obey Him". What does this mean? In context, it means those who don't quit Him for Judaism (or anything else), but who continue in the faith; those who "hold fast to their confession".

And so, Christ is the "Great High Priest". Therefore, only He can bring us to God. How will He do it? Not by teaching or example or inspiration, but by offering "gifts and sacrifices for sins". What did He offer "for sins?" Not bulls and goats, but Himself. Therefore, look to Him for salvation. And to no one else. Will He receive you? He will because "He was tempted in all points as you are"--He is full of compassion.

Therefore, "Let us hold fast our confession..." For Christ's sake. Amen.