Question: Jesus Christ is our great Prophet, Priest, and King. So of those three offices that He fills, which is the only one to have virtually an entire book of the Bible dedicated to explaining it? Answer: The High Priesthood of Christ in Hebrews Hebrews is an anonymous letter (Apollos? Barnabas? Someone else?). 2:3 appears to rule out Paul as author. Its author preferred to quote from the Gk version of the OT (Septuagint) rather than the Heb. It is described in 13:22 as a brief word of exhortation, likely written around 67-69 AD.
What is the primary theme of Hebrews? The superiority of Christ Over angels (1:4-2:18) Over Moses (3:1-19) Over the Old Covenant High Priest (4:14-7:28) Over the Old Covenant priesthood (8:1-10:18) The key section for us today is 4:14-5:10 - Jesus, our great High Priest. 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. - Heb. 4:14
And now the critical question: Why? Why does the author spend so much time establishing the superiority of Christ? His readers had suffered much 10:32-34. There was certainly persecution, but those from Jewish families would likely also have been disinherited from the family and excommunicated from the synagogue. No more beautiful rituals and liturgies No more officiating priests No more special days and feasts of celebration No more grand Temple worship, or waiting for the High Priest once a year to reappear outside the Most Holy Place to pronounce blessing.
Why does the author spend so much time establishing the superiority of Christ? No more visible sense that their sins had once again been covered, that God was smiling upon His covenant people again. That is all gone. Unless they want to go back. The temptation was strong. The persecution & trials of life were hard 12:1-6 Some were becoming dulled and less attentive to the apostles teaching 5:11-14 Some were drifting away from the church 10:25
Why does the author spend so much time establishing the superiority of Christ? The key warning passages in Hebrews stand out like warning signs on a highway don t go this way, the bridge is out, and you will end up in a bad place. The key warning passages: 2:1-4 such a great salvation, don t turn back. 3:7-18 do not harden your hearts. 6:4-8 those who turn away may never come back. 10:26-31 don t go on sinning deliberately. 12:25-29 do not refuse Him who is speaking. Those warning passages help us to persevere, to stay on the right road.
Why does the author spend so much time establishing the superiority of Christ? In light of those warnings, look at how the author presents Jesus as their better High Priest 4:14-16 He is a great High Priest, who can give you real grace to help in time of need. 7:23-25 He makes real intercession for you. 7:26-28 His sacrifice was once for all perfect. 8:5-6 The promises He makes are far better than anything from the old covenant. 9:11-12 He secured an eternal redemption. 12:18-24 He has brought a new covenant; all priests before Him were only shadows.
Hebrews 2:14-18 The three critical aspects of Christ s high priesthood: 1. He delivers us from bondage to Satan See also 1 John 3:8; Eph. 2:1-3; Col. 1:13 Jesus became the perfect and sinless Man, and His death rendered powerless Satan s deathgrip on mankind. Death is the great fear of mankind everything else in this world we can see the other side of but not death. But once sin could be forgiven, there was a radical transformation in the perception of death: 1 Cor. 15:54-57.
Hebrews 2:14-18 The three critical aspects of Christ s high priesthood: 2. He sympathizes and helps the tempted Timothy, a young pastor, needed some strong encouragement. Notice how the aged Paul, having endured so much, counseled him in 2 Tim. 2:8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead Wherever you get to emotionally, Jesus has been there before you. You can pray, Lord help! I m really going through it right now! And He says, in effect, I know I have been there, I know exactly how you feel. Look to Me. See 12:1-3.
Hebrews 2:14-18 The three critical aspects of Christ s high priesthood: 3. He delivers us from the wrath of God Notice that He made propitiation for the sins of the people. He has satisfied the righteous law and demands of God, and His wrath against all believers was transferred to His Son on the cross Rom. 3:25; Heb. 10:11-12; 1 John 2:2. He has not only delivered us from God s wrath against our past sins, but from the great judgment of sin & evil that is coming Matt. 3:7; Rom. 5:9; 1 Thess. 1:10, 5:9.
Jesus and the Day of Atonement Leviticus 16 Once a year the High Priest went into the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle to make atonement for the sins of the people Lev. 16:32-33. It was the most solemn day of the year in Israel. The people were to afflict themselves on that great Day self-denial, deep humility, v. 29, 31. There was to be no work done on that day by either Israelite or foreigner in Israel, v. 29. For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the LORD from all your sins v. 30
Jesus and the Day of Atonement Leviticus 16 The High Priest would take two goats One was given as a burnt offering for sin, v. 15-19 The other was presented live: the High Priest would confess the sins of the people over it, v. 21 Following that, the live goat, the scapegoat, would be taken into the wilderness bearing the sins and guilt of the people confessed over it. Question: Which part of that sin-cleansing ritual did Jesus fulfill? Answer: All of it Priest, burnt offering, and sin offering. He became both offeror and offering.
Putting all of this in a different way Remember: everything that an OT priest did was limited in some way. Hebrews touches on that repeatedly (for example, 8:5-6). Everything they did had to be repeated it was never quite good enough. The Day of Atonement, for example, had to be observed every year along with many other offerings, rituals, etc. But it was something it was a shadow, imperfect at best, but it pointed to something (Someone) better: all was fulfilled in and by Jesus Christ.
Putting all of this in a different way 1. Jesus offered a perfect sacrifice for sin. I know we ve touched on this but bear with me. See Heb. 9:26, 10:4. This concept is a key theme in Hebrews Jesus has offered a sacrifice that ended for all time the need for any further sacrifice. Okay got that. We ve covered this; let s go on. Well, slow down for a minute. Answer this question: What is atonement? Define the word. It is word about reconciliation there is a wronged or offended party that is willing to be satisfied, or reconciled.
Putting all of this in a different way 1. Jesus offered a perfect sacrifice for sin. The atonement is the work Christ did in His life and death to earn our salvation. Wayne Grudem What was the cause of the atonement? Very simple answer: The love of God. Why did the atonement happen? John 3:16. Atonement is what God did to turn enemies into friends, children of wrath into children of God, by diverting their just punishment onto another. The atonement is the centerpiece of God s work in the history of salvation 1 Cor. 15:3-4.
Putting all of this in a different way 1. Jesus offered a perfect sacrifice for sin. Jesus died on His own initiative for human sin John 10:11, 17-18; Rom. 8:32. Okay deep water here but we have to be okay with the fact that there is just plain some heavy mystery when it comes to God s work: Even human sin is somehow woven into God s plans see Acts 2:32, 4:27-28. Just go with it. It s a Deut. 29:29 thing. And remember: Jesus did not have to die for our sins. He chose to. He did not do this for angels (2 Pet. 2:4). That s why we sing Amazing Grace!
Putting all of this in a different way 1. Jesus offered a perfect sacrifice for sin. So give Him the praise and honor He deserves for His atoning sacrifice. And don t ever lose sight of this one fact: God wants you cleansed. Give thanks. 2. Jesus continually brings us near to God. Remember what happened at the moment of Jesus death on the cross? Luke 23:45. The writer of Hebrews draws 3 conclusions from this (10:19-25): Let us draw near with a true heart Let us hold fast the confession of our hope Let us consider how to stir up one another
Putting all of this in a different way 2. Jesus continually brings us near to God. Let us draw near that was an impossibility in OT times. No one but the High Priest could go into the Most Holy Place, and that only once a year, and only with the blood of a sacrifice (9:1-7). Look at Eph. 2:11-19 and make the application: Praise Him for the glory of the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:7). And don t ever lose sight of this one fact: God wants you near. Don t forget that. Let your heart warm to Him as you give Him thanks for that.
Putting all of this in a different way 3. Jesus as High Priest continually prays for us. This is one of the most astonishing verses in the Bible: Consequently, He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. Heb. 7:25 What is the effect on those for whom Christ continually intercedes in prayer? They are saved to the uttermost. Does that mean complete in time or complete in extent? The answer is Yes!
Putting all of this in a different way 3. Jesus as High Priest continually prays for us. So does Jesus pray specific prayers to the Father, or does the fact of His presence there serve simply as a continual reminder that He has paid for sins? Good question. Look at a couple of other uses of the same Gk word: Acts 25:24, Rom. 11:2. In both cases the requests are very specific. The conclusion? Jesus continually lives in the presence of God to make specific requests and to bring specific petitions before God on our behalf. Grudem Cf. Rom. 8:34; 1 John 2:1.
Putting all of this in a different way 3. Jesus as High Priest continually prays for us. Okay if that doesn t encourage you, I honestly don t know what will. Do this: Praise Him for His amazing kindness toward you: the Lord Jesus Christ is continually interceding in prayer for you. And don t ever lose sight of this one fact: God wants you to finish well. Don t forget that. Please take time to thank Him for that. God wants you cleansed. God wants you near. God wants you to finish well.
And therefore you have a great High Priest. It is a consoling thought that Christ is praying for us, even when we are negligent in our prayer life; that He is presenting to the Father those spiritual needs which were not present to our minds and which we often neglect to include in our prayers; and that He prays for our protection against the dangers of which we are not even conscious, and against the enemies which threaten us, though we do not notice it. He is praying that our faith may not cease, and that we may come out victoriously in the end. Louis Berkhof