On our behalf
The book of Hebrews starts by establishing Jesus as Creator and Jesus as Lord. The author goes on to remind us that Jesus is the Son of God. And now we see the author of Hebrews talking about Jesus as our High Priest, and Jesus as our Sacrifice. It is so important for us to know that Jesus is all of these things all of the time. They all work in tandem with each other. He cannot be one without being the other.
The next several verses focus on Jesus’ role as high priest. Before we look at the role of a high priest, I want to call attention to what the writer of Hebrews says about how/why Jesus has this role:
No one takes this [role of high priest] honor on himself; instead, a person is called by God, just as Aaron was. In the same way, Christ did not exalt himself to become a high priest, but God who said to Him, You are my Son; today I have become your Father, also says in another place, You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 5:4-6)
High priests were called by God. Chosen by God. It was a calling that He placed on them. And just like Aaron, God called Jesus to be our high priest. And as the the author pointed out in chapter 3, Jesus was faithful to the Father and this calling. In other words, Jesus submitted to the authority of God and was obedient, even to the point of death. He could have walked away. And as a man, he could have yielded to His fleshly desires. I think when the Bible says he was tempted in every way, I don’t think it was just talking about when the devil tempted Him in the wilderness. Maybe Jesus was tempted to walk away from what God asked Him to do. Maybe Jesus was tempted to call the angels to rescue Him from the cross. Maybe He was even tempted to think He had a better idea as to how to go about rescuing humanity. Jesus agonized over his fate in Gethsemane to the point of sweating blood. Hebrews 5:7 says “During His earthly life, he offered prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save Him from death.” Yielding to temptation would have satisfied His flesh, but would have put Him out of God’s will. However, He did not yield to temptation, but “because he was the Son, he learned obedience from what he suffered.” He trusted God, and more importantly, submitted to the will of His Father and the call of High Priest on His life.
Therefore, since we have a high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus, son of God—let us hold fast to our confession…”(Hebrews 4:14)
We are called to confess “Jesus is Lord.” When we do so we are acknowledging His Lordship and moreover, we are submitting to it. It is not just acknowledging His authority, but it is also being obedient to what He has called us to do. I was recently challenged by this in my own life, because if I am being entirely honest, I do not always want to submit every aspect of my life to Him. But, placing our faith in Jesus is acknowledging that His way is the best way and that you trust He will follow through on His word. Just as Jesus submitted completely to the Father and His calling as High Priest, we need to submit completely to Jesus’ Lordship and His calling on our lives, and be obedient no matter what the cost is to us.
So, in addition to being Creator, Lord, and Son, Jesus was called to be High Priest. Many of us do not have the benefit of being immersed in the Jewish tradition like the readers of this letter, so we might not fully understand what a high priest is/does. However, the writer briefly explains the role saying “for every high priest taken from among men is appointed in matters pertaining to God for the people, to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins” (Hebrews 5:1). The role of the high priest was to offer sacrifices on behalf of us to atone for our sins and to offer prayers to God on our behalf. No man could enter into the presence of God because of his sin, so a high priest, appointed by God, performed a sacrifice in the temple to then pray on behalf of the people. Sweet friend, this is exactly what Jesus did and does for us. He became the ultimate sacrifice that atones for our sin and He intercedes on our behalf. He fulfilled, and continues to fulfill, this role rendering the need for a human priest obsolete. Jesus is the ultimate high priest, ultimate being last, because he fills every role of high priest perfectly and completely.
Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
“Therefore” —because Jesus did not sin, when He died for our sins, he was the perfect and ultimate sacrifice. No other sacrifice is needed ever again. So when we place our faith in who Jesus is and what He did, we can come into God’s presence. Romans 5:1-2 iterates this truth:
We were once blocked from access to God the Father. But now, we can be in God’s presence. And not just anywhere, we can enter the throne and approach the King of the heavens. This word throne is important because it is reinforcing Jesus’ position of authority. In Bible times, no one could just “approach” the king without being summoned. So the fact that we are able to go before the king, and boldly, speaks volumes to our position in Christ. Remember, we are adopted into God’s house as sons and daughters of the King. We do not have to be timid or intimidated before God. He is our Heavenly Father who loves us. And Jesus has washed every stain of sin from us, so we do not have to be ashamed to come before Him. The Bible assures us that we will be greeted with grace and mercy when we approach the throne.
The verse right before this one reminds us that Jesus sympathizes with our weaknesses. He, too, was tempted in every way, so he understands. The high priests before Jesus were “able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and going astray since he also is clothed in weakness” and Jesus fulfills this role too. The same compassion that sent Him to the cross is the same compassion that prompts Him to intercede on our behalf before the Father. That is why we will be greeted with grace and mercy. Jesus understands our weakness perfectly and does not condemn us.
Why does it matter that Jesus was our high priest? Well we have the obvious benefit of eternal life. But how does it really affect our day to day in the here and now? It all comes back to Hebrews 4:16: let us boldly enter His presence. This is an invitation for our every day life. Where we were once denied access, He has opened Heaven’s throne on our behalf so we can be daily in the freedom of His presence. We can come before the Living God daily—with our requests, with our praise, with our lamentations, with our needs. We do not have to fight, beg, plead, or justify our being there, or our causes. He has given us access. Even more, He is interceding on our behalf. Which means that when we come before Him, we can rest in His presence and be at peace, trusting that the Lord, who has authority of all, is working on our behalf.
