A Great High Priest
A GREAT HIGH PRIEST
HEBREWS 4:14-16
The One who knows what it is like to be tempted also knows exactly what help we need … including what help you need today!
In the ancient world priesthood was accepted as a necessary part of religion. Everywhere people took it for granted that the gods are too holy for ordinary people to approach them. Worshipers need the help of a professional religious man, someone who knows the way and can intercede on their behalf. So the priesthoods performed their function on a thousand altars, for sacrifice was as universal as priesthood. Indeed a primary function of the priest was to offer sacrifices (see also 5:1). The priesthood of the Old Testament meant that the idea was just as much at home in Israel as anywhere else. It was, of course, clear that some priesthoods were more effective than others. Like those engaged in any branch of human endeavor, priests differed in expertise, in local knowledge and in other ways. So not all priesthoods were put on the same level.
The author makes use of all this to bring out important aspects of the Person and the work of Christ. Each of the New Testament writers has his own way of doing this, and in Hebrews we have the profound concept that Jesus is our great high priest. He is the One who offers the sacrifice that really puts away sin and brings people to God. This can be seen as a process of redemption, of reconciliation, of justification and much more. Seen as the work of a priest certain aspects are emphasized in a way they are not when other metaphors are used. As the letter proceeds, these truths will be unfolded.
In this passage two significant thoughts about Christ are stressed. The one is his greatness. He is not simply a priest at home in a particular earthly sanctuary. He has “passed through the heavens” (4:14), something that can be said of no earthly priest. But this does not leave him remote from us, for the second point to be stressed is his sympathy. He came right where we are, was tempted with the same things with which we are tempted, without sinning. This may mean that he kept himself from sin, or it may mean that he does not know those temptations which arise out of having sinned (as we unfortunately do). But the main point is his sharing our humanity. He knows what we go through. Knowing then what kind of high priest we have, let us “with confidence draw near to the throne of grace.”