One of the most exciting realizations concerning Scripture I have had in life is that the Bible tells one unfolding story of God’s redemptive work. When I was growing up, I heard often that the Bible does not contradict itself, but it was never brought to my attention that the Bible tells one story. This, I think, needs to be brought to believers’ attention because it allows us rightly to marvel at God’s greatness and ability. For not only did God have the Scripture written by different men, over thousands of years, using their personalities, and it still have no contradictions, but with all of those factors, he had the Bible tell one story. That is astounding!

One of the great blessings of this progressive nature of revelation (the Bible unfolding over time) is that the answer that God would redeem his people through the death, burial, and resurrection of his Son, Jesus does not become extremely clear until the pages of the New Testament. Nonetheless, the Old Testament continues to be written as God relates to his people. Consequently, in this time there begins to appear a framework, which will display what the Messiah’s work will be like. Thus, for example, we find out in 2 Samuel 7 that the Messiah will come from David’s line and rule as king over an eternal kingdom or from Genesis 22 that he will be the seed of Abraham through whom the whole earth will be blessed.

And when we arrive at the New Testament, the book which seems to do most of this fleshing out from the Old Testament of who Christ is and how his work was done is the book of Hebrews. Within this, one of the categories most clearly focused on in Hebrews is viewing the person and work of Christ in light of the high priest. In fact, this category dominates much of the book, stretching from chapter 4 to chapter 10. And as it reaches back and points to the Old Testament categories and then reflects on Christ, it aids us in seeing a fuller picture of his person and work, and it leads us even more to have confidence in who he is and what he has done.

Therefore, this morning I want to flesh out from this text the Old Testament category of the high priest (including one’s credentials and work), then show Christ’s credentials and work as our high priest, then the outcome of that work, and finally what we should do in light of these realizations.

The credentials and work of a high priest

These verses highlight much the credentials and work of a high priest. First, let’s look at the credentials. Within these, one of the main things is that no one decides he is going to be a high priest. Rather God chooses someone for such a position. Thus, we read in 5:4, “And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.”

Then, getting more specific we find that one who was chosen as a high priest is chosen among men as a representative on behalf of men in relation to God. Therefore, just as I couldn’t go and represent Mexicans living in this country at the next city council meeting because I simply am not one, so the high priest was chosen from among those needing representation that he might serve as a right and suitable representative before God. Thus, we read in 5:1, “For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God …” Therefore, he is chosen by God to the position and chosen from among men as their representative before God.

Also, to show the credentials even more, the high priest himself was full of weaknesses and he sinned. Therefore, it wasn’t as if he couldn’t relate to those he was representing. In fact, he was able to deal with people gently who were struggling, ignorant, and walking wayward because he knew what that struggle was like. Thus, again, we read in verses 2-3, “He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is best with weakness. Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins [note that he, like those he represents, sins] just as he does for those of the people.”

Finally, with all these credentials, his work entailed mainly interceding for the people, offering gifts and sacrifices for sins. We read this in both verse 1 and verse 3, as the author writes, “For every high priest, chosen from among men, is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins” and “Because of this, he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people” (italics added).

Therefore, he is appointed by God to his position, chosen from among men (with whom he can relate, knowing their struggles because they are his own), represents men before God, and offers gifts and sacrifices for their sins (even as for his own). Those are the credentials and work of a high priest, which are laid out clearly in the first 4 verses of chapter 5.

However, as you take these categories and place them on Jesus, you begin to have a problem – he doesn’t seem to qualify. We know that he solves the problem of being among men because he was made flesh and dwelt among us. We saw this from Hebrews 2:5-18. But what about the others? When was he appointed to be a high priest by God? How is he able to understand and deal with men who are beset with our weaknesses, sins, and struggles when he was perfect and never sinned? How does the need for a sacrifice for sins weigh on him who had not sinned? It seems that Jesus is the furthest person one could imagine from being a fitting high priest for his people. Yet, these questions are answered as we look at the rest of the text.

Jesus’ credentials and work as a high priest

Let’s start with the question of, “When and how was Jesus appointed a high priest?” For if “no one takes this honor for himself but only when called by God,” then Christ (we would assume) is not excluded from this qualification. So, when and how was Jesus appointed a high priest?

The answer is in verses 5-6. Let’s look at verses 4-6, however, to see the full context. The author of Hebrews writes, “And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest [so we see that Jesus is not excluded from this qualification and did not ignore it], but was appointed by him who said to him, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you’; as he says also in another place, ‘You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.’”

So, we see the answer as the author picks up two Old Testament quotations, one from Psalm 2:7 and one from Psalm 110:4, to show that Jesus fits the qualifications. First, it is clear that he is called to the priesthood because verse the quote from Psalm 110:4 reads, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” Now, we will deal with who was Melchizedek and how the order of Melchizedek works in chapter 7, as we have a fuller treatment of the topic there. However, we can see from this that Christ had been appointed a priest, in fact a priest forever, in Psalm 110. Also, we see that he was clearly appointed by God for the one speaking says, “You are my Son,” and knowing Jesus is God’s Son, we see that God appointed him a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek and according to the fact that he is God’s Son.

Yet there are more questions to answer, as we noted, such as: How is he able to understand and deal with men gently who are beset with our weaknesses, sins, and struggles when he was perfect and never sinned? I mean, at the end of the day, we see promises that Christ will help us, but can he really understand what we’re going through when he never sinned? Does he really know how hard the battles are day-by-day to continue to place your faith in the promises of God when temptations not to believe swirl about you? How can he really understand? And if he cannot then how can he be a fitting high priest?

The answer of our text is that Jesus is a fitting high priest because he can understand our struggles. We read in 4:15, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

Thus, the text confirms that Jesus did not sin – ever, yet he can understand our struggles and sympathize with us because he knew every temptation we know. He was tempted with unbelief, lust, gossip, self-pity, etc. He was tempted in every way that we are, and yet he did not sin.

But some of the original recipients of the letter might have been saying, “Yeah, but our temptation is one to unbelief because of our persecution and great suffering. I mean, our struggle is not just wanting to gossip because we want to look good; we are suffering, and it is hard to walk in faith when you are suffering.” Yet even here Christ qualifies as one who can understand. Verse 8 says, “Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.” This text does not mean he was ever at any point disobedient, for he never sinned. Rather, the text probably means that each step of obedience was great and often times more difficult than the last so that eventually to be obedient he would have to suffer to the point of death on the cross. Yet he had been obedient even in lesser suffering at every point prior to the cross. To say it simply, Jesus was not to go to the cross and die for his people at age 12. However, God was leading him in obedience through steps of suffering so that he might fulfill that mission years later. And indeed he did, completing God’s redemptive mission, which is what is meant by the phrase “being made perfect” [i.e. achieving in his persona and work the completed end of the redemptive mission]. Therefore, yes, Christ understands obedience and struggle not in some utopian environment where obedience is all but a given; he understands obedience and faith in great moments of suffering in this life. Thus, he is a high priest who can deal with us as one who understands and can sympathize with our struggles.

But, finally, the high priest knew the weight of sin when he offered sacrifice. He went to the altar with the reality of sin in his own life, the weight of that sin, and the great need of the sacrifice and need to be heard by God. How is Jesus able to know this weight when he did not sin?

Here, Jesus’ qualification puts to shame the qualification of the high priest. For the high priest went and offered sacrifices, yet Jesus was himself the sacrifice. And, yes, the high priest knew the reality of sin, for he had sinned. Yet Jesus was about to receive, as a sacrifice, the just and full punishment for the sins of his people. Thus, if you can imagine the wrath of God in eternal hell, which is the just punishment for man’s sin – an infinite punishment, then begin to think through the reality of Christ on the cross, undergoing in a finite moment the weight and crushing power of God’s infinite wrath for sin. That was his mission as our great high priest. He was made sin for us and was the offering for sin for us. No one can imagine and know the weight and necessity of that sacrifice in a way that Jesus can and did.

Therefore, as it is written in verse 7, “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.” The weight of this moment seems to climax in the Garden of Gethsemane, to which many think this verse refers, as he cried out and asked that the cup of God’s wrath might pass, if there was any other way. Yet, he cried even above that, “Your will be done.” And he was heard as God’s will was done through Christ’s obedience to the point of death on the cross, as his people were redeemed.

Jesus’ credentials and work as our high priest not only match the qualifications, they exceed what was expected, for he is an eternal priest and his sacrifice was perfect. But what was and is the outcome of his work as our high priest?

The outcome of Jesus’ work as a high priest

The outcome of Jesus’ high priestly work is that he is the source of eternal salvation to all who believe. Thus, verses 9-10 read, “And being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.”

Now, you may be saying here, “Hey, the text doesn’t say ‘all who believe’ but ‘all who obey.’ So, you’re just running rough-shot over the text because you’re committed to your theology that men are justified by faith alone and are willing to ignore any text that disputes it, such as this one.” However, I believe that I can say with confidence that “all who obey” clearly means, “all who believe.” For let’s consider what we’ve seen thus far in these last few chapters.

In 3:18 we read that the Israelites were not permitted to enter God’s rest and the author writes, “And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient?” So, the Israelites were not able to enter because of disobedience. But what was their disobedience? The author answers in 3:19, “So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.” Then, again, in 4:2 we read that the message they heard did not benefit them because “they were not united by faith with those who listened,” with which the author follows up writing, “For we who have believed enter that rest.” Then in 4:6 we read, “Those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience.” Yet, this has already been defined for us as unbelief. Therefore, the statement here and in 3:19 are synonymous phrases. One says, “They were unable to enter because of unbelief” and the other, “[They] failed to enter because of disobedience.” Therefore, we could say, “They failed to enter because of disobedience, that is, unbelief.” Finally, as the exhortation of 4:11 reads, “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience,” we are able to see from the rest of the text that the “sort of disobedience” spoken of here is unbelief. Thus, we are able to say that Jesus is the source of salvation for all who obey, that is, believe.

Therefore, all who place their faith in Christ and in his finished high priestly work of atoning for our sins by his substitutionary death on the cross – dying and being raised from the dead – will inherit eternal life. For is it not written in John 3:36, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey [i.e. believe in] the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him”?

Therefore, the outcome of Christ’s high priestly work is that he has become a source of eternal salvation for those who believe.

But what should be our response to this realization and these truths seen this morning in this text? The author answers in verses where our text begins.

Our right response to his high priestly work: Hold fast our confession and draw near to the throne of grace with confidence

The author of Hebrews answers our question of how we should respond writing, “Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [exhortation 1]. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us, then, with confidence, draw near to the throne of grace [exhortation 2] that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (4:14-16).

We are to hold fast our confession and not drift from it. Why? The answer is, because we have a great high priest who passed through the heavens and one who knows our weaknesses. And we are to draw near to the throne of grace. Why? The answer is so that you may receive mercy and find grace in time of need.

That is, continue to hold onto your faith in Christ amidst all your struggles and temptations not to believe in him and his truth, for the one you’re holding to knows and can sympathize with your present struggles. Whatever your temptation to unbelief is stemming from [whether it is the unbelief that more satisfaction in found in being a good steward of your possessions rather than hoarding and coveting, whether it is the unbelief that there is more reward of joy in faithfulness to your spouse than in lusting after that young girl you encounter on a daily basis or can see in that movie, whether it is that there is more gained in looking to the reward that awaits us than the simple pleasure found in self-pity, or whatever else], Jesus knows your struggle. And he has provided for you as your high priest. Also, when you do struggle and are in a time of great need, knowing you don’t have the ability yourself to persevere, you can cry out to him, receive mercy, and receive grace to persevere in belief.

So, right now, this morning, look unto our faithful high priest, know what he has done, and cry out for him to aid you with grace and mercy in your situation, confident that he will. You can indeed be confident as you remember what he has already done for you, even as we come to the table.

His grace be with us. Amen.

OUR GREAT POSITION AND OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST