Will you pray with me?
Lord, now as we come to your word, we pray.
When we pray for your help, we pray because we need you this morning.
Lord, to illuminate your word to us so that we might understand it rightly.
Lord, to apply it to our hearts, that we might respond as you have called us to respond.
Lord, I ask for your help this morning.
Lord, that I might speak your words and that you might use my words to speak your truth.
Holy Spirit, be with us this morning.
Lord, help us to see the glory and the majesty of Christ.
Lord, what we have just sung, Jesus, in our place, what a great, great truth this is for us.
Lord, we pray these things in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, Happy New Year.
It's good to see you all.
We just got back yesterday from traveling to see family, and it's good to be here this morning.
As if you were here last week, you would know that we're doing a mini-series for these three weeks on the threefold offices of Christ.
Jesus as our prophet, priest, and king.
And so this morning, we are going to look at Jesus' high priestly ministry.
And as I was thinking about this message, I asked myself this question.
Why is Jesus' high priestly ministry good news for us?
It doesn't strike us that this is something that is easily accessible.
I don't walk down the street going to stop and shop thinking, I wish I had a better high priest today.
It just doesn't cross our minds.
It's not a part of our culture.
It's not a part of our world.
So we're going to explore what a high priest is, and then we're going to look at what Jesus' high priestly ministry is for us this morning.
If you're here and you're exploring Christianity, we're going to explore and unfold some of the great truths of who Jesus is for us.
If you've been a Christian for the whole of your life, as long as you can remember, we're going to explore Jesus and who He is.
For us.
And whether you're just exploring or have seen these truths for a long time, I hope that you will be encouraged this morning.
So first, we're going to look at just what is a high priest.
And it's interesting to think about the fact that priests have been a part of human, relating, religious life across the ages and across the times.
If you think about cultures far away from our Western culture, they still have priests of some sort.
Not always, but often.
Often there are high priests.
Why do we have this human impulse to have some kind of priest in our religious structure, regardless of what it is?
Well, because I think we have a question of how do we relate to God?
How is it that we as human beings stand before someone who in some way is greater than us or different than us, who is over us and to whom we have to give some kind of account or some kind of reckoning?
And the fact is that we don't want to stand before God on our own.
And so we have priests.
We long for a priest to stand before us instinctively.
I think we know our imperfection.
We know our weakness.
We know our need.
And so the idea of a priest has been a part of religious life throughout, I think, human history.
As we turn to the idea of it in the Bible, I want you to turn with me to Hebrews chapter 9.
Excuse me.
Hebrews chapter 9.
We're going to look at Hebrews chapter 9, verses 1 through 10.
To get a New Testament account of what the high priest did, I thought I'd spare you reading chapters and chapters of Leviticus this morning.
And so we're going to look at a summary in Hebrews chapter 9.
I don't have the page number.
It's 1,000 and something.
And if that'll help.
1,005?
Yeah, there we go.
1,005.
Hebrews chapter 9.
We're going to read verses 1 through 10 just to see how the Bible describes what the purpose of the high priest in the Old Testament was.
Now, even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness.
For a tent was prepared, the first section in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the presence.
It is called the holy place.
Behind the second curtain was a second section called the most holy place, having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold,
in which was a golden urn holding the manna and Aaron's staff that budded and the tablets of the covenant.
Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
That's simply a description of the temple in Jerusalem where the Jewish people would gather to worship.
And then it goes on.
These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties.
But into the second, that is the most holy place.
But into the second, only the high priest goes.
And he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people.
By this, the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing,
which is symbolic for the present age.
According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper,
but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.
If you want to understand this, go back on the Trinity website.
There are some great sermons on the book of Hebrews from two years ago.
It will get you a whole detail into this.
But basically, what he's describing here is that there was in the temple a special day and a special place
where this man, the high priest, would go once a year.
And he would bear sacrifices for his own sin and for the sin of the nation.
This is the pinnacle of a system of animal sacrifices in the Old Testament.
And we might think, why would God do that?
Isn't this barbaric?
Isn't this primitive?
This can't have anything to do with us.
But I think that, in fact, this whole system was given to point us to a couple of truths.
Pastor Alistair Begg summarized it this way.
He said that the whole sacrificial system and the role of the high priest in it
meant to show that forgiveness is costly
and that the punishment due to sin is death
and that without the shedding of blood, that is, without something actually dying,
sin cannot be removed.
And so the high priest had this essential role of offering up a sacrifice,
an animal sacrifice, each year for the sins of the nation
so that their sins might be covered.
In this, God gave instructions to the people in the Old Testament
about how they might approach him
because it was God himself who dwelt in that most holy place.
The question that I ask for us today is,
with no temple and with no high priest and with no sacrifices,
what do we do?
How do we live seeking to approach God and seeking to please him?
I posit to you that there are two different ways
that we tend to address this question.
The first is that, and this is probably the most common,
that we seek success in trying to be good enough
in our own estimation to be acceptable to God.
We figure that we can actually be a good enough person somehow,
that God ought to accept us.
That seems right to us.
It builds in us a self-confidence.
I'm good enough, don't you think?
But surprisingly, this attempt,
which seems like a very common
and not that hard to accomplish, right?
But in fact, it has this dark underside, doesn't it?
Because seeking to be good enough
is a terrible prison for us, isn't it?
Because it makes us live
with an unending fear of failure.
If we try to be good enough,
we always wonder, what if we blow it?
How badly do we have to blow it?
If we blow it in this way,
what happens to us then?
And we live our lives driven
to be good enough somehow.
Some of this may look like
the more uglier sides of getting ahead first at all costs,
not caring about anything,
but trying to be successful
in the eyes of whatever your subculture is
and however it measures it.
Climbing the corporate ladder,
having enough money,
having power in your society,
whatever it is.
But I think that most of us see those
and we think, well, that's kind of crass and ugly
and an attempt to be good and successful.
How about the more socially acceptable ways
that we pursue this?
I'm going to love my child better than anyone else.
I'm going to be the best volunteer
this nonprofit has ever had.
I'm going to be the most zealous employee
in this company,
not out of self-promotion,
but just so they'll see
what a good hard worker I am.
I'm going to be the straight-A student
who's going to succeed.
Even our best impulses to be good
can be driven by this desire
to be acceptable before God
and make ourself good enough.
And in doing so,
we create a prison of our own success.
Because one of the things that it does
is it means we can't ever admit that we failed.
We can't ever say,
I couldn't do it.
We can't ever admit a weakness,
let alone just a blatant sin.
I was selfish.
I did it because I wanted to hurt that person.
Or whatever it is that we do.
Now, some of us have tried this hamster wheel
of trying to be good enough,
long enough to know
that it doesn't work very well, does it?
We don't want to live in that prison,
but we think,
what do we do?
Where do we go?
And often, I think,
we respond with hopelessness
and despair.
We know we can't measure up.
There's nothing we can do about it.
And so we give up.
Not only have we failed,
but we have become a failure in this world.
And then we just live trying to survive.
But we have stopped seeking God.
We have stopped seeking to approach Him
boldly and confidently.
We have stopped seeking to relate to Him at all
because we know what He thinks of us.
We're a loser.
Friends, this may be true in our culture.
It's actually true,
in fact, as well,
even in our church.
Isn't it?
It's so easy for us to put a religious,
a Christian veneer over this same impulse
and to think,
well, if I know my Bible well enough,
if I've memorized enough verses,
if I'm active in enough activities,
if I'm there at all the work days,
if whatever it is,
you pick your standard,
if I can do it well enough,
wouldn't that be great?
Look at what a good church member I am.
Or we feel like a failure.
We think,
what am I doing here?
Why do I keep coming?
It's just an exercise in hypocrisy.
These people don't know what I'm really like,
and if they did,
they'd kick me out.
That's how we often approach church,
isn't it?
We hide.
We can't admit
what's really going on.
We hide.
We can't admit our failure.
Friends,
this shouldn't be surprising.
Isn't this what we see
even back in the Garden of Eden?
When Adam and Eve fall into sin,
what do they do?
They hide.
They blame shift.
They run away
rather than admitting,
confessing,
revealing
their sin
and their neediness.
I spent all this time
exploring this
because
I hope you see
that we in fact
do need help
in standing before God.
We don't know
how to approach God
on our own.
And instinctively,
deep down,
we know
that we need someone
to stand in our place.
Friends,
this is where
Jesus' high priestly ministry
steps in.
It is God's glorious provision
for us.
And the book of Hebrews
is the place to go
in the New Testament
to see the richness
and the depth
of Jesus' high priestly ministry
for us
and how He stands
before God
on our behalf.
If you want a full account of this,
go read Hebrews 2,
chapter 2 through 9.
It's about seven chapters.
It's rich.
It's deep.
As I said,
there's a great series
of sermons
that some other guys
preached on it
that I highly recommend
and
on our website.
But what we're going to see
is that
Jesus' high priestly ministry
does two things for us.
First,
we're going to look
at chapter 4
and see that
Jesus,
in His high priestly ministry,
He stands with us
in our humanity.
And then secondly,
we're going to see
from chapter 9
that He stands for us
before God.
So let's look first
at Jesus,
our high priest,
standing with us.
Turn with me
to Hebrews chapter 4,
just a few pages back.
Hebrews chapter 4,
verse 14 through 16.
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,
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
that we may receive
mercy
and find grace
to help
in time of need.
Friends,
one of the glorious
truths of Jesus'
high priestly ministry
is that He stands
with us
in sympathy
with our weakness
and our humanity.
The writer of the Hebrews
has developed
the argument
about Jesus
and His uniqueness
as being both
the God,
as being both
God and man
in His role
that He comes
to be our Redeemer
and our Savior.
And He comes
to this point
and He says,
Jesus has identified
by becoming human,
He has identified
with us
in such a way
that He knows,
He knows what our life
is really like.
God is not a distant,
sovereign dictator
who is unacquainted
and unfamiliar
with the realities
of life
in a broken world.
world.
But as it says
in verse 15,
He is one
who sympathizes
with our weaknesses.
That is,
He feels
with us
what we feel.
He does not
come to us
and berate us.
He does not
come
to condemn
us
in the face
of our temptations.
why are you
so weak?
Buck up!
Get on with it!
What's wrong
with you?
This is what
we hear often,
whether from others
or in
the self-talk
in our own mind.
When we face
temptations,
when we face
trials,
we feel
the weight
of condemnation
so easily.
just for
feeling
our weakness,
not for
the sin.
Jesus comes
and He says,
I understand.
I have
been there.
I remember
once,
I had a coach
in high school,
played lacrosse,
and
He,
one of the things
that He did
with us
is that He
never made us
do a running
drill,
an exercise
that He
wouldn't do
with us.
So He'd be like,
all right,
boys,
this is what
we're doing
today,
right?
And then we'd
line up,
and He'd do it
with us
every time.
And I can't
tell you how
much authority
that gave
Him
to encourage
us,
because He
wasn't just
sitting there
in His lounge
chair,
sipping His
lemonade,
or His Diet
Coke,
or whatever,
saying,
all right,
boys,
go,
you go work,
and I'm
going to sit
here and watch
you do it,
like many coaches
do.
He said,
I'm going to
do this
with you.
And in doing
that,
His encouragement
and His
exhortation
for us to
keep going
and not give
up,
had so much
weight,
because He knew
what it would
cost to do
what He'd
ask us to do.
this is what
Jesus does
for us.
Jesus,
by becoming
a human being
and identifying
with us,
by taking on
human flesh
and walking
in this world,
He knows
our trials.
Now,
some of you
may be sitting
there thinking,
yeah,
but you know
what?
Jesus never
saw internet
pornography.
Jesus never
felt the power
of the boardroom
and the seat.
He never
had two
small children
and two careers
and tried to
juggle that
schedule.
I had a
professor in
seminary who
helped me
understand this
this way.
For temptation
to be real,
it actually has
to have the
force to grab
our attention.
Right?
So,
I might be
tempted.
say I'm
trying to
eat well,
I might be
tempted by
a donut.
Right?
But you know
what?
If I don't
like donuts,
there's no
temptation there.
I just walk
right by it.
It doesn't
matter.
Right?
So,
temptation
only has
power when
there's an
actual
attraction to
doing the
thing that
you're being
tempted to
do.
Now,
Jesus was
rarely tempted
to do many
of the things
that we do.
it seems.
But interestingly,
in Matthew 4,
when the devil
comes to
tempt Jesus,
what does he
tempt him
with?
He tempts
him with the
very thing
that Jesus
would most
care about.
Show the
glory of God
in these
spectacular
ways.
Shortcut
to the
glory of
your kingdom
without the
cross.
Jesus
knows
temptation
greater than
we have
ever faced.
If the
temptations we
feel are like
the waves that
push a pebble
up and down
the beach,
the temptations
that Jesus
faced were
like the
thundering
breakers
breaking on
a rock
on the
main coast,
world,
Jesus
really does
understand.
And he
sympathizes
with our
weakness.
He knew
hunger and
thirst,
tiredness,
the rejection
of family,
the betrayal
of friends.
He knew
the sufferings
of beatings
and of nails
piercing his
hand.
And he knew
death,
the very
thing that we
fear the
most.
He knew
death for
us.
So he does
understand how
hard it
can be to
approach God.
And he says,
stop hiding,
don't give in
to despair,
but because I
understand,
hold fast.
Hold fast to
the confession
of your faith.
Don't give up
when it gets
hard.
Don't give up
when it feels
like you can't
do it anymore.
Don't give up
when you
fail.
Draw near.
Draw near
to the
throne of
God
to find
help
and grace.
Undeserved,
unearned.
Grace that
will help you
in your time
of trial.
come in the
midst of all
the trials
that you
face.
Come and
sit in his
presence
in the depth
of your pain.
Come and
rage against
him in
your anger.
Come
confess your
weakness
and despair.
Come and
receive from
this high
priest all
that you
need.
God
because he
understands
and he
sympathizes
with you.
But you
know,
friends,
maybe you've
had a friend
who's really
good at
sympathizing
with you.
Oh,
I know
that's really
hard.
Oh,
yeah,
that's very
hard.
Yes,
it's very
hard.
And then
at the end
you walk
away and
you think,
well,
at least he
gets it
that it's
hard.
But my
life hasn't
been changed,
has it?
That's not
been very
much help.
Thankfully,
Jesus is
not a
friend like
this.
Because Jesus
has done
more than
just identify
with us
and stand
with us
in weakness.
But Jesus
stands for
us before
God.
And in
doing that,
he accomplishes
something glorious
and wonderful
for us.
Turn back
with me to
chapter 9
of Hebrews.
Hebrews
chapter 9,
we're going
to pick up
in verse 11.
We're going
to read 11
through 14.
Remember,
we read the
beginning of
this chapter
about the
high priest
going in
once a
year.
Here we
see
starting
in verse
11.
But when
Christ
appeared
as a
high priest
of the
good things
that have
come,
then through
the greater
and more
perfect tent
not made
with hands
that is not
of this
creation,
he entered
once for
all into
the holy
places,
not by
means of
the blood
of goats
and of
calves,
by means
of his
own blood,
thus securing
an eternal
redemption.
For if
the blood
of goats
and bulls
and the
sprinkling
of defiled
persons
with the
ashes of
a heifer
sanctify
for purification
of the
flesh,
how much
more
will the
blood of
Christ,
who through
the eternal
spirit offered
himself without
blemish to
God,
purify our
conscience from
dead works
to serve
the living
God.
Jesus
stands for
us.
In this
amazing
image,
Jesus pulls
together two
different threads
in the Old
Testament imagery
because he is in
this image both
the high priest
and the
sacrifice.
And in case
you ever
wanted to
wondered about
this,
this is part of
the beauty
and the complexity
of seeing how
the Old
Testament points
to the new.
It's not a
clean one-to-one
correlation or
correspondence.
It's this rich
tapestry of
interwoven themes
that point to
Jesus.
Jesus is also
the temple,
surprisingly.
So, when you
look at it,
it's this
beautiful picture.
But here in
these verses
particularly,
Jesus is both
the high priest
and the
sacrifice.
He offers
not the blood
of someone
or something
else,
but he offers
his very own
blood,
that is his
very own
life.
Remember when
we talked about
the Old Testament
sacrificial system
and what it
pointed to?
That forgiveness
is costly,
that the penalty
of sin is death,
and a death
must occur
for sin to be
forgiven?
Friends,
this is the
kind of high
priest that we
have,
because he
has paid
that cost
for us.
In Leviticus
16,
the day of
atonement,
this offering,
the human
high priest
would walk
in with
this offering.
He had
two offerings,
one for
himself,
and then
one for
the people.
And tradition
has it
that they
would tie
bells to
the bottom
of his
garments
and tie a
rope around
his ankle
because if
his sins,
if his
sacrifices were
not acceptable
and his
sin before
God was
real and
uncovered,
it would
result in
his death.
And if the
bells stopped
jingling,
they would
pull the
body out
with the
rope.
I'm not
sure that
ever actually
happened,
but it's
the tradition
that we
hear about
that helps
us understand
the severity
of what
happens.
And when
Jesus comes
in,
when Jesus
says,
I am the
high priest
that will
stand before
God
for you
on your
behalf,
and I
will offer
a superior
sacrifice
of my
very own
life
for you.
Jesus is
no longer
simply
sympathizing
with us
in our
weakness,
but he
is solving
the question
that we
started with,
which is
how can a
man stand
before God?
God.
If we
stand before
God in
our sin,
it is our
death that's
required,
and there's
no performance,
no service,
no good
work that
can save
us from
that.
There's
no guilty
feelings,
no religious
penance,
not even
our religious
despair can
save us.
Jesus comes
and he
says,
I can do
what you
cannot do.
I will
be the
high priest
to offer
what you
need.
Jesus offers
his perfect
life of
obedience.
He was,
as we saw
in chapter
four,
without sin,
and so
he did
not stand
under the
curse of
death and
the judgment
of death
that we all
do.
Because he
was without
sin,
he had a
perfect life
to offer,
which meant
that he
did not
have to
die for
his own
sin,
so he
could die
for ours.
In his
humanity,
it meant
that he
could actually
stand in
our place.
Bulls and
goats can
only cover
temporarily,
can only
provide,
as it says,
the purification
of the
flesh.
But Jesus
in his
humanity
identifies with
us so
that the
sacrifice of
his life
is an
even,
an a fair,
and a
just
substitute.
That a
life of a
man was
taken for
the life
of a
man.
His
death is
taken on
our behalf.
And so
the judgment
of God
on our
sin falls
upon him.
And so
Jesus
stands to
intercede
for us.
As
Hebrews
7,
25
says,
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.
What is
that intercession
that he
makes?
He stands
before God,
and when we
come to
God,
Jesus
says,
I suffered
for his
sin.
I suffered
for her
sin.
They are
taken away.
I have
done that.
I have
done it
once for
all so
that I
never have
to go
back in
again.
I have
done all
that is
needed for
those sins
to be
forgiven.
And I
have risen
from the
dead to
defeat the
power of
sin and
death and
now stand
to eternally
intercede
for you
so that
the redemption
of those
who are in
Christ will
never fail
because he
will never
die and
his sacrifice
is enough.
And so
we have
such a
great high
priest who
has gone
and offered
what we
could not
offer to
give us
what we
could not
attain on
our own.
Acceptance
from God,
forgiveness,
life,
freedom of
living with
him, and
as we saw
in 914,
both the
purity of
our
consciences
and the
freedom from
dead works
to serve
the living
God.
We no
longer have
to live on
the hamster
wheel of
performance,
trying
desperately,
to be
good enough.
We can
spend all
of our
energy
instead
joyfully
serving
God
because he
has saved
us.
What great
work that
is.
Reminds me
of the hymn
Charles
Wesley.
Arise,
my soul,
arise.
Shake off
thy guilty
fears,
thy bleeding
sacrifice,
and my
behalf
appears.
Before the
throne,
my Savior
stands.
My name
is written
on his
hands.
He ever
lives above
for me to
intercede.
With his
redeeming love,
his precious
blood to
plead,
his blood
was spilt
for all
our race
and sprinkles
now the
throne of
grace.
Five bleeding
wounds he
bears,
received on
Calvary.
They pour
effectual
prayers.
They strongly
speak for
me.
Forgive him.
Oh,
forgive,
they cry.
Nor let
that ransom
sinner die.
Friends,
the priestly
office of
Jesus has
achieved our
salvation.
He stands
not only with
us, but for
us before
God so
that we
can know
him.
I pray,
I pray for
our church
regularly that
we would be
a church that
in light of
this would be
able to be
free, free
to confess
our sins and
our failures,
free to
forsake a
life of
performing and
looking good
on the
outside,
free to
come together
as a
community
with a
high priest
who sympathizes
with our
weakness,
and to
take hold
of this
salvation that
we have in
Christ,
so that we
might love
one another,
so that we
might serve
the living God
together,
not hiding,
not despairing,
but worshiping
and rejoicing,
resting in
Jesus, our
great high
priest.
Let's pray.
Father, we
do pray
with
thanksgiving for
the offering
you have made
of your
son, Lord,
that he
willingly gave
himself up for
us, and
Lord, we
thank you
that even
today he
ever lives
to intercede
for us,
that his
blood speaks
and covers
our sin.
For all who
have placed
their faith in
Christ, this
is great news.
God, I pray
this morning if
there's anyone
here who has
not placed their
faith in Jesus
Christ, has
not taken
hold of this
high priest to
be theirs,
has not
trusted in
this sacrifice
that he
offered of
his own
life.
Lord, I
pray that
they would
repent,
repent of
their performance
and their
good works,
repent and
believe in
this Jesus,
and know the
joy of his
salvation.
Lord, I
pray for us
as a church
community that
you might make
us a community
that does not
need to run
or hide, but
Lord, can
rest in the
finished work of
Christ for us,
that all has
been done for
us, and now
we may live,
Lord, a new
and a different
life for you.
Lord, not
hiding our
weaknesses, but
confessing our
sin to one
another, and
knowing that in
Christ we have
the joyful
forgiveness and
the cleansing
of our
consciences that
we need so
desperately.
We pray these
things in Jesus'
name.
Amen.
God bless you.