And with that marvelous prayer in our hearts and on our lips,
just pause for a moment in quietness as we come to God's Word.
Let's pray.
Lord, we thank you for your Word, which is living, active, and powerful,
and which comes with promise that as it goes out, it will not return to you empty.
Lord, so the words that we've sung is the prayer of our hearts.
We pray that you would touch us and from this moment change us.
And so may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts
be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.
Amen.
Well, we come this morning, as John's already mentioned,
to the fifth of our series in the book of Hebrews.
I'm aware that people can preach on the book of Hebrews for a very long time,
period of years.
And we're cracking through it fairly quickly.
Part 5 brings us up to the end of chapter 4 and the beginning of chapter 5.
Just a quick review as we dig in to orient ourselves.
This letter of Hebrews is an anonymous letter written, it seems,
to a group of Jewish Christians who are now in danger of losing their faith.
In fact, they think they have lost something in becoming Christians.
And the burden of the letter to the Hebrew Christians is to urge them to understand
they haven't lost something.
They're in danger of losing something for the thing that they have gained.
And what have they gained?
In a word, it's Jesus.
And so the first two chapters are all about Jesus.
The first chapter, that Jesus is the Son of God,
the exact representation of the divine being, fully God, in fact.
And as the writer moves into chapter 2,
he demonstrates that this one who is the exact representation of God
is also fully human.
In fact, one who is our brother,
and he is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters.
So fully God and fully man.
Having set out who the Son of God is,
the writer then talks a bit about who the people of God are
in chapters 3 and 4,
and takes them back in time to the experience of the Israelites
in the Exodus, the ones who left Egypt with Moses
to enter the promised land in chapter 3,
but the ones who, even who entered it in chapter 4 under Joshua,
didn't find rest, which still remains.
And the passage last week, as John brought it to us,
finished on a bit of an ominous note,
as we'll see in just a moment.
But it's that well-known set of verses.
The Word of God is alive and active.
It pierces the soul.
It reveals all.
Nothing is hidden from it.
And that just strikes a note that something heavy is coming.
In fact, something heavy is coming.
But the passage that we're at this morning
just presses the pause button briefly
as the writer sets out the argument in a very compressed way,
which is going to sustain the next chapters of the letter
right through to the end of Hebrews chapter 10.
So when we get a few weeks down the line to Hebrews 10,
maybe we'll hear an echo of things we've heard already.
In fact, as we come to this passage today,
we're already hearing echoes of things we've heard before,
a very carefully unfolded argument by this writer.
Well, last week, John noted that there was a key word
that ran through the passage in chapter 4
about, what, eight or so times.
The word rest just kept coming up again and again.
And as we read our passage this morning,
something similar happens,
something that crops up five times.
In fact, I'd say five and a half times.
You can work out which the half is as we read it.
So let's read together.
Hebrews chapter 4, beginning at verse 14
through to chapter 5, verse 10.
So we pick it up at the end of chapter 4
with this sense that the people who left Egypt
didn't enter the promised land,
and the people who entered the promised land
didn't really find rest.
Nothing in creation is hidden from God's sight.
Everything is uncovered and laid bare
before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Boom, boom, boom.
But just before the hammer falls,
we have this.
Therefore, since we have a great high priest
who has gone through the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God,
let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
For we do not have a high priest
who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but we have one who has been tempted in every way
just as we are,
yet was without sin.
Let us then approach the throne of grace
with confidence
so that we may receive mercy
and find grace
to help us in our time of need.
Every high priest
is selected from among men
and is appointed to represent them
in matters related to God
to offer gifts
and sacrifices for sins.
He is able to deal gently
with those who are ignorant
and are going astray
since he himself
is subject to weakness.
This is why
he has to offer sacrifices
for his own sins
as well as for the sins of the people.
No one takes this honor upon himself.
He must be called by God
just as Aaron was.
So Christ also
did not take upon himself
the glory of becoming a high priest.
But God said to him,
You are my son.
Today I have become your father.
And he says in another place,
You are a priest forever
in the order of Melchizedek.
During the days of Jesus' life on earth,
he offered up prayers and petitions
with loud cries and tears
to the one who could save him from death.
And he was heard
because of his reverent submission.
Although he was a son,
he learned obedience
from what he suffered.
And once made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation
for all who obey him
and was designated by God
to be a high priest
in the order of Melchizedek.
There's our passage.
And it has, I'm guessing,
some unfamiliar things in it
as well as some quite familiar things.
I wonder if you picked out
today's key term.
High priest.
Did you pick out the half?
A priest.
Well, I'll hold a sharp crew this morning.
This is really building my confidence.
Yes, this is all about the high priest.
Now, why a high priest?
Why a priest?
And we need to spend
some of our time this morning
just thinking about what it is
that makes this the thing
that the writer goes to
in order to encourage these Christians
as they face this temptation
to turn away.
Well, the passage clearly divides
into three chunks,
three paragraphs,
and we'll take them in turn,
starting first with
the end of chapter 4,
the verses that Neil read to us
before our prayer together,
in which we think about
the high priest and prayer.
Second, in verses 1 through 5
of chapter 5,
we think of 1 through 4, rather,
the high priest and the people.
And thirdly, the rest of chapter 5,
the high priest and perfection.
So the high priest in relation
to each of these three focuses,
prayer, people, and perfection.
So we begin with the high priest
and prayer.
Well, as we've noted already,
the previous section
ended on this ominous note,
something you're going to have
to give account.
And there's a clear note
of warning there.
This aspect of God's word
as being something living,
powerful, active.
There is more that's going
to strike fear to come.
But first, there's this note
of encouragement.
Quite appropriate that it was read
before our prayers,
because it is an invitation
to prayer,
an encouragement.
And in fact,
in one sense,
if we're used to a sort of
standard sermon pattern
where we get our stuff,
and then at the end
you get the application,
well, this passage
has the application front-loaded.
It's here in these first few verses
that we get some instructions,
some encouragement
about what we are to do.
The book of Hebrews
does have some clear commands.
The first one comes in chapter 3,
as we've seen already.
Consider Jesus.
And there's several more commands
in chapter 3.
And then they sort of disappear.
Sort of, they do disappear.
The next time we see commands
is in chapter 7, in fact,
and then through the rest
of the letter.
So here, the instructions we have
don't come by way of command.
They come by way of encouragement.
Now, I hope you've picked up
that language
of how the writer to the Hebrews
is together with these people
in this.
And so there's two
specific instructions
he gives.
Let us hold firmly
and let us
approach the throne of grace.
Let us do this.
We have a great high priest.
Let us hold firmly.
We have a priest
who is able to empathize
with our weakness,
and so on.
We're in this together.
But it's not just about believers
being in this together.
Christians are those
who have this,
as the writer introduces him here,
great high priest.
I mean, a high priest
is pretty great.
But you don't normally say
the great high priest.
It's built into the high priest bit.
The word's a little bit
like our word archbishop,
in fact.
Bishop, yeah, that's okay.
Archbishop.
That's pretty special.
And it's one word.
Same in Greek.
Priest is one word.
But here we have
an archpriest.
Archierus.
And that's what we have in mind.
But this is a great high priest.
And
these verses are just amazing.
As you pause and ponder them,
we have in them
the whole of the argument
of the opening part
of the book,
in fact.
Here we have Jesus,
who is the Son of God,
the exact representation
of the divine image,
who's passed through the heavens.
He's ascended to the heavens.
It's pretty special
for a high priest.
But he's not only the one
who, like chapter 1 of Hebrews,
is the Son of God
and divine,
but he is the one
who sympathizes
with us in our weaknesses,
who's been tempted
in every way
as we are.
He's one of us too.
There's Hebrews chapter 2.
And there's an encouragement
then to
heed this,
to hold it,
and to approach,
which is essentially
what we have
in chapters 3 and 4.
And in fact,
we've heard something
of these words before.
There was a trailer
for this already
in the end
of Hebrews chapter 2.
For this reason,
the writer says,
he, that's Jesus,
had to be made like them,
fully human
in every way,
in order that he might
become a merciful
and faithful
high priest.
That's the first time
we see it in the letter.
In service to God,
that he might make atonement
for the sins of the people.
Because he himself
suffered when he was tempted,
he is able to help those
who are being tempted.
So no ordinary
high priest.
And the two
specific pieces
of encouragement
or exhortation,
a little bit like coach,
come on,
let's do it,
come in these two
injunctions,
specific pieces
of encouragement
that the writer
has given.
And we'll just take
a moment to reflect
on each of those.
First,
let us,
because we have
someone who's ascended
into the heavens
as our high priest,
let's hold firmly
to the faith
we profess.
Well, hold firmly
here is a pretty
strong word.
It's the sort of word
you'd use if you want
to lay hold
of something,
seize it.
It's a word
that could be used
in context
of arrest,
to take someone
under custody.
And as one of the
older commentators
puts it,
we have in this
encouragement
to hold on
something that gives
an indication
of danger
as well
as an incitement
to effort.
word.
That note we heard
as we went
from the living
and active word,
and we'll all
have to give account,
there's still some
urgency in the air.
As this writer says,
hold on.
It's not
just a sort of calm.
All right then,
everybody,
you know,
like taking your
primary two class
on an outing.
Hold on to the room.
It's not,
well, you do want
them to hold on
tightly, don't you?
You don't want
everyone going astray.
But this is cling on.
You're at risk.
Hang on.
And what are they
to hold on to?
Well,
the NIV
slightly unpacks
it for us already.
Let us hold firmly
to the faith
we profess.
What it simply says
is let's hold fast,
as some of the
older translations
put it,
our confession.
Let's hold fast
our profession.
That is something
that we say.
There's something
about our speech
here.
And what is this?
Is it confession
in the sense
of what we did
together at the
beginning of our
service?
We confess our sins.
No, it's not
quite that
in the book of Hebrews.
Or is confession
the other thing
that we sometimes
say as a set
of doctrines
or beliefs,
you know,
like the Westminster
Confession
or the
Belgic Confession
or whatever
confession that
might be
that summarizes
our beliefs.
And it's not
quite the way
Hebrews uses
the term either.
What our writer
has in mind,
and we know this
because he uses
the term repeatedly
throughout the
letter,
is Jesus
himself.
He is the one
that we confess
and profess.
And the clearest
place we see this
comes actually
towards the end
of the letter
in Hebrews 13.
Through Jesus,
therefore,
let us continually
offer to God
a sacrifice
of praise,
the fruit
of lips
that openly
profess,
it's the same
word as we have
here,
his name,
that is,
the name of Jesus.
And it's quite
striking that the
thing then that
they have to cling
to desperately
is a profession,
a statement.
It's the speaking
of the name
of Jesus
that, in fact,
is part of their
worship and then
infuses and orients
the whole of their
lives.
So that's the first
encouragement to hold
firmly the faith
we profess
that our confession,
that confession
being Jesus
himself.
But the second
thing is what
we've done already
this morning
in verse 16.
Let us approach
God's throne of grace
with confidence
so that we may
receive mercy
and find grace
to help in time
of need.
Well, if the
encouragement to
hold fast
comes off the
back of noting
that Jesus is the
one who's passed
through the heavens,
this encouragement
here to approach
with confidence
comes off the
back of noting
that he's just
like us,
again like
Hebrews chapters
one and two.
he's been tempted
it says in every
way as we are.
Well, what's in
mind with this
temptation?
And I don't think
it's so much to do
with the temptation
to sin,
to do wrong,
although in a sense
that it is about
that.
There's something
else that's worrying
these Jewish
believers.
Their fear
seems to be
that their sin
is separating
them from God
and they have
no priest.
They've got no
priest,
they've got no
sacrifice.
They've got no
sacrifice,
they've got
no forgiveness.
And if they've
got no forgiveness,
they're separated
from God.
If that's
the temptation
and the temptation
is to
avoid somehow
the salvation
that's offered
in Jesus
and to return
to some other
kind of salvation,
the words
of the writer
here are a bit
interesting because
we don't leave
speech behind.
If we were
writing this,
we might go on
to sacrifice
now that Jesus
laid down his
life for us.
It's not,
in fact,
where the writer
goes.
The writer
invites us,
encourages us,
exhorts us,
urges us
to approach
with confidence.
And if our
previous
exhortation
had this
hint of
danger in
it,
this word
has a
strong sense
of courage
to come
boldly
into God's
presence,
to find
grace to
help us
in our time
of need.
I mean,
it's interesting
that the
ancient Jewish
writers applied
this kind of
boldness to
Abraham.
Now,
you remember
the father
Abraham,
the old
patriarch.
Mark,
for instance,
in Genesis
15,
one of the
times when
the Lord
comes and
speaks to
Abraham and
says,
I'm your
very great
reward.
And Abraham
says,
that's fine,
but I don't
have any
offspring.
And he's
received that
promise.
He would have
offspring.
So what's it
about?
Or at the
time before,
the destruction
of Sodom and
Gomorrah,
where Abraham
intercedes for
the righteous
of the city.
And ancient
Jewish commentators
had a sense
that this is
what it is to
come boldly
into God's
presence,
reverently,
deferently,
knowing the
promise of
God.
And even if
we come in
our perplexity
about how
that promise
is going to
be realized
in our lives
and situations.
And so this
writer says,
because we
have this
kind of high
priest who
knows what
it is to
be tempted,
we come
boldly,
with courage
into God's
presence,
to his
throne of
grace,
so that we
may find
help in
our time
of need.
So there's
a reverent
prayer in
response to
Jesus'
high priesthood
and what he
has done,
and the
fear that
will be
separated from
God, in
fact,
melts away
in responding
to what
Jesus has
done and
approaching
boldly.
Well, that's
the high
priest and
prayer.
But as we
move into
the letter,
we come to
the high
priest and
the people.
Having set
out that this
is who Jesus
is, trailed
it in chapter
two, now
starting to
unpack it at
the end of
chapter four,
chapter five,
our writer
stops and
says,
right, okay,
we know what
a high priest
is like.
This is what
a high priest
is.
And we have
to, at this
point, try to
imagine ourselves
into the,
if we can,
lives, minds,
orientation,
world of
first century
Jewish Christians
whose lives
and yearning
for God
have brought
them to
Christ,
the one
who has
fulfilled
the promises
and worship
of the Old
Testament,
but now
they're missing
something.
So, some
of these
longings come
out in these
verses in
chapter five,
verses one
to four.
And we
might ask
ourselves,
why a priest?
Why a high
priest?
What's good
about a high
priest that
might be
something of
my yearning
or even
a temptation
for me?
And here
we get
something of
the context
in that.
Of course,
it's very
brief, but
it just
hits the
sort of
top
checklist
of things
that this
is what
we want
in a high
priest.
A little
bit of
background.
The Old
Testament has
essentially
three intermediary
figures,
three individuals
who, by
nature of
their role
or their
office,
stood in
some way
between God
and the
people,
and the
well-known
tree of
prophet,
priest,
and king.
Of course,
the prophet,
if you can
imagine it
this way,
is one
who, with
God at
his back,
speaks God's
words to
the people.
The priest
turns around,
stands and
serves before
God, bringing
the people
safely into
God's
presence.
And the
king, in
some way,
stands between
at the very
connecting point
of God and
people, making
possible, in
some ways, that
connection between
God and
people.
And the
letter to the
Hebrews has
something to
say about
each of those
three kinds
of intermediaries.
One who
comes between
and manages
the connection
between.
But by far
the way,
looming largest
of all by
far, is the
priest, which
mightn't be the
one most of
us go to.
Perhaps for
some, it
would be.
For others, I
don't think so.
But essentially,
what does a
priest do?
There's a number
of things.
If you look
through the
different passages
in the Old
Testament that
teach about the
priesthood, but
I'd say, at
bottom, fundamentally,
what a priest
does is this.
A priest brings
the people
safely into the
presence of God
because, frankly,
the presence of
God, the Holy
God, is a scary
place to be.
And if you
show up there
improperly,
arriving,
impure,
not fit to be
in that presence,
it's not good.
And that's what
the priest does.
The priest is
that one who
is able to
bring the people
safely and
rightly fit
into God's
presence.
And we see
some of this
as Aaron
becomes the
first great
high priest
of Israel.
So in
Leviticus 9
and 10, we
see some
of this
story.
Moses says
to Aaron,
come to the
altar and
sacrifice your
sin offering
and your
burnt offering
and make
atonement for
yourself and
the people.
For yourself
and the
people.
Yourself
and the
people.
Sacrifice the
offering that
is for the
people.
Make atonement
for them as
the Lord
has commanded.
That's what
the priest is
there to do,
to bring the
people safely
into the
presence of
God.
Because what
happens if
you or I
or somebody
else tries to
pull this
off?
Well, a few
chapters later
in Leviticus,
this is what
happens.
This is the
warning.
Any Israelite
or foreigner
residing among
them who offers
a burnt offering
or a sacrifice
and does not
bring it to
the entrance
of the tent
of the meeting
where the
priest waits,
to sacrifice
it to the
Lord,
must be
cut off
from the
people of
Israel.
It's a bit
of an irony,
isn't it?
That's your
yearning.
You want to
be in God's
presence.
You bring
your offering.
Can't be
bothered waiting
for the priest.
But no,
don't do that.
Because if you
approach God
improperly,
you're cut
off.
And the very
thing you might
have wanted
is the thing
you've lost.
Well, if we
trace the story
of the priesthood
through the Old
Testament, it's
not a pretty
tale.
Very quickly
in Leviticus 10,
already after the
appointment, it
all goes very
wrong.
Aaron's sons
died, killed
because they
brought unholy
fire into the
Lord's presence.
And again
and again,
whether it's
the sons of
Eli, whether
it's the sons
of Samuel,
whether it's
priests during
the times of
the kings of
Israel, who
led the kings
astray and
were complicit
in their
idolatrous
worship, right
through to the
last book of
the Old
Testament, as
we know it,
Malachi, where
the priests who
had a covenant
with Levi have
trashed it and
not maintained
the people as
holy.
well, sort
of picking on
priests to say
that because
frankly, prophets
and kings don't
come off much
better, nor do
any of us,
frankly.
But it's, I
think, interesting
and certainly to
our writers'
credit that none
of that is
mentioned here in
these first few
verses.
What we have
here is a
thumbnail sketch
of the best high
priest you could
imagine.
every high priest
selected from
among the
people, appointed
as Aaron was
to represent the
people in matters
related to God.
It's important to
remember that the
priest serves the
God on behalf of
the people, to
offer gifts and
sacrifices for sins
just as we've
seen.
He's able to deal
gently with those
who are ignorant
and going astray
since he himself
is subject to
weakness, so he
offers sacrifices for
sins, his own
as well as the
sins of the
people.
And no one
takes this honor
in himself, but
receives it when
called by God, just
as Aaron was.
And this is such a
carefully crafted
appeal to these
Christians.
Chapter 3, Moses.
Jesus better than
Moses.
Chapter 4, Joshua.
You know what?
Jesus' rest better
than Joshua's rest.
Chapter 5, Aaron.
The three great
figures of the
Exodus and
conquest periods.
But you know
what?
Three for three,
Jesus is better
again.
And here we, in a
sense, have your
dream come true
priest, the best
priest you could
imagine.
But here's the
irony.
For these Jewish
believers, looking
to this priest would
prevent them from
looking to Jesus.
priests.
The religion, in a
sense, was getting
in the way.
So anxious to have
a priest, they're in
danger of losing a
savior.
I think there's
something here to
give us pause just
before we move to the
last paragraph, the
last chunk of our
passage.
Is there something
about our religion
that gets in the
way?
It's certainly the
case that priests are
good things.
They're commanded
things you couldn't do
without them, but
they're not the
ultimate thing.
They weren't the
thing that mattered.
They were the thing
that pointed towards
the one who mattered,
pointed towards
Christ.
And I wonder if
sometimes in our
own religious lives,
we have that sense
that we too look to
good things, but that
are not ultimate
things.
Whether it's, you
know, good music and
fine singing, it
lifts my spirit, I'm
fine.
It's proper rituals
and liturgy.
If we just get that
right, we'll be fine.
If we're under good
teaching, you know,
we'll be fine.
If I can participate
in outreach and
social action or
engage atheists on
Facebook in the name
of Jesus, you know,
I'll be fine.
But all of those good
things are not
ultimate things.
They're not the
thing.
They're the things
that sometimes
attract our attention,
though.
C.S. Lewis, in his
fascinating little book,
The Great Divorce,
through the mouth of
George MacDonald,
the Scottish
fantasist of the
19th century,
says,
There have been men
before now who got
so interested in
proving the existence
of God that they
came to care nothing
for God himself,
as if the good Lord
had nothing to do
but to exist.
There have been some
so occupied in
spreading Christianity
that they never gave
a thought to Christ.
So there's a warning
here as we look at
these Christians
yearning for a high
priest, yearning for
something external
to make them okay
when they needed to
guard their hearts
and their minds,
see what was inside.
Like the priesthood,
all these good things
can displace the
response to Jesus
and what he calls us
to, what the gospel
calls us to.
We'll see more about
that in just a moment.
But if we've seen
something of the high
priest and prayer,
the high priest and
the people,
finally we come to
the high priest and
perfection.
The writer to the
Hebrews demonstrates
that the people's
high priest,
the one selected
from them to offer
sacrifices for them,
greater than the
angels, greater than
Moses, is also
greater than Aaron.
And in these last
few verses of the
chapter, of our
passage, verses 5
through 10, we see
a little bit about
how Jesus' high
priesthood, it's
like Aaron's, it's
recognizable.
They're cousins, if you
like, not the same.
There's something
different about Jesus'
high priesthood.
And what is that?
Well, we see it, first
of all, in these two
quotations that were
given.
We see how the writer
of the Hebrews is
constantly appealing to
Old Testament
scriptures to make his
point.
Christ didn't take on
himself the glory of
becoming a high priest,
as Aaron didn't
arrogate the role to
himself.
But God said to him,
quoting Psalm 2,
you are my son, today
I've become your
father.
Which is interesting.
It's not really about
the priesthood.
And we've heard this
before.
We heard this already
right at the beginning
of chapter 1, quoting
Psalm 2.
What it shows us is
that there is a priest
who isn't of the line
of Aaron.
This isn't one of
Aaron's later sons.
This is the son of God.
And the next passage
we have quoted, he says
in another place, this is
Psalm 110, you are a
priest, there's our half,
a priest forever in the
order of Melchizedek.
Melchizedek, strange name,
which we'll come to hear
more of in weeks to come,
picked up again in verse
10.
And again in chapter 7,
so if our first quote
points us back in the
book, our next quote
points us forward in the
book.
And in both of us, they
show we don't have a
priest who's like Aaron.
We have a priest who's
quite different, in a
different order.
And then as the writer
goes on to unpack what
Jesus' high priesthood is
like, he doesn't mention
sacrifices at all.
There is a little bit of
strain in this passage
between the place of
prayer and the place of
sacrifice.
As I mentioned already,
we'll hear lots more
about sacrifice in the
chapters to come.
But that's not where he
goes at this point.
This ideal priest, in
Jesus' life on earth,
offered up prayers and
petitions with fervent cries
and tears to the one who
could save him from death,
and was heard.
This high priest, his
prayers were heard because
of his referent submission.
Well, we don't have set out
here what seems to be going
on in the mind of our
writer.
There's an echo here of
Psalm 22.
Now, we know Psalm 22,
probably one of the most
famous texts in the Bible of
all.
But we know the beginning.
My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?
The words that were on Jesus'
lips as he died on the cross.
We don't have those words
echoed here.
We have the end of that
psalm echoed.
For he, because as in Psalm 22,
the psalmist is heard and has
delivered, then his word of
praise goes up.
He has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted
one.
He has not hidden his face from
him, but has listened.
He has heard his cry for help.
So for these Jewish Christians,
another echo of the psalms in
saying what this high priest is
like.
And it's on this basis that then
Jesus is the one who is made
perfect.
Not just an ideal high priest,
the sort of best high priest you
could think of, like the best car
you could think of, or the best
kitchen, or the best whatever it
might be.
It's the perfect high priest.
He has been perfected.
And we might find that language of
being perfected a bit awkward.
I thought Jesus was perfect.
Well, it's true Jesus was perfect,
but this is very much in the mode of
the way Paul put it in Philippians.
that he became obedient to death,
and therefore God has exalted him.
The same thing at work here in the
reflection from the writer to the
Hebrews.
Son though he was, he learned
obedience from what he suffered,
and made perfect, became the source
of eternal salvation for all who
obey him.
And although we started with
application, and what we have set
out now is this reflection on
Jesus the great high priest,
there is implicit here
something still by way of
application.
We're not only those who are to
hold fast, cling our confession,
not only ones who are to approach
with confidence and courage the
throne of grace.
But if we have Jesus as our high
priest, we find in him the source of
eternal salvation for all who obey
him.
There is a following.
I've loved the hymns and songs that
we've been singing this morning.
My chains fell off.
My was free.
I rose, went forth, and followed
thee.
It's just what the writer to the
Hebrews has in mind here.
We don't come to Jesus the high
priest and say, right, done,
tick, I've got the perfect high
priest.
If Jesus is my high priest,
there's something magnetic and
compelling that reorients and
reshapes my life to be a follower
of his.
And it was something these
Christians knew something about.
They knew what it was to suffer
for the name of Jesus.
But it's something that they were
in danger of forgetting.
Much, perhaps, as we are.
Well, as we come to an end, a little
story.
Many years I've carried in my
memory banks the vivid image of a
billboard I used to see around
Toronto.
I could have described it to you.
In the early 1980s, which is just a
little while ago now.
As I was reflecting on this passage
today, that billboard, that is pretty
effective advertising, isn't it, kept
coming back to mind.
Well, this is the internet age,
isn't it?
So I got help from Mr. Google to see
if I could find it.
And I did.
Here it is.
Dare to be a priest like me.
Those billboards, this picture is a
bit sepia tone.
They were in color, were dotted around
Toronto.
And what I like to think of as a
teenage, I won't go there, years.
They were erected by somebody named
Father Sean O'Sullivan, who at the
time was director of vocations for the
Catholic Church in that diocese, the
Archdiocese of Toronto.
The billboard was a huge success.
Just dial 977-1100.
You could be a priest today.
The phone rang off the hook.
They were inundated.
And this is the image that kept coming
to mind as I was thinking about the
high priest in our passage.
And I thought, Father Sean, close, but not
quite.
There is a sense, of course, in which we're
called to be like Christ.
But if there's anything that our passage is
telling us about, it's that there is one
unique, great high priest who is Jesus, who we
absolutely must have in our lives.
So the slogan needs a tweak.
Dare to have a priest like me.
That's the simple one-point sermon from
today's passage.
What that means in terms of prayer and
sacrifice, we'll be spending weeks working
out.
But dare to have a priest like me.
Let's pray.
Just in the quiet of this moment, we've
seen a high priest who is perfect, who's
gone into the heavens and yet has suffered
temptations in every way as we have.
So let's take a moment to do what we've been
encouraged to do, to approach the throne of
grace with confidence.
Perhaps there are some here this morning who
really have gone astray.
As the law of the priests in the Old Testament
put it, you've sinned with a high hand.
Come to Jesus.
Have a priest like him.
Come to the throne of grace for help in a time
of need.
Perhaps you've been living a life of comfort,
simply ignoring the things on the inside in
favor of the things on the outside.
There's a law for that too.
It's called sins of ignorance.
They needed a sacrifice.
They needed a priest.
Lord, if we're comfortable, disturb us and
bring us on our knees boldly to your throne
of grace.
Perhaps there are some here who've had a
longing for God, for the one who made them,
but not found a way to have fellowship and
communion with that God.
Well, there is only one great high priest to
make that possible.
Perhaps this morning you need to come to him,
find in the Lord Jesus Christ, the great high
priest, who is not ashamed to call us
brothers and sisters.
So we thank you, our Heavenly Father, for a
priest like Jesus.
Thank you that he is our great high priest.
Help us now to be those who find in him the
source of salvation and those who follow him
in obedience.
For your great namesake we pray.
Amen.