Great and High Yet Humble and Low
Hebrews 4:14-5:10
As we have been reminded every week, the hope that Hebrews provides us is exclusively in Jesus Christ. This week, we reflect upon Jesus Christ as the great high priest. Although thinking about Jesus Christ as a high priest might make him sound more distant and less intimate, it's actually the opposite. The role of the high priest is to make it possible for sinful humans to interact with the holy God. So the priest must love and care for his people as he offers sacrifices that can cleanse their sin so that they can approach God. Hebrews has much to say about Jesus being the great high priest! But we will only focus on this passage where there are three main implications:
(1) We can experience true and deep comfort because Jesus Christ's role as the great high priest requires him to experience our weaknesses and temptations. The passage emphasizes the fact that Jesus knows exactly the kinds of temptations that we experience, so he is not only sympathetic toward us, but he is gentle with us--even though we can be ignorant and wayward (i.e., frustrating to him!). Thus, there is no legitimate reason for us to feel shame or guilt. Jesus understands and will be gentle toward us.
(2) We can have an unshakeable confidence because Jesus Christ's role as the great high priest requires him to provide mercy and grace. By definition, mercy and grace are things that are never deserved by the recipient. This should give us tremendous confidence knowing that we will always be recipients of his grace and mercy--not because we ever deserve it (in fact, we never deserve it), but because Jesus Christ is faithful to his role as the great high priest.
(3) We ought to be greatly humbled because Jesus Christ's role as the great high priest required him to suffer. This last point is critical as the previous two points can be received with a callous heart and lead to complacency. If we truly believe that Jesus Christ is the great high priest, then we ought to be humbled because his priestly role led him to live a life of suffering. His prayers were marked with loud cries and tears, and he had to learn obedience and become perfect through suffering. For us, some of the signs that we are in Christ is if we are also experiencing suffering. If Christ had to suffer to become obedient and perfect, then how much more do we need to suffer when we are both in Christ and sinful!
When we reflect upon Jesus Christ as the great high priest, there is no distance too far or guilt too shameful that can ever separate us from his love. He understands and is gentle with our weaknesses; his grace and mercy are always available; and he suffered so that we can become perfect and obedient in him!
Questions:
1. What is a high priest and why is it helpful to remember that we need one?
2. What difference does it make in your relationship with God and in your life in general that Jesus Christ can sympathize with all of your weaknesses and temptations?
3. One of the roles of Jesus Christ is that he provides mercy and grace to those who seek him, even though they are always undeserving. How have you experienced this kind of undeserved mercy and grace in your own life?
4. Take some time and write down your reflections on the selflessness of Jesus Christ's role as the great high priest. Think about the fact that: (a) he offered up prayers with loud cries and tears; (b) through his suffering, he became perfect in obedience; and (c) because of this selflessness, he is the source of our salvation. Share with one another what you wrote as a testimony of praise to Jesus.
