Hebrews 4:14-16 – Jesus is Greater Than the High Priest – He empathizes with our weaknesses

Session 10 – August 14, 2020 – Men’s Morning Hebrews Haverim

Our Men’s Haverim group is reading through and discussing the book of Hebrews during the months of August and September. For more information, see this blog post.

14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Hebrews 4:14-16 New International Version

Summary:

• The author returns to his main theme, that Jesus is superior. Here he presents Jesus as the great high priest, the Son of God, and calls his readers to hold firm to their faith in response to his exhortation in the preceding sections.
• Jesus is a high priest who is able to understand and empathize with our weaknesses and temptations – he was tempted in every way we are but did not sin.
• We can approach God with confidence, knowing we have a great high priest who can provide mercy and grace.

Other Thoughts:

• These three verses provide a transition from the author’s exhortation to make every effort into his thoughts on Jesus as the High Priest. In the last exhortation, he calls on his readers to not fall into disobedience and unbelief but to make every effort to enter God’s rest because the word of God will cut and reveal their hearts. However, the great high priest, Jesus, knows our struggle and can empathize with our weaknesses because he was tempted and didn’t sin. The author has laid a foundation for his readers to fully understand the power of Jesus’ priesthood.
• The high priest would enter the Holy of Holies once a year to offer a sacrifice for sin, but Jesus has ascended to heaven and continually intercedes for our sin in God’s presence.
• The power of Jesus as High Priest is that he can perfectly represent us to God and perfectly represent God to us.
• This section of scripture repeats the recurring theme in Hebrews of holding firmly to our faith – see Hebrews 2:2, 3:6, 3:14 and 10:23.
• God wanted to empathize and sympathize with us so much that he sent Jesus to feel what we feel. In Hosea, God asks the prophet to take an unfaithful wife to have Hosea feel what He felt to be able to better prophesy to Israel. Hosea 11:8-9 shows us God’s empathy: His compassion causes his heart to change and he decides to not punish his people for their unfaithfulness.
• The Oakes/Carrillo book “Hebrews: Living by Faith” mentions that the word for priest is pontifex, which means bridge. Jesus, by enduring temptation without sin, is the perfect bridge from humanity to the Divine, from us in our sin to God in His perfection.
• Do you approach God confidently in prayer, knowing that Jesus is a bridge connecting you to the Holy Father God?