“Seeing that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast the profession of our faith. 15. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
The high priest was an important person in Judaism. For example, The high priest entered the Holy of Holies each year to make atonement for the people. Since Jesus came, we do not need a human high priest, but we do have a great High Priest – Jesus Himself. One of our main teachings is “the priesthood of the believer.” The idea of this teaching is that every Christian is his or her own priest. This teaching is true, because Jesus is our High Priest. When Jesus died on the cross, the curtain in the temple that separated the Holy of Holies from believers was torn in two. At that moment, Jesus became the only high priest that we will ever need. The first important fact revealed here is that Jesus “is passed into the heavens.” When Jesus ascended to heaven, He ascended to the real Holy of Holies, not the material one. This truth is profoundly illustrated in Hebrews 9:24-26: “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true: but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. 25. Nor yet that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters into the holy place every year with the blood of others. 26. For then must He often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” Wow! Our High Priest does not minister in an earthly sanctuary, but in the sanctuary of heaven itself. If Jesus had not passed into the heavens, He could not be our Great High Priest. The second important fact revealed here is that because of what Jesus has done, we should “hold fast the profession of our faith.” This means that we should stay faithful to Jesus, who died for our sins, arose for our justification and ascended for, among other things, our access to the throne of God. Satan is always trying to call our attention away from our dedication to Jesus. He will use anything to get us not to “hold fast.” To show you how far Satan will go, he will even use the natural love for our families to call us away from our dedication to Jesus. When we are tempted we need to remember all that Jesus has done for us. The third important fact revealed here is that Jesus paid a high price to become our High Priest. Verse 15 assures us: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” In His love and concern for us, Jesus experienced every temptation that we have to face, but, unlike us, He never sinned. He did this in order for Him to be able to die as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. Besides that, we have a high priest who understands what we go through in our daily temptations. He can “be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.” Jesus knows what we are going through and, because of who He is, goes through it all with us. He is the One who gives us the power to overcome the temptations and the trials of this life. It is good to know that He understands. The bottom line here is that because of our Great High Priest, we can “therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and the grace to help in time of need.” That is a deal that should not be denied. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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