Approach The Throne With Confidence

3.9.25 Hebrews 4:14–16

14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest, who has gone through the heavens, namely, Jesus the Son of God, let us continue to hold on to our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin. 16 So let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Approach the Throne with Confidence

As I was writing this sermon, about six inches of snow had fallen outside. My little KIA Soul wouldn’t have been able to make it through because of its low base. (Not our greatest purchase in the world, ha.) But while I was waiting to go out the snowplow surprisingly came by quicker than normal, making it possible for me to take it out.

At Christmas time we sing of Jesus, “From heaven above to earth I come.” That was difficult enough as God had to perform a mighty and humbling miracle in taking on flesh. But this second miracle is even all the greater, where with human flesh Jesus had to blaze the way back. Instead of blazing through piles of snow, Jesus blazed “through the heavens.” The devil stood in our path with his temptations and lies, holding his grip on humanity, binding us in sin and fear and unbelief. God Himself also stood in the way, with His demands of holiness and threats of hell for any who fall short. Jesus plowed through them both. Vs. 14 calls Jesus a “great high priest,” who made the sacrifice of Himself to open up that pathway for us free of charge as we trust in Him for salvation.

During Lent we sit and watch Jesus blaze this trail for us. Today’s Gospel takes us into the desert with Jesus, right after His baptism, to take on the devil one on one, being tempted for 40 days straight by Himself. The amazing thing is that it was like Jesus was fighting with both hands tied behind His back as a purely weak human, without using His divine strength. So He used the Word of God in order to resist the temptations, like we are called on to do. He fought against the devil’s lies with the promises of God in CONTEXT, not letting the devil twist the Scriptures as the perfect theologian and Bible student.

Some ask, “Could Jesus have actually fallen into sin?” Not really. Since He was and is true God, it is impossible for Him to sin. But that doesn’t mean the battle was easy. Since Jesus had to fight this battle without using His divine powers, in weakness, made this battle humanely difficult. He had to study and memorize the Word of God, just like we are called on to do. This took work for Him to read and memorize and be able to bring it up in His memory at a moment’s notice. This was no easy thing.

Think of the professional quarterback for football who is able to distribute the ball perfectly to his wide receivers, knowing exactly when to scramble and where to pass the ball. His fans are so proud of him. They interview him afterwards and say, “You made it look so easy.” He replies, “It was anything BUT easy. It took days and months of practice with the wide receivers, along with plenty of experience to get where we were at today.”

So these temptations were not easy for Jesus to resist. When He was told to turn those stones into bread, His stomach would have been screaming for something to eat. Lent puts the humanity of Jesus on full display. Here is our fellow human going into battle on OUR behalf, and He does it perfectly. One who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin.

Even though Jesus was without sin, this text is supposed to be of encouragement to us not just from a forgiveness aspect, but also when we go into battle against the devil and our own flesh. Why? Because Jesus is still able to “sympathize with our weaknesses.” That’s a very important thing.

When my children were much younger I was doing a project around the house, and I asked one of my sons to grab a cinder block and carry it to the back of the house. The problem was that he was maybe only 8 years old at the time. He carried it about six inches and nearly dropped it on his toe. He still reminds me of that to this day. It wasn’t my finest moment. Jesus knows us better than that.