“It’s Who You Know”
Heb. 2:5-18 & 4:14-16
I had a boyhood friend named Dale. Dale’s dad operated the projectors at a local movie theater. If I went to a movie with Dale, I got in free and sometimes even sat in the projection booth. But if I went to the same theater alone I had to pay the same price as everyone else and sit where they sat. I learned that sometimes it’s who you know that counts.
One of the great influences on my pastoral life is Dr. Lloyd Ogilvie. He most recently served as Chaplain of the United States Senate – but for many years prior to that was the Sr. Pastor of the Hollywood Presbyterian Church in California. One year we decided to take a vacation in Paramount California to visit my brother-in-law’s family. I knew that would put us as close to Hollywood as I would probably ever get so I began to wonder how I could get in touch with, and perhaps meet Dr. Ogilvie. And then it dawned on me – his main music person was a man named Dick Bolks, whose sister was a member of our congregation in Kalamazoo. I talked with her, she contacted him, and he contacted Dr. Ogilvie. It’s who you know.
It was a problem. The Old Testament kept driving home the point that God was utterly holy and humankind was utterly sinful; one could not stand in the presence of the other. East is east and west is west – holiness is holiness, sinfulness is sinfulness and never the twain shall meet.
So in the Temple at Jerusalem there was, behind an imposing curtain, that inner room called the Holy of Holies; within that room dwelt God in all His glory and fullness. No one could enter it upon penalty of death. But God desired to bridge the gap; He ordered the High Priest to enter once a year and offer a sacrifice of blood for the sins of the people. The High Priest became the bridge linking God and humankind; he smoothed the way between the holy God and the sinful people. So when the Israelites wanted to receive forgiveness, they went to the Priest. It’s who you know.
Teaching through the Old Testament this year I’ve been thinking quite a bit about the Biblical concept of priesthood. I’m convinced that, just like the Israelites, WE NEED A PRIEST. How else can we get to God? We, in fact, NEED A PERFECT PRIEST. In the Old Testament the priests were special people. They had to be born into the tribe of Levi. They wore special dress, ate special food, and lived in special towns. In the Temple they wore the names of the 12 tribes across their breast so they could carry the whole nation into the presence of God. They wore a crown on which was written “Holy to Yahweh.” Yet, to be in God’s presence, they had to be clean and free from physical defects and deformities. So they were held to high standards of behavior and cleanliness.
We know that no human is worthy to go into God’s presence, for himself or for another. We know there is no perfect human. Yet we tend to believe that a duly ordained priest, pastor, clergy – call them what you will – can still go for us and represent us. But they, too, must be special – holier than us, called differently than us, living differently than us. While serving my first congregation in Northwest Iowa, I went with several couples to a local college basketball game. My college alma mater was playing the local college. Just as the buzzer sounded before half-time, my alma mater sank a basket from mid-court – but the ref waived it off. Wrapped up in the emotion I stood up and hollered “No!” One of the couples from the church, older than I was, looked at me with bewilderment and said, “You get angry!” I thought – “Well yeah!” But it was the first hint I had that people expected their priest to be holy, to be perfect. After all, if priests are going to bring us and our needs and our sins to God, they must be special. That’s why we are so devastated when clergy persons “fall;” we feel like all they’ve done for us is lost, that we, too, are cut off from God. We want and need a perfect priest.
Yet we also NEED AN UNDERSTANDING PRIEST - one who is close to us, who can identify with us. After all, if the priests are so separate, so different, so much holier, how can they ever understand our problems, pains, temptations, and circumstances? We want someone who’s been where we are. I remember the day clearly. I was calling on an elderly widow of our congregation. It was the first time I visited her – shortly after the informal introductions she blurted out that there was no way I could identify with her because I had never lost a spouse. I was stunned – not just that she said it but that she was right. I knew about grief – I had lost a teenaged sister and some other relatives to death – but never a spouse. To her it was a strike against me – how could I ever help her? How can a perfect priest, a priest removed from our experience, ever understand our struggles, problems, pains, temptations, and circumstances?
Part of the Good News of this Good Friday is that WE HAVE A PRIEST. 14 – “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God…” WE HAVE A PRIEST WHO IS PERFECT. He is “the Son of God” who has been tempted in every way like us, only without sinning. He has “passed through the heavens.” (5:4-6 GNT) “No one chooses for himself the honor of being a high priest. It is only by God’s call that a man is made a high priest—just as Aaron was. In the same way, Christ did not take upon himself the honor of being a high priest. Instead, God said to him, You are my Son; today I have become your Father. He also said in another place, You will be a priest forever…” We have our perfect priest.
And WE HAVE A PRIEST WHO UNDERSTANDS AND IDENTIFIES WITH US. (15) “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…” He is Emmanuel – God with us. He did pass through the heavens but only after he lived, suffered, and died among us. He is the suffering servant Isaiah introduced (53:2-3 GNT): “He had no dignity or beauty to make us take notice of him. There was nothing attractive about him, nothing that would draw us to him. We despised him and rejected him; he endured suffering and pain. No one would even look at him—we ignored him as if he were nothing.” No matter what we’re experiencing – Jesus has been there, done that. (2:17-18) “Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.”
Emma was a Holocaust survivor. Every day, at 4:00 PM, she stood outside a Manhattan church and screamed insults at God; she felt abandoned and forsaken by Him. One day the pastor went outside to her and said, “Why don’t you go inside and tell him?” She immediately disappeared into the church. An hour went by and the pastor, worried, decided to look in on her. He found Emma, prostrate before the cross, absolutely still. Reaching down, he touched her shoulder. She looked up with tears in her eyes and said quietly, “After all, he was a Jew, too.” Jesus was forsaken so we would not be. He has gone wherever we can go, has experienced whatever we can experience. Wherever we are, we are only where Christ has been; whatever we experience, we are only experiencing what Christ has experienced. Jesus has been there, done that. It’s who you know.
Do you feel alone? So did Jesus. Feel forsaken? So did Jesus. Being tested or tempted? So was Jesus. Experiencing pain, or going through suffering? So did Jesus. Lacking wealth? So did Jesus. Taken advantage of or abused or bullied? So was Jesus. Feel opposed and threatened? So did Jesus. Feel the need to get away? So did Jesus. Facing so many demands that you don’t have time for lunch? So did Jesus. Falsely accused? So was Jesus. Friends or loved ones let you down? Jesus has been there, done that too. It’s who you know.
Because Jesus is perfect, because He has been there and done that, WE HAVE A PRIEST WHO HAS BRIDGED THE GAP. Luke 23:44-46 (MSG): “By now it was noon. The whole earth became dark, the darkness lasting three hours—a total blackout. The Temple curtain split right down the middle. Jesus called loudly, "Father, I place my life in your hands!" Then he breathed his last.” The curtain which protected the Holy of Holies, which barred entrance to the Holy Place, which promised the penalty of death for any, other than the High Priest, who entered – this curtain was torn in two. The Holy Place was now open for all. The curtain which blocked the presence of God in all His glory and holiness was now removed so anyone could enter and receive life, and live! The curtain which prevented direct and individual access to God was now torn apart, allowing one-on-one, face to face communion with God. What Jesus had said was now true – He alone is the way, the truth, and the life – and no one comes to the Father but through Him.
So WE HAVE ACCESS TO GOD. The author of Hebrews extends an invitation (10:19-22): “And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him.” It’s who you know.
This access enables us, first of all, to FACE DEATH FEAR FREE. (2:14-15 CEV): “We are people of flesh and blood. That is why Jesus became one of us. He died to destroy the devil, who had power over death. But he also died to rescue all of us who live each day in fear of dying.” When it comes to death we have a High Priest who has already been there, done that. He has paved the way. Paul rejoiced (1 Cor. 15:54-57): “Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” …thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Bishop William Willimon wrote of an experience he had with a woman who was dying. “She was in the last stages of lung cancer, gasping day after day for breath. She was in great pain, wasted away, exhausted by fighting. She clutched a crucifix daily. It was given to her by her grandmother when she was a girl, carved by some monk in Europe. It was a symbol of all that her Catholic faith meant to her. When I entered the room that afternoon, I could see she was very near the end. "Would you like me to pray for you?" I asked. "Would you like me to summon a priest for you?" With her last ounce of energy she held out the crucifix to me, which depicted the body of Christ nailed to the cross. She said, "Thank you. But I have a Priest."” (1) When it comes to death, it’s who you know.
Our access to God also enables us to CLAIM FORGIVENESS. 2:17 (CEV) – “He had to be one of us, so that he could serve God as our merciful and faithful high priest and sacrifice himself for the forgiveness of our sins.” She sat in my office distraught. She was getting older, still single, and sure that her singleness was God’s punishment for her past sexual sin. When she finished telling her story, I simply told her that Jesus died to forgive her and in His mind her sins were gone - cast into the depths of the sea - that “while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” and therefore there is now “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Her posture straightened, her eyes opened wider, her face brightened, and she breathed easier. She said, “I feel like a huge weight was just lifted off my shoulders.” When it comes to guilt and forgiveness, it’s who you know.
Thirdly, our access to God enables us to RECEIVE MERCY AND GRACE. (4:16 NLT) “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” In her book The God Who Hung on the Cross, journalist Ellen Vaughn retells a gripping story of how the Gospel came to a small village in Cambodia. In September 1999 a pastor traveled to Kampong Thom Province in northern Cambodia where most villagers had cast their lot with Buddhism or spiritism. Christianity was virtually unheard of. But when he arrived in one small, rural village, much to his surprise, the people warmly embraced him and his message about Jesus. When he asked the villagers about their openness to the Gospel, an old woman shuffled forward, bowed, and grasped his hands as she said, "We have been waiting for you for twenty years." And then she told him the story of the mysterious God who had hung on the cross. In the 1970s the Khmer Rouge, the brutal, Communist-led regime, took over Cambodia, destroying everything in its path. When the soldiers finally descended on this rural, northern village in 1979, they immediately rounded up the villagers and forced them to start digging their own graves. After the villagers had finished digging, they prepared themselves to die. Some screamed to Buddha, others screamed to demon spirits or to their ancestors. One of the women started to cry for help based on a childhood memory—a story her mother told her about a God who had hung on a cross. The woman prayed to that unknown God on a cross. Surely, if this God had known suffering, he would have compassion on their plight. Suddenly, her solitary cry became one great wail as the entire village started praying to the God who had suffered and hung on a cross. As they continued facing their own graves, the wailing slowly turned to a quiet crying. There was an eerie silence in the muggy jungle air. Slowly, as they dared to turn around and face their captors, they discovered that the soldiers were gone. As the old woman finished telling this story, she told the pastor that ever since that humid day 20 years ago the villagers had been waiting, waiting for someone to come and share the rest of the story about the God who had hung on a cross. (2) Whatever your pressure, your temptations, your stress, your tension, your broken relationships, your handicap or illness or suffering – remember it’s who you know.
Our access to God also enables us to REST IN ETERNAL SECURITY. 5:9 – “…once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him…” (7:25) “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him…” (9:28) “…so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” No wonder Jesus said (Jn. 10:28) “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” Indeed, as Paul wrote, there is nothing anywhere, anytime, or any place that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Randy Alcorn wrote a novel about persecution of Christians in China, entitled Safely Home. This is his dedication for the book. “TO GRAHAM STAINES, who left his home in Australia to serve lepers in India for thirty-four years. TO PHILIP STAINES (age ten) and TIMOTHY STAINES (age six), who at half past midnight on January 23, 1999, as their father held his arms around them, were burned to death by a mob in India, murdered because of whom they knew and served. TO GLADYS STAINES, who continues to minister to lepers and who said to all India, “I am not bitter or angry. I have one great desire: that each citizen of this country should establish a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, who gave his life for their sins.” To ESTHER STAINES, Graham and Gladys’ daughter (then age thirteen), who said, “I praise the Lord that he found my father worthy to die for him.” (3)
It’s who you know.
(1) “You Need a Good Priest”, William Willimon, PreachingToday.com, p. 6
(2) http://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2011/april/1041111.html
(3) Safely Home, Randy Alcorn, Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, IL © 2011 Eternal Perspective Ministries
