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.
I recall another scene. A young man’s child fell down and started crying. Instead of going to see what happened, his instant reaction was to get angry with the child and start yelling at him. All he did was to make the situation worse by yelling at his child in a time of need. He lacked sympathy.
You get stuck behind an elderly person who is driving rather slowly. Do you get angry with them and tell them to hurry up? Do you lack sympathy?
Jesus doesn’t. The Holy Spirit wants to assure us that Jesus doesn’t look down on us or despise us when we are weak and even when we fall. He doesn’t fly off the handle at us, even when we are whining. He fully understands how difficult it is to deal with the desires of the flesh.
When Rylee had her miscarriage, another young mom reached out to me and invited Rylee to call her and talk. Why? Because she had a miscarriage too in the past. It was very nice of her to reach out. She wanted to help, knowing what she was going through. That’s how the Holy Spirit wants us to look at Jesus. He’s not just a Harvard scholar in an ivory tower who philosophizes about what it means to be human and weak. He personally knows what it’s like, because He has experienced hunger and thirst, being tired and exhausted.
Imagine if you were the child of that young man who yelled at his son after he fell down. Would you feel comfortable with going to him later on down the road? Or would he be the LAST person you would go to? Are you someone who is sympathetic, or do you get angry and frustrated with those who are weaker than you, with those who need more help? Do you make yourself unapproachable because of your lack of sympathy?
The whole reason that the Holy Spirit tells us about the humanity of Jesus is to engender confidence in us and a comfortability about coming to Jesus when we are in need. So let us approach the throne of grace with confidence. Notice also that He doesn’t call it a throne of judgment, but a throne of GRACE, of undeserved love and forgiveness. Certain judges are known to be either more lenient or more harsh. Defense attorneys want the lenient ones, while prosecuting attorneys want the harsh ones. The Holy Spirit says, “Go to Jesus! He’s a gracious one.” He established that throne of grace by dying for ALL of your sins. He’s already paid for them, and He WANTS to get his money’s worth out of his bloody payment. He doesn’t want to judge you. He WANTS to be gracious. He died for the right to be gracious. Think of what Jesus said in
Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
John 6:37, “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”
Luke 19:10 “The Son of man came to seek and to save the lost.”
When the Samaritan woman with an adulterous past came to Jesus, or the Centurion with the sick servant, what did Jesus do? He forgave them and took care of them. He gave them grace. It was Jesus who especially sought out Peter and appeared to him individually after His resurrection. He knew how embarrassed Peter was and sorrowful over what he’d done. He wanted him to experience grace. When Jesus confronted Paul on the way to Damascus, even then He asked Paul a simple question. “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” What a gentle rebuke! What a loving call to repentance! Then Jesus gave Paul something he didn’t deserve, a call into the public ministry.
Think of the story of the Prodigal Son, where the father was eagerly looking for his son to return. He wanted him to return. The father was waiting for him to return, and when he did, he went running out to him, put a beautiful robe on him, and killed a fattened calf for him. He wanted the son to KNOW through his generosity that there were no hard feelings over all of the time and money that he wasted. There was only love.
What do you do when you’re struggling with a sin or temptation? Do you go to a bottle of whiskey? Do you fear that God could and would never forgive you for what you’ve done? If Jesus’ throne is indeed a throne of GRACE, He says that you can approach this throne with CONFIDENCE. Where do you find this grace? You find it at the Supper! You find it in confession and absolution, hearing the words of Jesus through His called servant, “I forgive you your sins.” God wants grace to ooze from His people. He wants us to be filled with grace when people repent.
Yes, when we come to the throne of grace, that is the only place that we “receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Mercy is not getting what you deserve. God holds back. He doesn’t punish. He doesn’t give you hell. But He also gives you what you don’t deserve. He gives grace. In your baptism He makes you look holy in His sight by the blood of Jesus. Those words, “I forgive you,” help comfort you from your guilt and fear. They eliminate the pictures you’d envisioned, that God is going to hate you and slam the door in your face. He’s anything BUT vindictive.
His grace also comes to us TO HELP . . . with a miraculous ability to resist temptation and also the ability to forgive and be gracious to others.
Thousands of alcoholics and drug addicts are given a miraculous strength to resist drinking and quit their drug problems. They confess that they couldn’t do this by their own power. They need Jesus.
In the 1950’s, an amazing story of sacrifice happened. Five Christian missionaries were killed by a murderous native tribe in the rainforest of Ecuador. Instead of being filled with thoughts of vengeance, one wife and one other lady stayed in the area and continued to reach out to them with the gospel, through which the Holy Spirit converted the murderers. The very men who killed a missionary then ended up baptizing one of the missionary’s sons. They became close friends, and went on speaking tours speaking of God’s love and mercy. What is that but a miracle of mercy?
And if God does that with these types of situations, who knows what He might do with you if you have the faith to go to His throne of grace when you need it? Stop turning to the bottle. Stop thinking that you have to figure out your problems all by yourself, with some sort of self-willing. Stop saying that you are beyond help, as if God couldn’t solve your issues. He knows what you’re going through. He has the power and the grace and mercy to get you through. Trust Him when He says you will find mercy and grace in your time of need.
It’s easy to forget who Jesus is. The writer to the Hebrews encourages his fellow Christians. He says, let us continue to hold on to our confession. Think about what we confess in every service. We confess that He died for the sins of the world. We confess that He rose from the dead. We confess that He ascended into heaven, and that He is ruling over the universe. We confess that He will come to judge the living and the dead. In His Word He promises to send His angels to take care of us and to work all things out for our good. He promises to listen to our prayers and answer our prayers. Wouldn’t it be wise to HOLD HIM to His promises and take Him up on those promises? If He says He’s going to be merciful to you, then trust Him to be merciful. Even when you are scared to death, do what He says anyway. See what happens.
Think of Jesus outside the tomb of Lazarus. “Open up the tomb.” “But Jesus, he’s been in there four days. He’s gonna stink.” They didn’t think it would end well, but Jesus wanted them to believe. He wouldn’t let them leave without seeing a miracle. “Open up the tomb.” Ok! And what happens? Lazarus comes out alive!
I think of that when it comes to some of our members who come to me for help with some very difficult and sometimes sinful circumstances. I can’t really put myself in their shoes. I don’t always know what exactly to say. I wish I did. I wish I had an easy chapter and verse that I could point to, but sometimes life is very complicated. There are no easy solutions. It’s just a mess. But I do know that God has called me to take care of His people. I know that He has given me the Word of God, and I know that He promises to bless us and strengthen us through that Word. I know that He sits on a throne of GRACE. I know that He commands us to come to His throne of grace, no matter what we are dealing with, especially in our weaknesses. And I know how to pray, and He promises to answer those prayers. I have to trust Him to somehow work it out, when we all come to Him in humility and prayer, with a willingness to confess our sins, be forgiven, and find strength. Somehow and in some way, He can make it work. Some of you are living proof of it. You know who you are.
Think of how often God encourages us to come to Him. Paul says that Jesus is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagined.” (Ephesians 3:20) He promised the Philippians that, “my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) Not SOME of your needs, but ALL of them! Today the Holy Spirit promises that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Yes, He actually can physically and mentally and spiritually HELP you. With promise after promise after promise, God wants you to come to Him for grace upon grace upon grace, for mercies that are new every morning.
One of the greatest stories in the Bible is when Esther has to approach the throne of her husband, King Xerxes, to plead for the lives of her fellow Jews. Anyone who approached the king without an invite could be put to death on the spot, unless he extended his sceptre towards them. She was terrified, but she went anyway. God rewarded her boldness as the King gave the Jews a way to protect themselves from slaughter and survive.
Imagine how it must seem to God to give such generous promises in the Bible of help and grace, and yet how many are afraid to confess their sins to Him, afraid to ask Him for help in time of need. I don’t know how many times people say to me, “Pastor, I hate to bother you.” Please, don’t say that. I want to be of help to you, no matter what kind of a mess you’ve gotten yourself into. This is a throne of grace, and when you come to Him in repentance, you will find nothing but mercy and strength to help in your time of need. You aren’t approaching a vain King Xerxes. You are approaching a merciful King Jesus, who wants more than anything for you to come to Him for grace and for help. Amen.
