He Is Able!
Hebrews 7:20-28
Everyone is looking for an angle. People from all walks of life are looking for someone or some way to help them get ahead, to find the calm waters of life, and to give them an anchor for their restless souls. Who can open a door of opportunity for me? Who can provide the security for me that I long for in life? Who can bring me peace so that I am not anxious and restless through the night? Who can help me when my problem becomes too big for me to handle? All of us have asked these questions from time to time and we will ask them again in the future.
A few years ago the computer industry exploded and every new company that had “.com” at the end of their corporate name began to make millions of dollars overnight. Investors started flocking to pour their money into these startups so that they could jump on the money train. Ordinary folks like me who are just trying to make ends meet and don’t have money to invest in these kinds of things, took money out of savings, some took out loans, just so that they could have their chance to get rich quick. Some did get rich and some that did get rich have gotten poor in the past year or so. Some of those who were wealthy before the “.com” explosion thought they could get even more wealthy by jumping on the bandwagon. For what reason? “If I can make a little more money then I can be a little more secure – that’s why.” Many believe that money can erect a shelter of safety for them, but money doesn’t create a shelter of safety – it creates an illusion.
Joannie went to college to get her education and while she was there she met a young man who swept her off her feet. He was young, handsome, and had a personality that lit up the room when he walked into it. Joannie had grown up in a tough family and there was nothing that she wanted more than a family.
While Joannie was growing up her father was in and out of the house every time he and her mother had an argument. He was a successful man in his community, but he was a washout at home. To make matters even worse, Joannie’s mom picked the poor man apart for every little thing about his life that she felt needed improvement.
Because of his job, he and his wife attended several social functions every year. He loved seeing his friends, but he hated being subjected to the abuse he received from his wife in front of his buddies and their wives. After every party he would tell her how embarrassed he was to have to sit and listen to her belittle him in front of their friends, but at the next party the criticism would begin all over again.
The day finally came when Joannie’s dad had enough and left for good. At first, Joannie’s mom, Diana, thought to herself, “We’ll all be better off without him here any way. There won’t be any more fighting in front of the kids, no more of his messes to clean up, and me and the kids can live our life in peace.” As time rocked along Diana began to reconsider some of the things she had done and said to her husband, Tony. There were even times that she wished he was back, but she knew that the hurt was too deep, the gulf too wide – it would never happen.
Joannie remembered life growing up without dad around and she pledged to herself that once she was married she would never divorce. When she and Larry began to date in college she was taken by his good looks and great personality, but as time went by she was also disturbed by some of his actions. They hardly ever had a disagreement, but when they did Larry would totally change and become so full of hate. His face would grow flush and his eyes would bug out. Joannie was even scared at times. When they would go to parties Larry wouldn’t just have a drink with the other guys, she would end up having to drive him home and put him to bed. But he was so good looking…he was interested in her…when he wasn’t mad or drinking he was so nice and loving…he loved her.
Joannie’s desire to have a family, a man to take care of her, and kids to love blinded her to red flags that waved in her head. After they were married Joannie started a family and she felt like Cinderella slipping on the glass slipper. After the birth of their second child, Joannie began to see the red flags grow even redder. Larry began to have outburst over things that happened at work. The least little thing would set him off and then one day he hit her. Joannie told Larry that if he ever hit her again she would leave with the children and never come back.
Joannie prayed that Larry wouldn’t hit her again because she had promised to never divorce once she was married. Months went by and the arguing continued. Larry would say things that pierced Joannie’s heart. She wondered what happened to the charm? What happened to the compassion? What happened to the romantic cards, flowers, and poems? What happened…?
Joannie knew in her heart that the day would come when Larry would erupt again and she would be forced to leave even though she didn’t want to. The day did come. Larry called from work and told Joannie that he had lost his job. He came home in a rage and took it out on Joannie. He hit her, slapped her, and slammed her up against the wall. Joannie fell to the floor and cried her eyes out, but she just couldn’t bring herself to pack her bags and leave. What would she do? A single mother with two kids? She didn’t finish her education. She hadn’t worked since she left college since Larry’s income was more than enough to take care of their needs.
Joannie had looked to Larry to take care of her, to provide for her, to provide security for she and the kids…but now she was in prison with no key to unlock the door.
Why is it that we continue to try and find security and safety in relationships, possessions, and anything that shows promise of giving us what we so desperately need to quiet the storms of our soul? In our study for today we are going to see how God has provided for us permanently, sufficiently, and abundantly in our Savior Jesus Christ. Let’s take a look at Hebrews 7:20-28.
20 And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, 21 but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever.’“ 22 Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. 23 Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; 24 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. 26 Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. 28 For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever. (Hebrews 7:20-28 NIV)
Last week in our study we looked at the lesson the writer of Hebrews was trying to teach to the Jewish people of his community. Jesus is a far superior priest, not because of His family tree, but because He has been appointed by God. Jesus is God’s promised Messiah who has come to save those who will trust in Him. In our study for today we are going to take an even deeper look at the superiority of Jesus over all of the priests who ever served in the Temple and those who seek to lead people to a relationship with the Lord today. Let’s dig in. In verses 20-22 we read,
20 And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, 21 but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever.’“ 22 Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.
We begin by learning that none of the priests, from Aaron to the last High Priest who served before the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., ever became priest because of an oath taken by God. Jesus on the other hand was made High Priest because of God’s promise (Psalm 110). It is because of God’s oath that Jesus is now the guarantee of the better covenant. It isn’t that the covenant God gave to Abraham was bad – it wasn’t. It is rather than God was laying the foundation for His new covenant, a lasting covenant, a perfect covenant that would come through Jesus. God told the people of Israel that the day was coming when He would make a new covenant with them, but when the day came they were blind to God’s perfect gift. In Jeremiah we read about this new covenant. Take a look at Jeremiah 31:31-34 and read with me.
31 “The time is coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. 33 “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34 NIV)
Rather than being a covenant of rules and law, the new covenant that Jesus has provided for us is a covenant of the heart. God has made Jesus the guarantor of His promise. A guarantor is one who promises to make good for someone else. Our salvation is secure because of Jesus and not because of our nobility or integrity or character. Our character and integrity come about because of our relationship with Jesus, His life lived through us, but our salvation is based upon what He has done for us.
This is a wonderful promise for us to learn my friends because so many people in our society today are convinced that if they are going to go to Heaven then their entrance will take place because they have been “good.” They have behaved. They have helped little old ladies across the street and been nice to small children. They have paid their taxes and stopped when the traffic light turned yellow. We may believe this, but our beliefs are not found anywhere in the Bible. The Bible teaches that Jesus is our sole hope of salvation. He saves us. He preserves us. He will keep us until He presents us to the Father. In Jude 24-25 we read,
24 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. (Jude 24-25 NIV)
Jesus is our guarantee of the new covenant. He is the guarantee of our salvation. The Bible teaches that our righteousness, our good deeds, are as filthy rags to God, but Jesus’ shed blood on Calvary’s cross is priceless to the Father, and sufficient for our salvation. Jesus is the only one who could guarantee the covenant of God because He alone lives forever. Take a look at Hebrews 7:23-25.
23 Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; 24 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
The writer of Hebrews points out to us, and the readers of his day, that there were many priests before Jesus came, but they were always replaced because each of them died. You can read about the death of the first High Priest of God’s people in Numbers 20, when Aaron passed away and his priestly garments were passed on to his son. When Aaron died the people mourned his death for 30 days because of their great loss. Read along with me beginning in verse 22.
22 The whole Israelite community set out from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor. 23 At Mount Hor, near the border of Edom, the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 24 “Aaron will be gathered to his people. He will not enter the land I give the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah. 25 Get Aaron and his son Eleazar and take them up Mount Hor. 26 Remove Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar, for Aaron will be gathered to his people; he will die there.” 27 Moses did as the LORD commanded: They went up Mount Hor in the sight of the whole community. 28 Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar. And Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain, 29 and when the whole community learned that Aaron had died, the entire house of Israel mourned for him thirty days. (Numbers 20:23-29 NIV)
In F.F. Bruce’s commentary on the Book of Hebrews he points out that priest after priest held the office of High Priest and one by one they all died. Dr. Bruce tells us,
In generation after generation the high priest died and his office passed to another, until in all (Josephus reckons) eighty-three high priests officiated from Aaron to the fall of the Second Temple in 70 A.D. (F.F. Bruce, The Epistle To The Hebrews, p.172)
One by one another priest took the office of another. Each one with a desire to do more than his predecessor, but one after another each one died unable to carry on to completion the work of God. Hebrews 7:24 teaches us an altogether different reality concerning Jesus. The Scripture says, 24 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Jesus’ priesthood is permanent. The Greek word for “permanent” is the word, “avpara,batoj” (aparabatos). The word means, “not transient, that which is fixed and not subject to change, permanent, never changing.”
Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father…permanently. He will never leave His office. There’s no need of finding a successor. There is no need to acquire a protégé, an understudy to be groomed for the position because it will never be vacant again. Jesus is permanently established as the High Priest of God’s people.
In Hebrews 7:25, we see that Jesus is not only established as the permanent High Priest of God, but that He is also able to completely save those who come to God through Him. Read the verse with me.
25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
Oh, that is Good News my friend. I don’t know about you, but I can’t really rely on a savior that can only save me 50% of the time. I can’t even get excited about a savior who has the power to save me 3 times out of 4. I would have a hard time being able to rest if my savior could even save me 90% of the time. What if, on the day I needed salvation, my savior was having an off day? What if, my savior’s power to save only functioned in specific realms, but was insufficient outside of those bounds. For instance, if my savior’s power was effective only in the realm of acted out behavior, but wasn’t able to adequately deal with the sins of the thought realm, the thoughts that are diametrically opposed to the holiness and righteousness of God? What if I could contain my actions, but my thoughts seemed out of control? My savior is then useless to help me in my time of need. A Savior who has any limitations is no savior at all. Only a Savior who can save me completely is a Savior worth surrendering my life to.
Some may say, “Well, we have to define what ‘complete’ means. Many people seem happy in their religion, they are good people, but they may attend the mosque and worship Allah, or the temple and worship Buddha, or they may love the outdoors and see God in everything. Surely, if you are a good person and you have some faith in someone then God would honor that, wouldn’t He?” I say, “You don’t understand God.” God does not wink at our good works and say, “It’s alright, I know you are giving it the old college try. Just keep it up.” God is absolutely holy. He is absolutely righteous. He is absolutely pure. He can in no way come in any contact with sin or anything less than absolute holiness or His holiness is compromised. I don’t know about you, but I need more than partial salvation, I need more than partial help, I need more than a part-time savior who is only able to save under certain conditions!
If we understand the word, “complete” then we will understand and appreciate Jesus and His power to save like never before. The Greek word, “pantelh,j”, (panteles), means, “what is fully effective, complete, perfect, utterly, wholly, forever, for all time.” For those who are in Christ there is no need to fear our Savior ever having a bad day. There is no need to fear that you may have sinned one too many times this time. There is no need to fear that His shed blood might not be able to cover this one. He saves completely! Jesus said in John 6:37-40,
37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:37-40 NIV)
Just how effective is Jesus’ work on our behalf? You ought to ask the Apostle Paul. Paul characterized himself as the “chief of all sinners” towards the end of his life. He had been present at the killing of Christians and did nothing. He had persecuted those who had stood tall for the cause of Christ, and yet God chose to use him to bring glory to His name. Paul writes in Romans 8:33-39,
33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:33-39 NIV)
Who can even begin to fathom such a wondrous Savior? Not only is Jesus our permanent High Priest, not only is He able to save those who will trust in Him completely, but He is also holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. That what we read in Hebrews 7:26. Take a look with me.
26 Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.
I could take an hour to go through each of these descriptive words with you, but it will suffice to say that Jesus is perfectly righteous in His relationship to God. Jesus is without fault, there was and is no sin in Him at all. He is perfectly pure in every aspect of the word in His relationship with God and others. He was set apart from sinners, not that He didn’t mix and mingle with them – Jesus was called a “friend of sinners.” He was set apart in that even though He was a friend of sinners, the sins of His friends didn’t rub off on Him. Now, He is exalted above the heavens. He possesses the name that is above every name, the name by which every knee will one day bow and every tongue shall one day confess that He alone is Lord. Oh, what a Savior!
He is able my friends.
