Jesus the Priest (Advent 2)
Hebrews 4:14 - 5:10
December 9th, 2001
Robert Warren
Fellowship Advent Christian Church
Hebrews 4:14 - 5:10
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 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— yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was. So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father." And he says in another place, "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Jesus means many things to many people, his birth affects everyone one way or the other. To some he is savior, to others he is fraud. You can have any opinion about Jesus except no opinion, for you have to either accept or reject his claims on your life. This Advent Season we have been examining some of the different roles of Jesus; last week we looked at Jesus the Prophet, today we will meet Jesus the Priest.
What do you think of when you think of a priest? Most likely you think of a pastor, a person who is appointed to lead a church. Now, even though I’m a pastor I know full well that just because you might think of a priest someone who leads the church like a pastor, your opinion might very well be mixed. People generally have mixed feelings about the clergy. On the good side, people assume that a priest is someone who knows the will of God and has studied God’s word to know the wisdom found there. People think of priests as loving, kind, caring people. They think that pastors don’t have the same sins, temptations, or bad habits that they have; some don’t even think that they can talk to their pastor because they don’t think the pastor will understand the temptations that they are struggling with— after all, what does a pastor know about doubt, anger, hatred, lust, or greed? They see priests as people who are willing to give their lives to serve God and their fellow man, somehow set above and beyond the average Christian. This is not a bad view to have.
But there’s another side to this view of priests and pastors as well-- a negative side. Some people think that they can’t relate their problems, struggles and sins to a pastor because they think that the pastor would not be able to relate to their sins. Sometimes people think that pastors won’t have anything to do with them because of their sins; they think that a pastor won’t want to talk to somebody who is sinful. Others don’t like pastors because they think that pastors are ‘holier than thou,’ looking down on people who aren’t free from sin like they are. For whatever reason, a lot of people have the idea that they can not get to know their priest or pastor because there is simply too much of a difference between clergy and lay people.
As many of you know, I have never liked the word Reverend as a title for a priest or pastor, and don’t go by it myself. I also don’t like wearing a clerical collar or robe in the pulpit. For that matter, I’m not terribly fond of wearing a suit. I don’t like anything that emphasizes the difference between the regular person and the priest or pastor. I would rather be called Robert than Reverend. I don’t want to wear clothes that will make people treat me differently because I am a pastor. I want people to know that I am a regular person like they are. I will try to be a good example, I will try to know the bible, I will try to show God’s love and wisdom, I will try to fulfill the duties of my calling to the fullest; but I don’t want people thinking of me as being somehow different than they are simply because I’m a pastor. I’ve said it before, but I consider it an honor and a compliment when people say that I am not like most pastors.
Priests have too often been seen as removed from the lives of ordinary people, and as a result a lot of people don’t think that priests can relate to their needs. If a priest or pastor is somehow better, wiser, or more sheltered than you are, how can he understand the things that you are struggling with? This concept of a priest being different than the rest of people goes back a long way. In the Old Testament they were a separate people. Of all the tribes, only the priestly tribe was different. They were called to serve God in the temple, acting as a go-between for God and His People. The priest would live in separate cities, eat special sacrifices, wear special clothes, and act in special ways. God had made a promise to his people, and the priests were expected to hold up Man’s part of the promise. They said prayers for the people, carried out the duties of the temple, and offered up sacrifices for the nation. They were a chosen people, selected by called, called apart by God from the people. The same is sometimes true for priests and pastors today; some act as though they are not quite like everyone else. Some pretend that they are smarter, holier, or wiser than their fellow man. But the good news for us this Advent Season is that we have a high priest who was born in Bethlehem who is in a very important way just like us.
Jesus is our ‘great high priest.’ He was born in a stable into a human body like you and I to be our priest. Not one who is far removed and unable to understand us, but one who is in every way like us. He was born like we were, he lived like us, he thought like us, he was flesh and blood like we are. Hebrews 2:17 says, "For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." Unlike a priest who was separated from the people, unlike a pastor who is unable to understand the temptations and struggles that the flock is going through, Jesus was born like us and lived like us so that he could be a priest to us. Jesus is our high priest, able to help us because he can relate to us.
But don’t be mistaken, Jesus is not just any priest. In the Old Testament there were priests, and there were high priests. The priests would do the service in the temple, tending to the incense, preparing the sacrifices, and so on. But there was one high priest who was charged with the greatest sacrifice of all: the sacrifice of atonement. This was a sacrifice that was done only once a year. The purpose of this sacrifice was to cover the sins of the people. By sacrificing a goat the sins of the nation of Israel were covered up. Not removed, not forgotten, just covered up for another year. You can see how the job of the high priest was important and honorable. But Jesus is not just the high priest either. Even the high priest of the Old Testament was sinful. In fact, before he could go in and offer a sacrifice for the sins of the people a sacrifice had to made for his owns sins, for he was a fallen human as well. But not Jesus. He is the Great High Priest, the once and for all priest, born to make the sacrifice for our sins once and for all. He is the Great High Priest because he has gone through the heavens. He is not just appointed by heaven, he is from heaven. God sent his son to make the ultimate sacrifice once and for all for our sins; he sent Jesus to be our Great High Priest.
Now, so far, all of this is just theology. Yes, Jesus is the Great High Priest, come to do for us what all of the priests of old could not. But what does that mean for us?
First, because Jesus, our priest from on high was a human like us, he is able to sympathize with us. Verse 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— yet was without sin." Unlike a lot of priests and pastors, Jesus does not try to make himself out to be so far above us that he is unapproachable. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Even though he was once enthroned in heaven, he came to earth as a human baby in fragile flesh in order to make it perfectly clear that God is wanting to identify with us. Philippians 2:6-8 says of Jesus that He, "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross." Jesus shows that God was willing to come to earth and become like us because we were unable to be more like him.
That means a lot to me. I think of all the times that I fail God. I’ve been a Christian now for almost fifteen years, but I still mess up. I give in to the same old sins, I have habits that I can’t break, I have things that I should be doing for God that I don’t. Every time my old nature gets the better of me I think that God must surely be ready to give up on me. I think that there is no way that God can love me. But then I am reminded of our Great High Priest. Jesus knows what it’s like to be a human. He knows hunger, he knows thirst, he knows temptation, and he knows the weakness of the flesh. He knows what it’s like to be me, because he’s been there. Even though he never sinned like I do, he knows how easy it is to be tempted.
Without a doubt, the best person to minister to an alcoholic is a former alcoholic. The best person to minister to a grieving person is someone who has lost a loved one. The best person to minister to a woman is a woman. A good priest is one who is able to sympathize. I can’t say to a mother that I know what it’s like to give birth; that’s simply not true. God would have a hard time convincing us that he knew the hardships of being human if he had not taken on that role through Jesus Christ. When you sin, you have a priest in heaven who sympathizes with you, because he’s been in your shoes. There is nothing that you have been tempted with that Jesus was not tempted with. I can assure you that even as the devil knows the best way to tempt you he pulled out all the stops to tempt Jesus; there is nothing that wasn’t thrown at Jesus. When you come to the altar and ask forgiveness, he knows the road that you took to get there and he loves you anyway.
We can never say, "Well, God doesn’t know how hard it is to resist sin." He does, he’s been there. He knows what it’s like to go 40 days with no food and then be offered bread. He knows what it’s like to be offered the entire world to forsake the Father. He knows every kind of temptation and the struggles that we have to overcome them. When we pray to God for deliverance from sin or forgiveness from committed sin, he can sympathize with us.
Which leads us to the second point: because Jesus is our priest we can come before God with no fear. Verse 16 says, "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." There is absolutely no way that we could dare to come before God with the sin that mars every one of us. If we would come before God we would melt away in the brilliance of his holiness. Our sins have forever barred us from ever standing in the presence of God, much less the hope of ever living forever with him in Paradise. For that matter, we don’t even have the ability to pray to God. What does a perfect and holy God have to say or hear from fallen, sinful, rebellious people like us? We have no basis for a relationship with God the way we are. We are unable to stand before God because of our sin. There is a gap between us and God that we can never bridge.
But the job of a priest is to do just that: to bridge the gap between man and God. In the Old Testament the priest would sacrifice an animal for the atonement of sin, to keep the relationship between Israel and God alive for another year. But Jesus did more than that: he forever removed anything that would keep us from God. Now, when we come before God, he does not see us and our filthy sin. Instead, he sees his perfect son, born in a manger, tempted in every way, yet without sin. When we are baptized we take on the appearance of Christ in God’s eyes, so that when we come to the altar, he receives us like a child. When we cry out for forgiveness, he shows us grace. When we stand before him in prayer, he gives us his ear. All because our priest Jesus Christ bridged the gap of sin between us and God. We don’t come before God’s throne of judgement and wrath. No, because we have a high priest in Jesus we come before a throne of grace; grace which forgives our sins through love. We don’t receive the punishment we deserve, we receive mercy and grace which we can never deserve to help us in our time of need.
Furthermore, we will be able to live forever with God because Jesus made a perfect sacrifice for our sins. Once a year the high priest would make a sacrifice for the sins of the people in the Temple. That was God’s plan until Jesus came, but it was not much of a sacrifice. The sacrifice was simply not enough. There is no way that a goat could take the place of a man on the altar; there was certainly no way that a goat could cover the sins of an entire nation. The only sacrifice that is suitable to replace a child of God is a perfect human. There has only been one perfect human, and we celebrate his birth this Advent. Not only was Jesus the perfect priest, he was himself the perfect sacrifice for us, an idea we will look more at in a couple of weeks.
But finally, Jesus has not laid down his duties of a priest. A priest serves as a connection between God and his people. I’m not a priest like in the Old Testament, but even as a pastor I serve as a connection between God and the people of God. When you make a covenant of marriage before God, a pastor stands before you to receive your vows. When you repent and are baptized, a pastor lowers you into the water. When I pray for the congregation, I am speaking to God on behalf of the congregation. The Old Testament priest lifted up prayers and made sacrifices to fulfill the terms of the covenant between God and God’s people; this is what a priest does.
Jesus, our Great High Priest, is still fulfilling the role of the priest, even though he has ascended into heaven. He is still making a connection between you and God. Verse 7 says, "During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission." God heard Jesus because Jesus was God’s own son, obedient in every way. Today Jesus still lifts up prayers and petitions, but on behalf of those who would call upon his name. I am always encouraged when one of you tells me that you are praying for me as your pastor. I am also struck by the importance that you place in me praying for you as a church. Now, think about how much greater it is to know that we have an advocate in heaven, praying for us, interceding for us, lifting up our petitions before God. We have a priest in heaven who can understand when we trip up, when we fall back into sin, when we are tired and discouraged, when we let our humanity get the better of us. He understands, because he’s stood where we are standing now.
Jesus came to the earth as a babe in a manger. He came as a prophet, speaking the words of God so that we would know how to live. But he also came as a priest, willing to intervene for us before God, covering our sins with the sacrifice of his life. We now have a priest in heaven who knows what it is like to be human, he has made a way for us to stand before God, and he intercedes for us even now as we draw closer to God. We can hold firmly to the faith that we profess because we know that we have a priest in heaven who knows us and loves us anyway.
