Toledo Reformed Theological Conference
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Tom Ascol
Jesus, our High Priest
Hebrews 4:14-16
There is one mediator between man and God, you can’t go to God without Jesus Christ. All this God talk is gibberish. If you don’t have Jesus Christ, all this talk about how religious you are, how spiritual you are.
What does a mediator do? Brings together parties that have been estranged, and seeks an acceptable resolution.
By our nature we come into the world as God’s enemy.
What does Jesus do for His people? He does the work of prophet, priest and king.
In the Old Testament we see men appointed to act in these roles, but they were but types and shadows of the Christ to come.
The truths about Jesus our High Priest
Hebrews written to Jews who had come to Christ. They knew the rituals and rites of Judaism that seem so foreign to us, ceremonies setting the stage over centuries to prepare the way of Christ.
Heb 5:1 For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
Heb 5:2 He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness.
Heb 5:3 Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people.
He ordained that there would be human priests to carry out his sacrificial system. But the Old Testament priestly system was inadequate, it could not do what only Christ could do. The one offering the sacrifices was a sinner himself and needed to atone for his own sin.
Jesus is an exalted High Priest (v. 14)
Jesus as the great High Priest has gained access not to a physical holy of holies, but of the heavenly holy of holies, the real presence of God, gaining entrance by His own blood. (Heb 6:19-20, 9:24)
Those who are in Christ have Him as High Priest, because it was not the blood of bulls and goats that He shed, it was His own perfect blood.
The temple veil was torn in two, from top to bottom.
He must be both God and man, He must be human (Heb 2:17). Someone from among us to represent us, but what He accomplished was more than what any mere man could accomplish, even a perfect man could not do it, only a man who was also deity, who was also God.
Something infinite became finite
Every high priest in the Old Testament era died, but our High Priest, having tasted death has conquered death once and for all.
Jesus is a sympathetic High Priest (v. 15)
We don’t have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with us
i. To suffer for us, but also to suffer with us.
ii. As a real man, He felt the full weight of human temptation
iii. He triumphed over every temptation of life, greater temptation that we could ever experience. How could He without a sinful nature truly understand temptation. Because He never gave in, only He understand how tempting sin is.
Because He resisted all, He is able to provide help in our times of need.
- Let therefore hold fast
- Let us come boldly
- Not irreverently, flippantly.
- Because He has experienced everything we have, His is not a throne of judgment, it is a throne of grace. We can cast ourselves on His mercy.
Tom Ascol
Jesus, our High Priest
Hebrews 4:14-16
There is one mediator between man and God, you can’t go to God without Jesus Christ. All this God talk is gibberish. If you don’t have Jesus Christ, all this talk about how religious you are, how spiritual you are.
What does a mediator do? Brings together parties that have been estranged, and seeks an acceptable resolution.
By our nature we come into the world as God’s enemy.
What does Jesus do for His people? He does the work of prophet, priest and king.
In the Old Testament we see men appointed to act in these roles, but they were but types and shadows of the Christ to come.
The truths about Jesus our High Priest
Hebrews written to Jews who had come to Christ. They knew the rituals and rites of Judaism that seem so foreign to us, ceremonies setting the stage over centuries to prepare the way of Christ.
Heb 5:1 For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
Heb 5:2 He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness.
Heb 5:3 Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people.
He ordained that there would be human priests to carry out his sacrificial system. But the Old Testament priestly system was inadequate, it could not do what only Christ could do. The one offering the sacrifices was a sinner himself and needed to atone for his own sin.
Jesus is an exalted High Priest (v. 14)
Jesus as the great High Priest has gained access not to a physical holy of holies, but of the heavenly holy of holies, the real presence of God, gaining entrance by His own blood. (Heb 6:19-20, 9:24)
Those who are in Christ have Him as High Priest, because it was not the blood of bulls and goats that He shed, it was His own perfect blood.
The temple veil was torn in two, from top to bottom.
He must be both God and man, He must be human (Heb 2:17). Someone from among us to represent us, but what He accomplished was more than what any mere man could accomplish, even a perfect man could not do it, only a man who was also deity, who was also God.
Something infinite became finite
Every high priest in the Old Testament era died, but our High Priest, having tasted death has conquered death once and for all.
Jesus is a sympathetic High Priest (v. 15)
We don’t have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with us
i. To suffer for us, but also to suffer with us.
ii. As a real man, He felt the full weight of human temptation
iii. He triumphed over every temptation of life, greater temptation that we could ever experience. How could He without a sinful nature truly understand temptation. Because He never gave in, only He understand how tempting sin is.
Because He resisted all, He is able to provide help in our times of need.
- Let therefore hold fast
- Let us come boldly
- Not irreverently, flippantly.
- Because He has experienced everything we have, His is not a throne of judgment, it is a throne of grace. We can cast ourselves on His mercy.
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