Hebrews | Jesus Is Better | Jesus Is the Great High Priest

 

Hebrews 4:14-16

 

Like kids who sprint to their father just for a hug, we can approach God, our Heavenly Father, with boldness. 

 

Three reasons you can approach God boldly

  1. Jesus has made atonement (v.14). … Two concepts help us understand this. 
    1. The Ascension: Jesus ascended to Heaven after dying and rising from the grave. 
    2. Yom Kapor: The day of atonement. On this day, the high priest would go through a ritual cleansing then make a sacrifice for his own sin. He would don a special set of robes with bells on it and perhaps even attach a rope to himself. Why? If the bells stopped jungling, he would need to be pulled out. Finally, he would go into the holy of holies and make the sacrifice and offering to atone for the sins of all the people. This would happen once every year. 
      Together, these two concepts show us why Jesus is the better High Priest, the Great High Priest. Jesus is seated by the Father for all eternity, not just in His presence once a year. Jesus is in the true Holy of Holies every day. And because He never sinned, He doesn’t need to do the ritual cleanse and make a sacrifice for Himself. No bells or rope are required, because He has no worry of death in the Father’s presence. He has made atonement for us and His blood covers our sins. 
  2. Jesus is our ally (v.15). … Jesus faced temptation and prevailed. He experienced the same temptations and struggles we do, and that makes Him sympathetic to our predicament. He knows what it’s like to be tempted, to be hungry, to be tired, to be thirsty. 
  3. Jesus grants us access (v.16). … Jesus is already next to the Father. Jesus is als our high priest. As such, we are invited to go to Him with our troubles. That invitation grants us access to the Father. We don’t have to wait in line to talk to a human priest on Earth; we can go directly to God anytime, from anywhere, with any prayer. 

 

For Further Study/Resources Used to Prepare This Message

  • Exalting Jesus in Hebrews by Albert Mohler
  • Hebrews for You by Michael Kruger
  • Hebrews REC by Richard Phillips
  • Hebrews: Preach the Word Commentary by Kent Hughes
  • Hebrews ESV Expository Commentary
  • Hebrews by Grant Osborne