The One and Only
As our Great High Priest, Jesus stands before God the Father on our behalf and invites us into His presence in prayer. As man, he understands us and sympathizes with us. As God He is fully capable of meeting our every need.
Transcript
I have mentioned before a book I purchased some time ago in which the author listed the most influential people in human history. He then put them in order of importance, according to how he thought they influenced the world.[1]
His list includes Louis Pasteur, who invented the process later named after him—pasteurization—which keeps milk and other products from spoiling so quickly. He was ranked number 11 for having brought the world into the modern era of medicine. I noticed the irony that Moses, the man who recorded the biblical account of creation, was ranked number 15, and right behind him at number 16 was Charles Darwin, the man who denied the biblical account of creation.
Now the reason I bought this book was to find out where this author—and our modern culture—ranked Jesus Christ. Well, He came in third place. First place was the prophet Muhammad.
I cannot help but think that this is really the most important question a person will ever face in life. How important is Jesus Christ to you? What place does He have in your heart and life today?
The original readers of the book of Hebrews were Jews who had come to faith in Christ. But they were under pressure to effectively rank Moses and the prophets ahead of Jesus. They were being tempted to return to Judaism and the law of Moses.
So, the author of Hebrews carefully reveals the supremacy of Jesus. Thus far, he has shown us the supremacy of Jesus to Old Testament prophets, to the angels, and to Moses. Now, as we set sail into chapters 4 and 5, Jesus is declared superior to Aaron, Israel’s original high priest.
We begin in chapter 4, verse 14:
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
Aaron and every successive high priest cannot come close to this declaration. Jesus is God the Son. He “passed through the heavens”—this is a reference to His ascension back to the glory of heaven.
With that in mind, the writer of Hebrews says, “Let us hold fast our confession” in Him. This is your public profession of Jesus Christ as Lord, as the God the Son, as your eternal, divine High Priest.
It is as if the author is asking, “Why in the world would you be enticed to return to your religious tradition? Why would you go to an earthly priest when you can have the Great High Priest as your Mediator?”
The writer adds to this an incredibly encouraging invitation in verse 15: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses.” He understands your battle, beloved. Your Great High Priest is fully human; and while on earth, “[he was] in every respect . . . tempted as we are, yet without sin.” In other words, Jesus felt the full weight of temptation that you face today. This sinless God-man—fully God and fully man—can empower you in your time of temptation or trial.
And how is this for an invitation?
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (verse 16)
Jewish high priests trembled as they approached the presence of God during that once-a-year, Day of Atonement ritual. One tradition said the high priest had a rope tied around his ankle so he could be retrieved if God struck him dead when he entered that Most Holy Place to sprinkle blood on the mercy seat.
But Jesus minsters before God the Father, not once a year, but permanently. And He is not trembling at all. In fact, he offers us the same access and the same confidence to draw near to God’s throne of grace.
The writer continues into chapter 5 revealing the supremacy of Jesus, our High Priest, to the high priests throughout Israel’s history.
Verse 2 says that when the high priests of Israel offered sacrifices for the people’s sins, they were able to deal gently with people because they were equally sinful. Even the high priest needed forgiveness.
Yes, these men had a special role to fill. It was an incredible honor to represent the people before God, and this role could not be filled by just anybody. They did not accept volunteers; verse 4 says, “And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.” Aaron was the first high priest, and God ordained that only Aaron’s descendants could serve in this position.
In that regard our High Priest was similar. “So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by [God the Father]” (verse 5). But then the writer quotes God the Father, from Psalm 2:7: “You are my Son, today I have begotten you.” God never says this of any other priest.
Now the cults love to use this verse to try to prove that Jesus did not exist as God the Son from eternity past. If they would only read Psalm 2, they would discover that it is not talking about King David’s birth but King David’s coronation—the day God put him on the throne.
This is a coronation psalm. In Acts 13:33, this same verse from Psalm 2 is quoted again, referring not to the birth of Jesus, but to the moment of His resurrection. He is exalted to occupy this new role as our Great High Priest.[2]
Now here in Hebrews 5:6, we have another quotation, from Psalm 110:4. It also prophetically refers to Jesus and reads, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”
Jesus was from the royal tribe of Judah, which qualified Him to be the king of Israel. He was not a descendant of Aaron and could not be high priest according to Israel’s law. But we are told here in Hebrews 5:5-6 that God the Father appointed Him as a priest according to an entirely different order. It was not the order of Aaron; it was the order of Melchizedek—we will learn more about him later.
Here is the point: Jesus is both unique and superior. Think about it. He is qualified to become both High Priest and the King of Israel.
Because He was fully human, He could represent the human race before God the Father. And because He was God the Son, He could become both our eternal High Priest and the final Sacrifice for our sins.
With that, the writer takes us back into the garden of Gethsemane in verse 7:
In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death.
Tears, then victory. Jesus was brought safely through the valley of death, which could not conquer Him. And for those of us who follow Him today, death is simply the doorway into heaven.
Verse 8 adds, “[Jesus] learned obedience through what he suffered.” This does not mean He was ever disobedient. It means that in His humanity He developed and demonstrated perfect obedience even when it meant suffering. And did He ever suffer for you and me!
Because of His obedience in suffering, He is declared to be “the source of eternal salvation” (verse 9). Salvation is found in Him. What priest can give you that? What religious tradition can guarantee eternal salvation like Jesus can?
Beloved, God the Son—the eternal High Priest, the final Sacrifice, the one who can forgive your sins and take you to heaven—is not just number 1 in a list of 100 great people. He is in His own unique category. He is the one and only! The question is this: Who is He to you?
[1] Michael H. Hart, The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential People in History (Citadel, 2000).
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