Jesus: Our Great High Priest

And with that marvelous prayer in our hearts and on our lips,

just pause for a moment in quietness as we come to God's Word.

Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you for your Word, which is living, active, and powerful,

and which comes with promise that as it goes out, it will not return to you empty.

Lord, so the words that we've sung is the prayer of our hearts.

We pray that you would touch us and from this moment change us.

And so may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts

be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, we come this morning, as John's already mentioned,

to the fifth of our series in the book of Hebrews.

I'm aware that people can preach on the book of Hebrews for a very long time,

period of years.

And we're cracking through it fairly quickly.

Part 5 brings us up to the end of chapter 4 and the beginning of chapter 5.

Just a quick review as we dig in to orient ourselves.

This letter of Hebrews is an anonymous letter written, it seems,

to a group of Jewish Christians who are now in danger of losing their faith.

In fact, they think they have lost something in becoming Christians.

And the burden of the letter to the Hebrew Christians is to urge them to understand

they haven't lost something.

They're in danger of losing something for the thing that they have gained.

And what have they gained?

In a word, it's Jesus.

And so the first two chapters are all about Jesus.

The first chapter, that Jesus is the Son of God,

the exact representation of the divine being, fully God, in fact.

And as the writer moves into chapter 2,

he demonstrates that this one who is the exact representation of God

is also fully human.

In fact, one who is our brother,

and he is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters.

So fully God and fully man.

Having set out who the Son of God is,

the writer then talks a bit about who the people of God are

in chapters 3 and 4,

and takes them back in time to the experience of the Israelites

in the Exodus, the ones who left Egypt with Moses

to enter the promised land in chapter 3,

but the ones who, even who entered it in chapter 4 under Joshua,

didn't find rest, which still remains.

And the passage last week, as John brought it to us,

finished on a bit of an ominous note,

as we'll see in just a moment.

But it's that well-known set of verses.

The Word of God is alive and active.

It pierces the soul.

It reveals all.

Nothing is hidden from it.

And that just strikes a note that something heavy is coming.

In fact, something heavy is coming.

But the passage that we're at this morning

just presses the pause button briefly

as the writer sets out the argument in a very compressed way,

which is going to sustain the next chapters of the letter

right through to the end of Hebrews chapter 10.

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

So when we get a few weeks down the line to Hebrews 10,

maybe we'll hear an echo of things we've heard already.

In fact, as we come to this passage today,

we're already hearing echoes of things we've heard before,

a very carefully unfolded argument by this writer.

Well, last week, John noted that there was a key word

that ran through the passage in chapter 4

about, what, eight or so times.

The word rest just kept coming up again and again.

And as we read our passage this morning,

something similar happens,

something that crops up five times.

In fact, I'd say five and a half times.

You can work out which the half is as we read it.

So let's read together.

Hebrews chapter 4, beginning at verse 14

Hebrews 4 · chapter mention

through to chapter 5, verse 10.

So we pick it up at the end of chapter 4

with this sense that the people who left Egypt

didn't enter the promised land,

and the people who entered the promised land

didn't really find rest.

Nothing in creation is hidden from God's sight.

Everything is uncovered and laid bare

before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Boom, boom, boom.

But just before the hammer falls,

we have this.

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 a high priest

in the order of Melchizedek.

There's our passage.

And it has, I'm guessing,

some unfamiliar things in it

as well as some quite familiar things.

I wonder if you picked out

today's key term.

High priest.

Did you pick out the half?

A priest.

Well, I'll hold a sharp crew this morning.

This is really building my confidence.

Yes, this is all about the high priest.

Now, why a high priest?

Why a priest?

And we need to spend

some of our time this morning

just thinking about what it is

that makes this the thing

that the writer goes to

in order to encourage these Christians

as they face this temptation

to turn away.

Well, the passage clearly divides

into three chunks,

three paragraphs,

and we'll take them in turn,

starting first with

the end of chapter 4,

the verses that Neil read to us

before our prayer together,

in which we think about

the high priest and prayer.

Second, in verses 1 through 5

of chapter 5,

we think of 1 through 4, rather,

the high priest and the people.

And thirdly, the rest of chapter 5,

the high priest and perfection.

So the high priest in relation

to each of these three focuses,

prayer, people, and perfection.

So we begin with the high priest

and prayer.

Well, as we've noted already,

the previous section

ended on this ominous note,

something you're going to have

to give account.

And there's a clear note

of warning there.

This aspect of God's word

as being something living,

powerful, active.

There is more that's going

to strike fear to come.

But first, there's this note

of encouragement.

Quite appropriate that it was read

before our prayers,

because it is an invitation

to prayer,

an encouragement.

And in fact,

in one sense,

if we're used to a sort of

standard sermon pattern

where we get our stuff,

and then at the end

you get the application,

well, this passage

has the application front-loaded.

It's here in these first few verses

that we get some instructions,

some encouragement

about what we are to do.

The book of Hebrews

does have some clear commands.

The first one comes in chapter 3,

as we've seen already.

Consider Jesus.

And there's several more commands

in chapter 3.

And then they sort of disappear.

Sort of, they do disappear.

The next time we see commands

is in chapter 7, in fact,

and then through the rest

of the letter.

So here, the instructions we have

don't come by way of command.

They come by way of encouragement.

Now, I hope you've picked up

that language

of how the writer to the Hebrews

is together with these people

in this.

And so there's two

specific instructions

he gives.

Let us hold firmly

and let us

approach the throne of grace.

Let us do this.

We have a great high priest.

Let us hold firmly.

We have a priest

who is able to empathize

with our weakness,

and so on.

We're in this together.

But it's not just about believers

being in this together.

Christians are those

who have this,

as the writer introduces him here,

great high priest.

I mean, a high priest

is pretty great.

But you don't normally say

the great high priest.

It's built into the high priest bit.

The word's a little bit

like our word archbishop,

in fact.

Bishop, yeah, that's okay.

Archbishop.

That's pretty special.

And it's one word.

Same in Greek.

Priest is one word.

But here we have

an archpriest.

Archierus.

And that's what we have in mind.

But this is a great high priest.

And

these verses are just amazing.

As you pause and ponder them,

we have in them

the whole of the argument

of the opening part

of the book,

in fact.

Here we have Jesus,

who is the Son of God,

the exact representation

of the divine image,

who's passed through the heavens.

He's ascended to the heavens.

It's pretty special

for a high priest.

But he's not only the one

who, like chapter 1 of Hebrews,

is the Son of God

and divine,

but he is the one

who sympathizes

with us in our weaknesses,

who's been tempted

in every way

as we are.

He's one of us too.

There's Hebrews chapter 2.

Hebrews 2 · chapter mention

And there's an encouragement

then to

heed this,

to hold it,

and to approach,

which is essentially

what we have

in chapters 3 and 4.

And in fact,

we've heard something

of these words before.

There was a trailer

for this already

in the end

of Hebrews chapter 2.

Hebrews 2 · chapter mention

For this reason,

the writer says,

he, that's Jesus,

had to be made like them,

fully human

in every way,

in order that he might

become a merciful

and faithful

high priest.

That's the first time

we see it in the letter.

In service to God,

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.

So no ordinary

high priest.

And the two

specific pieces

of encouragement

or exhortation,

a little bit like coach,

come on,

let's do it,

come in these two

injunctions,

specific pieces

of encouragement

that the writer

has given.

And we'll just take

a moment to reflect

on each of those.

First,

let us,

because we have

someone who's ascended

into the heavens

as our high priest,

let's hold firmly

to the faith

we profess.

Well, hold firmly

here is a pretty

strong word.

It's the sort of word

you'd use if you want

to lay hold

of something,

seize it.

It's a word

that could be used

in context

of arrest,

to take someone

under custody.

And as one of the

older commentators

puts it,

we have in this

encouragement

to hold on

something that gives

an indication

of danger

as well

as an incitement

to effort.

word.

That note we heard

as we went

from the living

and active word,

and we'll all

have to give account,

there's still some

urgency in the air.

As this writer says,

hold on.

It's not

just a sort of calm.

All right then,

everybody,

you know,

like taking your

primary two class

on an outing.

Hold on to the room.

It's not,

well, you do want

them to hold on

tightly, don't you?

You don't want

everyone going astray.

But this is cling on.

You're at risk.

Hang on.

And what are they

to hold on to?

Well,

the NIV

slightly unpacks

it for us already.

Let us hold firmly

to the faith

we profess.

What it simply says

is let's hold fast,

as some of the

older translations

put it,

our confession.

Let's hold fast

our profession.

That is something

that we say.

There's something

about our speech

here.

And what is this?

Is it confession

in the sense

of what we did

together at the

beginning of our

service?

We confess our sins.

No, it's not

quite that

in the book of Hebrews.

Or is confession

the other thing

that we sometimes

say as a set

of doctrines

or beliefs,

you know,

like the Westminster

Confession

or the

Belgic Confession

or whatever

confession that

might be

that summarizes

our beliefs.

And it's not

quite the way

Hebrews uses

the term either.

What our writer

has in mind,

and we know this

because he uses

the term repeatedly

throughout the

letter,

is Jesus

himself.

He is the one

that we confess

and profess.

And the clearest

place we see this

comes actually

towards the end

of the letter

in Hebrews 13.

Through Jesus,

therefore,

let us continually

offer to God

a sacrifice

of praise,

the fruit

of lips

that openly

profess,

it's the same

word as we have

here,

his name,

that is,

the name of Jesus.

And it's quite

striking that the

thing then that

they have to cling

to desperately

is a profession,

a statement.

It's the speaking

of the name

of Jesus

that, in fact,

is part of their

worship and then

infuses and orients

the whole of their

lives.

So that's the first

encouragement to hold

firmly the faith

we profess

that our confession,

that confession

being Jesus

himself.

But the second

thing is what

we've done already

this morning

in verse 16.

Let us approach

God's throne of grace

with confidence

so that we may

receive mercy

and find grace

to help in time

of need.

Well, if the

encouragement to

hold fast

comes off the

back of noting

that Jesus is the

one who's passed

through the heavens,

this encouragement

here to approach

with confidence

comes off the

back of noting

that he's just

like us,

again like

Hebrews chapters

one and two.

he's been tempted

it says in every

way as we are.

Well, what's in

mind with this

temptation?

And I don't think

it's so much to do

with the temptation

to sin,

to do wrong,

although in a sense

that it is about

that.

There's something

else that's worrying

these Jewish

believers.

Their fear

seems to be

that their sin

is separating

them from God

and they have

no priest.

They've got no

priest,

they've got no

sacrifice.

They've got no

sacrifice,

they've got

no forgiveness.

And if they've

got no forgiveness,

they're separated

from God.

If that's

the temptation

and the temptation

is to

avoid somehow

the salvation

that's offered

in Jesus

and to return

to some other

kind of salvation,

the words

of the writer

here are a bit

interesting because

we don't leave

speech behind.

If we were

writing this,

we might go on

to sacrifice

now that Jesus

laid down his

life for us.

It's not,

in fact,

where the writer

goes.

The writer

invites us,

encourages us,

exhorts us,

urges us

to approach

with confidence.

And if our

previous

exhortation

had this

hint of

danger in

it,

this word

has a

strong sense

of courage

to come

boldly

into God's

presence,

to find

grace to

help us

in our time

of need.

I mean,

it's interesting

that the

ancient Jewish

writers applied

this kind of

boldness to

Abraham.

Now,

you remember

the father

Abraham,

the old

patriarch.

Mark,

for instance,

in Genesis

15,

one of the

times when

the Lord

comes and

speaks to

Abraham and

says,

I'm your

very great

reward.

And Abraham

says,

that's fine,

but I don't

have any

offspring.

And he's

received that

promise.

He would have

offspring.

So what's it

about?

Or at the

time before,

the destruction

of Sodom and

Gomorrah,

where Abraham

intercedes for

the righteous

of the city.

And ancient

Jewish commentators

had a sense

that this is

what it is to

come boldly

into God's

presence,

reverently,

deferently,

knowing the

promise of

God.

And even if

we come in

our perplexity

about how

that promise

is going to

be realized

in our lives

and situations.

And so this

writer says,

because we

have this

kind of high

priest who

knows what

it is to

be tempted,

we come

boldly,

with courage

into God's

presence,

to his

throne of

grace,

so that we

may find

help in

our time

of need.

So there's

a reverent

prayer in

response to

Jesus'

high priesthood

and what he

has done,

and the

fear that

will be

separated from

God, in

fact,

melts away

in responding

to what

Jesus has

done and

approaching

boldly.

Well, that's

the high

priest and

prayer.

But as we

move into

the letter,

we come to

the high

priest and

the people.

Having set

out that this

is who Jesus

is, trailed

it in chapter

two, now

starting to

unpack it at

the end of

chapter four,

chapter five,

our writer

stops and

says,

right, okay,

we know what

a high priest

is like.

This is what

a high priest

is.

And we have

to, at this

point, try to

imagine ourselves

into the,

if we can,

lives, minds,

orientation,

world of

first century

Jewish Christians

whose lives

and yearning

for God

have brought

them to

Christ,

the one

who has

fulfilled

the promises

and worship

of the Old

Testament,

but now

they're missing

something.

So, some

of these

longings come

out in these

verses in

chapter five,

verses one

to four.

And we

might ask

ourselves,

why a priest?

Why a high

priest?

What's good

about a high

priest that

might be

something of

my yearning

or even

a temptation

for me?

And here

we get

something of

the context

in that.

Of course,

it's very

brief, but

it just

hits the

sort of

top

checklist

of things

that this

is what

we want

in a high

priest.

priest.

A little

bit of

background.

The Old

Testament has

essentially

three intermediary

figures,

three individuals

who, by

nature of

their role

or their

office,

stood in

some way

between God

and the

people,

and the

well-known

tree of

prophet,

priest,

and king.

Of course,

the prophet,

if you can

imagine it

this way,

is one

who, with

God at

his back,

speaks God's

words to

the people.

The priest

turns around,

stands and

serves before

God, bringing

the people

safely into

God's

presence.

And the

king, in

some way,

stands between

at the very

connecting point

of God and

people, making

possible, in

some ways, that

connection between

God and

people.

And the

letter to the

Hebrews has

something to

say about

each of those

three kinds

of intermediaries.

One who

comes between

and manages

the connection

between.

But by far

the way,

looming largest

of all by

far, is the

priest, which

mightn't be the

one most of

us go to.

Perhaps for

some, it

would be.

For others, I

don't think so.

But essentially,

what does a

priest do?

There's a number

of things.

If you look

through the

different passages

in the Old

Testament that

teach about the

priesthood, but

I'd say, at

bottom, fundamentally,

what a priest

does is this.

A priest brings

the people

safely into the

presence of God

because, frankly,

the presence of

God, the Holy

God, is a scary

place to be.

And if you

show up there

improperly,

arriving,

impure,

not fit to be

in that presence,

it's not good.

And that's what

the priest does.

The priest is

that one who

is able to

bring the people

safely and

rightly fit

into God's

presence.

And we see

some of this

as Aaron

becomes the

first great

high priest

of Israel.

So in

Leviticus 9

and 10, we

see some

of this

story.

Moses says

to Aaron,

come to the

altar and

sacrifice your

sin offering

and your

burnt offering

and make

atonement for

yourself and

the people.

For yourself

and the

people.

Yourself

and the

people.

Sacrifice the

offering that

is for the

people.

Make atonement

for them as

the Lord

has commanded.

That's what

the priest is

there to do,

to bring the

people safely

into the

presence of

God.

Because what

happens if

you or I

or somebody

else tries to

pull this

off?

Well, a few

chapters later

in Leviticus,

this is what

happens.

This is the

warning.

Any Israelite

or foreigner

residing among

them who offers

a burnt offering

or a sacrifice

and does not

bring it to

the entrance

of the tent

of the meeting

where the

priest waits,

to sacrifice

it to the

Lord,

must be

cut off

from the

people of

Israel.

It's a bit

of an irony,

isn't it?

That's your

yearning.

You want to

be in God's

presence.

You bring

your offering.

Can't be

bothered waiting

for the priest.

But no,

don't do that.

Because if you

approach God

improperly,

you're cut

off.

And the very

thing you might

have wanted

is the thing

you've lost.

Well, if we

trace the story

of the priesthood

through the Old

Testament, it's

not a pretty

tale.

Very quickly

in Leviticus 10,

already after the

appointment, it

all goes very

wrong.

Aaron's sons

died, killed

because they

brought unholy

fire into the

Lord's presence.

And again

and again,

whether it's

the sons of

Eli, whether

it's the sons

of Samuel,

whether it's

priests during

the times of

the kings of

Israel, who

led the kings

astray and

were complicit

in their

idolatrous

worship, right

through to the

last book of

the Old

Testament, as

we know it,

Malachi, where

the priests who

had a covenant

with Levi have

trashed it and

not maintained

the people as

holy.

well, sort

of picking on

priests to say

that because

frankly, prophets

and kings don't

come off much

better, nor do

any of us,

frankly.

But it's, I

think, interesting

and certainly to

our writers'

credit that none

of that is

mentioned here in

these first few

verses.

What we have

here is a

thumbnail sketch

of the best high

priest you could

imagine.

every high priest

selected from

among the

people, appointed

as Aaron was

to represent the

people in matters

related to God.

It's important to

remember that the

priest serves the

God on behalf of

the people, to

offer gifts and

sacrifices for sins

just as we've

seen.

He's able to deal

gently with those

who are ignorant

and going astray

since he himself

is subject to

weakness, so he

offers sacrifices for

sins, his own

as well as the

sins of the

people.

And no one

takes this honor

in himself, but

receives it when

called by God, just

as Aaron was.

And this is such a

carefully crafted

appeal to these

Christians.

Chapter 3, Moses.

Jesus better than

Moses.

Chapter 4, Joshua.

You know what?

Jesus' rest better

than Joshua's rest.

Chapter 5, Aaron.

The three great

figures of the

Exodus and

conquest periods.

But you know

what?

Three for three,

Jesus is better

again.

And here we, in a

sense, have your

dream come true

priest, the best

priest you could

imagine.

But here's the

irony.

For these Jewish

believers, looking

to this priest would

prevent them from

looking to Jesus.

priests.

The religion, in a

sense, was getting

in the way.

So anxious to have

a priest, they're in

danger of losing a

savior.

I think there's

something here to

give us pause just

before we move to the

last paragraph, the

last chunk of our

passage.

Is there something

about our religion

that gets in the

way?

It's certainly the

case that priests are

good things.

They're commanded

things you couldn't do

without them, but

they're not the

ultimate thing.

They weren't the

thing that mattered.

They were the thing

that pointed towards

the one who mattered,

pointed towards

Christ.

And I wonder if

sometimes in our

own religious lives,

we have that sense

that we too look to

good things, but that

are not ultimate

things.

Whether it's, you

know, good music and

fine singing, it

lifts my spirit, I'm

fine.

It's proper rituals

and liturgy.

If we just get that

right, we'll be fine.

If we're under good

teaching, you know,

we'll be fine.

If I can participate

in outreach and

social action or

engage atheists on

Facebook in the name

of Jesus, you know,

I'll be fine.

But all of those good

things are not

ultimate things.

They're not the

thing.

They're the things

that sometimes

attract our attention,

though.

C.S. Lewis, in his

fascinating little book,

The Great Divorce,

through the mouth of

George MacDonald,

the Scottish

fantasist of the

19th century,

says,

There have been men

before now who got

so interested in

proving the existence

of God that they

came to care nothing

for God himself,

as if the good Lord

had nothing to do

but to exist.

There have been some

so occupied in

spreading Christianity

that they never gave

a thought to Christ.

So there's a warning

here as we look at

these Christians

yearning for a high

priest, yearning for

something external

to make them okay

when they needed to

guard their hearts

and their minds,

see what was inside.

Like the priesthood,

all these good things

can displace the

response to Jesus

and what he calls us

to, what the gospel

calls us to.

We'll see more about

that in just a moment.

But if we've seen

something of the high

priest and prayer,

the high priest and

the people,

finally we come to

the high priest and

perfection.

The writer to the

Hebrews demonstrates

that the people's

high priest,

the one selected

from them to offer

sacrifices for them,

greater than the

angels, greater than

Moses, is also

greater than Aaron.

And in these last

few verses of the

chapter, of our

passage, verses 5

through 10, we see

a little bit about

how Jesus' high

priesthood, it's

like Aaron's, it's

recognizable.

They're cousins, if you

like, not the same.

There's something

different about Jesus'

high priesthood.

And what is that?

Well, we see it, first

of all, in these two

quotations that were

given.

We see how the writer

of the Hebrews is

constantly appealing to

Old Testament

scriptures to make his

point.

Christ didn't take on

himself the glory of

becoming a high priest,

as Aaron didn't

arrogate the role to

himself.

But God said to him,

quoting Psalm 2,

you are my son, today

I've become your

father.

Which is interesting.

It's not really about

the priesthood.

And we've heard this

before.

We heard this already

right at the beginning

of chapter 1, quoting

Psalm 2.

What it shows us is

that there is a priest

who isn't of the line

of Aaron.

This isn't one of

Aaron's later sons.

This is the son of God.

And the next passage

we have quoted, he says

in another place, this is

Psalm 110, you are a

priest, there's our half,

a priest forever in the

order of Melchizedek.

Melchizedek, strange name,

which we'll come to hear

more of in weeks to come,

picked up again in verse

10.

And again in chapter 7,

so if our first quote

points us back in the

book, our next quote

points us forward in the

book.

And in both of us, they

show we don't have a

priest who's like Aaron.

We have a priest who's

quite different, in a

different order.

And then as the writer

goes on to unpack what

Jesus' high priesthood is

like, he doesn't mention

sacrifices at all.

There is a little bit of

strain in this passage

between the place of

prayer and the place of

sacrifice.

As I mentioned already,

we'll hear lots more

about sacrifice in the

chapters to come.

But that's not where he

goes at this point.

This ideal priest, in

Jesus' life on earth,

offered up prayers and

petitions with fervent cries

and tears to the one who

could save him from death,

and was heard.

This high priest, his

prayers were heard because

of his referent submission.

Well, we don't have set out

here what seems to be going

on in the mind of our

writer.

There's an echo here of

Psalm 22.

Now, we know Psalm 22,

probably one of the most

famous texts in the Bible of

all.

But we know the beginning.

My God, my God, why have you

forsaken me?

The words that were on Jesus'

lips as he died on the cross.

We don't have those words

echoed here.

We have the end of that

psalm echoed.

For he, because as in Psalm 22,

the psalmist is heard and has

delivered, then his word of

praise goes up.

He has not despised or scorned

the suffering of the afflicted

one.

He has not hidden his face from

him, but has listened.

He has heard his cry for help.

So for these Jewish Christians,

another echo of the psalms in

saying what this high priest is

like.

And it's on this basis that then

Jesus is the one who is made

perfect.

Not just an ideal high priest,

the sort of best high priest you

could think of, like the best car

you could think of, or the best

kitchen, or the best whatever it

might be.

It's the perfect high priest.

He has been perfected.

And we might find that language of

being perfected a bit awkward.

I thought Jesus was perfect.

Well, it's true Jesus was perfect,

but this is very much in the mode of

the way Paul put it in Philippians.

that he became obedient to death,

and therefore God has exalted him.

The same thing at work here in the

reflection from the writer to the

Hebrews.

Son though he was, he learned

obedience from what he suffered,

and made perfect, became the source

of eternal salvation for all who

obey him.

And although we started with

application, and what we have set

out now is this reflection on

Jesus the great high priest,

there is implicit here

something still by way of

application.

We're not only those who are to

hold fast, cling our confession,

not only ones who are to approach

with confidence and courage the

throne of grace.

But if we have Jesus as our high

priest, we find in him the source of

eternal salvation for all who obey

him.

There is a following.

I've loved the hymns and songs that

we've been singing this morning.

My chains fell off.

My was free.

I rose, went forth, and followed

thee.

It's just what the writer to the

Hebrews has in mind here.

We don't come to Jesus the high

priest and say, right, done,

tick, I've got the perfect high

priest.

If Jesus is my high priest,

there's something magnetic and

compelling that reorients and

reshapes my life to be a follower

of his.

And it was something these

Christians knew something about.

They knew what it was to suffer

for the name of Jesus.

But it's something that they were

in danger of forgetting.

Much, perhaps, as we are.

Well, as we come to an end, a little

story.

Many years I've carried in my

memory banks the vivid image of a

billboard I used to see around

Toronto.

I could have described it to you.

In the early 1980s, which is just a

little while ago now.

As I was reflecting on this passage

today, that billboard, that is pretty

effective advertising, isn't it, kept

coming back to mind.

Well, this is the internet age,

isn't it?

So I got help from Mr. Google to see

if I could find it.

And I did.

Here it is.

Dare to be a priest like me.

Those billboards, this picture is a

bit sepia tone.

They were in color, were dotted around

Toronto.

And what I like to think of as a

teenage, I won't go there, years.

They were erected by somebody named

Father Sean O'Sullivan, who at the

time was director of vocations for the

Catholic Church in that diocese, the

Archdiocese of Toronto.

The billboard was a huge success.

Just dial 977-1100.

You could be a priest today.

The phone rang off the hook.

They were inundated.

And this is the image that kept coming

to mind as I was thinking about the

high priest in our passage.

And I thought, Father Sean, close, but not

quite.

There is a sense, of course, in which we're

called to be like Christ.

But if there's anything that our passage is

telling us about, it's that there is one

unique, great high priest who is Jesus, who we

absolutely must have in our lives.

So the slogan needs a tweak.

Dare to have a priest like me.

That's the simple one-point sermon from

today's passage.

What that means in terms of prayer and

sacrifice, we'll be spending weeks working

out.

But dare to have a priest like me.

Let's pray.

Just in the quiet of this moment, we've

seen a high priest who is perfect, who's

gone into the heavens and yet has suffered

temptations in every way as we have.

So let's take a moment to do what we've been

encouraged to do, to approach the throne of

grace with confidence.

Perhaps there are some here this morning who

really have gone astray.

As the law of the priests in the Old Testament

put it, you've sinned with a high hand.

Come to Jesus.

Have a priest like him.

Come to the throne of grace for help in a time

of need.

Perhaps you've been living a life of comfort,

simply ignoring the things on the inside in

favor of the things on the outside.

There's a law for that too.

It's called sins of ignorance.

They needed a sacrifice.

They needed a priest.

Lord, if we're comfortable, disturb us and

bring us on our knees boldly to your throne

of grace.

Perhaps there are some here who've had a

longing for God, for the one who made them,

but not found a way to have fellowship and

communion with that God.

Well, there is only one great high priest to

make that possible.

Perhaps this morning you need to come to him,

find in the Lord Jesus Christ, the great high

priest, who is not ashamed to call us

brothers and sisters.

So we thank you, our Heavenly Father, for a

priest like Jesus.

Thank you that he is our great high priest.

Help us now to be those who find in him the

source of salvation and those who follow him

in obedience.

For your great namesake we pray.

Amen.