Sermon

Jesus Our Perfect Priest

June 17, 2012 Carrigaline Baptist Church - Sermons

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Turn to Hebrews 4, page 1203, page 1203 in the church's Bibles.
I'm starting at verse 12.
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword.
It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow.
It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight.
Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
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.
We have one who has been tempted in every way.
Just as we are, yet 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 the matters related to God,
to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are gone astray,
since 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 the high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Thanks very much, Ross, for reading.
So keep your Bibles there at Hebrews chapter 4 and chapter 5.

Hebrews 4 chapter mention
And we'll be referring to a couple of other sections in Hebrews as well.
But we're going to pray first and ask for God's help.
Let's pray.
For the word of God is living and active.
Sharper than any double-edged sword.
It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow.
It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Our God, our prayer is this.
That your word would now challenge us.
That it would penetrate deep into our lives.
Right to the very heart.
And we pray for two things.
One, that it would show us who we are and what we are like.
Not what others think or what we think of ourselves,
but what you think of us.
And what you see in us.
And secondly, we pray that your word would also show us the wonder of who Jesus is.
And that in bringing those two together,
we may be amazed that Jesus is our high priest.
So speak to us afresh by the power of your spirit.
Amen.
Amen.
And we ask this in Jesus' name for his glory.
Amen.
Amen.
Well, I'm sure you're all familiar with Mick Wallace.
You all know who Mick Wallace is.
That flamboyant, independent Wexford TD.
He loves his colourful shirts.
Refuses to wear a tie and a jacket in Dáil Éireann.
Well, he also loves the opportunity to have a good go at the government and at the banks.
Well, this week, he stood in the door, very emotional, guilty and ashamed.
His life has been uncovered and laid bare before the nation.
The tax revenue has been investigating his financial affairs
and it seems he's made an error of judgment.
Apparently, he forgot to declare all that he owed.
And he now faces a settlement of over two million.
And the investigation is set to continue.
Not surprisingly, he is seeking legal advice on the matter.
Now, while we might stand back and yet again condemn and wag our finger at our politicians
and complain about them,
let's remember that our lives are also under investigation.
Look at chapter 4, verse 13.
Nothing in all creation.
Nothing is hidden from God's sight.
Everything is uncovered.
Everything is laid bare before the eyes of him
to whom we must give account.
You know, there's not one area of our life that God does not know about.
He's heard everything that we've ever said.
He has seen everything that we have ever done.
He knows everything that we have thought.
And he perceives the motive behind it all.
There's not one corner of our lives,
not one second of our existence,
that we have somehow managed to cover up or hide from God.
And if that's not troubling enough,
look at the rest of verse 13, the last line.
It is to him, God, that we must give an account.
One day our number is going to be called
and we're going to have to explain our thoughts,
our words, and our deeds.
Not before Dole Aaron or the rest of the country,
but before the judge of the universe.
Or as it says in Hebrews 9, verse 27,

Hebrews 9:27
we're destined to die once
and after that
to face the judgment.
What do you think about that?
Well, there may be lots of things
we're going to be very proud to talk about.
I mean, all those good and random things
that we've done to people and said.
But I reckon there's going to be an awful lot
that we're going to be very ashamed of.
All those skeletons.
In fact, we dread the thought of our lives
being uncovered and laid bare.
That's why we spend a large majority of our time
actually trying to fix our own guilt
or we try and run from our guilt.
And we go one of two ways.
Either we go down the religious route,
which is to try and live a good moral life
and somehow by doing good things
we're going to balance out the bad
and we'll kind of slightly get above
and we'll be all right.
Or we go down the irreligious path
where we just continue living
an immoral kind of life,
convincing ourselves,
well, you know what?
We're really answerable to no one.
So let's just keep doing what we like.
But whichever path we take,
it doesn't deal with our guilt.
It's still there.
It still remains.
It still nags away.
And we still face the fact of one day
standing before God,
chapter 4, verse 13,
who is the supreme judge
to whom we must give an account.
Mick Wallace is not the only one
who needs help.
We all need help.
But it's not a lawyer we need.
We need a priest.
And thankfully, we do have a priest.
Chapter 4, verse 14.
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
that we profess.
Our priest, our helper,
is Jesus, the Son of God.
He's our mediator.
He's the one who's going to stand in for us.
Jesus is the one who can help us
when we have to stand before God
and give an account of our life.
That's why it says at the end of verse 14,
we hold firmly to the faith we profess.
We mustn't try and fix our own guilt.
We mustn't run away from our guilt.
Instead, we hold on to the faith.
The faith that we have in Jesus.
This is God's provision for his people.
Chapter 5, verse 4.
No one takes this honour 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.
Jesus was the one appointed by God,
chosen by God,
sent by God into this world
for people like you and me
to stand in for us
to be our priests.
Well, what makes this Jesus
better and greater than any other priest?
Because we can go to lots of places
and find lots of priests.
We can even invent our own kind if we want.
But what makes Jesus better and greater?
Well, three things simply.
First, Jesus is our powerful priest.
Go back to verse 14 of chapter 4.
Jesus is our powerful priest.
Therefore, since we have a great high priest
who has gone through the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God.
The fact that Jesus,
and the phrase there,
has gone through the heavens
or gone into heaven
means he is in a position
of all power
and all authority.
To understand this a bit more,
go back to chapter 1, verse 3.
Here we are given a wonderful picture
and description
of who Jesus is.

Isaiah 1:3
Chapter 1, verse 3.
The Son, that's Jesus,
is the radiance of God's glory
and the exact representation
of his being.
He sustains all things
by his powerful word.
And after he had provided
purification for sins,
and here's the phrase we want,
that he sat down
at the right hand
of the majesty
in heaven.
That position
is a position of power.
Or,
verse 13 of chapter 1.
To which of the angels
did God ever say,
sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool
for your feet?
Jesus has gone through the heavens.
He's in a position
of power.
He is over all things.
He has even conquered
his enemies.
Or as we sang
at the very beginning
of this morning,
you're the risen one,
heaven's champion,
and you reign,
you reign over all.
And because Jesus
holds all power
and all authority,
that means
he is in a position
to do something
for us.
He is
a powerful priest.
But second,
Jesus
is also
our perfect priest.
Chapter 4,
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.
Was without sin.
Jesus,
unlike us,
was absolutely
pure
and perfect.
It doesn't mean
that he hid away
in isolation
like some kind of monk
way out in the middle
of the country
to avoid temptation,
if that were even possible.
No,
it says that
we have one
who has been
tempted in every way,
just as we are,
but was without sin.
Jesus experienced
temptation,
but here is the difference,
he never experienced
what it was
to sin.
He never gave in.
He was perfect.
I find this incredible
for somebody
who just messes up
constantly.
Imagine having a life
where you never had
to say sorry.
He never had to ask
for forgiveness.
He never lost
his temper.
He never had
a bad thought.
He never had
a selfish motive.
He never experienced
guilt,
shame,
or regret.
Never.
He was without sin.
Now,
it's crucial
that we get a hold
of this
because
if Jesus
had been sinful,
he would have
needed a high priest
and his death
would never,
ever help us.
But thankfully,
Jesus was perfect.
Look at chapter 5,
verse 8.
Again,
speaking of Jesus,
although he was a son,
he learned obedience
from what he suffered.
Every temptation
he faced,
he obeyed.
and once
made perfect,
he became
the source
of eternal salvation
for all
who obey him.
Now,
we've got to understand
verse 9
carefully.
It's not to say
that Jesus
was somehow
sinful before,
that he was
imperfect,
and somehow
he learned
through kind of
good ways
to stop sinning
and became perfect.
No,
it's,
we understand
it like this,
that Jesus
suffered and
experienced
temptation
just like you
and me,
but because
he never gave
into temptation,
he became
fully qualified
to deal
with our sin.
Or we could
summarise it
like this,
Jesus
perfectly
passed
the test
of temptation
for us.
and in that
sense
he was
made perfect.
Every temptation
that he passed,
every test
that was thrown
at him,
he passed
perfectly.
So he became
fully qualified
to be
our perfect
priest.
We have
a perfect
priest
to help
imperfect
people
like you
and me.
But not
only
is he
powerful,
not only
is he
perfect,
Jesus
is our
eternal
priest.
Go back
to verse
five of
chapter five.
It says
there,
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,
quoting Psalm
110,
you are a
priest forever,
in the order
of Melchizedek.
Well,
who on earth
is Melchizedek?
Well,
flick over
to chapter
seven,
verse one.
We read
about him
in Genesis,
we read
about him
in Psalm
110,
but here
we get
a brief
description
for our
help just
now.
Chapter
seven,
verse one.
This
Melchizedek
was king
of Salem
and priest
of God
most high.
he met
Abraham
returning
from the
defeat of
the kings
and blessed
him and
Abraham
gave him
a tenth
of everything.
First his
name means
king of
righteousness,
then also
king of
Salem means
king of
peace.
And here's
where we
want to
focus.
Verse three,
without father
or mother,
without
genealogy.
The Bible
doesn't mention
where
Melchizedek
came from,
his parents.
They're not
there,
there's no
genealogy,
no record.
It's not to
say he didn't
have them,
he obviously
did,
but it's
not recorded.
Without
beginning of
days or
end of
life,
like the
son of
God,
he remains
a priest
forever,
an eternal
priest.
Now what
the author
is doing
here,
he's using
this character
of the
Old Testament
Melchizedek
to show
us that
Jesus is
the eternal
priest.
The tradition
that surrounds
Melchizedek
that he
came,
he's just
had an
endless
life,
has become
a reality
in Jesus.
Jesus is
the true
priest without
beginning of
days or
without end
of life.
He's
eternal.
In other
words,
Jesus,
even though
he has
come,
he continues
to act as
our high
priest today.
Chapter
7,
verse 25.
25.
It sums
it up
nicely for
us here.
Verse 25
of chapter
7.
Therefore,
Jesus is
able to
save
completely
those who
come to
God
through
him
because
he
always
lives
to
intercede
for them.
He's
always
speaking
to the
Father
on our
behalf.
He is
the high
priest
forever
so we
can
depend
on
him.
We can
trust
on him
every
single
day
to act
on our
behalf.
We're
in desperate
need of
a priest
and God
has provided
a powerful,
perfect
and eternal
great
high priest
for people
like us.
Now,
not only
has God
provided us
with a
priest,
this priest
invites us
to come
to him.
Go back
to chapter
4,
verse 16.
So,
we've seen
that we
need a
priest,
we've
looked at
what this
priest is
like,
and then
this priest
invites us
to come
to him.
Chapter
4,
verse 16.
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.
We are
to come
to the
powerful,
perfect
and eternal
high priest
to receive
mercy
and grace.
That is
the invitation
that is
being given
to us
today
and every
day.
So,
let's look
at these
two things
that we
can receive.
First,
we are to
receive
mercy.
We can
simply
summarize it
like this.
Mercy
means not
getting
what we
do deserve.
The truth
is we
do deserve
God's
judgment.
We do
deserve
to pay
the penalty
for our
sin,
but Jesus,
our high
priest,
gives us
mercy.
How on
earth can
he do
that?
How can
he give
us mercy
when we're
guilty?
Well,
this is a
high priest
who represents
us.
Chapter
5,
verse 1.
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.
That was the
role of the
priest,
to represent
people,
to stand
in for
them,
to mediate,
to go
between.
But the
problem is,
as the book
unfolds for
us,
that all
these priests
throughout time
have always
been sinful
and they
always had to
do something
for themselves.
So we
need someone
greater and
someone better.
Look at
chapter 7,
verse 26.
So we
do have
the perfect
representative,
one who
represents us
before God
and stands
in for us
before God.
Chapter 7,
verse 26.
Such a
high priest,
and that's
Jesus,
meets our
need.
One who
is holy,
one who
is blameless,
who is
pure,
who is
set apart
from sinners,
who is
exalted
above the
heavens.
Unlike the
other high
priests,
he does
not need
to offer
sacrifices
day after
day,
first for
his own
sins and
then for
the sins
of the
people.
He
sacrificed
for their
sins as
well,
once for
all,
when he
offered
himself.
Jesus
not only
offers the
sacrifice,
but do you
see that
last little
phrase?
He
offered
himself.
He
is the
sacrifice.
Now we're
going to be
looking at
that more
in detail
next week.
God
is the
sacrifice.
He
can see
the reason
why Jesus
can offer
us mercy
and not
treat us
the way we
deserve to
be treated
is because
he has
offered that
sacrifice.
He has
become the
sacrifice.
He's
represented us
and he
takes that
penalty for
us.
God
is the
invitation
to come
to him,
to come
to our
great high
priest with
confidence
because he's
dealt with
our sin
and to
receive this
mercy
day after
day.
So we
are to
come at
the
invitation
of the
priest to
receive
mercy and
second we
are to
come at
his
invitation
to receive
grace.
And again
we can
summarize it
simply as
this.
Mercy is
not getting
what we
deserve.
Grace means
getting what
we don't
deserve.
And we
really don't
deserve
anything.
God
owes us
absolutely
nothing.
But Jesus
our high
priest gives
us grace.
Well how
can he do
that?
It doesn't
make sense.
How can
he be
given it
to somebody
who doesn't
deserve it?
Well for
the simple
reason that
on the one
hand he
gives us
mercy because
he represents
us.
He gives
us grace
because he
identifies
with us.
Chapter
5 verse
7.
Here's like
a little
summary of
what it
was like
for Jesus
to live
his life.
Perhaps
in particular
it focuses
in on his
time in
Gethsemane
just before
his death.
But
chapter 5
verse 7.
During the
days of
Jesus'
life on
earth he
offered up
prayers and
petitions with
loud cries
and tears as
he went
through all
that struggle
and that
suffering of
temptation.
To the
one who
could save
him from
death and
he was
hurt because
of his
reverent
submission.
Jesus
knows what
it is to
suffer temptation.
We're not
on our own
here.
He knows
what it is to
be under
extreme pressure
and stress
to sin
and to
snap.
And we've
all been
there.
It doesn't
mean that he's
faced every
possible kind
of temptation
because Jesus
didn't live
everybody's
particular life.
But it
means here that
he has
experienced
temptation in
a greater
way than
us because
he never
gave in.
Let's think
about this for
a minute.
When you and
I are tempted
the pressure
builds and
builds like
a pressure
cooker and
then we give
in and the
top just
blows,
doesn't it?
We're kind
of so good
maybe we're
not very
good but we
kind of get
a little bit
some days a
little bit
further but
eventually the
temptation just
comes and
comes and
it just
bursts and
we let fly
with expletives
and words and
all kinds of
actions we
shouldn't be
doing or
saying.
But as
soon as we
give in,
as soon as
we sin,
that temptation
goes.
The pressure
is gone,
it's off.
For Jesus,
because he
never gave
in to
temptation,
the temptation
increased and
the pressure
increased.
It got greater
and it got
greater and
it got
greater.
So Jesus
knows temptation
at levels we
are never
ever going to
know.
Therefore,
chapter 4
verse 15,
we have got
a high priest
who is able
to sympathise
with our
weaknesses.
We have
one who
has been
tempted in
every way,
just as we
are, yet
is without
sin.
So Jesus
knows and
understands the
battle of
temptation.
He struggled
against, he
knows that
fight that
we're in.
Therefore, he
comes to us,
he identifies
with us and
he invites us
and says,
come with
confidence and
receive that
grace that
you need for
your life.
So that
invitation for
mercy and
grace, that
invitation is
great, but we
want to be
people who
experience this
mercy and
grace.
we want it
to really
touch our
lives.
Well, because
we've got this
powerful and
perfect eternal
priest, we
can experience
his mercy and
grace every
single day.
And I want us
to finish to
think through
these two
steps.
Two steps
that we've
got to take.
Steps that
have got to be
taken simultaneously
because they
almost happen
simultaneously.
But if we
want to
experience mercy
and grace,
we've got to
take these
steps.
Step one,
let God
show you.
Let God
show you.
Chapter
four, verse
twelve.
For the
word of God
is living
and active,
sharper than
any double-edged
sword.
It penetrates
even to
dividing soul
and spirit,
joints and
marrow.
It judges
the thoughts
and attitudes
of the heart.
Someone has
described it
like this,
that it's like
a surgeon's
scalpel
cutting straight
in,
cutting right
the way
through,
exposing right
to the heart.
That's what
God's word
does.
Don't run
away from
it.
Don't try
and fix
it on
your own.
Allow
God's word
to open
up and
show you
what your
life is
like.
That's
step one.
And that
means we've
got to be
reading.
Step one,
let God
show you.
But
simultaneously,
we're not
to stay
there and
wallow in.
Step two,
let God
heal you.
And we
read verse
16 of
chapter 4
again.
So with
this,
exposing
this,
showing us
who we
are,
with all
of that,
verse 16,
let us
then approach
the throne
of grace
with confidence
so that we
can receive
mercy and
grace to
help us in
our time of
need.
That he
would like a
surgeon who
not only sees
what's wrong,
it's healing.
It's pouring
his mercy and
his grace into
our lives.
Healing us,
washing us,
cleaning us,
purifying us,
changing us,
transforming us.
If we're to
experience it,
we've got to
let God show
us, not run
away, but
come to one
who is going
to be gentle
and kind
and show
us and
simultaneously
pour his
grace and
mercy into
our lives,
to set us
free from
our guilt
and our
shame,
to walk
in freedom,
to live the
new kind
of people
that he
has called
us to.
We have
a powerful,
perfect,
and eternal
high priest.
He invites
us every
single day
to come
to him.
Let him
show you,
but let
him heal
you.
Let's
pray.
Our
Father God,
we thank
you so
much for
our great
high priest,
Jesus,
the Son of
God.
We thank
you that
we can
come to
you,
that we
can come
in our
weakness
and in
our desperate
need.
You will
not push
us away,
but you
will pour
into our
lives your
mercy and
your grace.
Please help
us to live
this out
through this
coming week,
to always
come with
confidence
because of
Jesus to
his throne
of grace
and receive
all that we
need.
We praise
you for
you are
great and
you are
good and
we can
trust you.
In
Jesus'
name we
pray.
Amen.
Amen.
Well in a
minute we're
going to
pick up and
we're going
to try and
work through
those two
steps as we
share communion
together, but
we're going to
sing a song
together which
will set our
focus on what
we've just been
looking at and
towards Jesus
that we have a
strong and