Catechetical sermons preached in PCC Evening Worship Services, Feb 2013 to Dec 2017
WSC 25 of 107
“14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:4-16).
WSC 25. How doth Christ execute the office of a priest?
A. Christ executeth the office of a priest, in his once offering up of himself a sacrifice to satisfy Divine justice,1 and reconcile us to God;2 and in making continual intercession for us.3
1 Heb 9:14,28; 2 Heb 2:17; 3 Heb 12:24,25
Today’s sermon text is perhaps one of the most comforting verses in the Word of God. It was originally written to people who were much in need of comfort and encouragement.
It was written to the Jewish Christians suffering persecution for their faith. This was during the reign of the notorious emperor Nero. Nero has declared Christianity to be an illegal religion. Judaism remained legal at least until AD. 70. So, some of the Jewish Christians were tempted to return to Judaism.
If Christianity and Judaism worship the same God, it can’t be very wrong to return to worshipping him in the old way. Or so they thought. But how wrong were they! The apostle writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, informs them that if they do that, they will be trampling underfoot the blood of Christ. Christ is the antitype of all Old Testament sacrifices. To return to Old Testament sacrifices is to deny Christ!
But the apostle does not just say that. Instead, He deals with the subject thoroughly, systematically and practically. In this way, he has gifted the church with an amazing treatise on the incomparable excellence of Christ.
He begins by showing how Christ is superior to the mighty angels. Angels are created beings: ministering spirits “sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation” (Heb 1:14). Christ is fully God.
Then, he shows in chapter 3 that Christ is superior to Moses, that great prophet and mediator of the Old Covenant. Moses is a servant; Christ is the Son of God.
But in chapter 4—after dealing with the subject of rest and the Sabbath—he begins to show how Christ is superior to Aaron and the Old Testament priests, and that his sacrifice is superior to the Old Testament sacrifices.
Our text is the introductory words to this major section of the letter:
“14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:14-16).
Quite a lot may be gleaned from these few verses. The great Puritan scholar, Dr John Owen, took 77 pages to expound these verses. And that is with a lot of restraint, seeing that these are only words of transition between two subjects, or an introduction to the next subject.
I do not intend to expound the text thoroughly. Instead, as part of our study on what we believe as a church, I would like to consider with you how Christ Jesus is our “Great High Priest” (v. 14). We want to ask three simple but overlapping questions: (1) What is a High Priest? (2) How is Christ our High Priest? (3) Why is He our Great High Priest? And then, we must draw some applications from our text.
1. What Is a High Priest?
We saw previously how a prophet is God’s representative to men. A priest, on the other hand, is a man who represents men before God.
In the Old Testament, the most well-known priests are the Aaronic priests. They are all Levites who descended from Aaron, the first high priest.
Old Testament priests have many duties, such as pronouncing benediction, lighting the lamps in the tabernacle, keeping the sacred fire burning, examining lepers, purifying the unclean, bearing the ark, preparing the animals for sacrifice, etc.
The high priest is essentially a priest chosen to be the leader of the priests. He is the one responsible for the work of offering up sacrifices and making prayers on behalf of those he represents.
This is what we are taught in his inspired job description in the book of Hebrews.
Look at Hebrews 5:1:
“For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.”
Likewise, Hebrews 8:3a reads, “For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices.”
The other priests are undoubtedly involved in offering animal sacrifices. No doubt, the other priests pray for the people. But these duties are particularly the responsibilities of the high priest.
The high priest, moreover, is responsible for offering all the sacrifices once a year on the special day known as Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement (cf. Lev 16). This day occurs five days before the Feast of Tabernacles when many of the Jews are gathered around the temple.
On the day prescribed, the high priest prepares for his duties by putting aside his official robes and donning a unique white linen garment (Lev 16:4).
He then slays and offers a bullock as a sin offering for himself and the priesthood.
Then he fills his censer with live coals from the altar. As the people wait outside, he enters into the tabernacle, and into the Holy of Holies. He will enter into the Holy of Holies three times on this day. Each time he enters, the people will wait with bated silence, fearful that they may be met with divine wrath as a nation if the offerings of the high priest are not accepted.
On his first entrance into the Holy of Holies, the high priest sprinkles incense on the censer of live coals. A cloud of incense smoke then fills the Holy of Holies.
The high priest then emerges to a sigh of relief from the congregation. Then he takes a bowl of blood from the bullock that he has sacrificed for himself and the priesthood, and He enters into the Holy of Holies a second time. This time he sprinkles the blood on the mercy seat or the atonement cover of the ark of the covenant. He does so with his fingers seven times. In this way, atonement is made for the priesthood.
When he emerges again, the high priest sacrifices a he-goat as a sin offering for the people. This goat is one of two earlier chosen by ceremonial lot to be slain as an atonement for the people. The high priest then brings some of the goat’s blood into the Holy of Holies. This is his third entry. He sprinkles the blood on the mercy seat in the same manner as he did for the sin offering for the priesthood.
Some of the blood is taken into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled there in the manner in which the sin offering for the priests has been sprinkled.
He will undoubtedly emerge this third time with a massive sigh of relief from the people.
Then the high priest purifies the Holy Place and the Altar of Burnt Offering by sprinkling with the mingled blood of the bullock and the goat (Lev 16:18-19)
When that is done, he lays his hands upon the head of the second goat, known as the scapegoat, and confesses the sins of Israel over it. The scapegoat is then driven into the wilderness to symbolise the sins of the people being carried away.
Only after that is done will the carcasses of the two burnt offerings—the bullock and the he-goat—be taken outside the city and burnt.
And this elaborate procedure is repeated year after year after year.
Why is it repeated? It is to indicate to the people that the blood of bulls and goats can never take away sin! They are instead designed to teach the people that until the Messiah, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the people, comes, their sins will not be paid for. So the rituals are designed to teach the people to anticipate the coming of the Messiah. The Old Testament high priest is only to function until Messiah comes.
But this leads us to our next question. Our text tells us that Christ is our Great High Priest. But how is He our Great High Priest?
2. How Is Christ Our High Priest?
First, let us understand that the Old Testament high priest was a type and a representative of Christ. Priests in the Old Testament were anointed with oil because they were to serve as representatives of the Messiah. Messiah means “Anointed One.” Christ or Christos means the same. The priests, together with prophets and kings, were anointed ones. They were anointed with oil to symbolise the Holy Spirit. Christ, the Messiah, is anointed with the Holy Spirit. Remember how the Holy Spirit descended like a dove upon the Lord at His baptism?
Thus, when the priest ministered in the Old Covenant, they were standing in the place of Christ. So Christ is the true Priest, whereas the rest were, in a sense, shadow priests.
In the second place, Christ is our High Priest because He offered up a sacrifice to God for us. We read the first part of Hebrews 8:3 earlier. The whole verse reads:
“For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer” (Heb 8:3).
Why did the priest need to offer sacrifices? Well, the priests of the Old Testament offered sacrifices as the Lord appointed them. But what was the purpose of the sacrifice? Well, the purpose was to show that sin must be paid for. God is a just God. Sin has separated us from God. God must punish sin. The wages of sin is death, so we are children of God’s wrath because of sin.
Now, we are told in Hebrews 10:4 that “it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” Why? Because animals cannot represent man. We are of different species. Animals have no souls, whereas we are created in the image of God. So the sacrifices of the Old Testament could not take away sin. But they did provide, so to speak, a temporary certificate of remission. And they pointed God’s people to the sacrifice that can take away sin.
What is that sacrifice that can take away sin? It is none other than Christ Jesus Himself. Christ offered Himself unto God for us.
Thus, we read in Hebrews 9:26:
“But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Heb. 9:26).
What is the purpose of this sacrifice? Well, it is to satisfy God’s justice and to reconcile us unto God!
The Scripture testifies to this truth in many places.
- The Lord Himself says that He came “give his life a ransom for many” (Mt 20:28).
- Paul reminds us in Ephesians 5:2 that Christ gave “Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour.” And God purchased us with His own blood (Acts 20:28).
- Peter reminds us that Christ bore “our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes [we] were healed” (1 Pet 2:24).
Because of what Christ has done for us, God’s wrath is propitiated (or appeased), and we are reconciled to God. We deserve God’s wrath, but Christ, our Great High Priest, purchased His love for us instead.
Because of what Christ has done for us once and for all, we have free access unto the throne of grace. This is the picture given in our text. In the Old Covenant, only the high priest might approach the throne of grace in the Holy of holies, and that not without blood, and only once a year. But when Christ died on the cross, the curtain was rent. We now have free access unto the throne of grace. We can now come boldly unto God as our heavenly Father daily because we have the assurance that He will not deal with us after our sins. He has already punished Christ our Lord for our sins.
But there is more, for in the third place, we see that Christ also intercedes for us as our high priest. This is the second part of His priestly office on our behalf.
This was prophesied in the Old Testament in Isaiah 53. Let’s turn to it. Notice in verse 4 how Christ would be “wounded for our transgressions, … bruised for our iniquities: [that] the chastisement of our peace [might be] upon him; and [that] with his stripes we [might be] healed” (v. 5). But notice also verse 7: “He was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isa 53:12).
You see, the works of atonement and intercession are linked. The apostle to the Hebrews makes this very clear as he opens the letter to the Hebrews.
He tells us in Hebrews 1:3 that Christ, “when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb 1: 3). What is he doing at the right hand of the throne of God? He is there to intercede on our behalf. Look at Romans 8:34:
“Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”
We must not think Christ has been sitting on a particular chair beside God the Father for the last two millennia. Remember that God is a spirit. He does not sit on a throne. What the Scripture reveals to us of what happens in heaven is anthropomorphic and figurative.
Nevertheless, it is helpful to understand that the right hand is the hand of power. To be at the right hand of God is to be in a position of great power. In that position, Christ intercedes on our behalf on account of what He has already done for us on the cross.
Because He is our intercessor, we can come boldly unto the throne of grace.
Because He is our mediator, we know God will not deal with us after our sins. John says: “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 Jn 2:1).
Again, because Christ is our intercessor, we can ask anything in His name and be assured that our prayers will be answered. “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it,” says the Lord Himself (Jn 14:14).
Again, because He is our intercessor, we know we will be preserved in the faith forever. The apostle says:
“Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Heb 7:25).
Can you see how Christ is our high priest? He is the High Priest foreshadowed by all the high priests of the Old Covenant. He offered Himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice and reconcile us to God. And He ever lives to make intercessions for us.
But we must not end without considering the greatness of His priestly office. Christ is not only the high priest and our high priest. He is a Great High Priest. He is our Great High Priest.
3. Why Is He Our Great High Priest?
Let me briefly highlight seven reasons:
a. First of all, Christ is a priest after the order of Melchizedek rather than the order of Aaron. The writer to the Hebrews shows us in chapter 7 that the Melchizedic priesthood is greater than the Aaronic Priesthood. Abraham acknowledged the spiritual superiority of Melchizedek by paying a tithe to him after the battle against Chedorlaomer. Levi and Aaron descended from Abraham. Therefore, Melchizedek is greater than Levi and Aaron. Therefore, the Melchizedic priesthood is greater and more honourable.
b. Secondly, let us note that the priests of the Old Covenant obtained their priesthood by virtue of their natural descent from Aaron. Christ, on the other hand, obtained His priesthood by divine oath! We read this in Hebrews 7:21—“For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.”
c. Thirdly, the Aaronic priesthood had to be handed down from generation to generation because the priests were mortal. They ceased to serve as priests when they died. On the other hand, Christ continues to serve as a priest, interceding on our behalf forever, in an unchangeable priesthood because He lives forever (Heb 7:23-24).
d. Fourthly, all the other priests and high priests were sinful. Christ alone is perfectly holy, undefiled and separate from sinners (Heb 7:26). Thus, the Old Covenant high priests had to offer sacrifices for themselves. In contrast, Christ has no sin, and, therefore, needed only to offer a sacrifice for us.
e. Fifthly, the Old Covenant priests offered many animal sacrifices that can never take away sin. Notice how there are no chairs in the earthly Tabernacle or Temple. There was no final sacrifice in the Old Covenant. The work was never done. On the other hand, Christ, once and for all, offered up Himself as a perfect sacrifice which takes away sin forever (Heb 10:12). Then He sat down at the right hand of the throne of God forever as our intercessor.
f. Sixthly, the priests of the Old Covenant appeared on behalf of the people before God in the temple made with hands. Christ, our Great High Priest, on the other hand, appeared before God for us in heaven (Heb 9:11). Whereas the Old Covenant priests interceded for the people upon the earth, Christ our high priest intercedes for us in the heaven of heavens by the right hand of the very throne of God.
g. Finally, all the Aaronic priests were only priests, whereas Christ alone is a priest, prophet and king!
Can you see how Christ is truly our Great High Priest?
Conclusion
Our Shorter Catechism, Q. 25 asks: “How doth Christ execute the office of a priest?”
Answer:
“Christ executeth the office of a priest [a Great High Priest], in his once offering up of himself a sacrifice to satisfy Divine justice, and reconcile us to God; and in making continual intercession for us.”
How should we respond to this doctrine? Well, for a proper response, let us come back to our text, Hebrews 4:
“14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
From here, we see three applications: (1) Hold fast; (2) Rest confidently; (3) Come boldly.
a. First, let us hold fast to our profession. This is an exhortation given not only to the Jewish Christians in the first century but to all of us. If Christ is our Great High Priest, and He has finished the work of atonement on our behalf and is interceding for us in heaven, let us never be tempted to give up the faith.
Things can be complicated in our Christian walk. We may not face persecution like the Jewish Christians in the first century. But there are other trials to face.
When your job requires you to work on the Sabbath regularly, and it is not a work of mercy, necessity, piety or emergency, what do you do? Are you not tempted to cease walking with Christ? It is too hard to continue to walk with him. I may not find a job if I leave this one.
When you are severely afflicted in the body, and nothing seems to help, are you not tempted to try some unconventional methods? The charismatic faith healer who is known to be quite blasphemous. The catholic priest whom your neighbour claims to be very effective. The treatment involving some occult elements of meditation and incense. Can I not try them?
When you are sitting for an exam, and it appears that you are going to fail when you have been an above-average student. Are you not tempted to cheat? Maybe I will take a quick peek at Mary’s paper. Maybe I will ask to go to the toilet to check my notes.
When the adulterous affair leads to an unexpected pregnancy, will you not, like David, be tempted to commit murder?
When the truth may get you into trouble, will you not, like Abraham, be tempted to lie?
When you do any of these, you will, beloved brethren and children, be ceasing to hold fast to your profession. You will be resorting to the wicked means of the wicked one, and unless you repent of your sin, you will perish.
Hold fast to your profession, brethren and children! Christ, your Great High Priest, laid down His life for you, and He is at the right hand of the throne of God, interceding for you. Will He abandon you? Will He allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear?
b. Secondly, let us rest in the Lord. Christ Jesus, our Lord, took on our nature to be our Great High Priest. Because He shares our nature, He can be touched by the feelings of our infirmities. The Greek in our text is instructive. The words “touched by the feelings of” translate the Greek word συμπαθέω (sumpatheō), from which we get the English “sympathise.” The word “infirmities” (ἀσθένεια, astheneia) means “weakness.” In other words, the apostle is saying that Christ can sympathise with our weaknesses.
And He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. In other words, Christ, our Great High Priest, does not only intercede for us; He understands our weaknesses and our struggles. He knows what it is to be tempted to sin.
He is not, as it were, high and dry. He has dipped His feet in the tears of human sorrows. He has been drenched in the sweat of human dilemmas. He knows what we are going through. He knows what you are going through: the pains, anguishes, temptations, dilemmas, griefs, anger, and sadnesses.
You can trust Him. You can cast your cares upon Him and trust Him with your burdens and secrets. You can be sure He will represent you accurately and compassionately before the Father’s throne.
Men may err. They may not fully understand us. Even those closest to us may be baffled at us, give up on us, or misrepresent us. But not Christ, our Great High Priest! He has our best interest before the Father and fully understands us. Indeed, He understands you even better than you understand yourself. Will you not entrust your case to Him and rest in the knowledge that He will not fail you?
c. Thirdly, let us come boldly unto the throne of grace. Go to the throne of grace in prayer. We are taught in our catechism that we should pray unto the Father, in the name of the Son, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit. And so we should. What is it to pray in the name of the Son? Well, it is to pray His prayer.
In 1 Samuel 25, we have an account of King David sending his men to Nabal to ask him for provisions. What does David say to them? He says to them: “Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name” (1 Sam 25:5). Now, what is David saying? He is suggesting to them, is he not, that they are to represent him when they make the request. When Nabal received the request, he understood that they were not asking for the provisions for themselves. It was David who was making the request. This is why Nabal responded: “Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse?” (v. 10).
Now, when we ask something in Jesus’s name, this is what we are doing. We are asking, as it were, on behalf of Jesus! Can you understand now why our prayers will always be heard when we pray according to God’s will? Because when we pray according to God’s will, we are making a prayer, as it were, on Jesus’ behalf.
But the marvellous thing is that, unlike David’s men, we are not alone when we make our requests at the Throne of Grace. The Holy Spirit will assist us, and Christ, our Lord, will be there. Remember how He is, as it were, seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
He will be there to own our prayer. He will be there to affirm that our debt has been paid for and that our requests are legitimate requests that He owns.
Isn’t that a wonderful thought? We are no longer alone because of what Christ Jesus our Great High Priest has done for us. Christian prayer is not the same as the prayer of idolaters. When a person prays to an idol or a false god, he is praying in his own name for his own benefit to an impotent and imaginary god.
When a Christian prays aright, he comes unto the heavenly Father in the name of His Son, the Great High Priest. It is no wonder that we can have boldness and confidence in prayer! It is no wonder that all our prayers are always answered.
“14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him” (1 Jn 5:14-15).
Beloved brethren and children, do you pray? Beloved friends, do you know what you are missing?
We need the Lord Jesus to be our Great High Priest because there is no way we can approach the holy heavenly Father otherwise. If you would pray or come unto God, you need Him to be your Great High Priest too.
He will be your Great High Priest, too, if you would go to Him confessing your sin and acknowledging that He alone can atone for your sin.
The apostle John says:
“1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. …2:1 And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 Jn 1:9-2:1).
Jesus Christ the Righteous is our advocate with the Father because He is our Great High Priest. Is he your Great High Priest? Will you not go to Him to ask Him to be your Great High Priest while He is still calling for sinners to go to Him? Amen.
—JJ Lim