Approaching Jesus in Heaven (Hebrews 4:14-16)

As we know, the recipients of this letter were discouraged for a variety of reasons. The author responded to them with a message of encouragement and exhortation. Although he has written quite a long letter, he basically has one answer to their dilemma. His answer is not a theory, but a person. In his letter, he mentions other potential sources of real help, but in doing so points out their inferiority to Jesus. He begins by mentioning prophets, but what did they know in comparison with Jesus, even although their information had been supplied by God? He mentions angels, those creatures who excel in strength, but what do they know about the experience of human life? He mentions Moses and Joshua, their great leaders who brought them from slavery to the promised land, but what could they do for them now? He mentions Aaron, and the great system of priesthood and sacrifice and worship connected to him, but what did all that range of activities do for them in contrast to Jesus? He even mentions the heroes of the faith, but they were all flawed examples in contrast to Jesus, the perfect example. It may be a simple statement to say that Jesus is the answer, but it is not a simplistic answer. Rather it is a spiritual answer, because it points us to the Remedy for our needs. It is also a sure answer, one that remains true in all circumstances.

In this section of his letter, the author deals with the role of Jesus as our great high priest. The author sometimes contrasts Jesus with the activities of the Jewish high priests, sometimes he uses the example of Melchisedek to illustrate the activities of Jesus as the high priest, and sometimes he merely states several features of what Jesus does for his people as their great high priest.

 

Who is Jesus?

The author uses the adjective ‘great’ to describe Jesus. When describing the high priest of Israel, it was not necessary to use the word ‘great’. After all, that person was the ‘high’ priest in charge of all the other priests. Down the centuries, there had been hundreds of high priests, each serving their turn, but none of them were called great, not even Aaron. In fact, this is the only occasion where this description is used.

 

Why is Jesus great as high priest? First, he is great because of who he is. The writer says that Jesus is the Son of God. This is a reminder that Jesus is divine, one of the three persons in the Trinity. He has no beginning because he is eternal. He possesses all divine attributes. He created the universe, and he upholds it in existence (as the author points out in the first chapter). At the mere mention of his name we should bow in worship because he is God.

 

Moreover, he is Jesus, and this reminds us that God the Son became a man without ceasing to be God. This name was chosen for him by God and chosen because it had something important to say. It signified that he would save his people from their sins. That is what an angel told Joseph and what the angel Gabriel told Mary. It is amazing to think about the fact that the Son of God lived on earth as a man, in a self-chosen situation of poverty, powerlessness and pain.

 

Second, Jesus is great because of his ascension. As the writer says, Jesus has passed through the heavens. This statement does not mean that Jesus travelled through outer space. We should bear in mind that the Jews believed in three heavens: there is what we call the atmosphere, then there is space, and beyond that there is the location where God reveals himself in a special manner to the angels and the redeemed. The writer means that Jesus has gone beyond the atmosphere and beyond space to the third heaven. Why did he go there? He went in order to be highly exalted and recognised as Lord, even although he ascended as the One who is also human. We should think about this extraordinary journey from Bethany to Glory, because among other purposes he went there to be our prophet, priest and king (if we are believers).

 

Third, Jesus is great because his position is permanent. The high priests of Israel gave up their role when they died. In contrast to them, the death of Jesus, while part of his priesthood, was also the door to him for engaging in other priestly activities in heaven until he returns, and in the new heavens and new earth in the ages to come. Put it this way. Jesus does for his people today what he did for the apostles. He is our great high priest as much as he was theirs, even if their roles required special input from him.

 

The author reminds his readers that they should not abandon their confession. We know that some of them were considering returning to Judaism. They had taken their eyes of Jesus, and having done that, they were in danger of running downhill away from him. But the author recalls them to the position they used to have, when they gladly confessed his name. 

 

We may wonder if there is a difference between profession and confession, since there are similarities of meaning between them. It may be that the reason why confession is used is because the readers were in a situation where they could be challenged to make a verbal statement about their faith. One can profess freely in a situation that he is a Christian or decide not to profess at that moment, say when you move house and are speaking to your neighbour for the first time. But confession is usually a verbal response to the question, ‘Are you a Christian?’, a question that can be asked in lots of ways and in a wide variety of circumstances. The writer is saying, ‘Never deny that you are a Christian, whatever the cost in doing so.’ But since Jesus is so great, why should anyone want to deny him?

 

What marks Jesus as great high priest?

In verse 15, the writer says about Jesus, ‘For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.’ Here we are reminded of our consolation. We look at powerful people speaking about difficulties in life, and we wonder if they know what they are talking about. We don’t mean, ‘Do they understand the words they are using?’ Rather, we mean, ‘Do they understand the situations they are describing? Do they feel for the people that they are talking about?’ 

 

The author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus feels, that he sympathises with our weaknesses. It is important to note that Jesus sympathises with our weaknesses, not merely at our weaknesses. A person cannot truly feel what a situation is like unless he has been there himself. Moreover, he cannot feel unless he knows that it is happening in a precise way. At this moment, there are people in Inverness who are hungry because they could not afford a breakfast and had no way of getting one. We can feel for them, but we cannot feel with them. Jesus knows what our weaknesses are like, and he knows when they are happening. At this moment, you may have a spiritual need that no one else is aware of, and who may not appreciate it even if you told them because they had never been there.

 

The author is very frank when he says that Jesus was tempted as we are, although he reminds us that the temptations and trials of Jesus did not arise from personal sin. It is not always a sin for us to be tempted, such as when the devil tempts us or when the world tempts us. The temptation becomes a sin when we desire what is offered to us. Still, he invites us to think about the temptations that Jesus faced.

 

One obvious occasion was the period when after his baptism he was tempted by the devil for forty days in the desert. Those temptations were prolonged, they were designed for his personal circumstances, and they were fierce. So Jesus understands the power of temptation. As has often been pointed out, those who give in to temptation don’t know the full power of it. If a person is tempted on one day, he may hold out. He may even hold out for many days, but he does not the same degree of temptation’s power as the person who holds out longer. Jesus held out for forty days, but he could have held out for forty years or for how long they could possibly last. So however deep our temptation, he knows more about that we do.

 

There were other ways in which Jesus was tried. He knows what it is to be hungry, to be taunted, to be despised, to be perplexed (Gethsemane), to be falsely accused, to be distressed, to be concerned, to be pursued, to be misunderstood, to have his words twisted, to be disappointed, to be abandoned. No doubt, he was tried in many other ways as well. He is well-qualified to be the great high priest of his people.

 

What is our responsibility?

The author says in verse 16: ‘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.’ Our responsibility is to pray. We are invited to draw near to the throne of God, here called the throne of grace, a reminder that grace from heaven is always a sovereign act issued with authority that cannot be deflected.

 

How are we to draw near? We are to draw near with confidence or boldness. Those features can be ours because we are invited by God himself. When I was a child, sometimes I would go with my father to a shop. He would say to me, ‘If you want anything, ask me about it and I will decide if you can have it.’ That was in case I asked for a real car instead of a toy one. How would I have approached him if I saw something I wanted? If I demanded it in a petulant manner, I would not get it. Even if I demanded it in a selfish manner, I would not get it. Yet I could ask with confidence because he had promised. I could also ask because he had once been a child and understood what children wanted. In a far higher way, we can draw near to the throne of grace because Jesus is there, the One who made promises about prayer and who understands what it is like to be tempted. We can draw near to the heavenly Father who delights to answer our prayers.

 

We are to come confidently that the One who feels with us will do something about it. The Father and Jesus are one in their desire to bless the people of God. It is not presumption to ask for what has been promised. As Spurgeon said, ‘The greatest boldness in prayer is perfectly consistent with the lowest self-humiliation.’ We can say with the psalmist, ‘I am poor and needy, yet the Lord cares for me.’

 

What will we receive? The writer mentions two things. First, we may receive mercy and, second, we may find grace to help in time of need. Maybe, this twofold area of blessing means mercy for past sins and grace for current and future needs, as some commentators suggest. Having said that, it could mean mercy for current circumstances and grace for future circumstances. Or it could mean that whatever we get is an expression of both mercy and grace. Personally I think the last option is best. It looks to me that the writer is saying that it is mercy that gives us access to the grace that is available. After all, we don’t deserve anything from God, not even to be allowed into his presence for a second. But we are allowed in, and we do receive ample grace from the heavenly storehouse.

 

So in this set of verses, the author has reminded us of the great status occupied by Jesus, of the gentle sympathy expressed by Jesus, and the generous supply given through Jesus. Or how we should revere him as exalted, recognise that he knows and cares, and fulfil our responsibility to pray for divine blessings.