One of the great challenges of preaching a series of sermons on a book like Hebrews is trying to find the right places to divide up the text into manageable segments for preaching. It is a challenge because each thought, each step in the argument, is so closely related to both what goes before and what follows that there is little chance to take a breath, let alone slot in an entire week of life! It is like the seamless garments worn by priests – specially woven so that no joins are visible.

Take, for example, the last three verses of Hebrews 4:

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. (Heb 4:14–16)

Tim Kirkegard shared with us last week how this is a fitting conclusion to chapters 3 and 4. We who are weak and weary, who are travelling through a wilderness as the Israelites did, are exhorted to ‘approach the throne of grace with confidence’ because that is where we ‘may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.’

But if I were forced to choose, I would have to say that this passage aligns more closely with what follows, for it brings to the fore the idea of the Jesus the great high priest. This is a topic which will occupy the writer right through until chapter 10. Somehow this tremendous invitation is dependent upon the ministry of this great high priest. Similarly at the end of chapter 10 we read:

Therefore, brothers, … since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God. (Heb 10:19, 21-22)

Once again, the invitation is there, and once again it is based upon the priestly ministry of Jesus Christ. So, our task as we read these chapters in between is to keep our eyes, ears and hearts open to hear and to understand this invitation.

Priests in the Old Testament

What do you think of when you hear the word priest? An elderly man, with long robes and a funny hat? Tribal witch doctors, presiding over human sacrifices? Men dressed all in black who go around casting out demons? Today’s society has little place for the idea of priesthood, consigning it to the realm of movie cliché. Yet to properly get at the ideas presented in Hebrews 5, we must set aside these images and return to the Old Testament context.

The Old Testament presents the priesthood as a gift from God, intended to keep his people in relationship with himself. The Israelites were unable to directly approach the presence of God lest they be destroyed because of their sinfulness, but God provided mediators for them in the form of the priests, the sons of Aaron, who would present their gifts and sacrifices to God on their behalf. Such sacrifices could only be offered by the appointed priests, and for anyone else to do so – even the King of Israel!¹ – resulted in condemnation.²

God also appointed one priest, the high priest, whose most important job was to offer sacrifice for the sins of the people once a year. Our God is a god of holiness, and when people act in ways contrary to his will they come under his judgment and condemnation. By rights, they – we! – deserve to be destroyed for their sinfulness. But, in his love, God provides a way that that judgment can be satisfied without destruction of the ones who have sinned, a way that forgiveness may be obtained. But this forgiveness is costly, requiring sacrifice and death. This is where the high priest comes in.

Once a year, on the day known as Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the high priest would enter in to the most holy place of the temple and offer a sacrifice on behalf of the people. According to the instructions in Leviticus 16, he was to take three animals with him. The first was a ram, to offer as a sacrifice for his own sinfulness. Having been cleansed of his own sin, he was then able to offer sacrifices for the people, by sacrificing one of the goats and letting the other (the proverbial ‘scapegoat’) go free, symbolically carrying away the sins of the people. By obedience to these commandments, the Israelites demonstrated their reliance upon God for forgiveness. Only the sacrifice commanded by God, offered by the high priest chosen by God, was effective in satisfying the holiness of God. God provided the way, the person and the sacrifice.

Human Priests (Heb 5:1-4)

Fast forward 1600 years or so to the time of the letter to the Hebrews. The original recipients of this letter clearly had a great fascination with the history and the traditions of the Jewish people. The writer has now spent four chapters developing the idea that Jesus is the fulfilment of and far superior to all of the trappings of Judaism. Jesus is far superior to prophets (1:1-2), angels (1:4-2:18), Moses and Joshua (3-4).

But, as we have seen, God’s provision of priests to minister on behalf of his people was one of the most important and most distinctive aspects of Jewish religion. How could this ‘new’ religion, Christianity, possibly survive without enjoying the benefits of this priestly ministry? Surprise, surprise: the author responds by showing how Jesus is better than any human high priest.

He does not say that the priesthood is bad, merely that it is insufficient, imperfect. Priests were chosen from among men because they were then representatives, able to understand the people whom they represent because they were one of them. The priest is able to be sympathetic, to ‘deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness’ (5:2). He knows what it is to be human, to be imperfect, confused, rebellious. Can you imagine what it would be like to have, say, a cow or an alien as our priest, our mediator, our representative? That would be like having a man appointed as the Minister for Women’s Affairs!

Yet this strength, this sympathy with those who are ‘ignorant and going astray’ is also a weakness, a flaw in the system. Being himself subject to weakness, the priest must first offer sacrifice for his own sins (5:3). What’s more, he must offer the same sacrifices year after year, a point the writer returns to in chapter 7. In fact, even the apparent strength of having a human representative is shown to be flawed when we realise that, in the period in which this letter was written there had been few high priests in Israel who manifested the personal qualities expected of them.³ Priests died, and a good and faithful high priest could be followed immediately by a faithless and corrupt one. One need only think of the high priest Caiaphas and his father-in-law (and also high priest) Annas, who presided over the sham trial of Jesus to see how far the priesthood had fallen.

Jesus, the Great high priest (Heb 5:5-10)

A greater calling (Heb 5:5-6)

This system of human priests, though God-given, good and beneficial, was not perfect. As with so many things in Hebrews, it serves as a pointer to something greater, the shadow of a perfect reality. The writer make the connection of shadow to reality by observing that just as Aaron was chosen by God to serve in this ministry, now God has chosen Christ.

Did you know that ‘Christ’ is not actually Jesus’ surname? Christ, or the Hebrew equivalent Messiah, both have the meaning ‘anointed one’, describing someone set apart for God through having oil poured on their head. This was symbolic of God choosing them for himself. We rightly associate this idea with kingship, for the very first King of Israel, Saul, was anointed by Samuel to be King.⁴ King David was anointed not once but three times!⁵ But we must remember that Aaron and successive priests were also anointed with oil in order to be consecrated as priests.⁶ So when we speak of Jesus as Christ we are proclaiming both his kingship and his priesthood.

Where Aaron’s call was to serve in God’s ‘house’, Jesus is called the Son of God (5:5), the son who rules over God’s house.⁷ In certain cultures, if you seek a favour from the king you approach a member of the king’s household, depending on who was accessible to you. If you know a servant, you approach that servant who then becomes your representative, as when Joseph asked the cupbearer to bring his case before Pharaoh. But Joseph found out that servants don’t make great representatives, for he waited two years for the cupbearer to bring his case to Pharaoh’s notice!⁸ So if you know a member of the king’s council or, better still, the king’s family you approach them. When Mordecai learned of a plot against the king, he approached Queen Esther and his words were heard because of the favour in which the king held Esther. The ultimate, then, is to have the king’s favoured son as your representative – and that is exactly the case here! God says to Jesus, ‘You are my beloved son,’ and it is this Jesus who serves as our mediator, our representative. We can have confidence approaching the throne of grace, because we do so in the name of the favoured son, Jesus.

And this son is appointed a priest forever (5:6). Aaron was called to be high priest, but Aaron died; Jesus is called to be our eternal high priest. Never again will the high priest die, to be succeeded by an inferior, faithless high priest until we are eventually left with the likes of Annas and Caiaphas. No, this high priest, Jesus Christ, is our priest forever.

But what does it mean that he is a priest ‘in the order of Melchizedek’? We will return to this topic when we look at chapter 7 in a couple of weeks’ time, but for now I just want to point out that it took both Aaron and Melchizedek to help us understand the priesthood of Christ. Jesus represents his people as Aaron did, but he also receives the honour of the people as Melchizedek did. Aaron was high priest, but Melchizedek was both priest and king. Both Aaron and Melchizedek had high callings from God, but Jesus Christ has the highest calling of all, that of a Son over God’s house with a ministry that is eternal.

A greater response to weakness (Heb 5:7-10)

Both Aaron and Jesus were subject to weakness (5:2), yet their responses to it were vastly different. Whilst Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving, amongst other things, the instructions on how Aaron was to be consecrated, Aaron was demonstrating the weakness of his character by leading the people into idolatry.⁹ He succumbed to the pressure from the people to turn aside from the very God who had delivered them from Egypt. Instead of pointing them back to Yahweh, the one who had saved them and provided for them, he foolishly agreed to fashion a golden calf as an idol to ‘go before [them]’ in the way that only the LORD himself could.¹⁰ Even when confronted with his sin, Aaron sought to deny responsibility.¹¹

Jesus’ response to weakness and suffering was very different. Though he, too, was pressured to turn aside from God on many occasions, he nevertheless ‘offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death’ (5:7). There is only one God, and Jesus kept his eyes firmly fixed on him. Only his Father could deliver him, only his Father was worthy of prayers and petitions, only his Father should receive his praise and honour.

Yet this is not to say that Jesus endured these hardships without emotion. In fact, we are told his prayers were offered ‘with loud cries and tears’ (5:7). Jesus felt the burden of temptation, being tempted in every way, but never gave in to it.¹² Aaron and his line were able to sympathise with sinful people for they had walked the same path to the same destination; but, though he starts at the same place, our great high priest leads his people along the right path to the right destination. Hear the invitation of the one who said, ‘Come, follow me’.¹³

And he suffered. Oh, how he suffered! His sufferings, great and small, give us confidence to know that we can trust him, that he knows our needs and that he has the answer. When he invites, ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest,’¹⁴ we know that he himself endured weariness to the point of exhaustion.¹⁵ When he promised ‘living water’ so that we will never thirst again, he knew exactly what it meant to be hungry and thirsty.¹⁶ And we know that the same Jesus who commands us to deny ourself and take up our cross¹⁷ did exactly that: he prayed in a garden with loud cries and tears – to the point of sweating blood! – to the one who could save him from death, denying his own desire for self-preservation, self-determination and self-will, instead submitting reverently to the will of his father;¹⁸ he carried a Roman crucifix through the streets of Jerusalem until he could physically carry it no longer; he was nailed to that cross, suffered 6 hours of agony and died, all in obedience and submission.

Make no mistake, Jesus was no hapless victim of circumstance; he chose to endure these sufferings. At his arrest he said to his sword-wielding companion, ‘Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?’¹⁹ Although he is the son over God’s house, though by rights he is entitled to every privilege of sonship, nevertheless he chose to endure these sufferings in order that he might learn first-hand the cost of obedience (5:8).

And when this path of obedience had been walked to the end (that is, ‘made perfect’), ‘he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him’ (5:9). The exact connection between Christ’s obedience and salvation for those who obey him is not spelled out by the author here, but there are at least two valid options. The first, and most obvious, is that by his obedience Jesus was executing the Father’s plan of redemption. Our sins, our weaknesses and failings, were all placed on Christ. He suffered death on a Roman cross as the righteous punishment for those sins. Christians call this transfer of our sins on to Christ ‘justification’, and this is sometimes explained by saying that in making sacrifice for our sin Jesus has made it ‘just as if I never sinned’.

If that were the sole message of the gospel we should cry out in grateful joy, ‘Thank you Jesus!’ But, in the extravagant grace of God, there is more. For in place of the judgment we deserve, we are granted favoured status as obedient sons and daughters of God! Rather than a one-way transfer – our sins onto him – it is a two-way exchange – his obedience onto us. Justification makes us not only ‘just as if I never sinned’ but also ‘just as if I always obeyed’. We don’t just approach the throne of grace in the name of the favoured son but as favoured sons and daughters!

Friends, you are invited to draw near to God. And you may do so confidently… but only on the basis of this exchange. If you are not a Christian, if you have not confessed your sins and sought and received his forgiveness then for you the throne of God will not be one of grace but of judgement. Now is the time to draw near to him, to seek his mercy and grace, to partake of this wonderful two-way exchange. Don’t be like the Israelites who, having followed God through the desert and met with him at Sinai, baulked at entering into the land he had promised them. The next day, they repented of their faithlessness and tried to enter the land, but they had missed their chance. God was not with them. What a difference a day can make! Friends, ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts’!²⁰

We have a priest, who sympathises with us and can represent us to God because he is one of us. We have a high priest, who is called by God to offer the sacrifice for sin that no one else can offer. We have a great high priest who, although a son, did not claim the privileges of a son in a bid to spare himself, but obeyed his father all the way unto death, and in so doing obtained eternal salvation for those who obey him. We have a greater high priest than any who went before, who has a greater calling than Aaron and his progeny. He offered a greater response to suffering and a greater obedience in the face of it, obtaining a greater – an eternal – salvation for his people.

Therefore, since we have [such] a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God… Let us… approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Heb 4:14, 16).

A rebuke for spiritual infants (5:11-14)

I would really like to end this message right there. After all, getting to tell people about the work of Jesus in saving his people, calling people into God’s presence… well, that’s like catnip for preachers! But the writer to the Hebrews ends this chapter on a sombre note and that is where we must finish also.

Doubtless the first recipients of this letter had heard at least some of these things before. By this time they ought to have been teaching, not having to re-learn them (5:12). But sadly that was not the case. Instead, they are accused of being ‘slow to learn’ (5:11). They are compared to children, who continue on a diet consisting solely of milk long after they ought to be progressing to solid food as well.

Obviously, there is nothing wrong with a baby drinking milk. Within the next couple of weeks, God-willing, Katrie and I will welcome a new child into our family. That child will, for a period of time, rely entirely upon milk for nutrition. He or she will not have developed to the point that they are able to process other foods. But what if we celebrate a first birthday without solid food? A second? More?? Obviously we would be worried at this point, because we know that milk is not enough to sustain a growing child indefinitely. The milk is supposed to be an enabler for development, but if that development is not taking place then something is wrong. The same is true of spiritual development. We start with one thing that sustains us, but we are expected to grow and mature as a result, to a point where we can also take advantage of other sustenance as well.

We’re not just talking about knowledge and learning here. These are important, but must be coupled with actions – turning away from sin, trusting in God. Together, these are the ‘milk’, the foundational diet of the Christian. If you are not a Christian, or you are a new Christian, it is these that must be your focus. Don’t worry about the doctrine of predestination, or deciding whether you are a pre-millenialist or an amillenialist. These will follow if and when the time is right. Repentance and faith – these are what will sustain you as you grow. Ask God for these things, and trust him to provide them, just as any parent would provide for their child.

You will never outgrow this ‘milk’ – it will always have an important place in your diet – but as you grow you will come to draw on other things for nourishment as well. For as you mature, you will gradually be introduced to situations where you must ‘distinguish good from evil’ (5:14). You will encounter challenges, temptations and sufferings. These will come at the right time, as decided by your Father; for food that may cause great harm to an infant can bring great nutritional benefit to a child. When you encounter these things, you may need new teaching; but, more importantly, you will need to apply the teaching that you already have. It is by ‘constant use’ and ‘training’ (5:14) that Christians become mature, words that imply discipline and focus.

And so I close with an appeal to you who are Christians: are you mature and maturing? Is the solid food of Christian teaching making a difference in your life, or does it just go in one end and out the other? Are you making time to study God’s word? Are you constantly making use of the teachings you have received, training yourself in how to apply them? Do the situations in your life – the challenges, the temptations, the sufferings etc. – do they make you stronger? Or are you hiding behind the privileges of sonship to try and escape them? Are you ‘teachers’ of the gospel, teaching the gospel by the life you live (and using words when necessary)? Or are you slow to learn, needing someone to teach you the fundamentals again and again?

Take some time this week – today! – to honestly consider your life. If the findings are not good, go back to the spiritual milk of repentance and faith. Swallow your pride, and confess your shortcomings to God and trust in him to provide just the food you need when you need it. The wrong food at the wrong time will bring great harm; but the right food at the right time will bring growth and maturity.

Bibliography

Adam, Peter. The Majestic Son: Reading Hebrews Today. Edited by Paul Barnett, Reading the Bible Today. Sydney: Aquila Press, 1992.

Bruce, F. F. The Epistle to the Hebrews. Rev. ed, The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans, 1990.

Endnotes

1. 1 Sam 13:11-14.
2. Peter Adam, The Majestic Son: Reading Hebrews Today, ed. Paul Barnett, Reading the Bible Today (Sydney: Aquila Press, 1992), 47-8.
3. F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews, Rev. ed., The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans, 1990), 119.
4. 1 Sam 10:1.
5. 1 Sam 16:3; 2 Sam 2:4; 5:3.
6. Exod 28:41; cf. Exod 29:21, 29; 30:30; 40:13; Lev 6:20; 8:2, 12, 30; Num 3:3.
7. Heb 3:6.
8. Gen 40:23-41:1.
9. Exod 32.
10. Exod 32:1.
11. Exod 32:22-4.
12. Heb 4:15.
13. Matt 4:19; Mark 1:17.
14. Matt 11:28.
15. Luke 8:23.
16. John 4:14.
17. Matt 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23.
18. Luke 22:42.
19. Matt 26:53.
20. Heb 4:7; cf. Ps 95:7-8.