1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:21,000 about today. So if you would please turn to Hebrews chapter four, verse 11. And the whole 2 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:31,560 purpose of the priest is clarified here. And it's interesting as we go through this, you'll 3 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:38,600 learn more and more about the complete work of salvation, like everything that Christ had to do 4 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:51,160 in order to not only satisfy God's righteous requirement, justify, sanctify, intercede, 5 00:00:51,160 --> 00:00:57,680 advocate, all these things done in Christ. They all had to be done because if one was missing, 6 00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:08,040 our eternity, our salvation is not possible. Like it's perfect in every way. Okay? So I'm 7 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:12,640 gonna pray and then we're gonna go through reading Hebrews 4, 11, and then we're gonna 8 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:18,400 keep reading and then we're gonna stop at chapter five, verse four. Father, I want to thank you so 9 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:25,840 much. You are holy, good, and righteous. All the details by which salvation must be done and 10 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:35,280 accomplished and then the application of that work in the life of the believer, an amazing picture, 11 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:41,320 and all the things that you, Christ, have accomplished, not only as the message, but the 12 00:01:41,320 --> 00:01:46,560 messenger, not only as the messenger, but the prophet, not only as the prophet, but now the 13 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:54,000 high priest. And Lord, those are just scratching the surface of the reality of what you have done 14 00:01:54,000 --> 00:02:00,760 and who you are. Thank you that you are the sacrifice. You are the head of the body. You 15 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:04,960 are all these things in the Lord. And Lord, we praise you and thank you for your faithfulness, 16 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:10,880 your goodness, to you be honor and glory forever. In Jesus' name, amen. Chapter four, verse 11, 17 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:19,680 let us therefore strive to enter that rest so that no one may fall by the same sword of disobedience, 18 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:25,800 for the word of God is living and active sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing to the division 19 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:32,200 of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of a 20 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:38,800 heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him 21 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:45,640 to whom we must give an account. Since then, we have a great high priest who has passed through 22 00:02:45,640 --> 00:02:53,160 the heavens. Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high 23 00:02:53,160 --> 00:03:00,520 priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one who in every respect has been 24 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:07,720 tempted as we are with yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of 25 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:15,720 grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. For every high priest 26 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:23,080 chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts 27 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:31,640 and sacrifice for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward since he himself is 28 00:03:31,640 --> 00:03:41,400 beset with weakness. Because of this, he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins, 29 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:47,480 just as he does for those of the people. And no one takes this honor for himself, 30 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:55,880 but only when God called by God just as Aaron was. Now when we read this, we think, 31 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:05,000 does that mean Christ sins? He didn't. But I will show you that the requirement and the obligation 32 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:11,640 of the high priest is fulfilled in Christ because of what he is and what he has done for us and what 33 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:19,480 he's become for us. Okay? We'll clarify this and you'll see it clearly. He is the true and better 34 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:27,560 high priest. So principle number one, if Christ is our faithful high priest and our sacrifice, 35 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:33,880 should we shrink from being a faithful witness on his behalf? So if this is true, 36 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:41,480 then what is your obligation as a believer? To shrink away, to not be a faithful witness, 37 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:49,640 or to be a witness. Okay? Keeping the faith is more than doing all the right things as a Christian. 38 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:59,480 It's carefully and faithfully professing him who gave his life and rose again to give us life. So 39 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:06,520 if we have a faithful high priest who goes into the Holy of Holies on our behalf, intercedes on 40 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:13,000 our behalf, is faithful to commit to those things and do the things that are required, 41 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:23,240 then we should be quick to profess the reality of the holiness of our God and Savior. Now verse 42 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:32,520 14 says it this way, so then we have a great high priest who has passed through, so this word 43 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:40,520 passed through, it's not like he was in one place and he just traveled through heaven. That's kind 44 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:46,040 of what it sounds like when you read it, that this great high priest just kind of like passed 45 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:53,400 through the heavenlies. It's not really how it's supposed to be presented, though this word, 46 00:05:53,400 --> 00:06:00,760 di-ercomi, is the word meaning passed through. Okay? But if we take this word and we break it 47 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:09,960 down into the two words that it is, di is the first word and ercomi is the second, and you guys 48 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:16,360 already know what ercomi is, I love ercomi words. It's ercomi, di-ercomi, pros-ercomi, 49 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:22,440 it's all these really cool ercomi words, I just like them. They sound cool. Anyway, 50 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:33,080 di-ercomi, the word di means to come, to come, and ercomi means to go from one place or to another 51 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:39,400 or to go through. So what's interesting about this word di-ercomi is that it's not just a 52 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:50,280 word, it means to come by the means of. In other words, he came through heaven, heaven sent him, 53 00:06:51,160 --> 00:06:58,200 he came by the means of heaven. That's what this means. So when we say since we have a high priest 54 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:07,800 who has come by the means of the heavens, Jesus the son of God, let us hold fast, cratio. 55 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:16,120 Cratio means to keep carefully and faithfully, not discard or let go. In other words, if our high 56 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:24,920 priest has come by the means of heaven, Jesus the son of God, then we should keep carefully and 57 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:33,480 faithfully, do not discard or let go of our confession. That makes a lot more sense now. 58 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:38,040 If these things are true, why are we so quick to abandon the one thing that matters? 59 00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:45,880 The gospel. And there are a lot of types of gospels out there. And the gospel is simple. 60 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:50,760 That Christ died according to the scriptures, was buried and rose again on the third day according 61 00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:57,400 to the scriptures. That's the gospel. But we are quick to walk away from our confession because 62 00:07:57,400 --> 00:08:01,960 we don't want to deal with the issue of repentance or the issue of sin or the issue of being 63 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:09,880 lost because those words don't sound real good. So we abandon our confession and we forget 64 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:17,960 the responsibility and the cost that the high priest does on your behalf. And so if we are to 65 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:23,960 keep carefully and faithfully, not discard or let go of our confession, the word confession, 66 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:29,960 interesting enough, means homologia. Now homologia is a word profession or 67 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:40,840 the one whom we profess. What a good definition. Who do you profess? 68 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:49,400 So do you profess God loves you? Or do you profess Christ crucified, buried, rose again on the third day? 69 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:59,560 Or do you profess John 3 16? Or do you profess that God put on flesh, became like one of us, 70 00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:05,720 came in the likeness of sinful man, and he who knew no sin became sin for us so that we who are 71 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:12,280 sinful may become the righteousness of God. That's a totally different thing. Like in other words, 72 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:20,040 apart from Christ, I'm doomed. That's a totally different profession. And so we must profess 73 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:31,320 the one who is our faith, him. So since we have a great high priest who has come by the means of 74 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:37,800 heaven, Jesus Christ, the son of God, we should keep carefully and faithfully and not discard 75 00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:48,200 or let go our confession that he is the savior and king of the world. That's the point. Now we 76 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:54,040 understand why that's important because the reality is if he is the advocate for us and our 77 00:09:54,040 --> 00:10:03,960 intercessor, then we must also be quick to speak the reality of the holiness of our God. And so 78 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:11,640 second principle, we have a high priest who has experienced our weakness and has given us the way 79 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:26,120 to him. There is only one way. It's not an easy way. It's the only way. And if he's the only way, 80 00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:35,240 he's the only way to him. There is a clear road and it's hard and it's narrow and it's not easy. 81 00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:45,000 And he has set it for us. And he is our way to him. How do we know that? Because Galatians 2 20 82 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:52,360 tells us he's the way. Not only is he the way to eternity, he's also the way to Christian living. 83 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:57,320 For I have been crucified with Christ, yet I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I 84 00:10:57,320 --> 00:11:01,320 now live in this body, I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. 85 00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:07,560 He is the only way, not only the only way to eternity, eternal life, he is the only way to 86 00:11:07,560 --> 00:11:18,200 successful Christian living, powerful living, not denying the power, but living in it, victorious 87 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:25,640 And so Hebrews 4 15 clarifies some things for us. For we do not have a high priest who is unable 88 00:11:25,640 --> 00:11:33,080 to sympathize with our weakness, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, 89 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:37,240 yet without sin. Now you're probably asking, well, Pastor Joe, how come you haven't thrown a Greek 90 00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:44,760 word in there? Because this is like a literal translation of the Bible. And it's like, 91 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:53,720 this is like a literal translation. So you can't get, it's very good. I don't want to, 92 00:11:53,720 --> 00:12:00,440 there's nothing else for me to say. Christ, who is our priest, he is able to sympathize with us 93 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:06,520 because of our weaknesses, because he also was tempted in the same way we are, but yet he didn't 94 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:14,440 screw it up. He didn't sin, which is important, especially when you come down to the next verses, 95 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:20,520 because if he being a high priest was to go into the Holy of Holies and he was perfect, 96 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:26,520 let's say that, let's say this in the mind of this high priest who's not Jesus, thinks he's good. 97 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:36,040 He has no issues. He walks in, with a rope around his waist, and he goes down and says, 98 00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:41,400 I'm not like those guys. Sounds familiar. Jesus said that, did he not? I'm not like them. 99 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:48,120 And he walks in and he's supposed to be interceding on your behalf, taking the blood of 100 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:52,440 the animal that was sacrificed to cover your sin. And he walks in with an attitude. 101 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:59,960 Or he just like, and then walks out. He doesn't make it out. Because you remember what he said 102 00:12:59,960 --> 00:13:05,320 here in verse 13, and no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the 103 00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:10,920 eyes of him who must give an account. In other words, you're going to be judged because his 104 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:15,000 word judges you, the thoughts and intents, you're going to die. And so what happens to the priest? 105 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:21,640 He dies and they pull him out by a rope. They're going to be judged because he's 106 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:26,520 not a priest. I want you to understand something. Jesus goes in without a rope. 107 00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:42,600 Now, it's a powerful thought. One who is truly an interceder for us, one who is our advocate. 108 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:50,600 He can go into the Holy of Holies and his blood is what was given for us as a sacrifice. And he 109 00:13:50,600 --> 00:14:01,560 puts his own blood on the seat and then walks out in confidence that the work that was done is done. 110 00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:12,760 And so next principle, this is the reason why we can approach the throne of grace with full confidence, 111 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:21,640 knowing he will do as he promised. If Christ has accomplished that type of high priest requirement, 112 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:32,440 obligation, why are we so timid to walk into the throne of grace as if we cannot ask according to 113 00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:43,400 his will? Well, it says here in 1 John 5, 14 through 15, and this is the confidence that we have 114 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:53,480 toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears 115 00:14:53,480 --> 00:15:04,360 us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. Now, 116 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:11,720 why is this important? Because the problem with our asking is we're asking not according to his 117 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:18,520 will. And you have a lot of churches, denominations that say, just ask whatever you want. I mean, 118 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:24,920 Jesse De Plantis is talking about he got his $25 million jet because he asked God for a $25 million 119 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:32,040 jet. Guess what? God didn't give him the $25 million jet. That wasn't from God, 120 00:15:33,720 --> 00:15:37,960 because God's will is different. He's living his best life now, 121 00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:44,680 because when it's all said and done, his best life is not going to be good at all. 122 00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:54,760 Just saying. So verse 16 says this, says this, let us then with confidence, 123 00:15:55,720 --> 00:16:03,880 parasea. Now this word confidence means freedom in speaking without ambiguity 124 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:10,680 and fearless confidence. So let us with freedom in speaking, 125 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:19,160 with freedom in speaking, without ambiguity and fearless confidence, draw near. Interesting word 126 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:29,160 here, proserecomia means draw near. That's exactly what it means. I like to say 127 00:16:29,160 --> 00:16:35,080 erecomia, so I put it in my thing. I was like, you might as well, because it's my schtick. 128 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:42,120 It's my schtick, you know. So proserecomia, to draw near, draw near to what? The throne of grace 129 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:53,720 that we may receive mercy. Now this word receive, lumbano, means to receive what is given 130 00:16:53,720 --> 00:16:59,320 or obtained. Now I want you to get this. When you're thinking about lumbano, 131 00:16:59,320 --> 00:17:05,560 when did you receive mercy? When did you receive the inheritance that God has promised? 132 00:17:06,120 --> 00:17:15,560 When was this accomplished in the timeline of God before the foundation of the world? 133 00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:26,680 It's already yours according to his will. What? Whatever is done in his word, whatever he has 134 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:35,240 promised in his word, he will do. That's the point. So when we're thinking about what we may receive, 135 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:45,240 what we may receive to receive what was given is mercy. Think about that. Did God not apply mercy 136 00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:51,800 to your life before the foundation of the world? Isn't Christ crucified before the foundation of 137 00:17:51,800 --> 00:17:57,720 the world? Isn't Christ predestined us to be conformed into the image of his son before the 138 00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:03,720 foundation of the world, the application of mercy, and the transformation of the life? Yes. All of 139 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:14,600 these things are accomplished in Christ before. And so it continues to and find, so we receive mercy 140 00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:26,520 and find, to find, discover, see, learn, or understand. Grace to help in time of need. Now 141 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:35,560 this word time means timely or opportune. I like the word opportune. It sounds fun. And here is 142 00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:41,640 my transliteration of Hebrews 4.16. You know sometimes I like to do that because I like to 143 00:18:41,640 --> 00:18:50,360 say, it sounds pretty simple, but how can we describe this a little easier? And this is 144 00:18:50,360 --> 00:18:59,960 my transliteration. Drawing near therefore without ambiguity and with fearless confidence to the 145 00:18:59,960 --> 00:19:08,200 throne of grace that having received what is given, mercy and grace, we discover, learn, 146 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:17,960 and understand timely and opportune help in our struggle. In other words, you ever notice that 147 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:22,200 you know when life's going on and things are difficult and you think you're like at the end 148 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:28,200 and oh my gosh there's no way out and then the last very second something happens and you go 149 00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:34,360 it was timely wasn't it? Wasn't it just like at the right opportune time that you needed to help 150 00:19:34,360 --> 00:19:43,160 and God shows up with help? That's because he is our high priest. It's pretty amazing that God 151 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:49,640 knows that we can without ambiguity and with fearless confidence come before his throne 152 00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:55,560 because he will do what he says he's going to do and he will do what he says he's going to do. 153 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:59,880 Come before his throne because he will do what he says he's going to do. Why? Because he has given 154 00:19:59,880 --> 00:20:06,040 us mercy and grace and when we discover those truths, that reality of God, and learn and 155 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:14,680 understand at the right opportune time we receive our help in our struggle we learn a lot about God 156 00:20:16,360 --> 00:20:23,000 that God does what he says and that God only does according to his will. Everything else 157 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:34,920 he doesn't have to do and he won't do. So next principle the responsibility of every high priest 158 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:42,280 is to offer the sacrifice to God on behalf of all mankind for the remission of sin. That is the 159 00:20:42,280 --> 00:20:47,880 responsibility of the high priest. That was the responsibility of Jesus. Now I want you to get 160 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:54,760 this. Jesus the high priest offers himself as the sacrifice for our remission of sin 161 00:20:56,040 --> 00:21:06,280 and we go that's not enough. How do we say it's not enough? Because I have to choose God. 162 00:21:06,760 --> 00:21:11,400 How do we say it's not enough? Because I have to do good. How do we say it's not enough? 163 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:18,760 How do we say it's not enough? It's never enough when we pull Christ off of his position 164 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:26,520 as high priest and savior and we put ourself in as a high priest thinking that we can go in on our 165 00:21:26,520 --> 00:21:38,600 own behalf and speak for ourself when we can't. And so for there is no distinction, Romans 3 22 166 00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:44,440 through 26, for there is no distinction for we for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of 167 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:52,520 God and are justified by his grace as a gift. Remember that thing that you were given before 168 00:21:52,520 --> 00:22:01,240 the foundation of the world? That. Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God 169 00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:12,680 put forward as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith. So Jesus was put forward 170 00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:19,080 as the sacrifice necessary for the covering and the removal of our sin 171 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:29,160 and his blood is what was used to accomplish that task which requires a high priest to come in 172 00:22:29,160 --> 00:22:38,440 and sprinkle the seat of the judgment seat of God to cover your sin. Do you remember all that? 173 00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:48,840 Yes, we're going to dig a little bit deeper. This was to show God's righteousness because in his 174 00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:59,320 divine forbearance he had passed over former sins and it was to show his righteousness at the present 175 00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:09,800 time so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 176 00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:19,320 He's the one who determines you don't. Now that being said, now we understand Hebrews 5 1 a little 177 00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:31,240 bit better for every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation 178 00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:40,520 to God. That is a high priest's high priest's responsibility. A high priest's responsibility 179 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:51,880 is to act on behalf of men in relation to God and God is the one who chooses those men. Now 180 00:23:51,880 --> 00:24:00,840 it's one of the reasons why women can't be pastors because though Jesus is the high priest, 181 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:10,600 pastors also come before God on behalf of his people and act on behalf concerning their 182 00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:19,240 relationship with him and it says this that they offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. Now I don't 183 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:31,160 have to do that. It's Jesus. Now I want you to understand that Jesus offers gifts and sacrifices 184 00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:42,520 for sins. What is Jesus gifts? Mercy, grace. What is the sacrifice? Himself. So Jesus is the chosen 185 00:24:42,520 --> 00:24:52,760 is the chosen high priest. Has Jesus not been appointed by the father to act on behalf 186 00:24:54,520 --> 00:25:03,000 concerning the relationship with God and men? He was. So Jesus Christ is the gift. He is the sacrifice 187 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:11,400 and he is the high priest who goes on our behalf interceding for you. And so next principle, 188 00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:22,280 God Christ is our intercessor and advocate who can and fully on your on our behalf bring our 189 00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:31,400 atoning sacrifice fulfill all the obligations of the high priest. So Jesus as a high priest 190 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:39,240 brings in the blood of the sacrifice himself and fulfills the full obligation of the high priest 191 00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:50,520 for us. And here it is. Christ alone is our high priest. He, Jesus, or the priest, the high priest, 192 00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:59,320 and this is really just to clarify how he is relatable to the high priest. That's important 193 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:05,960 because remember he did not sin but I want you to hear this. He, the high priest, can deal gently. 194 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:14,600 This word deal gently means be affected moderately or one who is not unduly disturbed 195 00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:25,480 but bears them gently. That's what this means. How can the priest or the high priest deal gently 196 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:34,360 with you? Because he says this that the that the high priest can deal gently with the ignorant 197 00:26:34,360 --> 00:26:41,400 and wayward. Now I know some of you guys like I ain't ignorant. We all are unknowledgeable. 198 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:50,600 We all really don't know the fullness of everything do we? We're learning. Some know a little bit more 199 00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:58,600 than others but we still don't know all that goes that goes into this situation. So the high priest 200 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:05,400 can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward since he himself is beset with weakness. 201 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:17,400 How can Jesus, being God without sin, be the one who can deal gently with us as ignorant and wayward 202 00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:23,400 people if he himself is beset with weakness? Would that make him God? 203 00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:31,160 Is Jesus a sinner? No. As a matter of fact in Hebrews 415 what's it say? 204 00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:40,120 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize, unable to be compassionate with our 205 00:27:40,120 --> 00:27:49,800 weakness but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin. He is the one 206 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:58,280 as we are yet without sin. He can and absolutely does understand us. 207 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:10,760 He is a priest who deals gently with us. The benefit is he doesn't walk into the holy of holies 208 00:28:10,760 --> 00:28:20,040 with a rope wrapped around his waist. He goes in fearlessly confident because he is God on our 209 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:28,120 behalf showing he can fulfill the obligation and requirement of the high priest for us. 210 00:28:28,120 --> 00:28:40,920 And so verse 3, because he is obligated, afileo, this word means to owe or that which is due. 211 00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:49,480 How is he obligated? Because this is the requirement in order to be justified in Christ. 212 00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:56,280 There has to be a priest who can come into the holy of holies and offer the sacrifice 213 00:28:56,280 --> 00:29:04,680 before God the requirement of the propitiation of your sin. That is how it works and Jesus is 214 00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:19,080 that high priest. That's amazing. So he, the high priest, is obligated to offer sacrifice for his 215 00:29:19,080 --> 00:29:26,680 own sins just as he does for those of the people. Now you're wondering, Jesus didn't sin, so how can 216 00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:36,360 he offer sin, how can he offer a sacrifice for himself? Glad you asked because scripture always 217 00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:42,600 interprets scripture. Context is always upon context and precept is always upon precept and 218 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:50,520 you can always trust God has the answer and here it is. Christ is without sin, Hebrews 415, 219 00:29:50,520 --> 00:29:59,320 but the obligation of the high priest is still necessary on our behalf. 2 Corinthians 521 reads 220 00:29:59,320 --> 00:30:09,560 this, you ready? 2 Corinthians 521, for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in 221 00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:20,120 him we might become the righteousness of God. So guess what? Because of this he is obligated to 222 00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:32,440 offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. Oh, what's interesting is 223 00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:42,040 Christ being the perfect sacrifice without sin, put upon himself our sin and then goes in on our 224 00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:52,920 behalf in his and saying my sacrifice is sufficient. That's what it means. Wow. What a complete work 225 00:30:52,920 --> 00:31:01,640 of salvation in Christ and because of this very reason I want you to hear this, so through Christ 226 00:31:01,640 --> 00:31:09,400 the sinless high priest, the obligation of the high priest to offer the sacrifice on our behalf 227 00:31:09,400 --> 00:31:19,160 and is the one in every way experienced our weakness so that he is the advocate for us and 228 00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:27,560 can deal gently with us before him who is holy and this is the point of the advocate. How can he 229 00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:37,240 advocate and intercede if he doesn't understand? But he does in every way. What an amazing work 230 00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:46,040 and so we're going to end here. Christ was called by the father to be our high priest 231 00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:55,640 and so fulfilled the plan that was set before him. This was the plan, the plan of salvation 232 00:31:55,640 --> 00:32:03,160 in every detail, every detail. When we think about a high priest we don't think about the requirement 233 00:32:03,160 --> 00:32:08,520 and the obligation of the high priest. We just teach, oh it's just the high priest, he's our high 234 00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:17,160 priest. He intercedes for us so much more. There's a requirement, an obligation that must be fulfilled 235 00:32:18,120 --> 00:32:24,920 and so can you imagine, let me say it this way, can you imagine a high priest who comes in on your 236 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:34,120 behalf who has no understanding of your suffering? Then what's the point? And if he comes in, 237 00:32:34,120 --> 00:32:41,640 and if he comes in and he understands our weakness and our struggles, will he not joyfully offer 238 00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:51,240 the sacrifice on your behalf? And the scripture says he does. It's an amazing thing and so 239 00:32:51,240 --> 00:32:58,600 Ephesians 1, 7 through 10 says this, in him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of 240 00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:04,280 our trespasses according to the riches of his grace which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and 241 00:33:04,280 --> 00:33:11,480 insight making known to us the mystery of his will according to his purpose which he set forth 242 00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:20,600 in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in him, things in heaven and 243 00:33:20,600 --> 00:33:36,600 things on earth. Wow. Every detail is covered. Every single box is checked. And when it's all 244 00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:46,920 said and done, now you know why, Paul says in Romans 1, men are without excuse. There is no 245 00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:57,320 excuse but hatred toward God, which he clarifies in Romans 1. Kind of neat how you see all these 246 00:33:57,320 --> 00:34:06,440 letters and all these statements kind of just fit together. And so chapter 5 verse 4 says this, 247 00:34:06,440 --> 00:34:15,240 Hebrews 5, 4, and no one takes this honor for himself but only when called to account by the 248 00:34:15,240 --> 00:34:22,120 only when called by God just as Aaron was and just as Aaron was called by God to be the high priest 249 00:34:22,120 --> 00:34:30,520 of the people, Jesus was called by the Father to be the high priest for us. This is not something 250 00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:39,080 that you do because you it feels good. This is a calling and no one takes this honor for himself. 251 00:34:39,080 --> 00:34:47,480 It's not something he can claim. It's given and it's a heavy responsibility and thank God 252 00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:55,400 he is the high priest because this is too much for any man to carry. Father, I want to thank you so 253 00:34:55,400 --> 00:35:00,680 much for your faithfulness and goodness. Thank you that you are the high priest, the faithful one, 254 00:35:01,240 --> 00:35:08,200 the king of kings and lord of lords and that you intercede on our behalf. Thank you for the advocate 255 00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:13,000 that you are for us. To you be honor and glory forever in Jesus name, amen.