Hebrews 4:14-5:10 | The One Who Stands In for You
Beyond Therapy: Why Jesus is the Only Priest Who Can Heal Your Heart
The Problem: We Are Not Okay
We live in a city of high-achievers, yet the deep desire for "rest" and "home" persists. We recognize, as the sermon noted, that something is wrong with us. We seek out therapy, self-help, and strategies to address our anxieties and brokenness—and while these are gifts of common grace, they often lack the power to heal the root problem the Bible calls sin: our desires are fundamentally "askew."
The Old Testament solution for dealing with a holy God was the Priest. A priest's sole job was to represent humanity to God (5:1), bridging the gap between a sinful people and a holy Creator by making sacrifices.
The Better Priest: Sympathy Without Sin
Jesus is the ultimate answer to our brokenness because He is the Great High Priest. Unlike earthly priests who struggled with their own sin, Jesus is perfect:
• He is Human: He "ministered in the days of his flesh" (5:7). He knows the core of human weakness, loss, betrayal, and despair.
• He Sympathizes: We have a Priest "who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses" (4:15). He suffers with us and for us.
• He is Without Sin: Having been tempted in every respect, He never yielded. As C.S. Lewis observed, Christ is the only one who knows the full strength of temptation because He resisted it perfectly every time.
Priest and King: The Best of Both Worlds
The sermon highlighted that Jesus fulfills a dual role, known to us in the mysterious Melchizedek order (5:6):
1. Priest: Gentle and loving enough to embrace our weaknesses (representing us to God).
2. King: Powerful enough to act and make the final, perfect sacrifice (representing God to us).
Jesus didn't sacrifice an animal; He sacrificed Himself (His own blood), completing the work and becoming the source of eternal salvation (5:9).
Three Gifts of the Great High Priest
Because of Jesus's perfect work, we receive three astounding benefits:
1. Full Assurance (4:14)
Our hope is not dependent on our performance. As the sermon illustrated, our salvation is like a lost $20 bill: it is not safe in our shaky hands. It is 100% safe in the hands of Jesus. We can let go of striving and live with confidence, not guilt.
2. Full Access (4:16)
We have unrestricted, unlimited access to the God of the universe. We can confidently draw near to the throne of grace whenever we want, with whatever problem we have. We are not inconveniencing God; we come as a cherished child.
3. Abundance of Grace (4:16)
When we go to God in our time of need, we find mercy and grace every single time. The sermon promised: You cannot out-sin the grace of God. If you fall into the same sin again, go back again. The fountain of mercy is available to you always.
The call today is to look away from your own efforts or anxieties, and look to Jesus, your Gentle Priest and Powerful King.