May 14, 2025 | Be God's Family
Jesus Our High Priest
Scripture: Hebrews 4:14-15(NIV)
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
Devotional
This letter was directed to 1st Century Jews who were struggling with persecution and considering a return to traditional Judaism. Their question was “Why is Jesus a better alternative?” In this passage, the writer tells them that Jesus was the “great” high priest and sets him above the high priests with whom the Jews were already familiar.
The high priest is already the highest religious figure in Judaism, but by saying Jesus is the “great” high priest, he is greater than them. The writer goes on to show just how much greater Jesus is. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses…” In some passages, the term “sympathize” is used instead. The Interlineal Bible states this word “conveys the idea of sharing in another's experiences, particularly in their suffering or distress. It implies a deep emotional connection and understanding, going beyond mere pity to a heartfelt empathy.” Jesus dined with sinners and tax collectors. He allowed a woman of ill repute to wash his feet. He talked to a Samaritan woman. He taught crowds of ordinary people and fed them.
This passage makes a deliberate contrast with the high priests of the time. When Jesus called out the priesthood in the Temple in Matthew 23 for hypocrisy and used the illustration of the priest’s prayer in Luke 18, everyone knew what He was talking about. The priests lived better than they did, thought they were better than the people they led and held it over them. Nobody could imagine a high priest like Caiaphas or Annanias dying for them on a cross.
Jesus was also tempted just as we are, Satan tempted Him with power in Matthew 4, and Jesus rejected him. The high priests of the 1st Century did not. They had become addicted to power, and this fueled their desire to oppose and eventually try to kill Jesus. Jesus knows we are tempted too, and this is further proof of His sympathy for us.
Knowing that Jesus is our high priest, we are given the simple command he gave His 12 Disciples: “Follow me.” Where does it lead? Following Jesus leads to God’s throne of grace, with confidence, that we can boldly speak His truth.
Can you fully follow Jesus?
Poem
No Longer
Leviticus 16
“This is how Aaron is to enter the Most Holy Place:…” Leviticus 16:3a
No longer need I Aaron
A sinner just like me
To stand before God’s holiness
And sacrifice for me
For I have Christ, my high priest
Who shed His blood upon
A wooden built cross altar
He died but once, for all
This sinless Lamb, God’s offering
Who died there in my place
Has settled all Sin’s debtedness
His death, God’s gift of grace
No longer need I Aaron
To step within the veil
Of holy, holy, holiness
To intercede, avail
For now, my High Priest, Jesus
Has torn the bulwark veil
And so, I, even I, can stand
My heart felt needs detail
For with Christ’s blood I’m sprinkled
His sacrifice complete
I boldly stand before God’s throne
No longer in defeat
But all victorious, righteous, true
All ‘cause Christ rose for me
Sing holy, holy ‘fore the throne!
This e’er my song shall be!
