I don’t often think about the many many times and ways that Jesus was tempted during his time here. I mean the everyday temptations.. Power, status, lust, greed.. You know.. The things you and I are tempted with on a daily basis. I don’t think about those much, because I kind of feel that Jesus is “above all that.” That somehow he wan’t really human. That somehow he just didn’t face the things I have to face because of his divine nature.
Does that mean I think of Jesus as more distant? Less approachable?
I know how I act when I’m around someone famous, or some sort of VIP… I’m different. I’m guarded. I’m not myself. I want them to like me, so I have to be less real in some ways. Is it just me? Talk about that for a minute.
So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe.
Hebrews 4:14 NLT
What was the role of the high priest in the Old Testament?
How did they accomplish (or not accomplish) that role?
The high priest was the mediator between God and man. The high priest was the highest religious elder who would enter the most holy place once a year to make a sacrifice for the sins of the people: “For every high priest taken from men is appointed in service to God for the people, to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins” (Hebrews 5:1). Unfortunately, the priest wasn’t immortal, and he would die. ALSO, he was imperfect… A sinner himself.
All that means that the priest was imperfect, and the atonement of the people’s sins was still… Was always… Incomplete.
So, why, exactly do we need a high priest? What do the verses immediately preceding the one above tell us about our need for priestly atonement?
For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.
Hebrews 4:12-13 NLT
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Hebrews 2:17 tells us that Jesus “had to be like His brothers in every way, so that He could become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” Jesus had to be completely human yet completely pure in order to make appeasement before God for our sins.
This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
Hebrews 4:15-16 NLT
So, what does this verse say about our ability to approach Jesus? Why is he so approachable, and why in the world would we be so bold in the presence of the throne of God?
In what ways is Jesus a better priest than the high priests of the past? How does the fact that Jesus’ sacrifice was made once and for all, while the other priests’ sacrifices had to be made yearly, make Him a better priest?
Why did Jesus have to be fully human in order to fulfill his role as our “great high priest”?
Read Hebrews 2:18 and Matthew 4:1-11. How does Jesus’ humanity enable Him “to sympathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15)?
According to Matthew 4:1-11, how did Jesus respond to each of Satan’s temptations? How does Jesus’ victory over temptation give us hope?
At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart…
Matthew 27:51 NLT
What is the setting of this verse? What was the purpose of the curtain in the temple? What was the significance of its being miraculously torn at the time of Jesus’ death? What does this have to do what Hebrews 4:16?
How does having Jesus as your great high priest abstain you from guilt from your sins?
What tends to keep you from trusting in God’s love and grace? What will you throw aside to draw near to Him?
Why is boldness before God not irreverent? What does it really look like to boldly approach his throne?