The chain of scriptural testimony is carried out and confirmed with another and even more wondrous citation. "Thou shalt not bear any burden on the Sabbath day." 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Temptations are the worldly and demonic bait that targets our weaknesses: inappropriate stress relief valves such as alcohol or pornography, the ice cream in the freezer, that attractive man/woman sitting near you in the coffee shop. We would impoverish ourselves and swerve from the truth if we said, Well, thats too old-fashioned and irrelevant for today. His person, particularly his omniscience: Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight,Hebrews 4:13; Hebrews 4:13. They held that the gods lived in perfect happiness and blessedness. We need not dwell long on these intervening chapters. It points to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our ultimate and perfect High Priest. Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. It is the rest that can only come through faith.Now, a lot of people say, "But it's so hard to rest in faith. Thats the last point, namely, verse 16: Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need. There is knowledge, joy, privilege, and power, but no spiritual life. Since then it remains that some people must enter into it and since those who in former times had the gospel preached to them did not enter because of their lack of trust, he again defines a day, when in David, after so long a lapse of time, he says, "Today," just as he had said before, "Today if you will hear my voice do not harden your hearts." 14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Hence, invariably, you will find these two things correlative. Hence the apostle could not but feel himself arrested by their state. If you believe these things then you have entered into that rest, because after all, why should I worry, God is in control. Let Us Hold Fast our Confession Because He is greater than Aaron with a greater priesthood, we are told: " let us hold fast our confession " (Heb 4:14). He demonstrated His compassion many times during His earthly ministry. The Great Confession. This sword divides between the joints and the marrow, the most secret, close, and intimate parts of the body; this sword can cut off the lusts of the flesh as well as the lusts of the mind, and make men willing to undergo the sharpest operation for the mortifying of sin. The other reason this would be a big mistake is that God had planned for Jesus to come and die and give us the grace of forgiveness even before there was a history to govern. They always stood. There is a blessedness for you as great as the blessedness of the saints; there is an adventure for you as great as the adventure of the martyrs. This sin has created a barrier between God and the people. was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. He has ordained that there be human priests who would be a go-between; and that these priests would offer sacrifices. Hallelujah. So lets look at what Hebrews 4:1416 tell us about our perfect, final High Priest and what difference he makes in our 20th-century lives. You grow spiritually through the Word of God. Info & Updates Jesus does not take the blood of bulls and goats into the heavenly temple. Although it is perfectly true that the Son is in this place of universal glory, and in relation to us, Son over His house (God's house having an all-comprehending sense and a narrower one), he explains how it is that His people are in actual weakness, trial, exposure, danger and sorrow here below. As long as that course is pursued, repentance there cannot be. The very reverse is meant, namely, that we have not entered into the rest, but, as the hymn says, we are on our way, I will not say to God, but assuredly to His rest. Father, forgive them, for they dont know what they are doing (Luke 23:34). Some read the words, to whom with us there is an account or reckoning. He came from God, and went to God. He shows also that this very state was not merely one of weakness, but exposed them to the greatest danger; and this is pursued not on the philosophical side so much as on that of religions forms. Hebrews 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. It seems to have been used in three different ways. Now he enters on another and very distinct portion of the glory of Christ. That he passed through the heavens calls to mind the ascension as Jesus rose through the clouds and through the sky into another realm, namely, the presence of God himself. BEST VALUE in digital Bible study. . But I dont deserve the help I need. Since we have such a High Priest we must be careful to hold fast our confession. After these is that heaven where God dwells, the habitation of immortality, which our High Priest entered, and did not pass through (The New Testament for English Readers 1484). "Therefore let no man judge you in respect to new moon, Sabbath days and so forth, which all were a shadow of things to come, but the substance is Jesus" ( Colossians 2:16-17 ). It was because God understands. But that was just a shadow of the true Holy Place in heaven where God dwells. Holding fast is a muscular, aggressive endeavor. 510 of this Epistle; and were it not for this, the volume of inspiration would be incomplete. For century after century they had been confronted with the idea of the untouchable God; and now they discovered one who had gone through all that man must go through. He is careful to establish the thread of connection with God's word and ways of old; and yet there is not a single epistle which more elaborately throughout its entire course sets the believer in present relationship to Christ in heaven; I think one might be bold to say, none so much. Therefore. Hebrews 4:14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest Who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession ( NASB: Lockman) Greek: E chontes ( PAPMPN) oun archierea megan dieleluthota ( RAPMSA) tous ouranous, Iesoun ton huion tou theou, kratomen ( 1PPAS) tes homologias; Besides the daily dependence we have upon God for present supplies, there are some seasons in which we shall most sensibly need the mercy and grace of God, and we should lay up prayers against such seasons--times of temptation, either by adversity or prosperity, and especially a dying time: we should every day put up a petition for mercy in our last day. But now appeared One who completely surpassed the angels. To the Ephesians he does develop our blessing as in and with Christ in the heavenlies. A Confident Confession of Christ - Hebrews Commentary - Bible Study Tools Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. All Christians struggle with two crucial areas that will make or break us in the Christian life: perseverance in times of trial; and, prayer. I love you, Lord!" Or just who through unbelief have not made that total commitment of their life and the affairs of their life unto Him, knowing that He is faithful and will keep that which I've committed, but they haven't made that commitment. ESV Text Edition: 2016. Hebrews 4:14 Jesus the Great High Priest. And what is that provision? For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. He squealed on me all the way. In no part of the Bible can there be found so full an account of the design of the Mosaic institutions, as in Heb. I. The Lord grant unto us that we may find mercy of the Lord at that day, 2 Timothy 1:18. For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one." 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. We think we can handle things on our own. This is whathappens at the throne of grace. Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Because he is alive, and in the presence of God with the sacrifice of the blood of the Son of God, and full of sympathy for his people, therefore two things: The confession is simply our unshakable hope (Hebrews 10:23) that God is for us and will work to bring us into his final rest and joy. He is the Son of God (Hebrews 1:2). Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Your life is an open book to Him. Devotionals containing Hebrews 4:14 . Hear and answer my prayer, I ask, in the name of Jesus Christ Your only begotten Son, and my great high heavenly priest, AMEN. Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. 5. For the body we must search into some other epistles of Paul, though unity we may see in another shape in John. It is not a question of making sins right. They were positively endued with miraculous energies samples of that which will characterize the reign of the Messiah. It is to Christ in heaven, then, that Paul, writing to the Christian Jews, first directs their attention. He is the Son of God. To the Jew the basic idea of God was that he was holy in the sense of being different. A son, descendent. This furnishes the first part of the doctrine on which the apostle insists. To this rest we are journeying, but we are only journeying. Say what men will, we have our wants, as traversing this wilderness; and although we might like to soar, it cannot long, if at all, prosper. But Jesus was tempted far beyond what we are; for in his case the tempter put everything he possessed into the assault. He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities in such a manner as none else can be; for he was himself tried with all the afflictions and troubles that are incident to our nature in its fallen state: and this not only that he might be able to satisfy for us, but to sympathize with us. 2. It is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, even the most secret and remote thoughts and designs. Whether it be the mind of man or his natural religiousness, either idolizes its own object; and consequently blindness ensues to the glory of Christ. Not deserved help gracious help. It is not our faith seizing the rest that Christ gives to him that trusts Himself, as when He says, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may . What is the difference between mercy and grace? The style is different, and so is the manner of handling the truth; but the line of truth, though it be affected by the object that he had in view, is that which savours of Paul beyond all: not of Peter, or John, or James, or Jude, but of Paul alone. For less than $5/mo. He is proving the reality of this common relationship of the Sanctifier and the sanctified. And it says in the same place: "Very certainly they shall not enter into my rest." Copyright [2011 - 2023] Knowing-Jesus.com - All Rights Reserved, Hebrews 4:14 Treasury of Scripture Knowing, Our Perfect God - Character and Attributes of God (7). In the first place he says, Having a great high priest, (77) Jesus Christ, let us hold fast our profession, or confession. He answers four questions: (1) Why draw near? He would not share their unbelief, their love of ease, their value for outward show, their dread of suffering; but he would reserve each folly for the most fitting moment. Here is something which we must understand but which we find very difficult. I haven't fasted for a long time. Adjective - Accusative Masculine Singular. Hebrews 4:14 Devotional. This powerful statement is a reminder of God's unwavering faithfulness to His promises. Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. This leads us to the very important, but often misunderstood, Hebrews 4:1-16. Who but God could have dictated that this same chapter (Hebrews 6:1-20) should depict the weakest faith that the New Testament ever acknowledges? Three things the apostle professes to prove in this epistle: -. But just because You are a God of love and a God who is so gracious and merciful. The people are still travelling through the wilderness, not yet in the land. I long to do something for God. Let us hold fast the enlightening doctrines of Christianity in our heads, the enlivening principles of it in our hearts, the open profession of it in our lips, and our practical and universal subjection to it in our lives. There it was exactly consonant to the character of the truth; for it is truth, and of the highest order. You can't live a life of purity and righteousness and holiness." 3. But thats the point of the whole history of Israel it is imperfect, inadequate, and incomplete. What is the meaning of the "rest of God"? And, since Jesus is a high priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses, we should draw near to the throne of grace for help in our times of need. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, lets hold firmly to our confession. He has entered the very presence of God. (3.) How we should demean ourselves towards him. New International Version (NIV). Seeing therefore it remains that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached did not enter in because of unbelief: again, he limited a certain day, saying to David, Today ( Hebrews 4:6-7 ). Start your free trial today! But there is another and most interesting possibility. Accordingly, while he intimates thus that all was but partial, being piecemeal and multiform, in the revelations from God to the fathers, he lets them know, in the next verse, that the same God had, in the last of these days, "spoken unto us in his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds." And because I approach God on the basis of His goodness and His grace towards me, I can come boldly, and I can always receive the help that I need. So he limited it to a certain day. 14Therefore, since we have a great high priest(A) who has ascended into heaven,[a](B) Jesus the Son of God,(C) let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. We may escape God for long enough but in the end he grips us in such a way that we cannot help meeting him face to face. But as many have pointed out, that is not so. For he that hath entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his works, as God did from his own." The prior passage was intended to both reassure and encourage Christians. It is we who have made the decision of faith who are entering into the rest, for of them God said: "I swore in my anger, 'Very certainly they shall not enter into my rest.'" Mark, again, the skill with which all is gradually approached how the inspired writer saps and mines their exorbitant (yet after all only earthly) pretensions, founded on the Aaronic priesthood. And in this place again, if they shall enter into my rest ( Hebrews 4:4-5 ). You definitely would not draw near to the throne for sympathy, especially with a trivial problem. From 1977-1992 he was the pastor of Lake Gregory Community Church in Crestline, California. So David was pleading with the people of his day. There are two great permanent truths in this passage. Jesus explained that this seed represents those who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away (Mark 4:17). Perhaps from the same as oros; the sky; by extension, heaven; by implication, happiness, power, eternity; specially, the Gospel. In our text today we have one of those Old Testament categories for understanding who Jesus is and what he came to do, namely, the category of high priest. Hebrews 4:14: Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Verb - Present Subjunctive Active - 1st Person Plural. I do not look to my works to make me righteous. YES INDEED- since we DOhave a great High Priest Who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God - let us hold fast our confession. Don't quote a half a verse. Thus the apostle enters on the vast field that will come before us a little while longer tonight. Let them rather take heed that there be no oversight of Him on their part; none could justly put it to the account of God. love. of the Christian faith. I know He won't do it. It is very likely that the words, here, are spoken to meet an objection of those Jews who wished the Christians of Palestine to apostatize: "You have no tabernacle - no temple - no high priest - no sacrifice for sin. InLes Miserable, Jean Valjean steels a mans silver. Oh, how important that we labor to enter into that rest. For unto us were glad tidings preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. ], THE REST WE DARE NOT MISS ( Hebrews 4:1-10 ). The high priests under the law were accounted great and venerable person; but they were but faint types and shadows of Christ. And times and epochs of history dont change on their own. But he struck her on the side of the head with one of his canes and went off through the crowd. (Hebrews 4:14). How can Jesus have been tempted in every respect as we are when we live in a world full of specific temptations he couldnt have faced (through modern technology for example)? In Greek the pneuma ( G4151) , the spirit, is that which is characteristic of man. Paul was the apostle of the uncircumcision. It was, therefore, of vast importance to show why they passed away, and how they were superseded. Of Christ, then, he would deliver his last message to his brethren after the flesh as well as Spirit; and as he began preaching in the synagogues that He is the Son of God, (Acts 9:1-43) so here he begins his epistle to the Hebrews. Plato was one of the world's supreme thinkers but it is unlikely that there would be any public for Daily Studies in Plato. He no longer officiates in an earthly temple. Fifty years ago, C.S. From the perfections of the Lord Jesus Christ, both of his person and office. Hebrews 4:14 | Bible Exposition Commentary Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in heart; and they have not known my ways. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name." But if the Word of God was not really taught, all you experienced was a soulish experience. It is partly, indeed, to the shame of Gentiles, that they do not even see the difficulty for a Jew. Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need. 2. Why do we loiter? I'm glad that I can have my standing in His finished work, not my efforts or my works.When I was a little kid, the little neighbor boy and I were out in our clubhouse. "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling," but they never completed the scripture, "for it is God which works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure." Prayer is the acknowledgement that our need is not partial; it is total! So let's all just lift up our hands and praise the Lord, so that God will bless us." You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." The object is to show that Christians have a great High Priest as really as the Jews had; to show wherein he surpassed the Levitical priesthood; to show how all that was said of the Aaronic priesthood, and all the types pertaining to that priesthood, were fulfilled in the Lord Jesus; and to state and illustrate the nature of the consolations which Christians might derive from the fact that they had such an High Priest. Seeing that we have this great high priest, not entered into the Holy of Holies, which was only a model of heaven, but has entered into heaven itself for us. I had a mother who was a godly woman who the Lord talked to her about me. "Since Moses was unable to lead the Israelites into Canaan, the writer reflects on the position of Joshua, who did lead them in. Then Shekaniah son of Jehiel, one of the descendants of Elam, said to Ezra, "We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples . We that believe can all understand that solemn judgment of our sins on the part of God, when Jesus was accomplishing atonement on the cross. David said to God, "You know my thoughts before I think them." And as a result of the blessings of God, you're going to be responding to God in continual praise and thanksgiving and awe and wonder at all God has done for you. (c) It makes God able to help. (ii) He is using it, as he used it in Hebrews 3:12, to mean The Promised Land To the children of Israel who had wandered so long in the desert the Promised Land was indeed the rest of God. The world which He had made did not know Him; His own people received Him not, neither would have Him. He thereby cuts off, by the unquestionable facts of the Old Testament, that overweening self-complacency of the Jew, which would set Moses and Elias against hearing the Son of God. The brightness of God's glory, the express image of His substance; the upholder, not of Israel or their land only, but of all things "by the word of his power." 1. There is no use asking Him, because I know He won't help me, because I just did such a miserable thing this week. To her Canton meant a home, a nurse, a school, friends. Once a word was spoken, it had an independent existence. Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, NT Letters: Hebrews 4:14 Having then a great high priest who (Heb. In Hebrews 4:16 the author explains that we can come boldly to the throne of grace: "Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." So, following Jesus is about confidence, not timidity. He paid the price for my sins. We need help. You don't hide anything from God. On the plurality of heavens, Bruce wrote that "the plural `heavens' as regularly used in the New Testament and the Septuagint, reflects the Hebrew word use in the Old Testament, which is always plural. Well, false teeth are something that you carry, so you can't wear your false teeth on the Sabbath day. If we want to persevere through trials and receive His help through prayer, we must understand who He is. Jesus is His human name, calling attention to the full humanity of the Savior (see 2:17). When he came out alive, the people heaved a sigh of relief, because it meant that God had accepted the sacrifice for their sins for another year. He is sympathetic. Even more than sympathy,empathy. The dynamics in this passage are enacted in Christian community through the practice of confession and absolution. Oh God, You're so good. This is why the missions and evangelistic strategy called Firm Foundations is so significant. It is none of these things, but simply what the apostle says, God's rest. Hebrews 4:14 - StudyLight.org: Read, Study and Search God's Word with Now he takes the other side, saying, "Unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come." He would lead them on, and this with gentle but firm and witting hand. Now, as far as the works are concerned, they have been wrought by God. Why live on such points? 3. You're not to use money on the Sabbath day to buy or sell, but a nice little convenience--you can use a credit card. Those sinful habits that have become as it were natural to the soul, and rooted deeply in it, and become in a manner one with it, are separated and cut off by this sword. Prayer is our walkie-talkie to bring in the needed supplies as we seek first His kingdom and righteousness. I want a blessing so I'm going to praise Him. Four times the text says that the promise of rest remains [i.e., is future] (Hebrews 4:1; Hebrews 4:6; Hebrews 4:9; Hebrews 4:11). We have limitations of all kinds. His priesthood is truly "great" (He 10:21). It might be supposed, because He is the Sanctifier and they are the sanctified, that there could be no such communion.