Our Great High Priest Hebrews 4:14-15

"We have a great high priest!" We have no earthly priest, because we need none. Our great High Priest is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He is seated in the heavens. And he has made every believing sinner a priest unto God in him, a priest to offer up spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise continually, sacrifices made acceptable to God through the merits of his blood and righteousness.

A Great High Priest

The Lord Jesus Christ, whom we trust, is “a great High Priest.” Our Redeemer’s greatness is spoken of both with respect to his essential person and with respect to his priestly work. Here is his greatness.

1. His Solitariness -- Christ is our great High Priest because he is our only Priest. His solitariness is his greatness. There is only one Priest and Mediator between God and men; and Christ is that Priest. All men on earth who pretend to be priests are imposters.

2. His Sacrifice -- Christ is our great High priest because his sacrifice alone can atone for sin alone. He alone has that to offer which God can and will accept for the atonement of our sins. His own life’s blood is that by which he has obtained eternal redemption for us.

3. His Intercession – Our great High Priest prays for us distinctly. He said, “I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me” (1 John 2:1-2; John 17:9-11, 13, 15, 17, 20-26).

Our High Priest

Not only is the Lord Jesus Christ the Great High Priest, he is ours! -- “Seeing then that we have a Great High Priest.” What a blessed declaration! This Great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, is mine. “The Lord is my Shepherd;” and the Lord is my Priest! He is our great High Priest by the decree and gift of his Father, by his own, voluntary assumption of our cause, and by our union of faith with him.

A Priest in Heaven

Our great High Priest has “passed into the heavens” (Heb. 10:10-14; Rom. 8:33-39). That means that his sacrifice has been accepted. Because he has risen from the dead, passed into the heavens and taken his rightful place upon the throne of grace, we are assured that all the sins of his people, which he bore in his body upon the cursed tree, are forever put away and can never be imputed to us. Our High Priest in heaven is our security and our assurance of everlasting, immutable, indestructible acceptance with God.

Divine and Human

He who is our Great High Priest is “Jesus, the Son of God.” He is "Jesus" who came here as a man on an errand of mercy, to save his people from their sins (Matt. 1:21). And he is "the Son of God," God the Son, God manifest in the flesh, who is able to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by him (Heb. 7:24-28).

A Touched Priest

This God -man, this man who is God, our great High Priest, is “touched with the feeling of our infirmities.” Because he is a Man who has endured all that men endure, and because his heart is ever toward us, our dear Savior, that God who rules the world, is touched by everything that touches us. As a loving father is touched by anything that touches his child, so our Savior is touched by that which touches us. If his people are persecuted, he is persecuted. If we endure disease, betrayal, bereavement, hunger, thirst, weariness, or any other thing which causes pain, we endure only that which he has endured before us and for us; and it touches him.

A Tempted Priest

He who is our Great High Priest “was in all points tempted like as we are.” No aspect of our Savior's mediation is more difficult for us to fathom than his temptation. Yet, no aspect of his sufferings in this world is more comforting to his tempted people in this world. Do the lusts of the flesh seem to overwhelm your soul? Your Savior knows what you are going through. He has walked that path before you. Do the lusts of the eye seem to constantly pull at your very heart? Your Redeemer knows what you feel. He knows the struggle more keenly than you ever shall. He has been where you are. Does the pride of life seem to be your constant adversary? The Son of God, who sits upon his throne in human flesh, who intercedes for you in glory, knows what you feel. Not only does he know and feel what you are experiencing, he is able and willing to help you; and he will. He will never leave you, nor forsake you. He will carry you through your earthly woe and bring you at last into your (his) eternal inheritance.

Yet, none of these things would be of any value and benefit to our souls, were it not for this last thing. – “Yet without sin.”

A Holy Priest

He who is our great High Priest is and must be altogether holy. No sinful man can make atonement for another man’s sins. Aaron could never make reconciliation for the people. But Christ, our holy High Priest, that One whose very name is “Holy and Reverend,” is a Priest whose Sacrifice and intercession God himself must accept.

Let us take these thoughts with us through the day. Let these blessed assurances of grace arm our souls, as we face the trials and temptations that we must endue. It is upon the basis of Christ's priesthood that we are given this admonition: -- “Let us hold fast our profession.”

Perhaps you think, “But I am weak and sinful, and my temptations are strong. Where can I find the strength to heed this admonition?” The answer is found in verse 16. -- "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."