Hebrews: Christ Is Greater and BetterSample

Holding Firm
Read Hebrews 4:14–5:10

When Jesus, the Son, was presented as greater than Moses (chapter 3), He was among other things described as high priest. Here the theme is taken up again and mentioned five times.

A priest stands for us before God. His job is to act on our behalf so that we may find favour or approval before the Almighty. For this Jesus is supremely qualified. First, He is one of us, fully human. He knows our weaknesses and is able to deal gently with us. Yet He is perfect before God because he is without sin. Second, no priest appoints himself as priest. God appointed Christ for the job. If God has given him the role, have we any right to seek another?

The danger the Hebrew Christians, to whom this letter was addressed, faced was that they might drift away (v 14). It was not easy to be different. I am sure the Jews found comfort in observing the practice of having a priest offer sacrifices for their sins. There was a pull for the Jewish Christians to follow what was, after all, a God ordained practice. The message here for us all is that there is no better priest than Jesus. Hold firm to the best. Do not let the ‘good’ keep you from the best.

Let us approach the Throne of God with confidence – regularly, and often.

Although Christ was the Son, He had to learn obedience through suffering. If we are God's children will He not also perfect us through suffering? If this has been our lot, let us count it all joy (James 1:3).