Introduction
Faith in Christ is always contested. Ideologies clash, worldviews collide, and truth claims compete for allegiance in the marketplace of ideas, tempting Christians to abandon Christ for His rivals. This is the primary pastoral concern that Hebrews was written to address. The original recipients were being tempted by suffering and social pressure to turn away from Christ and go back to Judaism. Hebrews, then, is to show the supremacy of Christ over every rival claim and to urge Christians to persevere in wholehearted allegiance to Jesus.
Text: Read Hebrews 4:14-5:10 and pray.
Passage Summary: Hebrews 4:14–5:10 teaches that Jesus is our perfect High Priest. Fully human and able to sympathize with our weakness, yet sinless and therefore able to represent us before God. Because He was appointed by God and learned obedience through suffering, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him.
Discussion Questions
1. Read Hebrews 4:14-16. Because Jesus is our great High Priest who has passed through the heavens and sympathizes with our weaknesses, we are urged to do two things: hold firmly to our confession of faith and draw near God’s throne with confidence to receive mercy and grace in our time of need. We live in a world where Christ has many rivals. Some of these present rival “confessions” or truth claims (e.g., atheism, materialism, individualism, hedonism, wokeism, etc), whereas others present rival sources of “help in time of need” (e.g., substances, entertainment, sex, money, power, praise, etc).
As you live in a world where the rivals of Christ put pressure on your faith, where do you feel it most? Is it most difficult for you to hold fast to your “confession” of Christ in a world of rival truth claims? Or is it most difficult for you to “draw near” to Christ for help in a world that offers so many other options? Explain.
2. Read Hebrews 5:1-6. The Hebrews were tempted to abandon Christ and go back to Judaism, so the author contrasts the high priests of the Old Testament with Christ. Whereas their priesthood was temporary (because they all eventually died), Christ’s priesthood is eternal (because he is God). Whereas they were chosen because they descended from Aaron, Christ was chosen because he is the very Son of God. Whereas their priesthood was imperfect because they themselves were sinners, Christ’s priesthood is perfect because he is the sinless Son. In other words, don’t go back to those inferior priests, but cling to Christ, who alone can atone for your sins and cleanse your shame!
In reality, all of us are like the Hebrews. We are tempted to turn to “lesser priests” in a vain effort to “cover” our sins and “cleanse” our sense of shame. For example, the priest of comparison attempts to cover our sin and shame by focusing on somebody we deem “worse” than us. Or the priest of blame-shifting attempts to cover our sin and shame by pointing the finger at someone else to take attention away from our guilt. Or the priest of drugs and alcohol seeks to cover our sin and shame by numbing us so that we forget it is even there. Or the priest of consumerism seeks to cover our sin and shame through the dopamine hit of buying more and more new things. In the end, however, none of these lesser priests can actually atone for our sins and wash away our shame. Only Christ, the Son of God and eternal high priest, can!
What are the lesser priests you are tempted to run to with your sin and shame? What does it look like concretely for you to forsake these inferior substitutes and return to Christ alone?
3. Read Verses 7-10. During His earthly life, Jesus experienced real and painful suffering, praying to His Father with “loud cries and tears.” He is not a High Priest distant from our struggles, but one who suffered as we do while perfectly trusting God. Through His faithful obedience, He became not only the perfect sacrifice for our sins, but also the perfect High Priest on our behalf.
How does knowing that Jesus fully experienced human suffering while remaining perfectly obedient affect the way you approach Him in your own trials?
Close in Prayer
Close out your time by closing your eyes and prayerfully listening to the great hymn, “Before the Throne of God Above.”