Christ Our High Priest
Hebrews 4: 14-15
In the Book of Hebrews we see the superiority of Christ over the angels, over Moses, over Joshua, over all who came before him. However, the primary feature of our Savior’s excellence, supremacy, and superiority is in his character as our great High Priest.
In chapter one, the Holy Spirit describes him as our great, sin-atoning, almighty, effectual High Priest, who, having put away the sins of his people, is now exalted to the throne of glory. Yonder he sits, a priest upon his throne, our Priestly King, our Kingly Priest!
In the second chapter, we are told that our dear Savior, that God who has redeemed and saved us, is a real man. He came into this world in human flesh that he might become our Savior, our “merciful and faithful High Priest.” If he would be our Savior, if he would be merciful to sinners and yet faithful to his own holy character, the Son of God had to become one of us, bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh. As such, he had to be made sin, to put away our sins by the sacrifice of himself.
In Hebrews 4:14-15, the Spirit of God urges us to persevere in the faith, to hold fast our profession, to keep looking to and trusting Christ. He does so by showing us the character of Christ as our great 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. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."
Do not miss the argument given in these two verses. We are urged to continue in the faith and in faithfulness to Christ, because he is our great High Priest. If you realize what this means, nothing could be a greater incentive for trusting, honoring, loving, and serving him to the end of our days, faithfully.
“Let us hold fast our profession.” -- We have, by our words and in believer’s baptism, made a public profession of faith in Christ. Like Jephthah of old, we have lifted our hands to God. Let us never go back! We must not allow the religious world to entice us, the material world to seduce us, or anything else to move us away from Christ and his gospel. Let us tenaciously hold to the old paths of solid gospel doctrine (Jer. 6:16), cling to Christ alone as our only hope before God, and devote ourselves to him in faithfulness.
This admonition is given in such a way that it suggests both the great value of Christ to our souls (“Unto you therefore which believe, he is precious!”) and the danger of dropping him, the danger of letting Christ, his gospel, and his salvation slip through our fingers.
The perseverance to which we are admonished, without question, is the
gift of God’s free grace. We persevere because he preserves. It is
written, concerning all those to whom God almighty gives eternal life, “they shall never perish;” and they shall
never perish (John
10:27-28; Ecc. 3:14; Phil. 1:6; 1 Thess. 5:23-24).
Yet, this perseverance is our responsibility. It is something we must do. It is something all true believers will do. We must hold fast the profession of our faith. We must not be moved away from the hope of the gospel. It will require strength and courage that only God can give. Yet, it is a strength and courage that he gives us by his Spirit, through the use of appointed means, through the ministry of the gospel and the sanctifying influence of his saints in the assembly of public worship.
Let us “hold fast our profession ” Hold it without wavering, for Christ’s sake, for the gospel’s sake, for the glory of God, and for the encouragement of other believers. We must do so because it is essential to the everlasting salvation of our souls (Matt. 10:20).
It is the
priesthood of Christ that the Holy Spirit here uses as an argument to inspire
and enforce our perseverance in holding fast our profession. He is the High
Priest of it. He espoused our cause and abode by it. He bore witness to the
truth of the gospel. He prays for the support of our faith. He pities us and
helps us. And he has passed into the heavens, where he appears for us, owns us,
and will own us forever as his brethren.