A Faithful High Priest

Amen.

Please turn in your Bibles to Hebrews 2.

Sermon today is from Hebrews 2.

We'll be looking at what it says about Christ as our High Priest.

Hebrews 2, and I'll be reading in verse 14.

Please stand for the reading of God's Word.

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the

same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death,

that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.

Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become

a merciful and faithful High Priest in the service of God, to make propitiation

for the sins of the people.

For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those

who are being tempted.

You may be seated.

Dear Heavenly Father, as we come to your Word and we see what it says about Jesus, our High Priest, we ask that you would help

us to see him more clearly, that you would help us to appreciate him as we ought, and that

entrusting him, entrusting his mediation, we would have

a great thankfulness and joy, in Jesus' name, amen.

So considering this passage here, we should ask ourselves about Jesus

Christ and his High Priesthood.

We should ask ourselves, why is his priesthood necessary for us?

Many people do not understand why they need Jesus.

They don't understand what the purpose of him is.

They think that they could have a relationship with God without Jesus.

The fact of the matter is that apart from the mediation of Jesus Christ, apart from his humanity,

apart from him coming down and being our High Priest, we have no access to God.

We have no way to have a relationship with God.

And those who think they have some relationship with God, apart from Jesus Christ, have a relationship with an

idol, because that is the only thing that they could have a relationship with, a right

relationship with, apart from the mediation of Jesus Christ.

He in becoming man has made himself an acceptable High Priest before

God, that he may represent us to God and that our prayers, our praises, our

sacrifices may be made acceptable to him.

So do not believe the lie that you could have a right relationship with God apart from Jesus Christ.

It is only in him, it is only through his priesthood that you can be made right with God

and that anything that you do may be acceptable before God.

People think that maybe by their good intentions God would accept their praise

and thanksgiving, but good intentions are not, do not make something in itself good.

That thing can only be made good by the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.

We'll be looking here at verses 17 and 18 where it speaks of Jesus as a merciful

and a faithful High Priest and how it is important for him to be a man in order to

be both merciful and faithful as a High Priest.

So that is our aim today, to see that he is both merciful and faithful as a High Priest

because he became like his brothers in every respect.

So consider what it says here, therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect so that

he might become a merciful and faithful High Priest in the service of God to make

propitiation for the sins of the people.

For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those

who are being tempted.

So it speaks of a people who are being tempted.

This describes us, this describes the people who walk on this earth who are being tempted.

They are being tempted by all kinds of things that appeal to their desires, that offer

them comforts that are contrary to the will of God, contrary to His law.

A lot of times we think of tempting being primarily about a temptation

toward evil sin, but consider also that this word for tempting is used frequently of

testing, and so it speaks not only of being tempted

into sin, but it also speaks of that probation, that testing that God

has placed humanity under.

And so consider why it is that it speaks of those who are being tempted and

does not speak of those who have sinned.

Now it is certainly the case that God has saved many who have sinned.

However, this passage does not speak of everyone

unanimously.

It does not speak of absolutely universally, it does not speak of every individual who has walked on the face of this

earth.

If you consider what it has said in the previous passages, it has focused particularly on the

brothers of Jesus Christ.

It said in verse 12, I will tell of your name to my brothers in the midst of your

congregation.

I will sing your praise.

And again, I will put my trust in Him, and again, behold, I and the children God has given me.

So it speaks specifically of the ones who have been given to Christ.

In John 6, it explains that a particular people has been given to Christ.

Not all are drawn to the Father and given to Christ, but a particular people is drawn to the

Father and given to Christ.

And so in this passage, it speaks of the fact that He is not ashamed to call them

brothers in verse 11.

That is why He is not ashamed to call them brothers.

So this is speaking particularly of the brothers of Jesus Christ.

So why does it use the phrase, those who are being tempted?

I would argue that there is a particular way that believers are being tempted, that believers are being tested, that

unbelievers are not being tested or tempted.

Now, it is indeed the case that all men are tempted to sin,

but the way that God's children are being tested is a way

where it is with an intention to, on the last day,

vindicate them and show the glory of God.

Now for unbelievers, in what way are they being tested?

They might be tempted to sin, but there is already an alignment with

evil that makes this not the same thing for them.

There's no test if you're not even attempting to pass the test,

right?

There is a special way that this speaks of believers, and it speaks of Christ's help

for them.

The one who has been saved by Jesus Christ resists temptation.

They have the conviction of the Spirit so that they do not desire what is evil but desire what is good.

And so, this speaks particularly of them.

Satan prowls around like a roaring lion looking to devour and deceive, and he's particularly

looking for believers to deceive them, particularly looking for the people of God.

And so, you should not be surprised if tempting and testing comes your way.

In fact, it is guaranteed that those trials will come because they are part of God's purposes.

They are part of His purposes and the life of a believer.

You know, if you were to walk around and go to a grocery store with a helmet on,

people would look at you funny because they wouldn't know why you are taking extra precautions for something as

simple as going to a grocery store.

And they would say that you are overly prepared.

And so, a lot of people feel like that about their day -to -day life when it comes to resisting the temptations of sin.

God has spoken of the armor that we are to wear, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, etc.,

and they do not have these things on because they feel that they are dealing with a pretty routine, mundane situation.

This is a regular day -to -day situation that they have, and so they do not need to especially

prepare for any trials or temptations or anything like that.

But the fact of the matter is that we are targeted, and we are not in a mundane situation.

We are not in a situation where there is no intention for us to be tested, but

indeed Satan is prowling like a roaring lion.

We are people who are being tested.

We are people who are particularly targeted by evil.

And so, in being aware of that, we should be prepared.

We should be wearing the armor of God that Scripture describes.

We should be ready and active.

We should not be negligent, waiting for those moments of trial to then come to the Lord with prayer,

go to His Word to look for wisdom.

But we should be regularly ready, not being surprised, but ready knowing that we are being

tested, knowing that we are being tempted and targeted.

And it is because of this testing, it is because of the fact that we are tempted and have

sinned against the Lord, that we need a representative.

God is perfectly holy.

He will only allow what is perfectly holy into His presence.

You know, to be holy is to be distinguished, to be set apart.

And if God were to allow something that is unholy

into His favorable presence, that would

negate the holiness of God.

And what I mean by that is, it wouldn't really mean that He is separated if He is near something.

Those are oxymorons, right, to be both near sin and then separated from sin at the same time.

He would keep sin away from Himself.

And so, we cannot stand before God.

On the day of judgment, those who stand before God and have to answer for their sin

and only are able to point to their own works or things that they have done, all their imperfections,

they will fall under God's judgment and He will remove them from His presence.

So, we need a Savior.

We need a mediator.

We need a high priest.

And not only do we need a high priest, but we need a perfect one.

We need a merciful one, one who is actually able to show us mercy.

We need a faithful one, one who is able to faithfully accomplish this job.

And it is Jesus Christ who is that merciful and faithful high priest, as it

explains here in this passage.

And how is He able to be a merciful and faithful high priest?

Well, it is because He has been made like His brothers in every respect.

Hey, bud.

It says here in verse 17,.

Therefore, He had to be made like His brothers in every respect so that He might become

a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God

to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

So, what does it mean that He's been made like His brothers in every respect?

He's been made like us in every respect except without sin.

So, He has been born man, the womb of the Virgin Mary.

He is a man.

This is what it's speaking of.

It's speaking of His humanity.

He has a body.

He has a human mind.

He has a human soul.

It's very common that people do not understand this, do not understand the extent of His humanity.

For example, when I was younger, I entertained the idea that maybe it's the case

that, well, you know, if He's really God, if He really knows everything, then Jesus is….

He has a human body, but He does not have a human mind.

He has a divine mind.

This is actually an ancient heresy.

It's known as Apollinarianism, okay?

Forget the guy's name.

It's Apollinaris or something like that.

But anyway, He had this idea, the same idea that I had as a child, right?

Is that Jesus has a human body, but He does not have a human mind.

He has a divine mind.

Well, that has several problems.

One of those is you become unable to account for many things that Scripture says about Jesus.

It says that the Son does not know the day or the hour that He is returning, but only the Father

does, right?

So, how can we say this of the Son if He has a divine mind, if He does not

have a human mind, rather?

If He is omniscient as God, how could you say of an omniscient one

that He does not know the day or the hour that He is returning?

This can only be said if, in addition to being fully God and having that

divine mind, He also is truly human, having a human soul, a human mind,

that you might say of Him that He does not know the day or the hour.

It is only then that you can talk about Him growing in wisdom and stature, right?

Because He is truly man, having both body and soul of a man,

not merely just a body, as some religions have.

You know, in Hinduism, you have the notion of an avatar.

An avatar is this physical representation of a God, but it's not actually,

doesn't not actually have any kind of human soul.

It has the divine mind of the God inside of it.

You know, that's where that term comes from.

If you see avatars on the, you know, websites where it's your physical

representation, that's not really you, but it's this thing that represents you, and you, you know, give it life as

you speak through this, speak through this avatar.

Or the movie Avatar, you know, you have a character who has a human mind who's

possessing this alien body, right?

That's what an avatar is.

That is not what we have in the Incarnation.

We don't have some half -humanity.

We have the full humanity that He has become like His brothers in every respect, not just in body

but also in soul, not just in physicalness but also in mind.

And this is important because He must be tempted as they were,

right?

How can one be tempted if He is, if He only has a human body but not also a human mind?

It is important that He be tempted as we are so that in suffering when He is tempted, He

is able to help those who are being tempted.

And so it is because of this that God has declared Him to be a high priest.

Consider what it says in Hebrews 5,.

For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of

men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.

He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward since He Himself is beset with weakness.

Because of this, He is obligated to offer sacrifices for His own sins just as He

does for those of the people.

So, it is important for a high priest to be chosen from men, be chosen from among true men to act on

behalf of men who can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward since He Himself is

beset with weakness.

He must have that same weakness, at least in His earthly existence that He had here.

He lived for those thirty -three years with the same weaknesses that we have,

that He was, though impeccable, meaning

unable to sin, He was still truly tempted.

And so, why is it that we need

a high priest?

Why do we need Him to be a high priest for us?

Just consider what it is that a high priest does.

So, first of all, we read that passage in Leviticus.

You see how the high priest offers sacrifices, offers burnt offering.

A high priest leads the people in worship.

Now, the people do not necessarily know how to worship God, so that He must instruct them.

And if you see, Christ has led us in how to worship.

Not only has He come to this earth and spoken to the apostles, and then through them

spoken to us and told us how to worship Him.

But it is indeed also the case that as you look through the Psalms and you see how they are all messianic in

character, all pointing forward to the great Son of David, even though David himself

might be writing them, they are pointing forward to the great Son of David, Jesus Christ.

And so, you look at the Psalms which are leading people in worship, and you see that even though

they are conducted by this worship leader, David, and you see in Chronicles how he sets up the worship of God,

ultimately these are things which point to Jesus Christ as

our worship leader.

He has instructed us in how to worship.

Now, not only does He instruct us, but in many places we are ignorant and we do not.

Know.

We do not know how to worship Him.

It's frequently the case that people come to God and they worship Him in ways that they.

Ought not to.

There are all kinds of things that people do incorrectly.

They might pray in ways that are not according to God's will, for example.

Or they may sing to Him songs that do not

have the exact right theology that they should have, and they sing inappropriately.

There's all kinds of things that people introduce into their worship services that distract from

the worship of God.

Now, once you introduce any one of these things, does that then invalidate all the

worship.

That is given?

Well, it could.

It could if it were not for the mediation of Jesus Christ.

Because He is perfect and He stands before God mediating our worship to the Father, our worship

is acceptable before God.

This is not something that many people in our culture think about.

You know, they think about worship as being something that is received by them, right?

They get this teaching.

They get the good vibes of the singing.

They feel calmer after praying.

They, you know, have the experience of the Lord's Supper.

They think of it very consumeristically.

They don't think of it as being something that is being offered to God, but worship is something that is offered to God.

And though you might find it acceptable for you as you are receiving it because you're thinking of it being primarily for

you, that does not mean that God finds it acceptable.

His standards are high.

He demands perfection, and He does not just accept any kind of worship that someone might.

Invent.

He has specified how He is to be worshiped, and we are those who are ignorant and failing.

So, not only are we often ignorant of how we are to be worshiping God, but

even then, with our own sinful hearts, the worship that we render to Him is not as it should

be.

It is not with a heart that is truly honoring Him.

You know, I think about this so often that when we are singing the songs, it is so easy

to, because I know these songs well at this point, to let my mind wander while

I'm singing.

Am I really praising Him in that moment?

And why should that song be accepted by God when He sees this sinful heart that is

distracted, violating the third commandment, you know, taking His name in vain by singing it

without meaning it?

Why should this be accepted by Him when it's so imperfect?

And the answer is because there is a perfect One who is offering it up to Him.

That perfect One is not me.

That perfect One is my Savior, Jesus Christ, who is receiving this song and offering it up

to the Father.

The same is true of prayer.

The same is true of our works.

The same is true of even our own selves.

The reason that we are accepted in God's eyes is not because we

are right before Him of ourselves, but it is because Christ is right

before God, and we are accepted in Him.

So, it is through this mediation of Jesus Christ that we are acceptable

before God.

It is through Him that our works are acceptable to Him.

It is through Him that ourselves are acceptable.

Why?

Because He has made a sacrifice for sin.

He has made a sacrifice that pays the

penalty that was owed to us, and so in Him we are acceptable by God.

Now, consider that importance of being a high priest and the significance of the term

priest, and consider how people use that term.

You know, so many people use the term priest to mean something that does not accomplish

this, right?

People use it in pagan religions, talk about going to their God.

But is that priest really able to make the person right before God?

Or you see it in Roman Catholicism, right?

Roman Catholicism, they call their priest priest because they mediate for the people, right?

And you offer your confession to the priest, and the priest offers it up to God.

But is that priest perfect before God?

Does he make your confession acceptable before God?

No, he cannot make it acceptable because he is not perfect.

You need one who is perfect in order to do this.

You need one who is tempted as we were in every way like us, yet

perfectly faithful, okay?

And there's no priest on this earth, only the one who sits at the right hand of the Father, who has been perfect

so that he might offer our praises and prayers, our confessions, to

the Lord in a way that makes them acceptable.

And you see that even in religions that wouldn't, excuse me, even in denominations of

Christianity that wouldn't make such exclusive claims as Roman Catholicism would about the need of a priest

in order to make your confessions acceptable.

You see this even in things like Anglicanism.

You know, I don't think, you know, there are many good Anglican brothers, but this term priest

is just very inappropriate to speak of one who is not able to

mediate in the way that Christ is.

Now, Scripture does speak of believers as being a priesthood because there is a

sense in which we, in Jesus Christ, having access to God, are able to

pray on behalf of others, are able to go to God on behalf of others.

But to give that title to someone and conjure distinction to other believers so that it's not a

priesthood of all believers but a priesthood of some especially, it misses what Scripture says

about what priesthood is.

And Scripture is very clear about the nature of this

mediation.

In 1 Timothy 2, 5, it says,.

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man

Christ Jesus.

There is an exclusive way that Christ is mediator, and beyond that exclusive way, there's only the

secondary way.

There's not a hierarchy in between where you've got different levels of priests.

No, there's a priesthood of all believers in Christ, and there is Him, the great High Priest, who is able to mediate for

us perfectly.

And with that, we should consider how He is merciful.

He is merciful as a High Priest.

So, He is merciful, making propitiation for the sons of the people.

Now, what is propitiation?

This is a term that means turning, a sacrifice that turns away the wrath of God.

There are a lot of translations that choose other words that are a little more

common in English vocabulary, trying to make it more accessible, but they don't necessarily capture this

truth that it's not just a sacrifice, it's not just something that makes one right with God, but something that turns away His wrath.

You know, we are owed the wrath of God because of our sins.

The Bible says that we are born children of wrath.

Many people don't want to think of God in this way, as having real anger, as

hating sin, and even hating sinners.

And a lot of people say that God hates the sin but loves the sinner.

Bible says very clearly that He hates sinners.

And so, but it also says that He loved us so much that He sent His Son.

So, how can that be true?

Well, point out first of all that His hatred of sin is

necessary in order for Him to love what is good.

If He loves what is good, then that is necessarily entails a hatred of all that threatens

what is good, right?

And so, that applies to people as well.

You know, He loves His people who are good in Jesus Christ, and there is a hatred for all those who

are outside of that righteousness.

But He has provided salvation.

He has loved His people so much

that He has sent Jesus Christ to die for them in order that they would be

saved by Him, that He would mediate for them, once again,

so their selves, their own selves might be acceptable in the eyes of the Father.

And so, He is in this way, He is in this way merciful.

Now, another term that's important here is known as penal substitutionary atonement.

So, that's a theological term to describe what is accomplished on the cross, that Jesus was punished on our

behalf.

Penal punishment, substitutionary atonement.

He is punished on our behalf.

This is another thing that many people reject because they do not like the idea that Christ was punished.

They think that sounds wrong and evil of God to punish His own Son.

But this was not involuntary as His Son did not sign up for this.

Instead, He willingly gives His own life.

The Father and the Son are in complete agreement.

It's not the Father asking the Son to do something and the Son reluctantly

agreeing.

No, they are in agreement.

And the Son, or the Father has sent the Son, and the Son has died and offered His life to the Father

on behalf of this particular people.

And it is a substitution for those who deserve the wrath of God.

We are a people who have received so much mercy.

If we have been saved by Jesus Christ, we have received so much mercy.

There is a great wrath, not only to experience in this life being without the peace of God,

there is a great wrath that is to come in the next one.

And, you know, the more you contemplate that truth, you know, so many people want to avoid

thoughts about the wrath of God.

The more you contemplate that truth rightly, understanding what we have been granted in it,

the more you can truly be thankful and joyful about what Christ has done.

You know, there are a lot of people who talk about how they

might not be perfect, but, you know, they're good people.

Or there are so many people who say that Christ died for you because you're worth it.

It's missing the point.

What's amazing about this, what's so merciful about it, is that we weren't worth it.

Is that there's nothing that is good and acceptable in us apart from this

mediation of Jesus Christ.

And so there are two truths which we are able to embrace knowing this

that make life so much easier.

And those truths are, one, we are truly wretched.

We are truly wretched apart from God.

Now, the person who lives in denial, calling himself a good person, has to live suppressing that truth,

living with the cognitive dissonance, knowing that guilt in the background, and just by positive thoughts

and, you know, repeated affirmations to themselves that they're a good person,

live with that cognitive dissonance trying to convince themselves they're a good person.

Okay, so that's one truth.

We can embrace the truth that we truly are wretched.

Now, the other thing is that we can have a true self -love knowing

that we are righteous in the eyes of God because we are in Jesus Christ.

So we can not struggle to have

the right kind of self -image because we know that not only are we,

not merely that we're good people, but we are perfect in the eyes of God.

We are as acceptable as the Son himself because we are accepted in him.

And so people have settled for this terrible compromise

between those two things where they're, they're not perfect, but they're pretty good, when neither of those are true, right?

You can have, you can have both in Jesus Christ.

You can have the full truth that you are wretched apart from him, and you can embrace the truth, and you don't have to have the

cognitive dissonance of denying it.

And you can have the perfect self -love that comes from knowing that you are

accepted in Jesus Christ who is perfectly loved by the Father, and in him we have this perfect

love of God.

There is a wonderful, those are two truths that must be fully embraced to have peace in your life.

You know, if you live in the middle thinking that that's the right place to be, it's just cognitive

dissonance, and it's going to be not the right kind of self -love.

It's going to be a false self -love that's one, not true because you're not truly good apart from Jesus Christ,

and two, it's never going to be completely fulfilling.

The only one that's going to be completely fulfilling is not thinking, well, you know, I'm a pretty good person, but it's knowing that I am perfect in the

eyes of God.

I'm perfect in the eyes of God because I have the perfect blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Now, it also says here that he is a merciful, or excuse me, that he is a faithful high priest.

He is a faithful high priest.

He has done everything that needs to be done as a high priest.

The high priests of the Old Testament,

they may have been faithful in some kind of relative sense, doing the things that they needed to do, or at least

according to the terms that they were given.

But when it comes to the high court of God, and not this earthly court that the old covenant had for the people,

when it comes to the high court of God, we need a perfect, perfectly faithful

high priest.

And how can someone be faithful as a high priest,

suffering when tempted, apart from being made like his brothers in every respect?

Apart from that, Jesus wouldn't be.

He would not have been tempted.

He would not have suffered.

You cannot suffer without this kind of existence.

You cannot be tempted without this kind of existence.

In fact, James speaks of that.

James 1 .13 says, Let no one say when he is tempted, I am

being tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted with evil.

And he himself tempts no one, but each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed

by his own desire.

All right, so this is describing temptation here, and talking about how temptation does not apply to God.

He cannot be tempted by anyone.

Now, there's several things that are meant when you use the word temptation, right?

One of them is what I was talking about earlier, being tested.

One is being tested.

The other is being externally drawn into sin, right?

And where you have some weakness that someone is appealing to.

Now, the third way is an eternal drawing to sin, right?

Where you have actually, you actually have that desire and you're being tempted in that way.

So, when we speak of Christ being tempted, first of all, yes, He was tested.

But then the temptation He experienced was not falling into temptation so that there was an internal

temptation, so that His desires are giving in.

But when He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, when He was tempted all along the way and even through the cross, that

temptation, those appeals to not sinful flesh but His

flesh, those are external ones that He had to experience in

order to be the substitute for us, in order to, as it says later in Hebrews 5, have the kind of

obligations that are necessary to act on behalf of the people and operate

in a way that is Godward for the salvation of the people.

It is necessary that He experience those external temptations.

And how are they possible apart from this work of

a man who has experienced and suffered such things?

It's not possible.

So, those who want to embrace what the Bible says but deny

the reality of what Jesus is as a high priest, being both

fully man and fully God, able to represent God perfectly to His people, able to represent the people

perfectly to God, are missing one of the key ingredients that is

necessary for salvation.

It is this perfect high priest.

He is perfectly faithful.

He is able to accomplish the salvation because He has been made

like His brothers in every respect.

And then, having been tempted externally, not internally, resisting temptation,

operating faithfully, earn the reward that is necessary for us to have a glorious

existence with Him.

You know, what is being earned by Jesus Christ as He lived a perfect life

is not merely forgiveness.

You know, He died.

This is called His passive obedience where He suffered and did not

avoid the suffering that was coming for Him.

Right?

He suffered on our behalf, and He has paid the penalty that is owed through that passive

obedience.

So, that's earned our forgiveness, which is through His active obedience, through living a perfect life, that He has

been tested and earned what Adam failed to.

Adam was also tested in the garden.

He was tempted.

Adam failed, and Adam did not earn that reward of life, that glorious existence that was being held out to him.

But Christ has earned that perfectly so that, not only for Himself, but

even for His own people, they might enjoy that reward.

And He calls us into these sufferings and

temptations with Him in order that we might be glorified in Him.

You know, as I said moments before, not as though our suffering, not as

though our resistant temptation earns us any kind of status before God, but

instead, because He has done these things and has unioned Himself

with us, He has prepared this path for us that we might have the honor of joining with Him

in those sufferings, in those temptations, resisting them with Him,

joined together with Him, and being glorified together with Him.

You know, I failed to come up with the right kind of analogy for this, but you think of

situations where, you know, you've got a Sherpa.

I always think this is so funny, how, you know, people want to show their strength by going and climbing Mount Everest, and then you see all the things the

Sherpa is doing, and the Sherpa is doing all the work, and so you talk about how this person, you know, stood the test and did all the

things, but really it was the Sherpa that was doing almost everything for them.

Maybe this is somewhat of an analogy, right?

There's this one going through, really having trial, but there's someone else who is accomplishing it for them,

and that is, like I said, not a perfect picture, but it's some kind of analogous

picture for what we have in Jesus Christ.

He has accomplished this for us, and at the same time, in union with Him, invites us into this to

experience it with Him so that, yeah, we have a

participation with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection, and in this newness of life, we

suffer with Him in order that we may be glorified with Him, as it says in Romans 8.

So let me read this passage again.

Therefore, He had to be made like His brothers in every respect so that He might become a merciful and

faithful high priest in the service of God to make propitiation for

the sins of the people, for because He Himself has suffered when tempted, He is able to help those

who are being tempted.

And so He is a perfect high priest.

He is both merciful, able to truly show mercy.

You know, I think a lot of people, when they read that, they import things from the next chapter.

The next chapter is going to talk about Him being sympathetic, right, Him sympathizing with our weakness,

and so they think, oh, He's merciful, He sympathizes.

A lot of times we use those as synonyms for each other and, you know, our way of speaking.

But this is not saying the same thing.

He is not just, you know, compassionate towards us, which He is, but this

is saying that He's truly merciful, He's actually bringing us mercy.

He's not just, He doesn't just want to give us mercy, but He is actually capable of doing this in a way that the priests

of the Old Testament, in a way that other people who might call themselves priests have no capacity to do.

Because He has become man, because He has suffered on our behalf, He is actually able to give us mercy, not just to

want to show us mercy.

So that's the kind of merciful we're talking about, the actually giving us mercy.

And He is truly faithful.

He is faithful, able to do what a high priest does, and

experiencing what the people experience, and speaking as one of the people to God.

And Christ could not do that apart from being man.

He could not speak to the Father as one of us if He were not

one of us.

But He has been made like His brothers in every respect.

And so, as we've considered Hebrews 2 and everything it has told us about the incarnation, and how

necessary it is, in light of how glorious He is, you know, Hebrews 1, about how He's higher than the angels, He's more

exalted than the angels.

Then Hebrews 2, verse 5, then starts to answer the question, well, why is He made for a little

while lower than the angels?

Why is He man?

Why is this necessary?

It is necessary in order for us to have a merciful and faithful high priest.

And apart from that, we would have nothing.

We would have no opportunity for salvation.

We'd have no salvation if it were not for the blood, the human blood and

righteousness of Jesus Christ acting on our behalf,

being our merciful and faithful high priest, able to help those who are being

tempted, because He is tempted, as we are, yet without sin.

And He has suffered when He is tempted.

So, I hope that this encourages you, that you recognize the wonderful gift that we

have in Jesus Christ, especially if you've grown up in the church, you've always known about Jesus.

And, you know, people use the phrase, well, He needs Jesus, you know, just as a, just kind

of a thing you say for someone who needs help, because Jesus is someone who helps.

How is it that Jesus helps?

Why is it that Jesus helps?

What is it about Jesus that we really need?

Why isn't, you know, a God without an incarnation good enough?

And the answer is, because we need a faithful, merciful high priest.

And along with that, consider that as He has bound Himself to humanity, as He has become man,

and now is, as Hebrews 5 says, obligated to act on our behalf.

What does that mean?

If God, not that He would ever do this because He has made promises in His Word, but

if He ever decided to cast off humanity, what would stop Him from doing that?

Well, there's a number of things.

Like I said, He would never go against His Word.

But now that He has bound Himself to humanity, now that in the person of the Son,

humanity and deity are unioned in that person of Jesus Christ,

how could He ever cast off humanity?

Cast off humanity would be to cast off Himself, and God could never do that.

And so, in the incarnation, we have just a wonderful gift that who

could have imagined before Jesus came to earth that this is how God would answer this problem?

How is He going to answer this problem of sin?

The answer is in the incarnation, in the wonderful birth of Jesus Christ, in order

that we might live a perfect life and die.

But be exalted, sit at the right hand of God, being our high priest, interceding for us that we might be, through wretched,

acceptable to our Father in heaven in Him.

Let me pray for us.

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You for the wonderful gift that You have given us in Jesus Christ.

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us, and You have a great love towards Your

people, and You have sent us this Son in order that we might be saved.

We thank You for this, and we ask that You would help us to understand this truth

more fully in order that we might appreciate it and have the encouragement that comes from knowing Your

truth.

In Jesus' name, amen.