- So this is book of
Hebrews, the glorious Jesus, lesson number five in the series, the title of this particular lesson, Jesus: Greater than Aaron
and this is the first part, we're going to be talking
about this subject, Jesus, Greater than Aaron
for a couple of sessions. Well, so far, we have seen
in the book of Hebrews the writer of the book is
encouraging Jewish Christians, who are thinking of going back to Judaism, he's encouraging them to remain faithful to Jesus Christ, the
author of their faith. and the author of their salvation. And as I mentioned, the book of Hebrews, divided into two parts,
very simple to organize this book, part one, the writer shows that the glory of Christ is
greater than the glory of the Jewish religion
and all of its parts. And then part two, oh I
forgot to mention on thing, and in our lesson so
far, we've covered three of these parts, of the Jewish religion. The Jewish prophets,
he showed Jesus greater than the Jewish prophets. We've looked at the
Jewish concept of angels, and he's demonstrated Jesus
greater than the angels. And of course, Moses, a
very authoritative figure in the Jewish history, Jewish religion, he's demonstrated Jesus
greater than Moses. In the second part of the
book, he's going to talk about the glory of the
Church, the body of Christ, and what keeps it glorious. Okay, so that's how the book
is broken into two parts. So in this lesson, we're going to examine what the author says about the fourth part of the Jewish religion,
and that is the priesthood. And especially the high priest himself. So what we're going to look
at is a very long passage, the writer is going to touch
on three specific things. First of all, Jesus is a high priest, and one who is greater than
Aaron, the original high priest. Secondly, he will give
his readers a rebuke and a warning concerning unfaithfulness. And he's going to tell them
don't abandon the superior high priest who is Jesus,
in order to go back to the old high priest. And then thirdly, he's going to explain that Jesus is a different
kind of high priest. He's not like Aaron, he
doesn't come from Aaron, and he's not in the style of Aaron. He's in the style of a man or
a priest called Melchizedek that we read about in the Old Testament. So tonight we're only
going to touch on the first of these three ideas,
Jesus, Greater than Aaron. Now in the previous section the author was reminding his readers not
to ignore the warnings contained in God's word concerning disobedience and disbelief. And he told them that because of this, because of disobedience and disbelief, Moses's followers had
not entered their rest. Remember I said he uses
different words sometimes to describe their reward? Their reward was the promised land, an actual physical place. Sometimes he called it the Promised Land, sometimes he called it the rest. But these words were simply
referring to the same thing, and he says be careful that you today don't disbelieve or disobey
because you're going to end up like the Jews in the desert
who died in the desert and never made it to the
promised land, or their rest. All right. And of course, the suggestion
was that they were in danger of the same fate. If they disbelieved and
disobeyed, their leader, Jesus, and would not enter
their true promised land, which was heaven, not a geographical place but a dimension, a spiritual dimension. So in verses 14 to 16, and I'm
in chapter four by the way, of Hebrews, so in verses 14 to
16 he kind of changes gears, and he encourages them
to renew their efforts, to go forward towards
this rest, this promise. Because they have a helper
who is already there, awaiting them, and
helping them to enter in. And this is the key idea. You know, he's bill boarding ahead of time what he's going to be talking about. So it's with this device that the author introduces the idea that
Jesus is also a high priest, because this is a new idea now, he hasn't talked about this so far. So let's read verse 14. He says, therefore, since
we have a great high priest who has passed through the
heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. So he boldly makes his summary idea in one concise statement, okay. He says Christians,
they have a high priest. They have a great high priest. Now, an interesting thing here, the Jews never, and the
Bible never referred to the high priest, Aaron or
anyone, as a great high priest, always a high priest, all right. But here he's referring to
Jesus as a great high priest. The unspoken suggestion was that the Jewish religion was superior because it had a priestly system. Priests who could go before
God on behalf of the people, to thank God, to ask
God, to atone for sins, so on and so forth. So the author says to his
readers, hey wait a minute. The Jews, yeah they have
a high priest, Aaron. But we too, Christians, we
also have a high priest. So that's the beginning of his argument. Secondly, he says that
Christian's high priest is not on earth, he's in heaven. So, you know the idea, the Jewish priest, they're here on earth. Christians are represented in heaven, appearing to God on behalf of the people. Thirdly he says, Jesus,
he's that high priest. The one who's in heaven, that's Jesus. He's the Son of God and
he serves as high priest for his people. And then fourthly he says, the people should be encouraged
by this fact, by this truth. I mean, if their high
priest is already in heaven, well then they need to
maintain their faith. We have an assurance here. The Jews, they saw their high priest, he was physical, he was
limited, he was sinful, he was just a man. So the writer is saying,
but our high priest, he's in heaven already, we
have a much better high priest. Better chance of making it, okay. Verse 15, for we do not a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted
in all things as we are, yet without sin. So even though Jesus, as the Son of God, and high priest in heaven with God, don't get the idea that he's so far away that he can't relate to us. He's saying, this doesn't
mean that he can't relate to the problems of human
suffering and failure. Just because I said he's in heaven, doesn't mean he can't relate to us. He, as a man, was tested by Satan and by the limits of humanity. You know, he was hungry, he was tired. He was chased from place
to place, he was beaten and so on and so forth. So he suffered physical things. I'm not talking about a
vision here, you know. I'm not talking about some spirit being, I'm talking about a
real person, a real man. And, of course, he did not not sin. This will be an important
point as we go along. The suggestion is that in him
we have the perfect mediator. One who is already in
heaven, making sacrifice, advocating on our behalf, and one who can understand and sympathize with our weak nature. But at the same time can
stand boldly before God on man's behalf because
he himself has no guilt, no shame, no condemnation account of sin, because he's sinless. Remember the idea here, he's
showing how Jesus is superior as a high priest than Aaron. Verse 16, therefore, let us
draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so
that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. So, since Jesus knows
the power of sin, right, he was tempted, he was tested. Since he knows the weakness of man because he was fully human,
he was hungry, he was tired, and so on and so forth. He felt pain. And, since he understands the
mercy of God because he is God because he has a divine nature, his followers should and can
approach God with confidence, don't be afraid, he's telling them. He has gone before them
and prepared the way and now he tells them that
if they come in his name, they will find mercy and
they will find God's help when they need it. All right, so now we're
going to go to chapter five, and he's going to back,
now he's talked about in a general way why Jesus is
greater than the high priest, now he's going to talk
about Aaron specifically, so he continues this idea
by introducing Aaron, Moses's brother, who was
the very first high priest. If he's to make a
comparison to Jesus, well, he's going to need to
describe Aaron and who he was and what he did, all right. So originally, the ones
who offered sacrifices were not the priests, they
were the head of the families, they were the ones that
did the sacrifices, right. You know, Abraham, he was
the head of the family, he was the patriarch,
he offered sacrifice. And Isaac and Jacob
and so on and so forth. The basic idea behind
a sacrifice of any kind was that something was transferred from the physical realm
to the spiritual realm through death or destruction. If you've ever wondered
why death, you know. Because that is the, that is the conduit, that's the point where something goes from the physical to
the spiritual dimension. Death or destruction was the passageway from the physical world
to the spiritual world. For example, for Adam and Eve, atonement for sin was
transferred from them to God through what, through
the death of an animal. They sinned, they disobeyed
God, they were uncovered. What happens? An animal was killed. And animal's skin is used to cover them, so the very first death. Noah, for example, he's
giving thanksgiving for safety through the flood, and
how does he do that? He offers a sacrifice,
he offers an animal. Genesis 8:20. Jacob, he makes a vow to
have only God as his God, and that vow is transferred
from the physical realm to the spiritual realm how? He poured out a vile of oil on a pillar, in other words, he destroyed the oil, you couldn't use the oil anymore. So a product, an animal,
something was destroyed or burnt or killed in order to
transfer one thing to go to one dimension to go to the other. So now, when God gave the law to Moses, he also included a much more formalized system of sacrifices that
contained specific instructions concerning the reasons,
the times, the manner, and the materials that were to be used in the practice of sacrifices. And much of this information is contained in the book of Leviticus. And so, the Jewish
religious system and worship was built around the activity
of sacrificing to God a variety of animals and
produce in order to express various things. In order to express or
transfer from the physical to the spiritual different things. Sacrifices that express
thanksgiving, you know. Sacrifices that express
purification, atonement, blessing, so on and so forth. The transfer from one
dimension to the other was always through death
or through destruction. In Leviticus chapter one
verse, or, chapters one to six, we read the instructions
for the preparation of these sacrifices. You know, there were burnt
offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, guilt offerings. So God provided every detail from how to kill and prepare the animal, how to actually offer the sacrifice. The priests were even
taught how to do the motion, you know, they had to, some
of them they had to wave, the wave offering. The wave had to, they
had to wave the animal or a part of the animal before God in the sacrificial ceremony. They were taught the order in
which it was to be presented and what other items were
to accompany the sacrifice. Very detailed. It was complex, it was
demanding, it was expensive, it was time consuming. I mean, some sacrifices had
to be done every single day. Every morning, every night. Others, on special occasions. In addition to this,
the priests had to offer the sacrifices that the people
brought to them as well. So not only the sacrifices for the feasts and so on and so forth,
people would bring sacrifices. Because they wanted to make
a thank offering to God. Well they couldn't just, you know, at the backyard barbecue kill
an animal and make a thing, no, no, they had to go to
the temple, go to priest. Only the priests could
offer the sacrifices on behalf of the people. Now, God also not only
assisted but he also appointed a specific person and family
to carry on these tasks, as well as a specific place where these things were to be done. And in the desert, it was
the tabernacle, right. That portable temple if you wish. Then once Jerusalem was settled, then they built a temple
where all of the sacrifices were to be made. And we read that Aaron, Moses's brother from the tribe of Levi, along with his sons,
they were the first ones appointed by God to this role. Now, sacrificing would no longer be done by the heads of each
family, but by a high priest on behalf of all the families. This is the change that took place when they were in the desert. Now the important point to remember here is that this task or this ministry was only given to Aaron and his sons and their descendants. According to God's law, only
the descendants of Aaron could serve as priests. This is why they called
it the Aaronic priesthood, because it comes from Aaron. And people in his family, it wasn't enough that you
would be from his family. There were also physical requirements. No blemishes, no broken bones,
no scars, no rashes, nothing. No missing parts to the body. So it was very, very stringent as to who could be the high priest. Now the high priest also
had an elaborate right of purification and
dress that we read about in Leviticus chapter eight,
I want to read that passage. It says, then Moses had
Aaron and his sons come near and washed them with water. He put the tunic on him and
girded him with the sash, and clothed him with the robe
and put the ephod on him. And he girded him with the
artistic band of the ephod, with which he tied it to him. He then placed the breast piece on him, and in the breast piece he
put the Urim and the Thummim. He also placed the turban on his head, and on the turban, at its front, he placed the golden
plate, the holy crown, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. So let's go through these particular, these particular elements in the dress of the high priests here. First of all, there was
the turban, or the crown. He wore a turban made of linen
with a blue laced ribbon, which held a golden plate
on the turban in front, with the words holiness to the Lord, okay. Because he himself was
holiness to the Lord, he had been set aside,
holiness to the Lord. This was a constant reminder
of his separation and calling to serve God and the people, we read about that in Exodus 28:36-38. Next, the onyx stones. One stone on each shoulder,
on the top of each shoulder. Secured by a strap that served
to hold the front and back of the checkered and embroidered ephod. Interestingly, the names
of six tribes of Israel were engraved on each one of the stones. The names were placed on
the stones in birth order. So the six oldest brothers
were on the right shoulder, right stone, and the six youngest
were on the left shoulder on the stone that was there. This meant that the high priest carried the names of the
tribes before the Lord when ministering in their
name, Exodus 26:6-14. So, always reminders. I mean, he was like a advertising to remind what he was all about. You know, he has the weight
of the world on his shoulders, you know we use that expression. Well, he had the weight of the people, the weight of the
responsibility of the people as high priest, he had
that on his shoulders. And those onyx stones
there represented that. There were braided chains. These were made of gold,
and along with ribbon, were used to hold the
breastplate in place. The breastplate had rings in each corner, and the chains were attached from these to the shoulder plates
that held the onyx stones. Again, Exodus 28:14. The breastplate itself
that they wore in front, this was actually a piece of
elaborately finished cloth. It was the same material as the ephod, it wasn't a thing made out of metal. It was twice as long as it was wide, but it was folded over to form a square. Roughly nine inches,
you know, wide and high. And because it was folded
over and worn like this, there was a pocket here,
okay, it created a pocket. As I said, it had rings in each corner from which the chains
and ribbons were attached to secure it into place. Now on the breastplate were
fastened 12 precious stones. Sardius, topaz, emerald,
turquoise, sapphire, diamond, jacinth, agate,
or agate, amethyst, barrel onyx and jasper. All of these twelve
stones were set in gold, and on each stone was engraved the name of one of the tribe of Israel. Here the idea was that
the people and their needs were always close to
the high priests heart and before the Lord constantly. So the responsibility was here, okay, represented on the shoulders,
and emotionally the care for the people was always on his heart. You know how we say, I
have a burden on my heart, you know well, he had the people. His burden was the people on his heart. Then we talked about the
Urim and the Thummim. Urim means lights and
Thummim means perfection. It's thought that these were precious gems placed inside the pocket
of the breastplate. Now, not a lot is known about these, but since this was before
the time of the prophets, it may be that the priests
use these in some way to discern, you know, a
yes or a no from the Lord, a little bit like dice. Not to play games or
anything, but you know, if they turned one way,
the answer was yes, after prayer or no, like
a lot that was thrown. Exodus 28, also Numbers
27:21 talk about that. The ephod, an over garment made of linen with gold, blue, purple
and scarlet thread. It was like a tunic. It was woven, it had a
front and back panel, and it was held together by the
gold clasps on the shoulders that had onyx stones, again Exodus 28. The sash, sometimes the girdle, called the girdle or the sash. This is what held the ephod in place, and it was securely tied. Now when the high priest
was girded, or sashed, it meant he was fully
clothed in all of his high priestly garments. It was made of golden threads, as well as blue, purple,
and scarlet linen. The colors are significant,
because in that day in time, people did not wear colors. Only royalty had colors,
because it was very difficult to make colors in those days. The robe was worn under the ephod. It was a plain, blue, sleeveless garment, reinforced at the neck, and
it extended below the ephod. Again, Exodus 28. There were bells, I think the picture's a little to small there, but there were bells sown on the hem, which could be heard as
the priests moved about. These were made of gold. As the priest moved
about inside the temple, inside the tabernacle, and especially on the day of atonement,
when he went inside the Holy of Holies, no
one else could go there. So as he moved about, you know, doing his duties there, you
could hear him, you know. The idea was, what happens if he dies or you know he's struck
or something like that. So they could hear him
as he was doing his work. And also, assuring the
people that the Lord was accepting the sacrifices
that he was making on behalf of the people. Also, pomegranates, a row of pomegranates. Not real ones, but you know, a type of something that had been created, were embroidered on the hem of
the robe in between the bells and they symbolized fruitfulness. Abundant seeds, if you've
ever seen a pomegranate and cut it in half, I mean
it's all seeds, right. So the idea was the fruitfulness or the abundance of God's word as a sweet and pleasant food,
and seeds that would multiply. Exodus 39:24. The tunic, a basic linen tunic
was worn as an undergarment, Leviticus 8:6-9. And if you notice in the picture, the high priest was barefoot. He wore no shoes when
entering the holy place because it was considered holy ground. And so when the author
speaks of the high priest, this is the grand image that his readers have of this person. His exalted position and his ministry, so when they're talking
about the high priest, the Jews were talking
about the high priest, the Jewish Christians were
talking about the high priesthood it was something magnificent,
it was something beautiful, it was something that
was expensive to produce. It was a one of a kind thing,
no other religion had this. So you know, if you're a Jewish Christian living in the first century, I mean, you're hunted by the Romans, you're rejected by your
own culture, the Jews. You're meeting where, underground, in rented places, in homes, you know. This is your. And your Lord is a criminal
executed by pagans. And compared to that, you
have this high priest, in all of his splendor in
the temple and the parades and all of the worship and
the history and the culture. So there was a great
temptation to return to this. All right, so let's keep going. Chapter five he says,
chapter five, one to four. So he says, for every high
priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men
in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts
and sacrifices for sins; he can deal gently with
the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also
is beset with weakness; and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the
people, so also for himself. And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is
called by God, even as Aaron was. So after reviewing the
history and the work of the Aaronic priesthood, he
notes that they were not all selected on the basis of merit, but rather by the will of God. He also reminds them that
even the priests had to, in the course of their temple service, they had to offer sacrifice
for themselves first, before they could do it for the people. Why? Because they were sinners too. Okay, just like the people
that they represented. The idea was that this was a way to understand and sympathize
with the people they served. In other words, when the
priest or the high priest offered a sacrifice for themselves before offering it on
behalf of the people, he was showing the people
that he too was a sinner. He also needed the sacrifice. So the priesthood was something that the author is showing here that may have been exalted
and beautiful to behold, but it was weak. Because it was manned by weak men who were appointed by God. Okay, so the last thing
that he says is this. He says, well Jesus is also a high priest. Now, the author has already stated this, but in these verses he's going to show that Jesus has better qualifications to be the high priest than
Aaron and his descendants. And he mentions two
things, number one he says, Jesus was appointed. Because the argument
from the Jews would be, well who appointed him? Who made him priest? See what I'm saying. We know that Aaron was appointed, we can read it in the
Old Testament, you know. So Jesus also was appointed,
verse five and six. He says, so also Christ
did not glorify himself so as to become a high priest,
but he who said to him, You are my Son, today I have begotten you; just as he says also in another passage, you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. So just as Aaron was appointed by God, the author says, so was Jesus. He proves his point by quoting
two Old Testament scriptures that speak of the messiah
or the Son of God, and his position, Psalm
2:7 and Psalm 110:4. And the idea is that the Messiah
was to be a priest forever, appointed by God, along the lines of an Old Testament priest,
not according to Aaron, but an Old Testament
priest called Melchizedek. So remember what he's saying, hey, Jesus was also appointed,
and he's also a high priest, but not like Aaron, he's a
high priest like Melchizedek. In other words, Jesus
traces his priestly lineage back to Melchizedek not back to Aaron, and remember if you remember
what we talked about, Melchizedek appeared in
history before Aaron appeared. Because Melchizedek receive
tithes from Abraham, before you get to Aaron you have to have Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
the 12 tribes, Levi, you see what I'm saying. Moses, Aaron, and Aaron and his sons. So Melchizedek is back
here somewhere in history and Aaron is over here. So the writer is saying,
Jesus is appointed by God but he traces his lineage all
the way back to Melchizedek, not to Aaron. So, now he doesn't, right at this point, he doesn't explain who this
Melchizedek is right away. He assumes his audience
are familiar with the term, or the name, he merely
establishes Christ's appointment as high priest, and his lineage. Now, the author knew that for Jews another stumbling block to accepting Jesus as a high priestly mediator was that he was descended through
his earthly father Joseph, and Joseph came through the
line of Judah, not Levi, so this is why he's
making this argument here, to kind of answer that argument. Now he's going to explain the significance of Melchizedek a little bit later on. For now, he simply traces the lineage. All right. So the first thing he
says is he's appointed. The next thing he says is he is qualified. For what, well to be the high priest. So let's read verses seven to 10. He says, in the days of His flesh, he offered up both
prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his piety. Although he was a son,
he learned obedience from the things which he suffered. And having been made
perfect, he became to all those who obey him the
source of eternal salvation, being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. So in order to qualify as a high priest, you needed to be appointed by God, so as to have a right to stand before him. And you needed to be
able to relate to those whom you represented. Now, Aaron qualified in both respects, because he was appointed through Moses, and he was a human being. The author here shows that in addition to his divine appointment,
Jesus qualified as one who knew the sufferings of men, because he also suffered. And he suffered greatly. So he says in verses seven, eight, nine, first of all that Jesus
suffered anguish in the garden before his death, and like all men, he prayed to God with tears to help him in his hour of trial. In verse eight he talks about the idea that he suffered the
restrictions of human nature, and he did only what
the Father instructed. In this way he demonstrated
that he knew how to obey. And then in verse nine,
the suggestion made is that he was never morally imperfect, but his human nature was brought totally in submission to God's will,
even to the point of death. This is the kind of
perfection and maturity that was revealed, that he had, which the author is alluding to. So yes, Aaron is human, well
you know, Christ is human. Aaron is appointed, well
Christ is appointed. Aaron can relate to human
sin and human suffering, well Christ can relate to human sin, because he was tested, and suffering, because he suffered on the cross. So you know in both ways, in all ways, Christ in Aaron are the same in this way. So Jesus qualified as a priest because he was appointed by
God to serve in this way, and also he, like Aaron,
knew well the sufferings and limitations of the human condition. Now the author makes his
point for this section, verses nine and 10. Because Jesus is qualified in this way, he's able to preform the priestly duties, which will result not only in the temporary helping of the people, which, this is what Aaron did, you know, time after time, year after
year, he was helping the people. Making a lot of sacrifices. The author is saying here
Jesus on the other hand is able to give them an eternal and a complete salvation. Not over and over again every year, repeating the same sacrifices. So the author reiterates
the idea of Melchizedek here as a kind of a book end,
he mentioned Melchizedek at the beginning and he
mentions Melchizedek, see here in verse 10, at the very end, to round out his opening remarks that revolved around
the mysterious character called Melchizedek. And next lesson we're going to go a little more deeper into this, as the author explains who Melchizedek was and why he's significant. All right, so let's make
a summary, shall we. First of all, the author encourages them to strive for their
hope of rest in heaven, reassured by the fact that their
Lord Jesus is already there appealing to God on their
behalf as high priest. Number two, number two he explains the original qualifications
for high priest as regards Aaron, the original
high priest of Israel. Aaron was appointed, Aaron could
sympathize with the people. Number three. He shows them that Jesus is also qualified to be high priest, because, as Messiah, he was appointed by God to this office, but according to an eternal lineage referred to as the lineage of Melchizedek. Not the temporary lineage of Aaron. And as one who took on a human nature, Jesus can also relate to
the sufferings of the people that he ministers to. So his conclusion is that by
virtue of his qualifications, Christians can have
confidence for eternal life as it is ministered by their
high priest, Jesus Christ. By implication, the author is saying that the priesthood of
Aaron has been replaced by a greater and more
effective priesthood of Jesus. And a little bit further on, we're going to cover this next time, he's going to explain
how and why this happens. All right. So, although not fully
explained yet, the author, of course the author of
Hebrews, the Holy Spirit, the author reassures Christians not only in the first
century, but in every century, that they have someone already in heaven who is pleading their
case at the throne of God. So when we pray, and this
is some practical, you know, application here for this lesson. The lesson tonight is really
a set up, it's a background. He hasn't made like a lot
of points on this yet, so we have to understand,
well who's Melchizedek and what's the argument. Tonight I've kind of been
building the case here. But even that this preliminary part, there's still some lessons
for us that are practical. And the first one is, pray
with this idea in mind. We're not just talking to
ourselves when we pray. We're not just talking to the ceiling. We're not just closing our
eyes and imagining something. The author here is saying,
when we're praying, the person we're praying to is
Jesus Christ the high priest who is in the heavenly realm, the place that we are
eventually going to go to. So our prayers are
concrete, they have meaning. They are received by a very real person who has a very real purpose in our lives. Okay? Another thing that this
spiritual reality means. We mustn't put off dealing with sin, because our high priest is in
heaven pleading on our behalf. In other words, how can I simplify it. Let's not worry that our high priest can't handle our sins. I've had people say to
me, believe it or not, they've said to me, oh I don't think I can become a Christian, I've just been too bad. I think anybody that's
ever done any Bible study with someone may have heard that. I'm just too, I'm too bad. You know, God cannot, I've just done stuff that's so evil, so bad. And the writer here is saying
don't let that be the thing, you know that incorrect idea
that your sins are so bad. He's saying, our high priest,
he can handle anything. Anything. And our sins will be
dealt with effectively. The thing we need to be
careful is to avoid and put off and delay actually dealing with it. There's great freedom that comes when we finally cough it up and say, Lord, you know what, I'm just
not a very honest person. I've noticed that about
me, I'm just not honest. Or Lord, I'm not sexually pure. I may look pure on the outside, but inside all kinds of cravings
and all kinds of things. I do things in secret. Whatever it is, or I gamble
or I, whatever, you know. You think, oh it's just
too yucky, too evil. We've done it too many times. But the Lord is not going to deal with it. And the writer here is assuring
us that our high priest will take care of every sin. Do not allow that type
of fear to hold you back. And then perhaps one more thing. We need to approach God with confidence. We should always approach
him with confidence in all matters, because
we have been assured that we will find grace and
mercy there, not condemnation. There are not going to be
any surprises waiting for us. I feel actually very
badly for people who are in a Muslim faith for example. Because they're never actually sure what Allah is going to do. That's why they say, well, if Allah wills. I've done everything I'm supposed to do, I've gone on pilgrimage, you know, I've kept the fast, the Ramadan, I've done all that good stuff. I've tried to be a good
Muslim all my life, but you know, at the last
minute maybe I won't, maybe I won't make it. This is why religious
fanaticism that sees itself in suicide bombings is so
popular among the young. Why? Because it's the one way
that they can be assured that they will be in paradise. If they die for their faith. If they're martyrs for their faith. Well, that's not the case with us. We don't have to be martyrs
to be assured of heaven. God is telling us, I'm
assuring you of heaven. I swear to you by my
own name, I swear to you that if you have faith in my
son, you will be in heaven. So there won't be any surprises. What you want, what you've asked for, what you've prayed for, and
what you've been promised is exactly what you and I will receive. No surprises. I think the surprise
will be how wonderful, how really wonderful it will be, maybe. We're not used to seeing
how wonderful things are. But no surprises, we know
exactly where we're going, and we know exactly why
we're going there, okay? All right, so that will
be it for this time. Again, a lot of set up stuff. We're really going to hit
the meat of the matter in the next couple of weeks. All right, that's it. Thank you very much for your attention.
