[I derived portions of this post from two past sermons I have preached on Hebrews 4:14–16 and Hebrews 10:11–23. This post will be the first in a two-part series.]

A few weeks ago I preached on Mark 1:1–13. I pointed out that Mark uses the same language at the beginning of the book at Jesus’ baptism (Mark 1:10–11) as he does at the end of the book at Jesus’ death on the cross (Mark 15:37–39). They each read:

 Mark 1:10–11—¹⁰ And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.

Mark 15:37–39—³⁷ And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. ³⁸ And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. ³⁹ And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

I observed that Mark frames Jesus’ earthly ministry with proclamations of his identity as the Son of God paired with the tearing open of the heavens and the temple curtain. He does this in order to point us to this reality—Jesus secures access to the Father.[1] Here, I hope to take a deeper dive into what exactly that means for you if indeed your life is hidden in Christ. To do that, I turn to the book of Hebrews.

Drawing Near to God in Hebrews

The book of Hebrews goes to great lengths to exhort Christians to draw near to God. Along with many great promises, Hebrews highlights two foundational reasons for us to draw near to God: (1) Jesus is our great high priest, and (2) Jesus is the perfect offering for sins. These two realities go hand-in-hand. Here we will consider Jesus as our great high priest. In a forthcoming post, we will consider Jesus as our perfect sin offering.

Jesus our Great High Priest

Hebrews 4:14–16—¹⁴ Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

In light of this passage and the reality that God is the source of our life and joy, the natural question is, “Why does Scripture need to exhort us as Christians to draw near to God?” The short answer is, (1) we still sin, and (2) we are prone to unbelief. Thus, in response to a particular sin or sinful moment, the sin of unbelief tempts us to not trust in the work of Jesus. Therefore, we do not draw near to God in repentance. Rather, we often linger just outside the throne room of grace choosing to stay in our sense of guilt. This passage, though, gives us astounding reasons to not hesitate but to instead make a confident mad dash to our heavenly Father, even in the day of our sin. And these reasons find their footing in Jesus as our great high priest.

According to Hebrews 4:14–16, we should draw near to God because of two amazing realities: (1) Jesus is our great high priest, who has passed through the heavens, and (2) Jesus is our sympathetic high priest. Let’s consider these in turn.

Our Great High Priest Who Has Passed through the Heavens

First, Hebrews 4:14 encourages us to hold fast to our confession and draw near to God, because we have a great high priest, God’s own Son, who has passed through the heavens. In order to better understand the significance of Jesus’ high priestly ministry and his passing through the heavens, it is helpful to consider the Old Testament (OT) office of high priest that anticipated him. Thankfully, Hebrews gives us help here.

Recall, the location and length of the OT high priest’s work. He made atonement for the people in the tabernacle or temple. Specifically, he entered into the most holy place, behind the curtain where the ark of the covenant and God’s presence rested. He entered here only once a year (Lev 16:15–19; Heb 9:7). Furthermore, the ministry of each OT high priest only lasted as long as he lived. It was not permanent because he eventually died. Hebrews makes clear, as we will see below, that this location of ministry and this length of ministry were limiting factors with regard to atonement. The work of OT high priests was never going to solve man’s sin problem. The weight of man’s sin against an infinitely holy God demanded eternal priestly work in heaven itself, a place only one of divine nature could enter.

Unlike the OT priests, Jesus passed through the heavens (4:14). That is, in love, God sent Jesus, his Son, to earth in order to die, rise from the dead, and ascend beyond the heavens back into eternity. And Jesus did ascend, passing through the heavens. And he entered into the very throne room of God. And there he lives forever to make intercession for you! Only Jesus the high priest, as fully God and fully man, could enter into God’s presence to minister forever on behalf of men. Hebrews strikes this glorious chord of God’s salvation plan over and over.

Hebrews 7:24–25—²⁴ but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. ²⁵ Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

Hebrews 8:1–2—¹ Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, ² a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.

 Hebrews 9:24—For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

Therefore, we can confidently draw near to God, into his very throne room, because Jesus, the Son of God, our eternal great high priest has gone in before us on our behalf.

Our Sympathetic Great High Priest

Second, Hebrews 4:15 encourages us to draw near to God, because we have a sympathetic high priest in Jesus. Again, Hebrews reminds us of the nature of OT high priests so that we can appreciate Jesus’ priestly ministry all the more.

The OT high priest was able to “deal gently with the ignorant and wayward” because of his own human nature and weakness (Heb 5:2). Now, we might be tempted to think that because Jesus never sinned, he could never relate to or understand our struggles. However, it is precisely the opposite. Because Jesus never sinned, he understands our struggles more than any other high priest ever could. Consider an illustration, which I heard from a former pastor of mine.

Imagine you go to the local fair or circus. There you see a strong man performing great feats of strength. This strong man takes a sturdy metal bar in his mighty grip. And, using his great strength, he cranks down on the bar until it finally gives under the extreme pressure and bends. This same strong man then takes another metal bar in his hands. Again, he cranks down on the bar using just as much force as before. This time, however, the bar does not bend. So he regathers himself, mustering up every last ounce of strength he has, and he cranks on the bar with greater and greater force. Still, the bar does not bend.

So now, I pose to you the same question my former pastor posed: Which bar endured the most force? Well the answer is obvious, isn’t it? The bar that never bent endured the most force. What’s the point? Well, we, of course, are the bar that bends. When temptation applies enough force on us, we give in to the pressure and sin. Often this does not require much force at all. However, Jesus is the bar that never bent. Because he never sinned, Jesus endured infinitely more pressure from temptation than you or I ever have or ever could. Therefore, Jesus is more intimately acquainted with temptation than any man before or after. Thus, Jesus understands you and sympathizes with you more infinitely and more intimately than you could ever imagine. This is Jesus’ disposition toward sinners. He is sympathetic, understanding, and welcoming.

We can confidently draw near to God, into his very throne room, because Jesus, our sympathetic high priest intercedes for sinners based on his sinless life.

Access Secured

Just as we saw in Mark’s gospel, Jesus our great high priest has opened the curtain to heaven’s mercy seat for us. Notice the purpose of our drawing near in Hebrews 4:14–16. We draw near in order to receive mercy and find grace to help in a time of need. When are we ever in greater need of help than in a moment of sin? Answer: Never. And what awaits us if we will but draw near to God? Answer: The very grace and mercy we need. In Jesus our great high priest, we find abundant reasons to not linger outside the throne room. Just look through the torn opening into the heavenly throne room, as Hebrews 4:14–16 invites us to. What do we see? There we see Jesus, our eternal, sympathetic high priest, sent for us by God, interceding on our behalf. And suddenly, our breath catches in our chest as he turns to look at us with a smile. And we hear an unbelievable, heavenly invitation ring out from the throne of our Triune God, who bids, “Why do you linger? Draw near. And come in boldly, my child. You are welcome here.” Let us heed these words joyfully, especially in the day of our sin.

[1] See Mark L. Strauss, Mark, ZECNT (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014), 72.