Hebrews 4:14 says, “Having therefore a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast the confession.” Christ was sent from God to us through incarnation to be our Apostle. Then He went back from us to God through resurrection and ascension to be our High Priest to bear us in the presence of God and to care for all our needs.
The main function of Christ as the believers’ High Priest is to minister God into them. We need our High Priest to minister God into us. We should forget our environment, weaknesses, troubles, and even ourselves and remember that Christ is our High Priest ministering to us.
According to the Old Testament, whenever the high priest went into the presence of God in the Holy of Holies, he bore upon his shoulders two onyx stones in which were engraved the names of the children of Israel (Exo. 28:9-12). He also wore the breastplate in which were set twelve precious stones engraved with the names of the children of Israel (Exo. 28:15-30). This signified that the people were on the shoulder and breast of the high priest. Now Christ, our High Priest in the Holy of Holies in the heavens, bears us before God. As He bears us in the presence of God, He ministers God into our being.
According to Hebrews 4:14, Christ is a great High Priest. The word “great” here means excellent, wonderful, glorious, most honorable. Christ today is an excellent, wonderful, glorious, and most honorable High Priest. As such a great High Priest, He is great in His person, for He is both the Son of God and the Son of man. He is also great in His work and attainment. His attainment is so high that He has entered into the Holy of Holies in the heavens and has been crowned with glory and honor (Heb. 6:19; 9:24; 2:9).
Hebrews 4:15 indicates that, as our High Priest, Christ has been tried in all respects like us but without sin. Because He has been tried, He is qualified and able to help us who are being tried (Heb. 2:18). Because He suffered trials without being touched by sin, He is equipped to help us pass through trials and to keep us from any entanglement of sin. Furthermore, as the One who has been tried in all respects like us, our High Priest, Christ, is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. He is easily touched with the feeling of our weaknesses and quickly enters into a fellow-suffering with us. Whatever happens to us and whatever suffering we may have, He feels it with us and sympathizes with us.
More concerning Christ as the believers’ High Priest is revealed in Hebrews 7. Christ’s priesthood is divine. For Him to be divine is a matter of constituent, a matter of His having the necessary, basic element that constitutes Him our High Priest. Christ’s divinity constitutes Him a High Priest who is living and full of life so that He may be able to continue His priesthood perpetually. With Christ as the divine High Priest there is no death, for He has conquered, subdued, and swallowed death. Wherever He is, there is life. Having passed through incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection, Christ is fully equipped and qualified to be our High Priest. In this High Priest there is not only no sin but absolutely no death. Death has been completely swallowed up by His divine life.
Christ has not been constituted the High Priest according to the law of letters but according to the power of an indestructible life (Heb. 7:16). Therefore, as our High Priest Christ takes care of us with His indestructible life. In His indestructible, eternal life we participate and enjoy Him as our High Priest.
Hebrews 7:25 tells us that our High Priest is able to save us to the uttermost. The Greek word translated “uttermost” also means completely, entirely, perfectly, for all time and eternity and to the end. Because Christ lives forever, He is able to save us to the uttermost in extent, time, and space.
Hebrews 7:25 indicates that Christ is able to save us to the uttermost because He is always living to intercede for us. As our High Priest, Christ undertakes our case by interceding for us. He appears before God on our behalf, praying for us that we may be saved and brought fully into God’s eternal purpose. He intercedes for us constantly, knowing how easy it is for us to fall and, once we have fallen, to remain in our fallen state. Truly we are saved by His intercession. God has appointed Christ to take care of us, and He is now caring for us by interceding for us. He is interceding for us, and He will save us to the uttermost.
Hebrews 7:26 says, “Such a High Priest befits us, holy, guileless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and become higher than the heavens.” As the One who is holy, guileless, undefiled, and separated from sinners, Christ is the perfect One, and He surely befits us. Moreover, in His ascension He has passed through the heavens. Now He is not only in heaven but is also higher than the heavens, far above all the heavens (Eph. 4:10). Because our High Priest is higher than the heavens, He is able to rescue us and save us to the uttermost.
In 2 Corinthians 11:2 Paul says, “I am jealous over you with a jealousy of God; for I betrothed you to one husband, to present a pure virgin to Christ.” Here we see that Christ is the believers’ Husband, the unique Husband for us to love. We should belong only to Him, and we should appreciate Him and love Him. As our Husband, Christ has attracted us, and we have been presented as a pure virgin to Him. Now we should care only for Him, allowing nothing to replace Him in our hearts. Our love for Him should be pure, and our whole being should be focused on Him.
The word of John the Baptist in John 3:29 indicates that to the believers Christ is the Bridegroom: “He who has the bride is the bridegroom.” The bridegroom is a most pleasant person, who comes for the bride. The believers as a corporate bride are prepared for Christ. To us He should be the attraction, the pleasure, and the satisfaction. All the believers should enjoy Him as such a pleasant Bridegroom.
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