Hebrews 7:23-28 "The Great High Priest"

One of the requirements of the first year of Seminary was that we had to take an on-line test to see what our biblical literacy was. The test was multiple choice. I didn’t worry too much about it because I’m good with Bible stories and the test was mainly about who was in what Bible story and about when did certain things happen. But there was one part of the test that I dreaded: the where is it written” part. We were allowed three or four mistakes throughout the test if we were to pass it. This section gave a scripture verse and you had to type in the book and chapter and verse where it was found. I must be brutally honest, I’m never good at this. My dad taught me when I was young that the next best thing to knowing the answer to something is knowing where to find the answer. And that’s what I figure the Bible’s for. If someone asks me where a verse is, I can find it. I can usually narrow it down to the book its in and then I can skim through the book and find the chapter and verse. But this test expected me to have the book, chapter and verse down to a random group of well-known scriptures. I knew that taking the test was going to be luck of the draw for me. There were five of these verses on the test. This meant that I needed to get at least two of them right and get nothing else wrong on the rest of the test.

Well, I got lucky and ended up getting a few easy scriptures in the mix that I knew and I passed the test on my first try. Part of me sighed with relief. Another part of me thought that the test was too easy. After all, don’t you think that pastors should know the Bible inside out if they are going to be teaching from it? Well, like most people in the academic world, I found myself wanting them to make the requirement harder… after I had fulfilled the requirement.

In today’s scripture we see Jesus referred to as the great high priest. And yet he did not have any sort of seminary education. He did not have any sort of specialized learning that allowed him to take that role. Oh, we know that Jesus knew his Old Testament well, after all, he taught it to his followers in a powerful way. But this isn’t what made him a great high priest. And it wasn’t an online test he took either. No, it was Jesus’ humility and sacrifice that allowed him to be the great high priest that pleads our case before the judgment seat. And it was this same humility and sacrifice that allowed Jesus to invite us into that same relationship with his Father.

I. Pastor / Prophet / Priest

There are often two different roles or descriptions for those who lead worship. Often they are separated by denomination, but really, when you look at them they are actually different descriptions that define different roles that are played by the leadership of the church.

These two words to describe the one in leadership in the church are pastor and priest. Sometimes, in talking about the role of a pastor, we will add the role of prophet into the mix as well. Often, in protestant churches, we refer to the pastor as a pastor. In the Catholic or Orthodox Church or even in high Episcopal churches, the term priest is used. If you don’t mind, I’d like to explain the difference between these.

A pastor is a shepherd; a pastor is someone who cares for the flock that God has given them. A prophet is someone who brings God’s message to the people. And a priest is someone who comes to God on behalf of the people.

Now, when we look at Jesus we see that he has filled all of these roles to a certain extent.

Jesus is the ultimate pastor. A pastor is a shepherd. Jesus is the great shepherd. He cares for his flock. He chases after the lost sheep and brings it home safely. The question that I have for you today is how has Jesus been a pastor in your life? How has he cared for you? What has he done to show you that you’re special and unique and one of his children? You see, sometimes we don’t pay attention to Jesus, we don’t stop and rest and have that Sabbath that gives us the opportunity to see Jesus working in our lives in those places where we need him most. But he is there, being our shepherd, being our pastor.

Jesus is our prophet. I don’t know if you remember, but Hebrews 1 started off by saying this, “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.” Jesus has spoken God’s word to us. We already spent a couple weeks looking at what it means to have the word of God spoken to you. It is a powerful thing. It is a life-changing thing. When God’s word comes forth, things happen. In Genesis 1 we see God saying something… and then we are told that it happens. God speaks the world is created. God’s word is powerful and mighty. And it comes to us through Jesus. My question to you is whether you allow Jesus’ words to have this much power in your life? Do you listen to what Jesus has to say and accept that there is power in them?

To be perfectly honest, Jesus has some very crazy things that he says throughout his ministry. We spent last Sunday in Confirmation looking at one of these areas. We looked at Luke 6:20-34. We sometimes take for granted what Jesus says and don’t realize how crazy he really is. He says that it is good to be poor and sad and hungry and hated. Say what? It gets worse, Jesus goes on to say that trouble’s going to come if you’re rich, well fed, laughing, praised by those around you. Jesus doesn’t stop the crazy talk there, though. He says that you are supposed to love your enemy, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Huh!?!

Do we treat Jesus’ words as powerful? Do we let Jesus be God’s prophet to us? God used to speak to his people through prophets in many times and various ways but in these last days he speaks to us through his Son. And he says absolutely crazy things.

So, if Jesus is our pastor and Jesus is our prophet… perhaps one of those crazy prophets who sat up in the hills in uncomfortable clothing and seemed to make no sense at all, then Jesus also must be our priest.

The role of priest is very different than the other roles we were talking about. Those other roles were all about Jesus coming to us with God’s Truth and God’s love. But the role of priest is to come before God on our behalf and speak for us. And when we look at the story of Jesus’ life, we discover that he did much more than just speak on our behalf. Last week, I talked about the fact that Jesus does come before God on our behalf. He prayed for us even while he was on this earth. He asked God to be with us and to make us his children. I described this in a fairly casual way. I pictured Jesus heading up to his Father and saying, “Hey Dad, these folks, they’re with me.” Now, I think this is a fairly accurate way to describe Jesus’ going before God on our behalf. I think it helps us to see what Jesus did for us in a new light and that can be helpful. But I don’t want you to think that it is that simple for Jesus. Jesus didn’t just need to speak to his Father for us… he needed to do something a whole lot more powerful than speaking to God.

Last week I talked about our salvation through Jesus relationally. This week I want to talk about it theologically.

II. Jesus’ Sacrifice

Let’s face it, we all believe that Jesus died for us, but we aren’t all sure exactly what this means. I mean, we know that he died on a cross and somehow took our sins upon himself, we think that perhaps he might have gone down to hell for a couple days and then he rose from the dead on Sunday morning and somehow, this process means that we can have eternal life. It’s all a bit mysterious and, lets be honest with ourselves, quite strange.

We believe that Jesus’ death on the cross somehow saves us, and we should, for that’s what the Bible tells us, but we don’t exactly know how. There are a number of ways that this is discussed in different circles. Some hold to a substitutionary atonement. This says that what Jesus experienced on the cross was really what you and I deserve to experience for our own sins. And Jesus suffered in our place, he substituted himself for us, so that God’s righteous anger could be satisfied. Substitutionary atonement makes a lot of sense to me. We see glimpses of it throughout scripture, but I don’t believe that it’s the whole story.

So, substitutionary atonement makes sense to a certain degree, but it doesn’t completely work, thankfully there are a few other theories that help us along as we try to figure out exactly what it is that Jesus did for us on the cross.

There is the idea of looking at what Jesus did on the cross as paying a ransom. This idea has merit also. First of all, it doesn’t paint the God the Father out as the bad guy. It says that sin needs its suffering. Evil, sin, Satan has control in this world and is holding each of us as ransom against God. But God sends his Son to be ransomed for each of us. This theory actually fits what we’ve been reading in Hebrews quite closely. You see, it is made clear in Hebrews that a blood sacrifice is needed to bring forgiveness for our sins. And Jesus comes and offers his own blood on our behalf. But this concept doesn’t make perfect sense to me either. The most common understanding of what Jesus did on the cross is the idea that Jesus conquered death. If substitutionary atonement has us standing with God’s wrath as the enemy and the ransom atonement has evil or the devil as the enemy, this view places death itself as the enemy. Jesus conquered death with his own death by being resurrected and therefore offers that same resurrection to each of us. It’s powerful stuff, but not even close to what we find in Hebrews.

There are other theories as to how it is that Jesus saved us on the cross: some of them good, some of them bad. I personally like what Brian McLaren does in his book, The Story We Find Ourselves In. He introduces six different theories of atonement and he describes them as windows that you are looking out of as you attempt to see the sky. The sky is out there and it is complex and beautiful, but the windows that we look out of only give us a glimpse of what it is that Jesus really did for us. These theories of atonement are glimpses of what it is that Jesus did for us on the cross. The theories emphasize different aspects of God’s love and justice and power and they are worth wrapping your head around, but, in the end we are attempting to explain something that is truly beyond us.

In the end what we see is that Jesus lived a perfect life while he was on this earth. God became man and dwelt among us. Jesus experienced the things we experience and lived the lives we live. And then, on the cross, he made the ultimate sacrifice for us; bringing salvation to anyone who has faith in him. And then, through the miraculous power of heaven, he was raised from the dead, conquering death itself. Jesus sacrificed for us as our great high priest and it is truly an amazing thing. But it’s not the end of the story, either.

For Jesus has more planned for us as well. We find salvation through Jesus. We find peace and hope because Jesus is willing to be there on our behalf. But Jesus calls us to an exciting life as his followers. He promises great things to us, “I go to prepare a place for you, so that where I am you may also be!” And he exhorts us to have faith and be faithful in our own lives. We are called to share Jesus with those around us who need him.

You see, going back to those three roles that Jesus filled, the roles of pastor, prophet and priest; he calls for all of us to be those things for each other. Let me explain. Jesus wants us to be priests for each other. God wants us to stand up for each other before God. We don’t need to be the high priest like Jesus was, but we are called to intercede with God on each other’s behalf. How do we do this? By praying for each other. Remember James 5? We are called to share our needs and requests with each other so that we can pray for each other, so that we can lift each other up before God. We are all priests to this world. And the way to be the priests that we are called to be is to pray for the world around you.

We are all prophets to the world. Jesus wants us to share his word with those who need to hear it. Some of us are better than others at this, but we each are called to share the Truth of God with those around us.

And we are all pastors to the world. We are all called to share God’s love with those around us. This is about caring for those who are in need: the weak, the hungry, those in prison. This is about being sure that the lost are found.

So, Jesus does so much for us. On the cross he sacrificed everything for his people. And we realize that he was setting an example that his followers, we, are called to live up to. Jesus is pastor, prophet and priest. And he asks the same of each of us. But I have good news for you… there is joy in the service of God. Amen.