Hebrews

4:14-16

Preliminary Arguments

3. Jesus our Great High Priest, 4:14-5:10

i] Jesus the Son, the great high priest

Argument

Luther, commenting on this passage, made the point that "after terrifying us, the Apostle now comforts us; after pouring wine into our wound, he now pours in oil". Believers are represented before God by a high priest with impeccable qualifications. He comes with a royal warrant, designated as Son of God, one greater than Moses, Aaron and the Levitical priesthood. He is also one with us, having faced the full force of human corruption, and yet without sin. As such, in the struggles of life, he is well able to act on our behalf as our high priest and atone for our sins.

 
Issues

i] Context: See 2:10-18. We now come to the Rhetor's third preliminary argument. The argument moves from cursing to blessing, from judgment to grace. This argument, affirming the glory of God's grace in Christ, covers 4:14-5:10. Jesus the Son of God, our Great High Priest, was made complete through suffering, a suffering that led to glory, so enabling him to act with complete effectiveness for the sins of his people.

Koester suggests that the argument presents in three paragraphs: 4:14-16; 5:1-4; 5:5-10. Thematically, all three paragraphs are similar in that they focus on Christ the high priest, with each paragraph touching on three topics; "the high priest's position, his qualities and the service he offers", Koester. In the second paragraph these topics are inverted, so ABC / CBA / ABC:

Position:

4:14. The Son is a high priest;

5:4. A true priest is called by God;

5:5-6. The Son is called a priest.

Quality:

4:15. The Son empathises with our weakness;

5:2-3. A true priest curbs emotion and

offers sacrifice for himself because of weakness;

5:7-8. The Son offers prayer for himself with cries and tears.

Service:

4:16. The Son provides mercy and help;

5:1. A true priest provides offering for sins;

5:9-10. The Son provides eternal salvation.

 

ii] Background: A general introduction; See 1:1-4.

 

iii] Structure: Jesus the Great High Priest:

Jesus is our great high priest, v14;

He is able to empathise with our sinfulness, v15;

He is able to cleanse us from all sin, v16.

 

iv] Interpretation:

Our author describes Jesus as a "great high priest." In this sense he is similar to Aaron who passed through the inner vale of the Tabernacle and came into the presence of God. There, before Aaron, was the mercy seat, along with the Ark containing the tablets of the Law, his staff and a bowl of manna. On the Ark sat the Lord - it was his throne. Once a year Aaron came before the mercy seat to speak for the people on account of their sins - to seek divine forgiveness and favour. In this sense, Jesus too has passed through the vale; he has passed through the "heavens"; he has passed through the vale of the heavenly realm. Jesus has made his journey through this age and the age to come, through the earth and the dimensions beyond, and he has done so faithful to the divine will. Jesus has remained true to the Father and is now enthroned in his presence as a perfect / sinless High Priest. Therefore, Jesus is well able to act as a high priest and cleanse us from all sin.

 

In v15 we face an issue that has prompted endless speculation as to Jesus' human nature in relation to sin. It is generally accepted that Jesus' incarnation is sinless, but the question remains whether, identified as he is with fallen humanity, was he able to sin? In this verse, the Rhetor affirms that Jesus is identified with humanity, was temped, as are all humans, but that he did not sin. Temptability assumes a capacity to sin, but of course, the argument is far more complex than that.

God possesses the attribute of impeccability, of being unable to sin / not susceptible to temptation, whereas humanity possesses the attribute of peccability. The problem is Jesus is both wholly divine and wholly human. It seems likely, that although Jesus did not possess a sinful nature, he was capable of being tempted to sin - the temptation in the garden of Gethsemane was not role-playing.

I sometimes wonder if this issue isn't confused somewhat by a narrow definition of human sin. Jesus is no goody-two-shoes, he did lose his temper. He wasn't straight with his family on whether he was going up to Jerusalem for the festival. He said he wasn't, and then went up in secret. He did run his parents a bit, although when checked he submitted to them. And that's the issue. Jesus did desperately want any way other than the cup of suffering, but in the end it was "not my will, but thy will be done". Faced with the choice, Jesus was obedient to the Father's revealed will - tempted to rebel, but chose not to.

 
Text - 4:14

Our invitation to the throne of God's grace through our great high priest, v14-16; i] Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the great high priest, v14. Jesus, who suffered as one of us, is now exalted to the royal status as Son of God, "and by virtue of that exalted position, now ministers as our heavenly high priest, providing for the full and final forgiveness of our sins", Moo. Given that our security rests in holding fast to Jesus and all that Jesus has done for us, the Rhetor encourages us to do just that, namely, to hold firmly to the confession of our faith in Jesus Christ.

oun "therefore" - therefore. Inferential, drawing a logical conclusion; It serves to gather up the argument so far as to Jesus' person, in particular his priestly role, 2:17, 3:1, and draws a conclusion. Given who Jesus is, Son of God, our Great High Priest, "therefore let us hold firmly ..." Note the typical New Testament indicative / imperative construction.

econteV (ecw) pres. part. "we have" - having. The participle is adverbial, probably causal; "because we have a great high priest."

megan adj. "great" - a great [high priest]. In the Old Testament, the high priest was literally the "great priest." Here the addition of "great" serves to make Christ's priesthood superior to the Aaronic priesthood, "unique", Harris. He is superior in that he is truly man and truly God.

dielhluqota (diercomai) perf. part. "has gone into / ascended into" - having gone through, passed through. The participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting "a great high priest"; "who has passed through the heavens." The Rhetor is saying that Jesus has passed through the heavens, has come into the throne-room of the living God and is now enthroned there (1:3, 13, 4:16, 8:1, 10:12). In this position Jesus represents us before the Father.

touV ouranouV (oV) "heaven" - the heavens. The plural is used to reflect the Hebrew use of a plural. The plural ("many rooms") doesn't necessarily mean multiple levels in heaven. It may simply be used here of the sky, the canopy around the earth which Jesus passed through during his ascension to the throne room of the Ancient of Days, so NIV11. Yet, Judaism at this time did believe in multiple levels in heaven, even Paul refers to them, 2Cor.12:2. Either way, the Rhetor's emphasis "is not on the process of passage .... but the result - Christ's exalted status", Attridge.

tou qeou (oV) gen. "of God" - [jesus, son] of god. The genitive is adjectival, relational. The phrase "Jesus the Son of God" stands in apposition to "great high priest."

kratwmen (kratew) pres. subj. + gen. of a thing "let us hold firmly to" - may lay hold of, take possession of, obtain, hold fast to. Hortatory subjunctive. The present tense is durative, so probably "hold fast continually". We must never lose our grip of the faith we have professed", Barclay.

thV oJmologiaV (a) gen. "the faith we profess" - of the = our confession, profession. Genitive of direct object. The word can be understood in two ways, either "that which is confessed" or "the act of confessing." The first is preferable, thus "the truths which we confess / profess". In the immediate context they concern the person of Christ, high priest and king. Remaining a child of God and entering his "rest" depends on a tenacious commitment to these truths (the person and work of Christ) - the perseverance in faith.

 
v15

ii] Jesus is able to empathise with our sinfulness, v15. Jesus' humanity enables him to empathise with our daily struggle against sin. Our great high priest is not someone remote and uninvolved in our situation. Jesus has taken upon himself our humanity and become like us, he has gone before us, suffering and facing the very temptations, doubts and fears that we face, and he has done so without wavering in his reliance upon the Father, 2:17ff - firm of faith to the end; He has faced the tests in the wilderness and remained faithful. He fully understands the tests we face: the compromises, the doubts, the acts of wilful rebellion, the anger, even those moments when we curse God; he has faced all these temptations, and yet did not sin. He has stood were we stand.

gar "for" - for. A marker of logical development, , see gar 1:5. Here serving to "support the argument of v14", Harris.

mh dunamenon (dunamai) pres. pas. part. "is unable" - [we do not have a high priest] not being able. The participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting "high priest"; "who cannot feel sympathy", TEV.

sumpaqhsai (sumpaqew) aor. inf. "to sympathise / empathise" - to share an experience with, feel with, empathise, understand from inside. The infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of the participle "being able". Because Christ was exposed to the full force of a world out of control, he is well able to empathise with our struggle to retain our faith in an unseen God, cf., 2:17ff. "We have no superhuman High Priest to whom our weaknesses are unintelligible", Phillips.

taiV asqeneiaiV (a) dat. "with [our] weaknesses" - in the weaknesses [of us]. Possibly a dative of reference / respect, "with respect to our weaknesses", although the sun prefix verb "to empathise with" naturally takes a dative of direct object. Here "weakness" refers to the tendency of God's children, when harassed from within and without, to break covenant fidelity. "We do not have a High Priest unable to feel for us in our weaknesses", Cassirer.

de "but" - but,/and. Here used in a counterpoint construction, "not ....., but .....".

pepeirasmenon (peirazw) perf. pas. part. "we have one who has been tempted" - [but we have a high priest] having been tempted, tested, tried. The participle is adjectival, as for "not being able [to sympathise]." For someone like Jesus, who did not succumb to temptation, the agony of the temptation would be far stronger than we who succumb early in the battle. The test / temptation in mind aligns with the test faced by the wilderness generation, namely, the test of covenant fidelity - they failed to take God at his word; Jesus stayed true to God's revealed will, "not my will, but yours be done". "He has gone through the same ordeal of temptation as we have to go through", Barclay.

kata.... kaq. "in [every way], just as [we are]" - according to [all things], according to [the same likeness]. The repeated preposition, with its different soundings, kata ... kaq, + acc. produces an emphatic punctuated statement; "in every respect, in every likeness, just as we are tested /tempted". So, the same preposition is used first to express reference / respect, and then to express a standard, "corresponding to". Given this fact, Jesus is well able to "empathise" with us in life's difficulties.

cwriV + gen. "yet without [sin]" - apart from, without [sin]. This preposition expresses separation. The phrase can mean either that Jesus was free from the temptation to sin, or that although tempted, he didn't sin. The second is more likely; "except that he never sinned", Phillips. Christ's faith / faithfulness to the Father's will was constantly tested, reaching a crescendo on the Mount of Olives when a way, other than the cup of suffering, dangled before him. Yet, for Jesus it was "not my will, but thy will be done." Jesus faced the full force of temptations, as we all do, but unlike us, he did not succumb to them. Therefore, he is a sinless high priest well able to facilitate atonement for sinners.

 
v16

iii] Jesus is able to cleanse us from all sin, v16. Given Jesus' humanity, enabling him to identify with us in our daily struggles, and given Jesus' royal status as Son of God, and given Jesus' position as a perfect / sinless High Priest well able to atone for our sins, we may confidently approach him for mercy and grace when we are in need of forgiveness.

The Rhetor is not arguing we have in Jesus someone who can empathise with us and give us a helping hand in the stresses and strains of life, he is arguing that, on the basis of Jesus' person and work, we have the confidence to approach God's mercy seat for forgiveness. Again, we see the Rhetor addressing the underlying problem affecting his audience, namely, a lack of confidence in the atonement effected by Jesus

oun "then" - therefore. Inferential, drawing a logical conclusion. Given v14-15, "let us therefore ...."

prosercwmeqa (prosercomai) pres. subj. + dat. "let us approach" - let us go to, come to. Hortatory subjunctive. The word is commonly used of a priestly approach to God, which now through Christ, is available to all believers.

tw/ qronw/ (oV) dat. "the throne" - the throne. Dative of direct object after the proV prefix verb "go to, come to." The image comes from the "mercy seat" in the tabernacle / temple sanctuary which was approached by the high priest on the day of atonement as he sought God's mercy for Israel's sins. "Before the throne of our merciful God", CEV.

thV caritoV (iV itoV) gen. "of grace" - of grace. The genitive is adjectival, descriptive, "a throne which is characterised by grace", or possibly idiomatic / source, "a throne which is the source of divine grace". We may have here a typical Jewish indirect reference to God, so simply "the throne of the gracious God", cf. Isa.16:5.

meta + gen. "with" - with [confidence, boldness]. Here adverbial, modal, expressing the manner of the approach; "we must fearlessly and confidently come to the throne of grace", Barclay. The confidence possessed by believers is "based on the revelation of God in Jesus Christ who restored the relation between God and man", W.C. Unnik.

iJna + subj. "so that" - that [we may receive mercy and may find]. Introducing a final clause expressing purpose, "in order that we might receive .... find ...", but also possibly expressing hypothetical result; "so that we might ..."

carin (iV ewV) "grace" - grace. Mercy, eleoV, and "grace" are chiastically linked in the Gk. text indicating that their meaning overlaps, so Ellingworth. "Mercy" expresses what we receive from God and "grace" expresses the divine act of mercy; "so that God may bestow his gracious mercy upon us when we are overcome by sin.

eiV + acc. "to" - into = for [timely assistance / help]. Here expressing purpose / end view; "with a view to." "And find grace to help us just when we need it", TEV.

 

Hebrews Introduction.

Exegetical Commentaries

 

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