Jesus is the Better Priest | Hebrews 4:14-16
How many of you need a pardon? News about President Biden’s pardons has been circulating for the past couple of weeks. Right before Christmas, he pardoned two turkeys; the week after, he pardoned his son, Hunter going back 10 years. This week, President Biden commuted a single day record 1,500 sentences and pardoned 39 people. Maybe you don’t need a Presidential pardon, but many of us are walking around in the prison of guilt and shame. There are many ways that we feel shame and guilt; let me count them: I need to pray more, I need to work out more, I shouldn’t have said this, I shouldn’t have looked at that, I need to stop doing that, I’m addicted to this, I need to spend more time with my kids, I need to lose weight, I did something bad in my past, I’m not good enough, I don’t know enough, I really hurt people. I hate myself. Shame and guilt keep us hiding. Genesis 3 tells us that when Adam and Eve sinned, the first thing they did was hide. As sons and daughters of Adam, we are just like them. We all know that we fall short regardless of whether we want to admit it publicly. Often, shame and guilt create barriers between us and God; shame and guilt rob you of peace and joy. But Jesus came on Christmas to deal forever with our guilt and shame.
The writer of Hebrews is writing to Christians to encourage them not to give up on Christianity. Many of these believers experienced hardship, difficulty, and the loss of friends because of their faith and personal issues with sin and brokenness. “If God loves me so much, why is it so difficult to follow Him? If I am really a Christian, why am I still broken? Did I make a mistake?” So, throughout the book, the writer of Hebrews reminds us that Jesus is BETTER. He is better than the prophets, better than the angels, better than Moses, better than Aaron, better than Joshua. He is the better Word, King, Prophet, Priest, Promise, and Savior. Why would you leave Jesus if there is NO ONE BETTER than Him? So keep your eyes on Him, and don’t let go. Hebrews 4 teaches us that we can have confidence to get mercy and help despite our sinfulness because we have a great High Priest, who is God, to advocate for us and Man to sympathize with us.