Text: Hebrews 4:14-16
Date: March 6, 2022
vent: The First Sunday in Lent, Year C
Hebrews 4:14-16 (EHV)
Therefore, since we have a great high priest, who has gone through the heavens, namely, Jesus the Son of God, let us continue to hold on to our confession. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin. 16So let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
We Have a Sympathetic Savior
Sympathy and empathy—caring deeply about someone else’s feelings and current life events—can be a difficult thing to do for many people. For some it comes very naturally, for others, they have to really put in work to put themselves in other people’s shoes and be concerned about what others are thinking and feeling.
But whether it comes naturally or not, sympathy and empathy are things that we should strive for in our lives. We should be more ready to listen than to speak; we should be more ready to adjust our perception than to tell someone else that their experience and feelings are wrong; we should be ready to learn more to better understand where someone is coming from.
In our Second Reading for this morning, the writer to the Hebrews makes it clear that Jesus does not have to work really hard and struggle to try to understand our life situation. He doesn’t need to work at it because he lived it. He experienced it all. He knows it. He knows what it is to be berated by temptation, to feel that pull toward sin every hour of the day. He knows what it is to wrestle with God’s will when it just doesn’t seem to line up with what makes sense from our human perspective. One major difference from us, though—Jesus went through all of this perfectly, never succumbing to these temptations or giving in to sin in word, action, or even thought.
We saw Jesus’ temptation by Satan in the wilderness in our Gospel for this morning. He met every temptation that Satan threw at him with God’s Word. And even when Satan distorted God’s Word to make his temptation to sin seem more God-pleasing than it was, Jesus fought against that as well with clear and actuate teaching. And it’s important for us to remember that those 40 days in the wilderness were not the only time Jesus felt temptation. We know that Satan ended this specific, direct assault on Jesus after our Gospel, but Jesus’ whole life brushed up against temptation from the world and Satan because it’s really no different than what we face in our lives. The writer to the Hebrews summarized it this way: We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin.
But we read that Gospel account, and even read the writer to the Hebrews’ summary of Jesus’ life in a verse like that and it can be deflating, can’t it? I can’t take a stand against Satan like Jesus did. Sure, I can and should answer temptation with God’s Word, and I may have the resolve to say no to sin here and there, but I won’t be perfect. I will fail. Sin will get its hooks in me and I will find myself rebelling against God yet again. I can’t be what Jesus was during his earthly life.
It can feel like we’re engaged in a struggle that we cannot bring to an end. It can feel like we are getting beat down and are destined to fail entirely. So it can be tempting to stop struggling, to just give up and succumb to what may. I can’t beat sin in my life, I can’t stop sinning, so why bother trying?
Well, the writer to the Hebrews tells us we can, in a way, end our struggle, but not because we’re losing. A champion has come onto the scene. Jesus lays his hand on our shoulder, and in this moment we understand why he lived a perfect life during his time with us. We are worn out and spent from the struggle, but Jesus looks you in the eye and he says, “I’ve got this for you,” and then he goes in to rescue us.
Jesus’ battle with sin was real. He was a human being, and in the way that Adam and Eve could have either listened to God or, as they did, disobeyed him, so Jesus could as well. But Jesus is also God, which means that when he chose all the right things, when he lived a perfect life, it was counted for all of us.
And that’s one of the main points that the writer to the Hebrews is making here. It’s easy to get caught up in Jesus’ perfect obedience as a model for us to a follow. In the mid 1990s, there was a trend among Christians to focus on the acronym question, “WWJD?” “What Would Jesus Do?” And that can be useful in some cases, but that view of Jesus’ perfect life is a far secondary thing and actually can distract from the true point of what Jesus did. What Jesus’ perfect life is primarily about is crediting that perfect life to our account. When God looks at you and looks at me he only sees perfection because Jesus has given his life to us.
Because Jesus won. The battle with sin, death, and hell is over. The cry from the cross assures us all is finished. And as we’ll see in just a few weeks, Jesus’ tomb will show just how complete his victory is. And all of this means that we are freed! We have eternal life! Thanks be to God!
But then, look around you. The struggle is supposed to be over, but does it feel like you’re relaxing in Jesus’ completed victory for you? Or does it feel like the hardships endure? Does seem like sin is still vying for you, that temptation still has your number, that you’re constantly engaged and failing in this conflict with sin?
As long as we are in this world, sin will be a part of our lives. Temptation rears its ugly head, our own sinful natures will pull us in directions we shouldn’t go, the world will place its temptations in front of us, and we will fail Satan’s direct assaults on us. So what do we do? What should we be focused on?
The writer to the Hebrews reminds us that we have an ally that knows exactly what we’re going through, Jesus. He knows what we’re going through because he’s been there before: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin. Jesus’ work for us doesn’t mean he yells at us saying, “I could do it, why can’t you?” Instead, we have a Savior who is full of sympathy, who looks at our struggles and his heart bleeds for us. “My dear brother, my dear sister,” Jesus says, “I know exactly what you are going through. It is difficult and feels impossible. Come here and rest with me.”
Jesus is full of compassion for us. He loves us. And because he endured the same suffering that we endure, we can be sure that when we come to him we won’t find someone who has no clue about our lived experience. Even if every other human being seems to misunderstand us or not comprehend the true extent of the hardships we endure, Jesus does. Going to Jesus is going to someone who knows every scrap of what you wrestle with on a daily basis—and has the power to help you.
The writer to the Hebrews encourages us this way: So let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. When we come to Jesus with our failings, with our exhaustion, with all the times we succumbed to temptation, we find in him a heart full of mercy and compassion. We find him full of grace, love that is given to us even though we don’t deserve it. We don’t have to cringe before his power and might as the eternal God. We can approach him in confidence because we know that he loves us.
But it’s not just that he loves us, it’s that he loves us and helps us. The writer of this letter reminded us at the start of our brief reading who it is that we are dealing with: Since we have a great high priest, who has gone through the heavens, namely, Jesus the Son of God, let us continue to hold on to our confession. We have a high priest, an intercessor, a go-between, a meditator, who is not just some guy, but is the Son of God himself, who lives in eternal glory and dwells as the almighty God.
But all of that power, might, and majesty is wrapped in the Savior who loves you, who wants you to have what you need, who cares deeply for you and wants you to be rescued from hell. He is the one who endured all things for you to not only free you from your sin but to be the sympathetic Savior who knows and feels all of your hurts and frustrations. Bring those hardships and failures to him in prayer. Seek out his help directly and through your brothers and sisters in Christ, who can be our Savior’s support and comfort in a very tangible way in this life.
In Jesus, you find forgiveness, encouragement, and the assurance of eternal life because of his life and death for you. Your sympathetic Savior loves you eternally! Thanks be to God! Amen.
