Brethren, since we have a high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this he is bound to offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. And one does not take the honor upon himself, but he is called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “Thou art my Son, today I have begotten thee”; as he says also in another place, “Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek”.
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Have you ever stopped to consider just how difficult life must have been for the early Christians? The early Christians were predominantly Jewish. They lived in a Jewish world and their temperament and understanding was suffused with Jewish thinking. Here they were, being thrown out of the synagogues and resented by all believing Jews. Taking into account their personalities and their understanding that God expressed his displeasure by manifesting suffering to his people, they would have been quite confused, perplexed and bewildered by what was going on around them. Put yourself in their place – reviled and shunned by family and friends who continued to live their life under the old covenant, they would have been under great pressure to give away the idea of Christianity and return to living under the law.
In the face of that the author of Hebrews had to use every means at his disposal to persuade these faltering Jews that maintaining the faith in Jesus Christ was worthwhile because Christ was the heir to the promise – eternal life for whomever believed in him. Thus, there was a need to provide hope, consolation and support for these early Christians. The central message thus given is that Jesus, the son of God, shares and continues to share in our human nature; which nature, he had received from the Virgin Mary. In addition Christ was pre-eternal God, which divine nature he always had, and as God/man he remains as our High Priest and he continues to care for and offer intercession for those who believe in him. Thus the early Christians are exhorted to hold fast to what they had been taught by Paul.
Paul declares that Moses had given the law, but Jesus was vastly superior not only to Moses, but also to his successor Aaron and to all the priests of the old covenant. After all, Aaron and the priests could enter the Holy of Holies and sprinkled the sacrificial blood on the mercy seat once a year. In Christ we have the greatest high priest who entered the ultimate holy of holies; that is, being in the presence of and before God the Father, where he continues to remain as God/man.
Therefore, so long as we hold fast to our confession which we made at our baptism, which baptism identifies and marks us as followers of Christ, it is possible for us also to enter into the heavenly kingdom that our great High Priest leads us to. This entering into rest is the reward of our following Christ. Therefore, we should be emboldened to come before the throne of the Lord. For if we approach in confidence and faith, then mercy will surely be given to us.
So, what is a priest? A priest is taken from among men and is appointed by God to represent the people before God. He accomplishes this representation by offering gifts and sacrifices to God on behalf the sins and failings of the people. This is the liturgical function of priesthood. Of course, priests are men and, as men, they are sinners and thus are able to, and should, have compassion towards their fellow sinners. Hence a priest must be moderate in his judgement of the sins of others but at the same time not be overindulgent. Indeed, it is the role of the priest to steer the middle road, which road is narrow. However, for those who are ignorant of God or have gone astray for one reason or another, and hence may have not sinned knowingly or deliberately, there is hope for reconciliation and mercy. Such is the greatness and love that Christ has for us all. After all, Christ himself was tempted by the devil. In the beginning of the Gospel of Luke we have the temptation of Christ. However, the difference between Christ and us is that we succumb to temptation which Christ does not. That does not mean that Christ doesn’t understand our weakness, even he rejected sin. Christ does not apply the same standard or expectation of you and me. He allows for human frailty and weakness.
That said, Christ is poured out as an offering for you and for me. Christ is compassionate and merciful. He is our High Priest. In contrast, the priesthood of man, personified by Aaron, comes from man so Aaron’s offering was vastly inferior to that of our high priest. Christ indeed, like Melchizedek is both King and God. You will recall in the book of Genesis when Abraham went to meet him, Melchizedek, King of Salem, bought out bread and wine. These two elements are the same two elements that we consecrate at the Divine Liturgy into the body and blood of Christ. Melchizedek, who blessed Abraham, and in return Abraham gave him a tenth of everything, is identified as being without genealogy. Genealogies relate to you and me and refer to our ancestry. We all come from someone and like a chain our ancestry goes back to the first man and first woman. That is our genealogy defining both who we are and who we belong to. Christ on the other hand is begotten of God the Father and is true God of true God. Christ is co-eternal with the Father and as co-eternal is both imminent and transcendent. That is, God is both within and outside of time. As God/man Christ was blessed and the author of Hebrews makes the point that it was God the Father who said: today you are my son. Today I have begotten you and, further, you are a priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
So, to those Jews who were being persecuted out of the synagogues and who were reviled and persecuted by other Jews who still persisted in the old covenant, Paul’s message is plain: do not be confused, perplexed or bewildered because in Christ we share in an infinitely greater priesthood than any priesthood that comes from man. Man is subject to sin and cannot provide life everlasting; however, our high priest, who is eternally in the presence of the Lord God the Father, can give us mercy, grace and more importantly, life everlasting.
