III.
(continued) The Promised Rest (3:7–4:13)
D.
(continued) Exhortation to Enter the Rest ()
2.
(continued) () "The Word of God" means anything that God utters …
b.
With "judge," we move to legal terminology. The Word of God passes judgment on our feelings and thoughts. Nothing evades the scope of this Word. What people hold as most secret they find subject to its scrutiny and judgment.
3.
() The same truth is now expressed in different imagery. This time the impossibility of hiding anything from God is illustrated by the thought of nakedness. "No creature" (or "no created being") remains invisible to God. "Hidden" here means that all things are truly naked before God. "Laid bare" is an unusual word, sometimes used of wrestlers who had a hold that involved gripping the neck and brought victory. So, the term can mean "to prostrate" or "overthrow." Most scholars, however, think a meaning like "exposed " is required. It has been suggested that the wrestler exposed the face or neck of his foe by his grip. Another suggestion for the impossibility of hiding anything from God is the bending back of the head of a sacrificial victim to expose the throat. In the end we must declare that the divine author is saying that no one can keep anything hidden from God, picturing “hidden” graphically (with a visual image).
a.
Next, we come to its closing words. The expression is used of accounting, and it seems likely that the translation "Him to whom we must give account" is correct. Nothing is hidden from God, and in the end, we must give account of ourselves to Him. The combination makes a powerful reason for heeding the exhortation and entering the rest by our obedience.
IV.
A Great High Priest (4:14–5:11)
One of the major insights of this letter is that Jesus is our great High Priest. The human divine author proceeds to reinforce his exhortation to enter the rest with a reminder of the character of our High Priest. Jesus is one with His people, and for them He offers the perfect sacrifice. () This is seen largely in terms of the ceremonies in which the role of the high priest (and not simply any priest) was central.
A.
Our Confidence ()
1.
The first point is that Jesus knows our human condition. () It is not something He has heard about, so to speak, but something He knows; for He, too, was human (but without any sin). We may approach Him confidently because He knows our weakness.
2.
() Our confidence rests on Jesus. He is "a great high priest," a title that suggests His superiority to the Levitical priests. He has "passed through the heavens." The Jews sometimes thought of a plurality of heavens (cf. Paul's reference to "the third heaven" in or other Jewish references to seven heavens). Jesus has gone right through to the supreme place. His greatness is further emphasized by the title "Son of God." All this is the basis for an exhortation to hold firmly to our profession.
3.
() Our High Priest has entered into our weakness and so can sympathize meaningfully with us. He "has been tempted . . . as we are" may mean "in the same way as we are tempted" or "by reason of His likeness to us"; both are true. There is another ambiguity at the end of the verse where the Greek means "apart from sin." This may mean that Jesus was tempted just as we are except that we sin, and He did not. But it may also mean that He had a knowledge of every kind of temptation except that which comes from actually having sinned. Both meanings work well.
a.
Perhaps the writer was not trying to differentiate between the two. At any rate his words can profitably be taken either way. The main point is that, though Jesus did not sin, we must not infer that life was easy for Him. His sinlessness was, at least in part, an earned sinlessness as he gained victory after victory in the constant with temptation that life in this world entails. In fact, the Sinless One knew the force of temptation in a way that we who sin do not. We give in before the temptation has fully spent itself as a rule; only the God-Man who did not yield knew its battle that He repelled when He was on earth.
4.
() Having this High Priest gives "confidence." So, the writer exhorts his readers to approach God boldly. The word "us" does away with the mediation of earthly priests. We can approach God's "Throne of Grace" directly. This expression for God's throne points both to the sovereignty of God and to God's love to people. The rabbis sometimes spoke of a "throne of mercy" to which God goes from "the throne of judgment" when he spares people. The idea here is not dissimilar, even more so since the writer goes on to speak of receiving "mercy". We need mercy because we have failed so often, and we need grace because service awaits us in which we need God's help that we do not deserve. And help is what the writer says we get — the help that is appropriate to the time, i.e., "timely help.
a.
Christians should not be tentative because they have the great High Priest in whom they can be confidant. His successful traverse of the heavens points to His power to help, and His fellow-feeling with our weakness points to His sympathy with our needs. In the light of this, what can hold us back?
B.
The Qualities Required in High Priests ()
The divine author now directs his readers to the qualities required in the well-known institution of high priests, though he confines his attention to the Aaronic priesthood in the Old Testament and does not consider contemporary Jewish priests who fell far short of the ideal. He shows that the necessary qualifications include oneness with the people, compassion, and appointment by God. Then the divine author goes on to show that Christ met all these qualifications.
1.
() The divine author proposes to explore something of the nature of high priesthood and begins by showing that it has both a human and a Godward reference. It is of the essence of priesthood that the priest has community of nature with those he represents. But his work is "things pertaining to God," specifically in offering "gifts and sacrifices for sins." The writer is summarizing the priestly function of offerings.
2.
() "Deal gently with" is not easy to translate; it refers to taking the middle course between apathy and anger. A true high priest is not indifferent to moral lapses, but neither is he harsh. He “can” (is able) to take this position only because he himself shares in the same "weakness" as the sinners on whom he has compassion. This word may denote physical or moral frailty, and the following words show that in the case of the usual run of high priests the latter is included. The earthly high priest is at one with his people in their need for atonement and forgiveness of sins.
3.
() The high priest is required to make offerings for himself just as for his people. () For the Day of Atonement, it was prescribed that the high priest presents a bull for his own sin offering". Only then was he able to minister on behalf of the people. In the matter of sins and of sacrifices, the priest must regard himself in exactly the same way he regards the people. His case is identical with theirs.
4.
() The negative statement immediately refutes any thought that a man can take the initiative in being made high priest. () It is an honor to be a high priest, and this can happen only by divine appointment; the appointment of Aaron sets the pattern. In fact, no other call to be high priest is recorded in Scripture, though we might reason that the call to Aaron was not simply personal but also included his family and descendants. At any rate, the Bible records disasters that befell those who took it upon themselves to perform high priestly duties, as in the cases of Korah (), Saul (), and Uzziah ().
C.
Christ's Qualifications as High Priest ()
Having made clear what is required in high priests, the divine author shows that Christ has these qualifications. Moreover, Christ is both Priest and King, which goes beyond the view expressed in some Jewish writings that there will be two messiahs, one of Aaron and another of David. No other New Testament writer speaks of Jesus as a high priest. It is a highly original way of looking at Him.
1.
() Christ has the qualification of being called by God. There is perhaps a hint at His obedience in the use of the term "Christ" rather than the human name "Jesus." He who was God's own Christ did not take the glory on Himself (cf. ). The writer cites two passages, the first (cf. ). He will later argue that Jesus ministers in the heavenly sanctuary. Accordingly, it is important that Jesus be seen to be the Son, one who has rights in heaven.
a.
The second citation is from . The first verse of this psalm is often applied to Jesus (e.g., ), but this is the first time the Melchizedek passage is used in this way. The psalm says, "You are a priest forever," which is the first use of the term "priest" in this letter (used fourteen times). The divine author uses it of priests generally (; ), of the Levitical priests (, etc.), of Melchizadek (), and of Christ (; ; ). When it is used of Christ, it seems to differ little from "high priest." It is a powerful way of bringing out certain aspects of Christ's saving work for the human race. All that a priest does in offering sacrifice for people Christ does. But whereas priests do it only symbolically, He really effects atonement.
b.
"Forever" is another contrast. Other priests have their day and pass away. Not Christ! His priesthood abides forever. He has no successor (a fact that will be brought out later). He is a priest "of the same kind as Melchizedek" (a better translation than "to the order of Melchizedek," for there was no succession of priests from Melchizedek). Jesus was a priest of this kind — not like Aaron and his successors.
2.
() The divine author turns to the second qualification — Jesus' oneness with humankind. In realistic language he brings out the genuineness of Jesus' humanity. Commentators agree that the writer is referring to the agony in Gethsemane, though his language does not fit into any of our accounts. It seems that he may have had access to some unrecorded facts. It is also possible that he wants us to see that there were other incidents in Jesus' life that fit into this general pattern. "Prayers and supplications" points to dependence on God the Father, who alone can save from death.
a.
There are difficulties at the end of verse . The word "heard" is usually taken to mean that the prayer was answered, not simply noted. Most interpreters agree. But they also contend that the prayer must have been answered in the terms in which it was asked. The problem, then, is that Jesus prayed, "Remove this cup from Me" (); but He still died. All in all, it seems best to remember that Jesus' prayer was not simply a petition that He should not die, because He immediately said, "Yet not what I will, but what You will." The important thing about answered prayer is that God does what brings about the end aimed at, not what corresponds exactly to the words of the petitioner. In this case the prayer was that the will of God be done, and this has precedence over the passing of the cup from Jesus. Since the cup had to be drunk, it was drunk! But the significant point is that the Son was strengthened to do the will of the Father.