Hebrews 4:14-16 (HCSB)
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let us hold fast to the confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time.
The high priest was a revered figure in all Judaism, more for the calling on his life than for the person himself. The high priest, as the only one who could go into the holy of holies in the temple to make atonement for the people in God’s very presence, was seen as the most holy person in the world, the key mediator between God and mankind.
But for all the glory and eminence of his position, every high priest was, in the end, simply a man, a fallible human being, who needed God’s mercy and forgiveness just as much as the men and women he represented before God.
But Jesus was completely different. In Jesus, a new high priest was available who not only could approach God’s throne on behalf of sinful mankind. He actually lives forever in God’s presence, so He can continually intercede for humanity. He can atone for the sins of the world because He had not a single sin of his own that required atonement.
But at the same time, Jesus was not so high and mighty that he could not relate to real people. He was not so far above humanity that he could not understand suffering, or pain, or the deep struggle against sin. Jesus had been a real human being for more than thirty-three years. During that time, He had experienced pain, and suffering, and weariness, and even temptation, just as strongly as anyone. Yet, despite all that, He never sinned, not even once. Thus, He knows how to live genuinely holy life in the midst of living, and can help those who seek Him to do the same.
Because Jesus really was a real human being, no one who goes to Him humbly need fear being rejected or rebuffed. He is loving, merciful, and full of grace. And He will receive and show grace and mercy to anyone who turns to him wholeheartedly.
Father, it is so easy to slide off the true path into one ditch or the other. Some so deify Jesus, put Him so far above mere humanity, that they see Him as too high and holy for mere mortals ever to approach. They see it necessary to enlist the aid of saints and angels to act as go-betweens, to convey their needs and request to the Savior who they do not dare to approach in their sin and dirt. Others so humanize Jesus that they effectively demote Him to a mere human being, a good man, a great teacher, but fallible, and perhaps even sinful in His lowest moments. But both pictures are wrong. In Jesus we have the perfect amalgam of God and man. He was a real human being, but never sinful. He was God in the flesh, but He is completely approachable and relatable, with no go-betweens required. In a very real sense, Jesus made God approachable for all mankind – for any who will approach Him humbly, repentantly, seeking His forgiveness, His grace, His love. Thank You for a Savior like that! Amen.