(All Scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated)
Here are two more servings of Hebrew ‘Let Us’, from Hebrews chapter 4:14-16
Seeing that we have a great High Priest who has passed
through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold
fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest
who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in
all points tempted as we are yet without sin. Let us
therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we
may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
The first is in verse 14 – “…let us hold fast our confession.” What is our confession of which we are to hold fast ?
- The author of Hebrews has spent the first four chapters of the book showing the superiority of Jesus! The key word in this section is ‘better’.
✞ Jesus is a better expression of the mind of God
than are the Old Testament prophets! “God, who
at various times and in different ways spoke in
times past to the fathers by the prophets, has
in these last days spoken to us by His Son...”
(Hebrews 1:1, 2).
★ Matthew 1:23, quoting Isaiah 7:14 tells
us, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child,
and bear a son, and they shall call His
name Immanuel, which is translated, ‘God
with us.’”
★ In John 1:1 and 14 we are told, “In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God....And the
Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.”
★ In John 14, Jesus is preparing His disciples
for His departure from them and back to hea-
ven. In verses 7 through 9 we find this
interaction:
Jesus said...“If you had known Me, you
would have known My Father also; and
from now on you know Him and have seen
Him.” Philip said to Him, “Lord, show
us the Father, and it is sufficient for
us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been
with you so long, and yet you have not
known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me
has seen the Father....”
★ Colossians 1:15 – “He is the image of the
invisible God....”
★ According to Hebrews 1:3, He is “...the
brightness of His [the Father’s] glory
and the express image of His person....”
★ Hebrews 1:8, 9 – The Father “...to the Son
says; “Your throne, O God, is forever and
ever....”
You can’t get a better expression of God than God Himself!
✞ Jesus is “...so much better than the angels,
as He has by inheritance obtained a more ex-
cellent name than they.” (Hebrews 1:4).
★ Angels, while very powerful (see II Kings
19:35), are but “...ministering spirits,
sent forth to minister for those who will
inherit salvation....” (Hebrews 1:14).
★ Jesus created the angels! As it says in
Colossians 1:16 and 17:
For by Him all things were created
that are in heaven, and that are on
earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or principalities
or powers. All things were created
through Him and for Him. And He is
before all things, and in Him all
things consist. (see also Ephesians
3:9; Revelation 4:11).
✞ Jesus is better in His humanity than any other
human being!
★ Every other human being is tainted with sin!
(See Romans 5:12; I Corinthians 15:22).
★ For only He had no sin to mar His being!
(See II Corinthians 5:21; I Peter 2:22;
I John 3:5).
★ Only He could be the sinless sacrifice!
He is “The Lamb of God ...slain from the
foundation of the world...who takes away
the sin of the world.” (John 1:29; Reve-
lation 13:8).
★ Hebrews 2:14, 15 – “Inasmuch then as the
children have partaken of flesh and blood,
He Himself likewise shared in the same,
that through death He might destroy him
who had the power of death, that is, the
devil, and release those who through fear
of death were all their lifetime subject
to bondage.”
✞ Jesus is better than Moses in the work of redemp-
tion!
★ As pointed out in Hebrews 3:2, both were
faithful to God in their respective min-
istries! “...Moses was indeed faithful
in all the house [Israel] as a servant...
but Christ as a Son over His own house,
whose house [the Church, His body] we are
...” (Hebrews 3:5, 6).
★ Moses led the children of Israel out of
slavery in Egypt! (See Exodus 3:9, 10).
★ Jesus Christ leads people out of slavery
to sin and into the freedom of eternal
life! (See John 8:34-36; 10:10).
Since the Lord Jesus Christ is better than all that God had revealed before; since He is the best; and having initially put our faith in Him as our Savior – “…let us hold fast our confession…” of our faith in Him! Do not return to the old and inferior ways in which you used to live…the ways of the failed Old Testament religion in which Jewish Christian tried to obey (see Romans 3:20; Hebrews 7:19); and the ways of the world out from which the Gentile believer came (see Romans 6:19-22).
- The second serving of Hebrew ‘Let Us’ is in verse 16, and it is for the believer who is holding fast his or her confession! – “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace….”
✞ ...for two reasons (according to the second half of
verse 16):
★ “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of
grace, that we may obtain mercy....” Mercy is
generally defined as not giving us what we de-
serve! What do we deserve? God’s condemnation,
under which we abide if we only have the old
sinful nature (see John 3:36). As Paul wrote
to the Ephesian Gentiles in Ephesians 2:12,
“...you were without Christ, being aliens from
the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from
the covenants of promise, having no hope and
without God in the world.”
★ “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of
grace, that we may...find grace to help in time
of need.” Mercy can be described as giving us
what we do not deserve! As Jesus said in John
10:10, “I have come that they may have life,
and that they may have it more abundantly.”
The first mention of life would mean eternal
life! Abundant life must refer to life here
and now, for obviously, eternal life in heaven
with the Lord would be abundant! To what abun-
dance then is the author of Hebrews referring?
It is the fruit of the Spirit abundantly mani-
fested in our lives – “...love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentle-ness, self-control ” (Galatians 5:22,
23 – English Standard Version).
✞ Why are we as believers told to “...come boldly before
the throne of grace...”?
★ Because Jesus has made the way! He is the eternal
High Priest who entered the Holy of Holies through
the ripped veil (See Hebrews 10:19-22), and we can
follow Him there!
★ Because He, according to Hebrews 4:15, is the One
“...who can... sympathize with our weaknesses...
[for He] was in all points tempted [tested, tried]
as we are, yet without sin.” Jesus has been there
and done that, and (as they say) bought the tee
shirt! Actually, He purchased the whole wardrobe
of which He now offers us His own robe of right-
eousness to wear! (See Isaiah 61:10; Zechariah
3:1-5).
★ Jesus, being God, is powerful enough to give us
everything we “...need according to His riches
in glory...” (Philippians 4:19).
So come boldly before the throne of grace! Eat heartily of Hebrew ‘Let Us’ in these two servings from Hebrews chapter 4!