Sermon for
Rogate, Easter 6, May 10, 2026
Grace to you
and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age,
according to the will of our God and Father—to whom be the glory forever and
ever. Amen.
Hebrews 7:23-28 23There
were many who became priests because death prevented any of them from
continuing to remain in office. 24But
because this one endures forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25So for this reason he is able to
save forever those who come to God through him, because he always lives to
plead on their behalf. 26This
is certainly the kind of high priest we needed: one who is holy, innocent,
pure, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27Unlike the other high priests, he
does not need to offer sacrifices on a daily basis, first for his own sins and
then for the sins of the people. In
fact, he sacrificed for sins once and for all when he offered himself. 28For the law appoints as high
priests men who have weaknesses. But the
word of the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been
brought to his goal forever. (EHV)
Our holy
High Priest pleads for us forever.
Dear fellow redeemed,
I
wonder how many of you have ever wondered if you were enough. Did you do enough? Care enough?
Love enough? Pray enough? Hardly anyone goes through life fully
confident in everything. There are
likely a few, but most of those may fall into the narcissistic category. But, if you are like me, there are days when
you hurt another person’s feelings, or perhaps you felt lazy. There were days when you grew frustrated with
your spouse, or your children, and certainly most everyone has had moments of
anger that cannot be described as righteous.
Maybe you were tired and became angry or irritated with someone. Maybe you felt weak even when everything
about the day was good. Perhaps you have
felt afraid, ignored, rejected, unloved, unappreciated, or unheard.
All of this stuff, and I
could fill pages more if necessary, comes from sin in the world and sin in each
of us. Born from parents infected with
original sin, we likewise couldn’t avoid that natural enmity with God. Because that is what sin is—enmity with God. It is distrust of God’s providence and mercy.
Our ancient foe loves to
stoke in us those fears and animosity against God. Most people don’t recognize it as such, but
it shows up both in some subtle or more violent ways. Therefore, what is the solution for this
inbred, natural rebelliousness that separated us from God? The world says look inside yourself for the
good. Some say work harder. The devil tries to get sinners to
despair. None of those things help. However, there is One who is continually
working to ease your pain and take away your guilt, for in the throne room of
heaven, Our holy High Priest pleads for us forever.
It is for just these
multitude weaknesses, faults, fears, hopelessness, and outright rebellion that
God gave the office of the priesthood to the Children of Israel. The priest was appointed to intercede with
God on behalf of the people. Yet, a
problem remained. What about those priests’
need for intercession? He, or I should
say they, as the writer here points out, also needed a daily sacrifice to cover
their guilt.
Here is the reality of the
situation. Those priests who served in
Israel from the time of Moses until the day Jesus died on a cross outside of
Jerusalem were offering up sacrifices for the sins of the people and pleading
with God on their behalf, but the sins were not covered by the burning of
animal flesh on that altar. Rather, to
instill faith in God’s mercy, those sacrifices pointed the people forward to
the one sacrifice that truly would cancel the guilt of all people of all
time—the sacrifice of God’s own Son, Jesus.
As the writer points out,
all those original priests died. As
sinners, that was the just sentence for them, just as it is for us. The point of this portion of the epistle is
that Jesus is a different kind of priest.
As the true Son of God, Jesus didn’t have any sin, so when Jesus died,
He didn’t just stay dead. Though Jesus indeed
died, He rose from the grave Easter morning to live and never die again, and “because
this one endures forever, he has a permanent priesthood.” As the Risen Savior, Redeemer, and Son of
God, Jesus lives forever, and more than just living, He reigns at His Father’s
side in heaven, interceding for us with the Father, pleading for our eternal
good. Indeed, Our holy High Priest
pleads for us forever.
The apostle wrote, “Unlike
the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices on a daily basis,
first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people.” Jesus is for sure the One and Only—The One
and Only Son of God by nature—the One and Only begotten of the Father from all
eternity—the One and Only without sin—the One and Only who perfectly loved and
loves us still today. Just as through
the Son all things were created, likewise, through the Son, all things are
redeemed.
As the Son of God and Child
of Mary, Jesus took the human nature into the Godhead becoming true Man as well
as true God, so that He would be under the law that was condemning and
controlling us. Jesus put Himself under
that law so that He could obey and fulfill its demands on our behalf, even the
demand of death for sin. In His case,
though, death couldn’t demand Jesus’ death for His sins for He had none of His
own, so Jesus offered His life for our guilt.
“So for this reason he is able to save forever those who come to God
through him, because he always lives to plead on their behalf.”
For all our guilt, all our
weaknesses, all our failures, shortcomings, transgressions, and even rebellious
acts, Jesus accepted the guilt as His own.
Jesus went to that cross as a condemned criminal and rebel, not because
He was forced, nor even because He was betrayed, though He was betrayed by men
including you and me, but Jesus went to that cross to suffer and die out of a
love for us that will never change.
The Old Testament priests
offered up lambs, goats, calves, and doves that God didn’t need. They offered up those burnt offerings with
the prayers of the people pleading for forgiveness and peace. God accepted those sacrifices, not for their
own merit, but for the sake of Jesus, the Lamb of God.
Consequently, at the end
of their time of service, or the end of their lives, each of those early
priests was replaced by one from the next generation. They died because they each had sin, and so
the line continued from generation to generation. Some were truly faithful men, and some were
scoundrels, but they all died and stayed dead.
But, not Jesus. Though Jesus
truly died, He didn’t stay dead.
The writer wrote, “This
is certainly the kind of high priest we needed: one who is holy, innocent,
pure, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.” This is Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the
Life. “God made him, who did not know
sin, to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in
him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) The
Father counted Jesus as sin so that He could bear the penalty we deserved. At the same time, however, Jesus, when
becoming true Man, remained true God begotten of the Father, and it is because
of the holy, righteousness of God that the Father raised Jesus fully alive and
without any sin clinging to Him after His time in the grave.
Thus, because God Himself
paid the penalty of death for sins, our sin and guilt has been thrown into hell
forever separated from God, even as Jesus rose triumphant, holy, and pure from
the grave in victory over the devil, death, and the penalty of the law. ‘In fact, he sacrificed for sins once and
for all when he offered himself.”
Then, by rising to life again, Jesus has proven to the world that the
penalty for sin has been satisfied in Himself.
To the Hebrews, those Jews
who had become part of the early Christian Church who were then under attack by
those who wanted to draw them back under the law, this letter says, “For the
law appoints as high priests men who have weaknesses. But the word of the oath, which came after
the law, appointed the Son, who has been brought to his goal forever.” The writer was showing them the better
way which is Christ Jesus. Just as you
and I are often under attack by Satan and his hoards, so were those early
Christian believers, but God was not willing to abandon them or us to the whims
of the wicked one. Thus, the purpose of
this letter, and indeed all the Scriptures, is to lead us steadfastly in Jesus.
Dear friends, if ever you
might feel forgotten, ignored, rejected, unloved, unappreciated, or unheard,
remember that Jesus promised, “Ask, and you will receive, so that your joy
may be made complete.” (John 16:24)
Remember His word through Jeremiah, “I know the plans I have for you,
declares the Lord, plans to give you peace, not disaster, plans to give you
hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
Trust that with Jesus, our Great High Priest at His side, “Your
Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:8)
And whenever you feel your
guilt, or even if you don’t feel it but the Spirit moves you to recognize it,
then turn again to your Great High Priest in repentance and humble fear, for Our
holy High Priest pleads for us forever.
For His sake, the Father has counted us as holy and as innocent as
Jesus, for He took our sins upon Himself and having paid the full price for our
guilt rose again pure and holy so that living and reigning eternally at His
Father’s side, He pleads our innocence and answers our every need. “Your sins have been forgiven because of
his name.” (1 John 2:12) Our holy
High Priest pleads for us forever.
Amen.
The peace of God,
which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus.
Amen.
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