Jesus: Our Tempted Yet Sinless High Priest

Hebrews 4:14-16

Main Idea: Jesus, our elder brother and great high priest, was tempted like us but did not sin. As a result, we now have access to God, to whom we can confidently draw near in our times of need.

1. Holding Fast to Our Confession (4:14)
   1. Our confession of the historical Jesus
   2. Our confession of the Christian faith
2. Remembering Our Sinless High Priest (4:15)
3. Boldly Approaching the Throne of Grace (4:16)

The truths and doctrines the author presents in Hebrews 2 undergird the claims and conclusions he makes here in the final verses of chapter 4. Thus, the author uses both chapters to develop the same argument about the function of Jesus’s humanity. They both explain that Jesus had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every respect so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, and so that he might make propitiation for the sins of the people.

Holding Fast to Our Confession

Hebrews 4:14

The words “therefore, since” in Hebrews 4:14 link this section back to the arguments in Hebrews 2. The author now begins to develop the priestly ministry of Jesus in more detail. In Hebrews 4:14 the author identifies Jesus not only as a high priest but as “a great high priest” (emphasis added). High priests are prominent throughout Scripture, but only one great high priest exists—Jesus, the Son of God. As the great high priest, Jesus redefined the office because, even though he was tempted in every way as we are, he never sinned and he has passed through the heavens into the very throne room of God to be our mediator. Later verses also show that this spatial language refers to the fact that Jesus’s priestly work for us did not take place in the earthly tabernacle but in the heavenly tabernacle (Heb 9). Jesus—because he is the great high priest and on account of the superiority of his sacrifice—has entered the actual presence of God on our behalf and has now brought us near to God. The author of Hebrews uses this priestly work of Christ as the grounds for exhorting his audience to “hold fast to our confession.” This confession is a two-fold confession: our confession of the historical Jesus and our confession of the Christian faith.

Our Confession of the Historical Jesus

For the first time in the letter, the author refers to Jesus by name in verse 14. In doing so, the writer makes clear that the historical Jesus is the ground of the believer’s faith. The author declares that the one with the titles “great high priest” and “Son of God” is none other than Jesus of Nazareth—the One who equips us to hold fast to our confession. He reminds us that our faith is grounded in the incarnation that took place in space, time, and history. This verse emphasizes that Christ’s work is not distant from our own experiences. Even though he has passed through the heavens as our great high priest, Jesus identifies with human beings in his own humanity.

Our Confession of the Christian Faith

In addition to our confession of the historical Jesus, the confession also refers to every Christian’s confession of the gospel. In Romans 10:9 Paul says, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” This is the message that makes up the heart of the Christian faith and is what Christians throughout the centuries have been claiming as their confession. The second clause of Paul’s confession—“and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead”—is not a sacred mantra or a kind of secret linguistic key. It is the very identity of the Christ we follow and the very heart of the confession we make. Christians believe and confess Jesus Christ as the resurrected Lord.

Hebrews 4:14 urges Christians not to abandon this confession, particularly in the face of temptation and trial. As we have already seen, Israel’s way of responding to temptation is not one that the author encourages his readers to emulate. Israel let temptation and trial erode their confession in Yahweh. They had heard God speak words from the fire, witnessed the plagues and the parting of the Red Sea, received the covenant passed on by their forefathers, and heard the message of the prophets, yet they failed. They did not hold fast. In contrast, the author exhorts his people to keep clinging to their confession of faith, not by their own strength or through the mediation of a prophet or a priest, but by faith in their great high priest, Jesus, the Son of God.

Remembering Our Sinless High Priest

Hebrews 4:15

Hebrews 4:15 demonstrates the sinless nature of Christ’s high priesthood and continues the exposition of Christ’s humanity started in Hebrews 2:17-18. The author of Hebrews does not engage here in theological theory but instead formulates a real and tangible theology on which readers can anchor their lives. Why do we need a high priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses? Hebrews 4:15 answers that question by explaining that Jesus could not have fully identified with us and fulfilled his ministry of propitiation if he had not also identified with us in our temptations and remained without sin.

This naturally leads to an important theological investigation: What distinguishes temptation from sin? If Jesus was tempted in every way as we are and yet did not sin, doesn’t this logically assume that it is possible to be tempted and not sin? After all, if temptation itself were sin, we would not have a sinless Savior.

The typical understanding of temptation is the enticement to wrongdoing that confronts us every day. We typically think about it in its most graphic forms: the temptation to sin sexually, the temptation to elevate ourselves over others, the temptation to steal and cheat, or the temptation to lash out in anger. Yet when we examine Jesus’s temptations in Matthew 4, we see just how basic temptation can be. That narrative demonstrates that even eating can be a temptation if satisfying physical hunger results in disobedience to God. Thus, Scripture shows us that temptation can take the most graphic of forms and the most basic of forms. Nevertheless, Scripture instructs us to go to Christ when we are tempted because he is the only one who was tempted in every way common to humanity and yet did not sin.

Consider Jesus’s words in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus says that to lust after a woman is to commit adultery in the heart (Matt 5:28). Does this imply that a man commits adultery in his heart every time he sees a woman he considers attractive? The answer cannot be yes because Jesus is not calling men to stop looking at women; he is calling them to fight looking at women with lustful intent. He is calling them to fight the temptation to turn attraction into sin. Every man knows a line is crossed when he moves from an initial attraction to allowing that attraction to captivate his mind with lustful thoughts. When a man crosses that line, he is giving permission to his temptation to manifest itself into full-blown sin. Even without giving himself to that sin in a physical sense, that man is still committing adultery.

Jesus never crossed that line. He was tempted in every respect that we have been tempted, but never once did he permit that temptation to become sin in his heart, in his thoughts, or in his actions. Thus, temptation that resists or rejects sin falls short of sin, while temptation that gives over to sin is sin. In other words, millions upon millions of people who have never committed adultery in the flesh have committed adultery in their hearts. Moreover, every person has in some respect given permission to some temptation to become sin. Thus, the author of Hebrews is exhorting his readers to find rescue from their temptations in Christ, the only high priest who can deliver us from temptation. While temptation may always hinder us this side of heaven, Jesus’s priestly ministry promises that it will never ultimately triumph over those who claim Christ as their high priest.

Amazingly, the author tells his readers that Jesus was tempted in every way that they are tempted, but Jesus never let his temptations cross over into sin. He always resisted. This perfect sinlessness is indispensable to Christ’s ministry as our high priest. If Jesus had sinned, his atonement would not have been sufficient because he could not have propitiated God’s wrath against sin. In Romans 3 Paul explains that God overlooked the sins of the past in his forbearance in order that full atonement would be made in the cross of Jesus Christ. In other words, Israel lived under the threat of the wrath of God day by day. Old Testament priests could only offer sacrifices that would delay God’s judgment against sin. Their sacrifices could only buy time. Jesus’s sacrifice, however, accomplished complete atonement for sin once and for all. This was only possible because he was without sin, totally unlike every other high priest and totally unlike every other human being.

Boldly Approaching the Throne of Grace

Hebrews 4:16

On account of their great high priest who intercedes on their behalf and sympathizes with their weaknesses, the author of Hebrews exhorts Christians to approach the throne of grace with confidence. This throne is the throne of God. For those who are in Christ, God’s throne is a throne of immeasurable grace. At his throne, Christians are able to find grace to help them in their times of need. Even in our weaknesses, we can approach the throne of God with confidence because we know that God has fully and finally put away all of our sin in Jesus Christ, our great high priest. However, for those who are not in Christ, God’s throne is a throne of terrible judgment. At his throne, those who reject Christ bear the full penalty of their sins. For those who reject Christ, the “throne of grace” is a throne of wrath.

Furthermore, the author says that this throne of grace is a place Christians can confidently “approach” in order to find the grace they need to face every situation in life and to receive the mercy they need to cover the sins they commit. If we could not draw near to God with confidence on account of Christ’s work, then the Christian life would be futile and hopeless. We would not dare enter God’s presence if we did not know Jesus as the One who is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Christians have a great high priest, one who has passed through the heavens, atones for sin, and intercedes for us before the Father. Jesus, our intercessor, identifies with us because he experienced in every respect the same temptations that we experience. Therefore, we can come before the throne of God every day as well as on the last day with confidence because we know Christ mediates for us before the Father.

If Christ were not our great high priest, we could not stand before God. We would be cast from his presence for all eternity. And yet, no Christian lives under this threat. Righteous judgment has been replaced by radical mercy. Therefore, let us not shrink from God’s presence. Instead, let us draw near to him with all boldness and confidence, knowing that he is willing to equip us with mercy and grace in our times of need.

Reflect and Discuss

1. Look back to the truths and claims the author makes about Jesus in Hebrews 2. Explain how they complement and fortify the truths and claims he makes in Hebrews 4:14-16. How are the two passages related?
2. What three characteristics does Hebrews 4:14 ascribe to Jesus? How do these attributes and identifications help us hold fast to our confession? How do they help us inform and articulate our confession?
3. Why is it essential that we not compromise on our confession of the historical Jesus and our confession of the Christian faith? How does holding fast to our confession in times of trial and temptation work to reveal the genuineness of one’s faith? Describe a situation in which you’ve seen someone claim the name of Christ and yet compromise on our two-fold confession.
4. Why is it so important that we understand that Jesus can sympathize with sinners? How does that fact affect your outlook on the Christian life? How does it equip you in your fight against sin?
5. Why is Jesus’s sinlessness in the face of temptation indispensable to his identity as the Son of God and as our great high priest? Why do we need Jesus to be tempted in every respect as we are and yet remain without sin?
6. Explain the difference between temptation and sin. How could Jesus be tempted and yet remain without sin?
7. How do the author’s assertions about Jesus in Hebrews 4:15 relate to the author’s exhortation in 4:14? How do the contents of verse 15 help us hold fast our confession?
8. Why are only Christians able to draw near to the throne of grace with confidence? What causes you to be apprehensive in approaching the throne? What things in your life prevent you from approaching the Lord with confidence?
9. Are receiving mercy and finding grace synonymous terms, or do they convey two different realities?
10. How do Christ’s sympathy and sinlessness as identified in Hebrews 4:15 ground the command to boldly approach God’s throne in 4:16?