Grace, mercy and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
In the days of his flesh, Jesus
offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was
able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned
obedience through what he suffered. And
being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey
him, being designated by God a
high priest after the order of Melchizedek (Heb 4:14-16, ESV ).
Since then 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 is unable to sympathize with
our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet
without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that
we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Heb 5:7-9, ESV ).
Hold fast our confession. Hold fast the same word we
received together, the same word we say together, and the same word we live
together. We are admonished to hold fast to that word because we are tempted in
subtle and large ways, tempted to give in, to give up, to go belly up in the
battle. Hold fast our confession! Hold
fast to what you received, to Him who faithfully grasps you with His love.
Do you notice the apparent paradox – Scripture tells us our
salvation is all God’s doing, if we are damned it is our own fault. He who
justified sinners like us, grasps us, holds us, brings us into the kingdom of God
That confession is stated in as few words as Jesus is the
Christ, and as many as in the Book of Concord; for the church has always
confessed. The faithful have always confessed, from Old Testament times until
Christ returns. Hold fast the confession that the Living God revealed to us. In
Scripture we have succinct summaries of the faith wherever God’s people gather,
such as “Hear O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Dt. 6:4). And, Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the
Living God” (Mt 16:15 -16);
and “every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is
from God…” (I Jn 1) And “…baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit…” (Mt 28:20)
And “if you confess with your mouth
that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved” (Rm 10:9). And “He was manifest in the flesh, justified by
the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the
world, taken up in glory.” (I Tim 3:16) As the church was
forced to deal with heresies, they confessed what Scripture proclaimed,
summarizing in the words of the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the
Athanasian Creed. The controversies of the 1500’s gave birth to the Augsburg
Confession. Such statements are worth of your study, that you know the
confession of the church, so that you may hold fast. We even decorate our
building to confess; for example, the chancel wears the colors of suffering to testify Jesus Christ died to save sinners.
We confess this from Ash Wednesday to Palm Sunday, through Maundy Thursday, to
Good Friday, and then gloriously confess the Resurrection in white and gold.
We
would have nothing to confess if our Lord had not suffered, died, and
rose. We would have no great high
priest. But we do have a Great High Priest. And we need one, for He alone
entered into the true Holy of Holies and offered a final and complete sacrifice
for the sins of the people. This High Priest mediates between God and sinners,
for he alone may approach the Holy God.
So in olden times the High Priest of old foreshadowed the coming Christ.
He offered sacrifice for the sins of the people, and his own. He entered the
holy of holies once a year to make atonement. He prayed for God’s people, for
their forgiveness and cleansing. He declared God’s good will toward His people,
sending them away in peace.
But this only foreshadowed the great High Priest, the true
High Priest. Jesus, the Son of God, one
with the Father… and also true man. He sympathizes with our weaknesses being
tempted in all respects as we are. Jesus
understands our troubles, even if He never gave into temptation (as our gospel
reading details). That alone means He suffered more than any of us. For when
you are tempted, is it hard to resist? How often do you give in to escape the
pressure; or have you endured to the point of shedding your blood? And if you
fall, do you confess to your High Priest, the one who suffered in order to
absolve your guilt? He understands our trials and our failing, for as Rm. 8:3
tells us, he took on the likeness of sinful
flesh. Although God’s Son, Jesus learned obedience through what he suffered,
for this was the Father’s will. He prayed with strong cries and tears to the
one able to save him out of death. “Father if it be possible, let this cup pass
from me, but not as I will, as thy will.” Tempted to save Himself He prayed,
“The cup that my Father has given me, shall I not drink it?”
He knows better than we our weaknesses, fears, sorrows,
frailty, and temptations, since he bore them. He was tempted in all respects as
we are, and thank God, did not sin. Therefore, not only can he sympathize, He
is worthy to be the great high priest.
No other priest appointed by God could say that. All others pled for the sins of the people
and offered up sacrifices for their own.
But Jesus, the Great High Priest, is worthy to speak to God. He is the
worthy sacrifice. He is worthy because he obeyed the Father. Therefore He
became the source of salvation to all who obey Him, who believe in Him. This
Great High Priest passed through the holy of holies, through the curtain of the
Temple
Now we approach with confidence the throne of grace, and
receive mercy in time of need. This is the confession given us, the confession
we say together, believe together, having received it together in the promises
of Baptism. Jesus Christ, the Great High Priest, is your intercessor, your
strength, your hope. Call upon Him and He will hear. Martin Luther put it this way to his
congregation: Why
does Christ suffer? He is a fine, good,
fruitful Tree and has not deserved so stern a sentence; but He suffers it for
our sake. He is now undertaking this
journey in order to carry out His office as Priest; and He intends not only to
pray for sinners but also to sacrifice His body and life on the altar of the
cross so that God will be appeased through this sacrifice and poor sinners will
be freed from the wrath of God and be heirs of eternal life. That is why it hurts the Lord to see that we
weep at the sight of His suffering. He
wants us to be glad, praise God, thank His grace, extol, glorify, and confess
Him; for through this journey we come into the possession of the grace of
God. By it we have been freed from sin
and death and have become God’s dear children. (Martin
Luther, SL 13a, 441)
Hold fast, because the one we confess holds us fast. Hold fast by drawing near to the throne of
grace. Hold fast with confidence, because your High Priest intercedes for you.
God’s mercy and grace is for your joy, you, His adopted children. That is what
we are taught to confess. That confession surrounds us today. We partake in
that confession, confessing our Lord’s death, partaking of His Testament. Let
us receive His body and blood for the forgiveness of sins, for life and
salvation; His pledge of eternal life for us.
The peace of God which
passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord
(Amen).
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