DUNCAN/Heard because of His reverence

DUNCAN/Heard because of His reverence

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Please turn to Hebrews 5:1-10. In this passage, the author of Hebrews is explaining to us that Jesus, who was designated by God as high priest in His resurrection as the last great high priest that God would ever give to mankind, is the Savior that we need. And the author of Hebrews shows us that truth in three particular ways. First, in verses 1-6, he reminds us that we have a compassionate Savior who is able to sympathize with us when we face the temptation to sin. Next, in verse 7, he tells us that we have a Savior that understands what it means to submit to the will of God. Finally, in verses 8-10, he reminds us that we have a Savior who understands suffering. In relation, the author of Hebrews encourages us to remember that Jesus suffering bore fruit in an obedience that saves you and me if we truly believe that Jesus is the Savior we need.

I. Jesus is a Compassionate Savior.

In Hebrews 5:1-6, the author of Hebrews explains that a human high priest could "deal gently with the ignorant and wayward since he himself is beset with weakness." Now you may say to yourself, "How can Jesus relate to me because He is sinless? He is not like the human high priest who was beset with weakness and who had to offer up sacrifice for his own sins as well as for our sins." In Hebrews 4:15, the author has already said, "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." As he speaks about human high priests in verses 1-6 of chapter 5, the author of Hebrews is emphasizing that we have a compassionate Savior who is able to sympathize with us in our struggle with sin.

But you may ask again, "How can that be since Jesus did not sin?" And the answer is that Jesus' perfection did not limit the intensity of His experience in temptation; it enhanced it. And therefore, Jesus' perfection did not limit His ability to sympathize with us in our struggle with sin; it enhanced it. The author of Hebrews is saying to us here in Hebrews 5:1-6 and especially in verses 2 and 3, following on what he has just said in Hebrews 4:15, "Jesus can relate. He knows how to sympathize with you in your struggles with sin. He knows what it is like to be tempted." Jesus' whole life was one of temptation. None of us have ever gone through a nanosecond of what Jesus went through and that is why He can say to you, "I know what it is like to be you. I know what it is like to be tempted. I can sympathize with you in your struggle with sin because, child, I have experienced things that, thank God, you will never experience. And I know some things about how to fight sin. In fact, I conquered sin for you." As believers, we have a Savior who can relate to us, who understands what it is like to be in our skin, and who knows what it is like to fight against our temptations.

II. Jesus Understands Submission.

In Hebrews 5:7, the author says, "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." He is reminding us that Jesus was heard because of His fear of God and because of His piety. However, he is also telling us that we have a Savior who understands what it means to submit to the will of God. As Christians, one of the hardest things to do in our lives is to trust God and to submit ourselves to His will when we do not understand what He is doing in our lives and when His answers to our prayers are not the answers that we have planned out for His answers to our prayers. And the author is saying to us, "You have a Savior who understands that."

Hebrews 5:7 is reflecting very evidently on the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prays to His Father, "If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me." And the Father's answer is, "No." Have you ever cried out to God with loud tears, "Oh God, heal my body!", "Oh God, bring my children to faith in Christ!", "Oh God, fix my marriage!", or "Oh God, just give me a job!" And you received the answer, "No." The author of Hebrews is saying, "Jesus understands that. He knew what it was to submit Himself to the will of God." Do you remember the rest of that prayer? "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not My will but Thy will be done." To that part of the prayer, the answer was, "Yes," but to the "let this cup pass from Me," the answer was, "No." You have a Savior who knows what it is to live right there. Is it not that one of the great challenges of the Christian life is to keep believing, to keep trusting, and to keep submitting yourself to the will of God when you do not like what is happening to you, when you do not understand what is happening to you, and when you are not getting the answer to prayer that you want? The author of Hebrews is saying that the second person of the Trinity can relate to you there and that Jesus knows what it is like to hear "No" and submit Himself to God's will. Jesus is the Savior we need.

III. Jesus Understands Suffering.

In Hebrews 5:8, the author says, "Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered." This verse does not mean that Jesus was not obedient and then suffered and then became obedient. It does mean that the totality of His obedience was not perfected until He had undergone all the experiences of suffering up to and including the humiliation that He endured on the cross. In the totality of His life, Jesus obeyed God's Word and in His suffering, culminating on the cross, He bore in His own body the penalty for our breaking of the Word. And thus He fulfilled, in both ways, the Law of God. He kept it perfectly Himself, and He bore our penalty for not keeping it. In the resurrection, God says to all of us, "Behold, the last, the best, and the only priest you will ever need — a Savior who is sympathetic with your experiences of temptation to sin, who understands submission, who has experienced suffering, and who knows how to make it fruitful." Christian, remember that Jesus' submission and suffering bore fruit in an obedience that saves you and me. May we all thank God for His saving grace and truly believe that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.






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