Devotional
Daily Bible
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 sympathise 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.
First, our High Priest has passed through the Heavens. Christ isn’t merely a man bound to the earth, far from the presence of the Father; but rather he sits on the right hand of the Father – as close as one can get. Our High Priest, unlike Aaron, which the author compares Christ with, hears every prayer we raise up in His Name. And he represents them to the Father with great wisdom and insight. Furthermore, the writer says that when our High Priest hears, He does so with great sympathy and understanding.
He was tempted in all things of life, the very same temptations you and I have experienced in our lives. This means he knows that moment when we are drawn away by sin, though He himself was never drawn away by temptation. The writer is arguing that we must seek His guidance and power and intervention while we are encountering the temptation, not afterward. He says we should draw near to the throne of grace with a confidence that the Lord will hear and respond and equip us to receive a better judgment
This means Jesus knows how you feel: and He is prepared to equip you supernaturally by the Spirit to succeed where before you have failed, because he is our intercessor with the power to change our walk of life. But we must draw close to Him in that moment of need. So the next time you face temptation to sin, take a moment and pause in your tracks; we must lift a prayer up to the Father, in the name of Christ. We ask Him to stop the temptation, to grant you victory over it. And watch the Lord respond to ensure you receive a better judgment.
Adapted from the late Steve Armstrong: Verse By Verse Ministeries. https://versebyverseministry.org/lessons/hebrews-2014-lesson-4b
The King of love my shepherd is,
whose goodness faileth never.
I nothing lack if I am his,
and he is mine forever.
Where streams of living water flow,
my ransomed soul he leadeth;
and where the verdant pastures grow,
with food celestial feedeth.
Perverse and foolish, oft I strayed,
but yet in love he sought me;
and on his shoulder gently laid,
and home, rejoicing, brought me.
In death's dark vale I fear no ill,
with thee, dear Lord, beside me;
thy rod and staff my comfort still,
thy cross before to guide me.
Thou spreadst a table in my sight;
thy unction grace bestoweth;
and oh, what transport of delight
from thy pure chalice floweth!
And so through all the length of days,
thy goodness faileth never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing thy praise
within thy house forever.
