Hebrews 4:14

DIVISION III

CHRIST IS A BETTER HIGH PRIEST (Hebrews 4:14-7:10)

Having then a great high priest who hath passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. (Hebrews 4:14)

The author introduces in this verse the theme of Jesus as the great high priest and proceeds to elaborate the reasons of great superiority over any other. Jesus' passing "through the heavens" contrasts with Aaron's merely passing beyond certain enclosures in the tabernacle; nor should people be careful to determine just how many heavens Jesus passed through, if three or seven, according to the Hebrew speculations about such things; because, as a matter of fact, Jesus Christ has ascended far above "all heavens" (Ephesians 4:10), as Paul said; and a little later in this epistle it is said that Christ is made "higher than the heavens" (Hebrews 7:26). On the plurality of heavens, Bruce wrote that "the plural `heavens' as regularly used in the New Testament and the Septuagint, reflects the Hebrew word use in the Old Testament, which is always plural. What is emphasized here is his transcendence."[10] The holding fast of the believer's confidence corresponds with what was written earlier in Hebrews 3:6,14. Throughout Hebrews, the weight of responsibility for faithfulness is made to rest upon the diligence and alertness of the believer himself; and he is repeatedly admonished to hold it fast, to glory in it, and to exhort others constantly to the same effect. He is not to be passive at all, but active in claiming the promised redemption. This verse, with the ones preceding and following it, reveals the Christian's great high priest as doing three things that Aaron could not do. He entered God's rest, ascended far above the heavens, and came to the very throne of grace itself.