What purpose does Christ serve for you?
Obviously He can be any of those things and more, but many of these points we can get from someone else besides Jesus Christ. The one thing that Jesus does for us that no one else can do is save us from our sins.
To this point, the author of Hebrews says Jesus is a “merciful and faithful high priest” (2:17). He is the “high priest of our confession” (3:1). He is a “great high priest” who has risen from the dead (4:14). He is a high priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses (4:15). Now that last verse is only two verses removed from the text we are going to use to feed our spirits: chapter 5…
JESUS IS EMPATHETIC AND GENTLE – 5:1-6:
Notice this important point in verse 2. Since the high priest was taken from among men, he could deal “gently” with the ignorant and misguided because he also was “beset by weakness.” Well, the writer just told us that Jesus sympathizes with our weaknesses because He was tempted in every thing just as we are. Yet, He was without sin! The priest under the Law had to offer sacrifices for the people and for himself! But Jesus did not because He was sinless.
Because Jesus was God in the flesh, we know and must trust that Jesus is gentle, compassionate, and merciful. No one understands exactly what we go through better than Jesus Christ. He understands our frailty and He understands our weaknesses.
JESUS IS THE SOLE SOURCE OF SALVATION – 5:7-10:
Never allow yourself to believe that Jesus lived an easy life and did not have difficult decisions to make! Never allow yourself to believe that Jesus accepted what Satan threw at Him without crying about it – even loudly! Here is the Hebrew writer’s point that he has been making… Jesus identifies with us and He sympathizes with us! Jesus is not apathetic to our pain and suffering and frustrations in life!
Never allow yourself to forget that Jesus is the “Suffering Servant” of God! Jesus can comfort us in our struggles and hardships.
Decades ago, you might hear someone say about members of the church of Christ: “Oh, you think you are the only ones who are going to heaven.” My mom had the perfect response to that statement – which is not a fair statement to make – but my mom would respond, “well, we believe you have to obey Jesus to be saved, don’t you?” That comes from passages like Hebrews 5:8-9. There is no salvation without obedience!
GROW INTO MATURITY IN CHRIST – 5:11-14:
It’s one thing to be an immature Christian because you are, well, immature. It is a very different thing when you are a twenty-five year old still in diapers! He says in verse 11 they were “dull of hearing.”
These Christians needed to relearn basic principles of the gospel. Now, to a certain extent, we need to be reminded of basic principles of the gospel. But if you have been a Christian for a couple of decades, you ought to, by now, know something about Melchizedek! That is not my point, that’s the Hebrew writer’s point!
Spiritual growth involves constant training and practice. “Sermonettes make Christianettes,” said Wendell Winkler.
Embrace Jesus’ empathy and let Him help you reach new levels of maturity in your faith. Salvation is just the beginning!
Paul Holland
