Embracing Our High Priest: Jesus as Our Mediator

HYDE: We live in a world that is stained by sin, just like our forefathers, the Israelites, out in the wilderness. Our world is the same as their world, but as we no doubt know, our world is also very, very different. Let me give you a couple of examples that give us a contrast as we think about the tabernacle and the life of the Israelites around that tabernacle and what does that say to us about our relationship with God. [00:00:09]

And the main concern here we see in Exodus 28 as we again continue through a little series on the tabernacle and our relationship with God, we see here the priests' garments, the High Priest in particular. There were eight articles of clothing that he was to wear when he served and ministered and did his priestly duties. He had a breastpiece, he had the ephod, a robe, a coat of checkered work, a turban upon his head, a sash around him and a plate of pure gold for his forehead with linen undergarments. [00:02:09]

First, in God's infinite wisdom, He uses the means of humans to accomplish his eternal sovereign purposes in his wisdom. He's chosen to use us, to use people. The creator of the universe, He's free to work above of his creation, apart from his creation, beyond any means. He doesn't need anything yet He chooses to use those that are his creations to serve Him in the world. [00:04:36]

And so with the priests of Israel, He pulls out of the congregation a small group of men to be his servants, to act as his hands, to be his mouthpieces to the people. Second of all, the Lord uses men because they know best how to serve their fellow sinners. Now, which tribe do the priests come from? They come from the tribe of Levi, right? The Levites, we call them. [00:05:43]

Yet God in his grace chooses this angry and violent man to use him to make priests to illustrate to the rest of these sinners. In their own hearts, these are all angry and violent sinners. He wants to illustrate to all these sinners that He was going to provide for them ministers, servants, who totally knew what it was to be a sinner -- to sympathize, to empathize with their weaknesses. [00:07:22]

The priests of Israel could deal with the ignorant and the wayward because they themselves are ignorant and wayward, because they themselves came from an ignorant and wayward people, from among the people (Exodus 28:1). John Calvin says this, summarizing this point, he says, "The whole body of the people, all the Israelites, saw a man like themselves who could not enter the sanctuary trusting in his own innocence." [00:10:29]

Well, God says this to us as we reflect upon the truthfulness of God drawing out of the rest of us, some to serve us, that as the recipients of a ministry from men, from humans, from sinners like ourselves, we are called to rejoice in that because this is a picture to us of the immense love of God. He's not left us alone in our sins to find Him; God has provided us with servants to act on behalf of men in relation to God, as Hebrews 5:1 says again. [00:11:31]

Thomas Manton, a great Puritan preacher, said it like this. He spoke about Jesus Christ and he said that, "Ministers, like Jesus Christ, know what it is to be tempted by the devil." Think about Matthew 4 -- Jesus' temptation. Ministers know what it is to be tempted by the devil. God allows your pastor to be tempted so that they might be used "for the recovery of poor souls out of their bondage into the liberty of the children of God." [00:12:33]

And so like the priests in the tabernacle, as a minister, I can't help people who are in bondage to sin and struggle unless I know what it is to be a filthy, rotten, scoundrel myself. Thomas Manton again says it like this -- "Ministers should not only be men of science, but of experience," not just men who know a lot, that's what science is, knowledge, but men of experience. Your minister knows your weaknesses, pray for him and his. [00:15:05]

We, too, need a priest who is of the people, who is a human just like us. But we need one who is, although like us, different from us, one who's not a sinner, one who's been tempted as we have been in every single point but hasn't given in to sin, has resisted, has fought and has one. We need a high priest who can stand between God and us, a holy God and us, a sinful people because we can't save ourselves. [00:18:26]

The priesthood teaches us about Christ ultimately, his person, his work. He's our priest. He shares in our flesh and blood. Hebrews 2 tells us that He shares in our flesh and blood, our true humanity. He's made like us in every point to be merciful and to be faithful to us and for us. As Hebrews 2:18 says, "He has Himself suffered when tempted." Because of that, He is able to sympathize with us in our weaknesses, to enter into our weaknesses and sufferings and woes, yet without sin. [00:19:41]

Jesus Christ is this great High Priest for us in our salvation, and because of who He is, He speaks to us as sinners and He invites us, He invites us to come to Him with our ignorance, with our waywardness, with our sins, with our weaknesses to come, He says. He invites us to come if we've never trusted in Him before. He invites us to come if we have struggles with our faith. He invites us to come with our doubts. [00:22:36]