HEBREWS 10:19-25
JESUS,
OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST,
MAKES US PRIESTS.
In the name + of Jesus.
When the Lord appeared to the nation of Israel at Mt. Sinai, he thundered his commands to them. The commandments were prefaced with this word: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (Exodus 20:2) This preface reminded the Israelites of two things. It reminded them of who the Lord was—their Redeemer and Savior. The Lord conquered the enemies of Israel, granted them life and freedom, and bestowed on them blessing and favor. It also reminded the Israelites of who they were. They were God's holy people—set apart by the Lord for his glory, his honor, and his purposes. They were a nation of priests whose lives were dedicated to the service of the Lord in all that they did.
But now, this is what the Lord says to you, his redeemed: “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people...” (1 Peter 2:9-10) You are God's holy people. You have been set apart from sin by the blood of Christ. You have been set apart from death and all that will perish by your risen and living Savior. You have been set apart for God's honor, God's glory, and God's purposes in all that you do. Jesus, your great high priest, has made you priests. And your priestly work is not limited to what you do in church; for you bear God's name at all times and in everything you do. Whatever vocation it is, whatever God has given you to do—this is crowned with honor. Your service to the Lord is holy, pure, and pleasing; for you are his holy priests.
If that all sounds too good to be true, it is probably because you and your works do not look that significant or sacred. Many people might insist that your works are not any different or appear any better than the works of unbelievers. It probably looks that way to you, too. You go to work on time. You put in an honest day. You work hard at doing your job well. But other people do the same thing. It is what is expected of you; it is what you expect of others. You might even know unbelievers who work harder and are smarter. You might think that their work provides a greater benefit to mankind than yours does. You might know unbelievers who are more rewarded for their labors and more generous with their income. And you wonder, “How could my works be any more God-pleasing than theirs? They even seem to do more than me.”
If you feel that your work does not measure up as sacred, it is also probably because you know your own heart. There are days when you despise the people you work for and work with. We all have days when we would rather be lazy than responsible, or when we would like to tell our boss or client, “You are lucky you are getting this much out of me today.” And there are too many days when we think, “I hate dealing with other people.” It is easy to wonder: “How can my service be holy and God-pleasing when I am reluctant to do it and am bitter about it?” Our best labors prove themselves to be filthy rags. We know that the service we give and the labors we do are far from perfect. Since they are soiled with sin, they deserve God's wrath instead of reward.
But Jesus, our Great High Priest, does not present us before his Father as those who are covered in the filth of sin. Instead, since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:21-22) Jesus shed his blood to purify you from all unrighteousness. You have been baptized into Christ; therefore, you are now clothed with Christ. Through the sacrifice of your Great High Priest, you have been set apart to be God's own people. While neither you nor your works may look extra special to anyone, they are sacred before the Lord. For, your consciences have been cleansed from evil. Your bodies have purified by the redeeming blood of Jesus. You have been stripped of your filthy rags and have been clothed in robes of righteousness. Your sins do not condemn you; and even your less-than-perfect works are blessed by God so that they do benefit others and so that God is pleased with them.
Jesus, our Great High Priest, has made us priests. Therefore, we serve our Lord in whatever it is that we do. And God is pleased with us, because Jesus Christ has made us pleasing to the Lord. Jesus, our Great High Priest, has given us works to do for his honor. Therefore, all our works are honorable—whether they are recognized or ignored, whether they are rewarding or mundane. Just as we now bear his name, so the works we do are done in his name. As his priests, we represent our Lord before the people we serve and bring honor to our Lord.
The Lord had reminded the Israelites that he is the God who had saved them. After he reminded them how they were saved, the Lord went on to declare what they were saved for. He gave them the commandments by which they were to live for the glory of God and for the good of their neighbor. You are no different. Jesus, your Great High Priest, has made you priests. Therefore, let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works... (Hebrews 10:24) This is what the Lord has set us apart for. We should fear and love God that we devote ourselves to these works. We honor the Lord by loving and serving the neighbor he has given us. We serve in our vocations, doing the works God has given us to do. And we serve with the confidence that our works are pleasing since the blood of Jesus Christ makes us pleasing to the Lord.
Still, we continue to need our Great High Priest. If we need to encourage one another to love and good works, we need our Savior's encouragement all the more. Our comfort is not going to be that we have done enough works or that our works are done well enough. We know better. But rather than become discouraged, we flee to Jesus. He is the great High Priest who continually purifies us from all unrighteousness and who continually nourishes us in the faith. For, we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, (Hebrews 10:19-20) Jesus, our Great High Priest, has made us holy priests. Therefore, we get to enter into the Holy of Holies to receive the body and blood of Jesus for our good, so that God continues to declare us good, and so that God keeps on working in us to do good.
Jesus, our Great High Priest, makes us priests. He reminds us who we are—his redeemed who have been set apart for God's glory, God's honor, and God's purposes. But we find our joy and comfort when Jesus reminds us who he is—our Redeemer whose blood has cleansed us, our Great High Priest who lives to intercede for us, and our Lord who opens heaven to us. We delight in being his priests who serve him; and we live because he is the Great High Priest who serves and saves us.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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