Having completed their exposition of Psalm 95 and Israel’s failure to enter rest, the writer brought this section of warning to a conclusion (vv. 12-16) that is both sobering and comforting. God’s Word is a solemn instrument of divine judgment, but His throne is both gracious and merciful.
The Lord Jesus has a better position inasmuch as He has passed through the heavens. That is, He has taken His place at the Father’s right hand. This concept is developed more fully in 8:1-5; 9:11-12, 23-24. One of the key verbs in Hebrews is “have.” It is used over and over (cf. 4:14- 15; 5:14; 6:18-19; 8:1; 10:19, 34; 12:1, 28; 13:10, 18). In 4:14 believers have a great High Priest. He is great in His position and mercy (cf. 2:17).
The section of 4:14-10:18 focuses on the high priesthood of Christ and is at the heart of Hebrews. The subject was mentioned in 2:17. It is reintroduced here in 4:14-16, discussed briefly in 5:1-10, and considered at length in 7:1-10:18. Our High Priest is just the kind we need: He can cleanse the sinful human heart.
11 Therefore let’s make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him to whom we must answer.
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let’s hold firmly to our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need. (NASB)
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- The danger that believers today, like the Israelites of the past, who do not enter God’s rest will not stand, but fall in disobedience.
- God’s message is alive and active, penetrating the innermost parts of a person. It distinguishes what is natural and what is spiritual, as well as the thoughts (reflections) and intentions (insights) of a person. The word of God exposes the natural and spiritual motivations of a believer’s heart.
- Our High Priest is just the kind we need: He can cleanse the sinful human heart.
- Believers should courageously approach God in prayer because His is a throne of grace, and our High Priest sits at His right hand interceding for us.
CLOSER LOOK:
Verse 11: It follows logically from this that the readers should, along with the author, “Let’s make every effort to enter that rest.” The author includes themselves once again to exhort believers to be diligent (means make every effort) to enter that rest. Unlike the assurance which all Christians have that they possess eternal life and will be raised up to enjoy it in the presence of God (cf. John 6:39–40), the share of the companions of Messiah in His dominion over creation is attained by doing His will to the end (Rev. 2:26–27). The readers must therefore be warned by Israel’s failure in the desert and take care that they not follow Israel’s “example of disobedience.”
In Hebrews 4:11-13 the warning of 3:12-13 and 4:1 is repeated. Once again the emphasis (v. 11) is on individuals (“one”, tis) in the group, who, like the Israelites of Kadesh Barnea, were so close and yet so far. By the way, we need to stop and think how large these warning sections are in Hebrews and what a huge part they play in the book, which shows how important individuals are. One thing for us as believers to remember is to not lose sight of individuals in our ministry or spheres of influence. We can become so mass-oriented we lose sight of individuals. Don’t do that is what this is saying.
Verse 12: Verses 12-13 explain the need for the warning of verse eleven. God’s word will ultimately judge those who fell. The word of God is the measuring stick Christ will use at the Judgment (2 Cor 5:10).
The lesson the writer had just taught from the Old Testament Scriptures was not a mere historical tale. Instead, as had already been made clear by much the writer had said, it was powerfully relevant to their audience. “For the Word of God is living (zōn) and active (energēs).” Not only that, but its penetrating power is also “sharper (may see “greater”) than any double-edged sword” and reaches the innermost being of a person so that it judges “the thoughts and intentions (attitudes) of the heart.” In doing this, it is able to discriminate successfully between what is spiritual in humanity and what is merely “soulish” or natural (even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit), and does so even when these often-contradictory inner elements are interwoven as closely as “joints and marrow.” The inner life of a Christian is often a strange mixture of motivations both genuinely spiritual and completely human. It takes a supernaturally discerning agent such as the Word of God to sort these out and to expose what is of the flesh.[1] The readers might think that they were contemplating certain steps out of purely spiritual motivations when, as God’s Word could show them, they were acting unfaithfully as did Israel of old.
Verse 13: Let the readers not suppose, therefore, that their motives would go undetected for nothing is “hidden from His [God] sight.” Instead, “all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him.” The nakedness and openness suggests complete exposure and defenselessness before God. In saying this, the readers were reminded that, like all Christians, they would someday stand before the judgment seat of Christ where they must give account to God for their lives (cf. Rom. 14:10–12; 2 Cor. 5:10). If at that time their lives are seen to be marked by the kind of failure they have been warned against, the writer implied they will suffer loss of reward (cf. 1 Cor. 3:11–15). In this context the loss they suffer will be that of their inheritance-rest.
At some point, it would be interesting to do a study of “the Word of God” in the NT. It is very interesting. “The Word” normally looks at the gospel. Think of the phrase “Preach the word,” (2 Tim 4:2), that is not expository preaching. What that really means is herald the word or more herald the gospel. In 1 Peter 1:23, it says “you are born again… by the Word of God.” Obviously, it can include more, but we find that the Word of God is basically the gospel. And I think that is what we have here. The gospel is going to judge people. What do they do with the gospel? That is going to be the discerning thing. That is going to be the judgmental thing. Of course there’s going to be much more than that, but the thing that will mark up saved from lost is the gospel. “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” This is a very, very strong passage.
Verse 14: But this need not be so. On the contrary there is every reason to hold firmly to the faith we profess in view of the fact that the believers’ great High Priest … has gone through the heavens. Only once previously (2:1–3:6) had the writer referred explicitly to the priesthood of Jesus, though it was implicit in 1:3, but now the writer was preparing to undertake an extensive consideration of that truth. But before doing so, the writer wished to suggest its practical relevance to their readers whom they exhorted to “hold firmly to the faith.” They had to know that the priesthood of their Lord offered them all the resources they needed.
Now look at the shift that takes place. Look at all the space given to the superiority of the Son to Aaron; five chapters that shows how important this point is. The writer is going to be looking at the Melchizedekian priesthood of Christ. We start with a better position. It’s obvious from the amount of space given to this section, 5-1/2 chapters, but the writer saw the superiority of Christ to Aaron, and the Aaronic priesthood as very important and germane to their situation. The Lord Jesus has a better position and as much as He passed through the heavens. Look at verse 14 again, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens.” This is something that keeps being emphasized. Let’s explore this further.
Look at Hebrews 8:1: “Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.” We see that Jesus has passed through the heavens, and the point the writer is getting at, is everything is in submission to Him. Absolutely everything. As is also shown in 1 Peter, Jesus has gone from the lowest possible place in the nether regions to the very right hand of the Father. He has passed through the heavens, and that’s why the author is talking about Jesus’ greatness at this point, so “since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let’s hold firmly to our confession.”
Verse 15: The One who served as High Priest on their behalf had been where they were and had “been tempted in all things (every way), just as” they were. Though unlike them He was without sin (cf. 7:26; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 John 3:5), never responding wrongly to any of His temptations (nor could He, being God), yet as a man He could feel their reality (much as an immovable boulder can bear the brunt of a raging sea) and thus He is able to sympathize (sympathēsai, literally, “to feel or suffer with”) with their and our weaknesses. It may indeed be argued that only One who fully resists temptation can know the extent of its force.[2] To say it slightly differently, only those who do not yield to sin can know the full intensity of temptation. Only Jesus did not yield to temptation. Thus the sinless One has a greater capacity for compassion than any sinner could have for a fellow sinner.
It is of importance to observe that the issue is not simply that of conduct but of confession (cf. 3:1). Some of the readers were in danger of doctrinal apostasy by throwing off a profession of Christ to lapse back into Judaism. The implication of verses 15-16 is that the readers were undergoing heavy pressure to leave Christianity. Verse 15, introduced by “for,” explains why the reader should hold his/her confession. That’s why verse 15 begins with a “For,” implying that there’s some pressures brought to bear on the readers.
But what is meant by “tempted in all things”? Have you ever thought about that? I’m sure you have, but some times when I read this I have to stop as it just strikes me to the core. It cannot mean that the Lord Jesus had every possible temptation. After all, He did not have a sin nature. In His humanity He did not know the frustrations of a blind person, or the pressures of marriage. Christ has been tempted in all things like as we. Does that mean He has had every temptation? No. He was not a woman. He does not know the temptations that women face. He was not married. He does not know the temptations that married couples go through. He did not have a sin nature. When you stop to think of it, you cannot say He was tempted in every temptation. It says He was tempted in all things; well, what does it mean? Most take it to be the full force or measure of temptations. Probably, this is the concept. We have temptation here — 0 percent to 100 percent. I suppose we are tempted maybe 30 percent or 50 percent. Christ was tempted 100 percent. He was tempted at every point, and that seems to be what the text is saying. He was tempted to the full degree of temptation, greater temptations than we have ever had, and yet without sin. This is about the most likely way we can explain that. Most commentators will take it in this sense that He was fully tempted, and that is what the author is getting at. He bore 100% of testing, a rating no other human could attain without sinning. But He did.
Verse 16: With such a High Priest, it follows that believers should “approach the throne of grace with confidence” (parrēsias;[3] cf. 3:6; 10:19, 35). In a book filled with lovely and captivating terms of expression, few excel the memorable phrase “throne of grace.” Such a conception of the presence of God into which beleaguered Christians may come at any time, suggests both the sovereignty of the One they approach (since they come to a “throne”) and His benevolence. At a point of contact with God like this, Christians can fully expect to “receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need.”
Verse sixteen presents the evidence of holding fast to one’s confession. This is present tense to indicate continual action. The clearest continued demonstration of faith in Christ is prayer. When we truly stop to think about it, one of the greatest continual demonstrations of our faith is prayer. If we believe, we will pray (2 Cor 4:13).
One of the greatest evidences of unbelief is not being thankful. When they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God; neither were they thankful. They did not even bother to give thanks, but prayer is what the author talking about here, which is connected of giving thanks; you come to God, and you pray; therefore, let us come boldly.
Faith has confidence (parresia) to come near to God’s throne which, in contrast to verses 12-13, has become a throne of grace where mercy and grace are dispensed rather than terror. So, let’s come boldly to the throne of grace. In the O.T. it was death for anyone other than the high priest to enter the Holy of Holies; now it is disaster to remain outside. We have a merciful and faithful High Priest; therefore, let’s come to Him.
[1] Zane C. Hodges, “Hebrews,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 790.
[2] Zane C. Hodges, “Hebrews,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 790.
[3] BDAG – “a state of boldness and confidence, courage, confidence, boldness, fearlessness, especially in the presence of persons of high rank” which in Hebrews is in relation to God.