High Priest

High Priest
Words of Faith 1-30-26
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2026
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Hebrews 4
[14] Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. [15] For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are— yet was without sin. [16] Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Ask at any hospital. A sick person needs not only an excellent surgeon but also a priest. A priest is someone special and set apart, standing between God and man. The priest attempts to bridge the great distance between the Divine and the human, often through ritual and sacrificial practices. The priest offers prayers and makes offerings to God on behalf of the people, and then often pronounces the forgiveness that God offers. In Israel, the High Priest made the annual offering on the Day of Atonement, when the blood was poured onto the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies to cover the people's sins.

But this required that the priest was generally someone quite removed from human experience and sheltered from temptation. The only problem with that was that the priest had little understanding of how people struggle in life. The Writer tells us that Jesus is superior, a GREAT High Priest, because He has gone through heaven and is the Son of God. He is able to understand God perfectly and humanity perfectly.

This great High Priest is even able to understand human weakness and temptation, because He lived a real human life rather than a cloistered existence. He has been tempted or "tested" in every way that we, as humans, are, yet was without sin. He felt every longing that is human, every feeling that we give into, every urge that we fail in resisting, yet He was victorious in His walk in the flesh of humanity.

Because of this Great High Priest, who has made an offering for us and prayed on our behalf, we can approach the throne of grace with confidence, without fear of being misunderstood or turned away, and we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Do you know of any better news than that?

We have a surgeon who will do either the delicate or radical surgery as needed. We also have a priest who REALLY understands and makes offerings on our behalf. We have the freedom to approach the throne of grace with confidence, to gain mercy when we have sinned and grace to keep us from sinning again. Isn't God good?

Lord, thank You for cutting away what is not needed, forgiving what is in my past, understanding my struggle today, and helping me live my tomorrow. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2026
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2026 Jeffrey D. Hoy.