The Epistle to the Hebrews part CI

Hebrews 4:15
"For we (now back to Hebrews 4) have not (or do not have) a high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;"

Now we like to put it into the positive. We have a High Priest who can be touched with our infirmities. Doesn’t that make it easier to understand? Yes. We have a High Priest who knows all about us. He hears our every thought as we just saw from the Psalms. There’s nothing that we can hide from Him. There’s not a heartache that He doesn’t feel. There’s not a joy and an exuberance that He doesn’t know. Why? Because the two have become one as in a marriage union. That is the meaning or purpose for the metaphor or parable.

Now since we know that we have such a High Priest, we can also rest on the fact that not only does He know all about us, but He knows where we are, because He too was touched with our temptations. Now we have to be careful and qualify it. He never was tempted to succumb, He was tempted only so that He could understand from virtual experience what we have to face. He never had the possibility of succumbing. Of course, the best ones, we suppose, that we are aware of, are the temptations in the wilderness when Satan said, turn these stones into bread. Now don’t think even for a split second that the Lord considered it. No way. But He went through those temptations so that the scripture could tell us that nothing, nothing that enters the life of a believer as temptation or testings is something that He hadn’t already experienced. So that’s what it means. Now we have a High Priest who knows exactly what we’re putting up with. He knows what its like to be tempted. The only difference is that He did it apart from sin and we are so prone to sin. But He knows all about us.


Hebrews 4:14a
"Seeing then that (therefore) we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens,…"

And remember, going back to chapter 1, that when He passed into the heavens having purged our sins, He what? He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High. Now how did He purge our sins with His Blood, the Blood pushed or erased the cloud of our sin that veiled us from God's presence, the smoke or stain of sin was completely removed. As the veil which hung at the entrance to the Holiest place in the Temple was slit from top to bottom so our sins were removed by God's Grace.


Hebrews 1:3b
"…when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;"

Remember we made the point that when He sat down, what did it indicate? That it was finished, done. Right. Oh, that the finished work of cross took care of everything. There wasn’t another iota that could be added to it. Consequently, He could rest and be aware that it was totally finished. He made mans peace with God and God accepted it and we now have peace with the God of Peace. So here again:


Hebrews 4:14-15b
"…we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."

On the other hand He can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities because He was in all points tempted or tested like as we are, yet without, or apart from sin. In other words, even the thought of yielding to temptation never entered His mind, why? Only the tempter Satan can tempt us, for God tests us for He tempts no one. God does what in our being tested, He perfects His Love and nature in us, He changes our old nature to His nature; as this is the meaning of the word "Father".

Now the three categories of temptations that cover every possible scenario of the human experience can be found in the little book of 1st John chapter 2. Now we did this way back when poor old Eve was caught in temptations in Genesis chapter 3. We probably used it when we covered the temptations in our study of Matthew, but it never hurts to repeat some of these things. But first let’s look in 1st John chapter 2 beginning in verse 15.


I John 2:15-16
"Love not the world, (in other words this evil worlds system) neither the things that are in the world.(the earthy or materialism). If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (now here’s the world) For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."

Now we’ve already mentioned Eve, so let’s jump all the way back to Genesis chapter 3 and see how that she was pummeled with all three of them at one time. Most of us are dealt with these one at a time. We may suddenly find ourselves confronted with something that is desirable to an appetite of the flesh, still another thing may just appeal to our pride, but sometimes it may appeal to our eye. But see, Eve was confronted with all three at one time.