Proper 25
Notes
Transcript
Readings:
Readings:
I will extol the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
I will glory in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
Hebrews 7:23–28 (NIV)
Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.
Sermon:
Jesus was “one of a kind”. The writer has been making this point since he started. There is no one like Jesus. For the Jews, the priests were those who were closest to God. They represented the people to God and God to the people. There was no one like them. They were respected and revered in a way that most of us probably wouldn’t understand. And yet, there was one thing that all of them had in common. They died.
I know, not really the kind of thing you want to put on your resume. It’s kind of a guarantee you won’t get the job. Aaron, the first official priest died and his sons became priests. But his sons died and their sons became priests, and on and on it goes. Over and over again. Until Jesus. Unlike every other priest who died and was buried and remains there, Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose again from the dead.
And because He lives forever, He is always our priest. He has a “permanent priesthood.” The mediator between us and God is Jesus Christ. Do you know that even now Jesus Christ is praying for you? Paul wrote in Romans 8:34 “Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” And our text this morning says, “He always lives to intercede for them.”
Next, the author gives to the reader a description of what our high priest is like. Six adjectives are used here to describe Jesus.
The first is holy. The high priest was supposed to be holy as he entered the sacred space where God was. Yet, there is evidence that not every priest was as holy as they should have been. Indeed, the whole concept of tying a rope around themselves, just in case, is proof enough some of the priests had not been holy enough. That was not true of Christ. He was and even still is holy. One defined this as, “morally flawless, perfectly balanced, without impurity or lack.”
The second adjective used of Christ is blameless. Not only was Christ holy inwardly, but there was nothing He had done externally anyone could accuse Him of. He had done no wrong thing.
Thirdly, Christ was pure. Not only was He holy on the inside, blameless on the outside, He was also pure in His actions. He didn’t get revenge on those who wronged Him. He did not get upset by those who argued with Him. He did not seek to tear down or hurt others. Even though He was surrounded by people who would willingly do these things and more, He remained pure. Untouched by the evil around Him.
Fourth, the writer says He is set apart from sinners. Now, this might be hard to understand when we think that Jesus was often accused by the religious leaders of spending time with sinners. And they weren’t wrong. But, they didn’t change Him. They didn’t affect Him. Rather, He affected them. He spoke the truth to them. He called them to follow God.
Fifth, Christ is exalted above the heavens. The author has affirmed this already but it is reaffirmed here. Christ is seated at the right hand of the Heavenly Father. His seat is a seat of honor.
