Jesus Christ is our Great High Priest, whose finished work and propitiation have forgiven all our sins, past, present, and future.
This sermon focuses on the unique and complete work of Jesus Christ as the victorious priest king who offered Himself as a sacrifice for sins, sat down signifying the completion of His work, and established a superior covenant guaranteed by His blood. Through His sacrifice, Jesus purchased redemption, eternal life, and forgiveness for all sins, past, present, and future, making propitiation and interceding for believers forever.
Full Transcript
In Hebrews 1, He made, having made purification for sins. He sat down. The priests in the Old Testament never were allowed to sit down while they were at work.
They had no chairs in the temple. They had no chairs in the tent. They had no chairs in the tabernacle.
Why? Because their work was never done. But what the author of Hebrews says is Christ offered Himself and sat down. Done.
It's finished. The work is complete. And it doesn't change.
He is forevermore the same. The victorious priest king. His work is done.
One sin and Adam and Eve fell. One sin destroyed mankind. One sin will put you in hell.
One unforgiven sin. Jesus Christ came with a superior covenant that's guaranteed by His blood. And you see, it's a promise not made between us and God.
It's a promise made between the Father and the Son. Where the Son says, I will die for them. I will pour out my blood to unleash the power of the Spirit of God into their life and to allow them to be forgiven for the sins that they've committed against God.
And Christ says, I will come. I will be their sin bearer. I will be their priest.
I will be their sacrifice. I will purchase for them redemption. I will purchase eternal life.
I will be crushed under the wrath of God. I will drink the cup of punishment that they deserve to drink. I will take it on myself.
And I will come under the law. And I will keep that law in their place so that they can be blameless when their sin is charged to me and I suffer under it and my righteous law keeping is given to them so that they might be counted righteous in the courtroom of God. That's what happened.
And Jesus said, I will give myself. A body you have prepared for me. And I need to become a man.
And though I am equal with God, I count it not robbery at all being counted equal with Him. But He set His glory aside. And He came down.
And He came down as a servant. And down as a man. And He poured out His life.
All the way took that obedience to the cross. And God crushed Him there. And thereby He is a high priest now that has done a work.
And we rest. And we can rest. Because this covenant says that by faith in Him, just Lord, I trust that You have kept the law for me.
And You have paid what my sins deserve. And I trust that You will give me Your Spirit. You will transform me.
You will give me a new heart. My trust is all in Him and what His blood has done. He is a help to those who are being tempted.
And He is victorious. He can help. He has laid down His life.
He has helped for the sinner. You can be ever so vile, ever so filthy, have committed ever so grave of sin. So many of them that you can't count.
And they are heaped up on your shoulders. And they are going to drop you into the lowest parts of hell. But this work that this high priest has done has made propitiation.
That means total removal of wrath. It's all wiped away. That's what forgiveness is all about.
All of it. All your sins. Past, present and future are forgiven in their entirety.
Propitiation has been made. But He had to become a man. But having become a man, His priesthood doesn't change forever.
You think about this. He is going to wear His humanity forever. He saves those who come to God through Him to the uttermost.
Because He as a man and as a victorious high priest, being made like us in every respect, He's like that forevermore. He has taken the nature of humanity upon Him forever. That He might be a high priest forever.
To make intercession for us forever.
Sermon Outline
- I. The Superior Priesthood of Jesus Christ
- A. Christ's work is complete and finished
- B. He is forevermore the same victorious priest king
- II. The Covenant of Jesus Christ
- A. A promise made between the Father and the Son
- B. Jesus will die for us, pour out His blood, and unleash the power of the Spirit
- III. The Work of Jesus Christ
- A. He became a man, took on humanity, and kept the law in our place
- B. He suffered under the law, took our punishment, and gave us His righteousness
- IV. The Benefits of Jesus Christ
- A. We can rest in His finished work and trust in His blood
- B. He is a help to those who are being tempted and can save us to the uttermost
Key Quotes
“He sat down. The priests in the Old Testament never were allowed to sit down while they were at work.” — Tim Conway
“It's finished. The work is complete. And it doesn't change.” — Tim Conway
“He is forevermore the same. The victorious priest king. His work is done.” — Tim Conway
Application Points
- We can rest in Jesus' finished work and trust in His blood for our salvation.
- Jesus' priesthood benefits us by making propitiation and forgiving all our sins.
- We can trust in Jesus' finished work by faith, knowing that He has kept the law for us and given us His Spirit.
