Hebrews 4:14-16

¹ Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. ¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. ¹⁶Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

The Role of the Priest

A priest is a connector. A priest puts things together for people – things that have to do with the world, with others, with God. He acts as a kind of repairman of relationships. Where there have been mangled connections, shortened circuits, ill-fitting joints, he tries to get everything to fit and connect again.

Whenever people have lived in any kind of community, they have had priests. Whenever there have been relationships, they have broken down. And whenever a relationship has broken down, there has been an attempt to heal the break and to restore the relationship.

A priest is the person who figures prominently in all these attempts.
This letter to the Hebrews is an elaborate demonstration that Christ is the High Priest who connects God and humans in a living and loving relationship.

(Eugene H. Peterson, Sermon on Hebrews 4: 14,16, March 25, 1979)

Prayer: Thank you, Father, that you sent your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lived for us and died for us and now sits at your right hand as our connector to you.