Hebrews

4:14-16

Christ faithful and merciful, 3:1-5:10

v] Jesus the great high priest

This passage introduces the main theme of Hebrews, namely that believers have a great high priest enthroned in glory who is willing and able to represent them.

econteV (ecw) pres. part. "we have" - having. "Seeing that Jesus is our great high priest."

megan adj. "great" - great. In the Old Testament the high priest was literally the "great priest." Here the addition of "great" serves to make Christ's priesthood superior to the Aaronic priesthood. He is superior in that he is truly man and truly God

dielhluqota (diercomai) perf. part. "has gone into" - has gone through, passed through. The writer is saying that Jesus has passed through the heavens, has come into the throne-room of the living God and is now enthroned there (1:3, 13, 4:16, 8:1, 10:12). In this position Jesus represents us before the Father.

ouranouV (oV) "heavens" - The plural is used because the Hebrew word is plural. The plural doesn't necessarily support multiple heavens, particularly different heavenly layers designed to suit the worth of a saved person. If this were the case, I would certainly be in the lowest level, and you would probably be with me!

kratwmen (kratew) pres. subj. + gen. "let us hold firmly to" - may lay hold of, take possession of, obtain. Hortatory subjunctive. "We must never lose our grip of the faith we have professed", Barclay.

thV oJmologiaV (a) "the faith we profess" - to the confession, profession. The word can be understood in two ways, either "that which is confessed" or "the act of confessing." The first is preferable, thus "the faith which we confess/profess."

mh dunamenon (dunamai) pres. pas. part. "is unable" - not being able."Who cannot feel sympathy", TEV.

sumpaqhsai (sumpaqew) aor. inf. "to sympathize" - to share the experience of, feel with, empathize, understand from inside. Because Christ was exposed to the full force of a world out of control, he is well able to empathize with our struggle to retain our faith in an unseen God, cf. 2:17ff. "We have no superhuman High Priest to whom our weaknesses are unintelligible", Phillips.

asqeneiaiV (a) "weaknesses" - weak, feeble...... Here in the sense of our frail humanity constantly harassed from within and without such that our reliance on God is undermined.

pepeirasmenon (peirazw) perf. pas. part. "has been tempted" - having been tempted, tested, tried. For someone like Jesus, who did not succumb to temptation, the agony of the temptation would be far stronger than we who succumb early in the battle. "He has gone through the same ordeal of temptation as we have to go through", Barclay.

cwriV aJmartiaV "yet without sin" - apart from sin. The phrase can mean either that Jesus was free from the temptation to sin, or that although tempted, he didn't sin. Given that the issue before the writer is the temptation to abandon our faith in God, it is not be unreasonable to argue that Jesus faced no such temptation. As for the temptation to act independently of the Father's will (ie., to act selfishly), Jesus obviously faced the full force of such temptations, as we all do. So, although Jesus faced all the temptations that we face (excluding abandoning his faith?), unlike us, he did not succumb. "Except that he never sinner", Phillips.

prosercwmeqa (prosercomai) pres. subj. "let us [then] approach" - let us go to, come to. Hortatory subjunctive. The word is commonly used of a priestly approach to God, which now through Christ, is available to all believers. "We must fearlessly and confidently come to the throne of grace", Barclay.

parrhsiaV (a) "confidence" - [with] confidence, boldness, assurance. The confidence possessed by believers is "based on the revelation of God in Jesus Christ who restored the relation between God and man", W.C. Unnik.

tw/ qronw/ thV caritoV (cariV) "the throne of grace" - A typical Jewish indirect reference to "the God of grace", or "the gracious God." The throne of grace is best understood as a throne characterized by grace, by God's kindness, his mercy. The image comes from the "mercy seat" in the tabernacle/temple sanctuary which was approached by the high priest on the day of atonement as he sought God's mercy (grace) for Israel's sins. "Before the throne of our merciful God", CEV.

iJna + subj. "-" - that [we may receive/find grace]. Introducing a purpose clause, "in order that we might find grace."

eiV eukairon bohqeian (a) "in our time of need" - for/to timely assistance/help. "And find grace to help us just when we need it", TEV.

Hebrews Introduction.

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