Scripture
14So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Hebrews 4:14-16
Observation
I was reading that the Ancient Jewish Rabbis used to teach that God had two thrones. One was the throne of mercy and one was the throne of judgement for, in a land of kings and thrones you wouldn’t have found those two together. If you approached the throne of a King uninvited you would meet with certain death (see Esther as an example of this). If you were found to be guilty he would pronounce your death before that throne of judgement. No one could simply walk up to the Roman Emperor without an invitation, summons or advocate. Most would be perfectly fine to never have to meet the person in power as that would seem the safer bet. So, here, we have this radical idea of a sinful person approaching the throne of a holy God. Not with shame or fear, but boldness! How is this possible? Jesus, our High Priest, united the two thrones into one through His sacrifice, through His grace. The need for sin to be judged was answered by His sacrifice. The stain of sin was covered by His grace. Mercy triumphed over judgement. Jesus restored what was lost back in the garden of Eden.
Application
We have been called back into relationship with God. So, why do we still keep our distance? Why do we prefer to have a “professional” spiritual person pray on our behalf or read The Scripture for us? Could it be that we aren’t confident Jesus really understands? If we’re honest, we read that Jesus faced all the same testings that we did, but did not sin and we think, “yeah, but He was God, so…”. We think this was some caveat or divine “get out of jail free card” that means even though He was tempted, He was never really in jeopardy of sinning. This gets at the core of self-imposed distance from God. Jesus was just pretending. He “emptied Himself” of His divine privilege according to Philippians 2, but we still think He was holding a few Aces up His sleeve when it came to the temptations in the wilderness or in the Garden of Gethsemane. So, we keep our distance, we don’t approach the throne boldly, we instead stay in the outer court. We will always stay away from someone we aren’t sure we can trust. If God is in the conference room, we stay in the lobby. If our Father God wants to have a conversation with us around the coffee table we stay appropriately busy to avoid that one-on-one time. Like any kid who feels their parents just don’t understand we keep up appearance, but live our own lives. Yet, Jesus does understand. He understands it all! Every craving that you and I feel, He felt. The pain of the loss of a loved one, the anger at the betrayal of a friend, the allure of acceptance and approval from those in power, the chance to avoid hardship through shortcuts. Jesus faced it all and yet did not sin, not because He was also God, but because boldly lived in the presence of His Father. He conquered the lie of the serpent in the Garden of Eden that drove a wedge between creation and Creator. The lie being that God really doesn’t have your best interests at heart, He is holding out on you, and therefore can’t be trusted. The enemy would love it if we kept at our distance, even though Jesus died and rose again to provide bold access. We are at our worst when we are at a distance. We are at our best when we take bold access through Jesus to the very presence of God where we wake, work, and worship. Like a snotty nosed mud covered child who runs to the arms of their father not to earn love, but because they are loved. Like an accused man walking into the court room with peaceful confidence knowing they have the best lawyer in town to argue their case. Like a woman who knows no matter how tired she is coming home after a long day of work her husband will only see her beauty and therefore she can’t wait to walk in the door. We too must approach the throne of our gracious God who, thanks to Jesus our Savior, knows exactly what we are going through and wants to walk it through with us!
Prayer
Wow! I love that I get to be in Your throne room this morning as I read Your Word. I don’t approach You arrogantly, but thankfully this morning. I don’t deserve to be here, but You have welcomed me in through the sacrifice of Your only son to show me what unconditional love, mercy, and grace look like. I approach You confidently and consistently so I can abide with You in everything I’m going to say and do today. Show any small place in my life where I’ve kept my distance due to lies I’ve believed about Your heart for me. You have always had my best interest at heart and I’m interested in what You have to say even if I don’t want to hear it! “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” (Heb. 4:12)
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