Heb. 4:11-16, God’s Sword and Our Great High Priest

The command is, be diligent to enter that rest.  We have two Divine helps in this: the word of God (4:11-13) and a great High Priest (4:14-5:11). 

As Heb. 1:1-3 indicates, God has spoken many times by the prophets and now by His Son.  All these are the “word of God.”  And the word of God will always be living, powerful, incredibly sharp, penetrating and discerning. 

·       Living: It is alive, not just words on a page.  God’s word even enables us to grow spiritually (1 Pt. 2:2).  

·       Powerful: Albert Barnes said, “It’s power is seen in awakening the conscience; alarming the fears; laying bare the secret feelings of the heart; and causing the sinner to tremble with the apprehension of the coming judgment.”  That is a power unseen in any other book!

·       Incredibly sharp: It is a 2-edged sword.  The blade on both sides allows for greater effectiveness.  Christ will judge with that 2-edged sword (Rev. 1:16; 2:12).  The “sword of the Spirit is the word of God” (Eph. 6:17).  Jesus sliced up the devil with that sword (Matt. 4:1-11).  It can keep us from sin (Ps. 119:11).

·       Penetrating: The references to the “soul/spirit” and “joints/marrow” indicate how deeply and precisely it penetrates those who hear it.  No other book or person knows these depths.  Only the Bible truly understands people’s needs.  What else do you expect?  It is the word of their Creator!

·       Discerning: It is able to judge, to make exact distinctions.  Our thoughts and intentions are revealed and evaluated by God’s word.

In Heb. 4:14 the Spirit returns to the theme of our “High Priest” that He set aside after 3:1-6.  He says that we have a “great” High Priest.  What did Jesus do that makes Him so great?  In this context it is that he “passed through the heavens.”  What does this mean? What is so great about it?  And how does it make Him superior to Aaron, Israel’s High Priest?  There are several ways to think about this.

·       Aaron’s spirit is IN heaven; but Christ passed through the heavens.  The Greek indicates this is a past, completed act with present results.  The only reason Aaron is in heaven is because Christ passed through the heavens.

·       Aaron passed from the outer court into the Holy Place and then into the Holy of Holies.  All these are pictures of greater realities (Ex. 26:30).  Christ passed through the clouds and stars into the heaven of heavens.  This is the reality.

·       Aaron passed from the altar, where blood was shed, taking that blood and sprinkling it on the mercy seat.  Christ passed from His altar, the cross, and sprinkled His blood on the mercy seat of heaven (John 20:17; Heb. 9:12).

·       Aaron was unable to pay the actual price for sin. Christ triumphed over the prince of the power of the air and his demons, passing through the kingdom of darkness in great triumph (Eph. 2:2; 6:12; Col. 2:15).