Hebrews 7:23-27 The key to effective ministry – a pure and sacrificial heart

Hebrews 7:23-27

23 The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, 24 but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. 25 Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

26 For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; 27 who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

Background

Today’s passage makes the comparison between the Levitical priests and Christ, the high priest. Levitical priests came in large numbers, they offered many sacrifices, and interceded for Israel continually, but they could not stop the decay of the Israelite society. But Christ offered Himself once and the Father approved of His prayer by forgiving the sins of the world. What differentiates Christ from the Levitical priests? The Levitical priests offered animal sacrifices first for themselves, but Christ kept nothing back but offered Himself wholly for the salvation of the world. Today’s passage teaches us the key to an effective ministry – a pure and sacrificial heart.

Observation

Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently.

Levitical priests being mortal men could not continue in their priestly ministry because they were hindered by natural death. Hence, there existed large numbers of priests as the younger priests supersede the older ones. But Jesus, on the other hand is able to hold His priesthood permanently because He overcame death and resurrected with indestructible life. When a priest dies, he is no longer able to intercede on behalf of the people for grace and divine favor. Hence, in order to save forever those who draw near to God, there must be no expiry for his term of service; he must perform his priestly duties permanently and eternally.

The intercession of Christ is effective because He is part of humanity and able to empathize with the struggles and the fallenness of ordinary men. God although being perfect in wisdom and love, needed the empathy and the humanness of Christ, without which God cannot save the human race. Therefore, the humanity in Christ enables Him to effectively intercede for men. Hebrews 5:2 says,

He (the priest) can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness. Hebrews 5:2

Christ intercedes for humanity in three areas:

–           Christ intercedes for humanity by healing the wounds of men’s hearts. Because Christ Himself is wounded, He is able to empathize and help those who are wounded. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” By surfacing the memories of hurt within the individual, the Spirit of Christ empathizes and heals his wounds. Consequently, the pain becomes more distant and love, peace and joy begin to set in. Through Christ’s intercession, He sanctifies us through trials that we are able to bear, producing fruit of righteousness for success and godly living.

–           As the Father has already forgiven the sins of humanity on account of Christ’s sacrifice, He no longer needs to sacrifice Himself again. Hence, Christ’s intercession works not in the judicial forgiveness of sin, but in bridging the holiness of the Father and the fallenness of men through empathy. As Christ intercedes through empathy, God reaches out with mercy and accepts fallen men as they are. The below verses express Christ’s intercession in reconciling sinful men to God.

We have an Advocate (Helper) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. 1 John 2:1-2 

–           Christ intercedes by presenting to the Father the prayers of men. Here, our prayers are no longer prayers of fallen men, but they become the very petitions of the Son of God. Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.” John 16:23-24.

For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens…

Christ’s offering of Himself is wholly pleasing and acceptable to God resulting in total forgiveness of all sins committed by humanity. The Father’s approval of Christ’s offering is evident by His resurrection: exalted above the heavens. Christ’s exaltation to high priest is the consequence of His moral perfection, which is His willingness to lay down His life even for sinners. Christ moral attributes are succinctly stated:

  • Holiness is a virtue of dedicating one’s life wholly for God’s purposes. Christ having understood the purpose of His life, is set to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things and be killed. He sets His mind on God’s agenda and not be swayed by the agenda of men (see Matthew 16:21-23).
  • Innocence refers to the purity of heart, being guileless and without evil intent. Christ’s life is lived out for the welfare of others; He has never withheld even His own life but offered up Himself wholly to bring salvation to all.
  • Undefiled means being morally pure, above board and above reproach.

Christ’s offering is not like the offering of the Levitical priest who offered daily sacrifices first for his own sins. This act (of offering sacrifices first for his own sins) depicts self-interest as well as the priest’s own need for cleansing. Christ’s offering differs from the offerings of the Levitical priests in that Christ did nothing for Himself but offered His own life for the sake of humanity. Christ’s dedication, His love for God and for the people satisfied God’s requirement of a perfect sacrifice once for all. Therefore, it is really the quality of Christ’s heart that made all the difference. Christ’s perfection is in essence not just His sinlessness, but His heart, which is His sacrificial love.

Truth

People can be with you for a season, but God is with you forever. Even though human beings are imperfect and unreliable for the most part, people would rather depend on men whom they can see, than in the promises of God. Human beings have the tendency to trust earthly things and despise the heavenly promises. Hence, the common wisdom: a bird in hand is worth two in the bush speaks of men’s preference for what they could possess here and now! Trust is not one of men’s virtues; we are all adverse to waiting and trusting. The Levitical priesthood is the classic case in point: there are so many of them, yet none could impart life and salvation simply because they are mere human beings hindered by their mortality. But Christ overcame death and became our high priest permanently and eternally. Yet the people of Israel prefer to put their trust in the traditions of mortal priests and animal sacrifices which they could see.

Therefore, believers must learn to hope in God’s promises and learn to wait and obey His instructions. Christ, the high priest will be with us permanently and eternally to provide, to prosper and to heal.

It does not matter how many people are interceding, what matters is the heart of the person who intercedes. Jesus’ intercession trumps the prayers of an army of priests. So much so that Jesus gave His disciples the guarantee, “if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you” (John 16:23). Why? Because Jesus places the will of God above His own (see Luke 22:42). There were many priests who interceded for Israel continually, but to no avail. But when Jesus prayed for humanity, the Father heard His prayer and forgave the sins of the world. Why? Hebrews 5:7 say, “He (Jesus) was heard because of His piety.” Hence, it is not in the quantity of intercessors, but it’s the quality of the intercessor that makes the difference. The righteousness of our hearts will determine the effectiveness of our prayers. James says,

The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. James 5:7

The righteousness of Jesus is shown in that He never prayed for His own needs; He is always focused on doing the Father’s will, to protect and to teach His disciples. Jesus teaches in Matthew 6, the secret to effective prayer is to understand the Father’s heart and to pray that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven! If we want to work unprecedented miracles and receive abundance of revelations, we must create in ourselves a pure and sacrificial heart.

Application

  1. Do you see ministry as an avenue to prove yourself to the world? Do you have a need to be needed? Anointing and divine approval cannot be gained by being prominent in the eyes of the world. As we harbor a simple and selfless motive to serve the community, God will anoint us with His Spirit and increase our authority. As we endeavor to exalt others, God will in turn exalt us.
  2. Do you sometimes think that the frequency of our prayers will influence God’s impetus to respond? God’s favor is not gained by doing religious activities, but by having a pure, holy and undefiled heart.

Dear Lord, give me a pure heart and renew a right spirit within me. I desire your favor and your trust. Anoint me with your Spirit so that I can do your will. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.


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