The scripture reading this afternoon is Hebrews chapter 4. Hebrews chapter 4, the text is verses 15 and 16. Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into His rest Any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them. But the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, as I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest. although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, and God did rest the seventh day from all his works, and in this place again, if they shall enter into my rest. Seeing, therefore, it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief, Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, Today, after so long a time, as it is said, Today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus, if Joshua, had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labor, therefore, to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. seeing then that we have a great High Priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. And I'll begin the words of the text. For we have not a High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. It will probably be profitable for us to keep our Bibles open to Hebrews chapter 4 this afternoon. So far the reading of God's holy infallible word. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, this afternoon we come to the last sermon in our series on Jesus' temptations. As we have looked at the temptations that Jesus experienced, we have seen a very comforting aspect of who Jesus Christ is as our Savior. Jesus truly understands you. Jesus understands your pain. Jesus understands your struggles. Jesus understands your temptations. In fact, because Jesus Himself never gave in to sins, Jesus understands far more than we do about the pains and the struggles of living the Christian life. He endured through suffering and pain and heartache to a degree which we will never experience. And that's not to minimize your sufferings and your pain, but that's only to emphasize that Jesus also understands exactly what it is that you are going through. Because He felt those same things Himself. Jesus knows our weaknesses because He felt them Himself. When you are crying over the loss of a loved one, Jesus knows what that feels like. When you have a family member who is turning against you, Jesus knows what that feels like. When you are starving for food, when it seems that you have nothing to your name, Jesus knows what that feels like. When you are struggling against sin and temptation, and it seems that it will just not let up, Jesus knows what that feels like. When others are abusing you, when they are dragging down your name, dragging it through the dirt, and bringing all kinds of false accusations against you, Jesus knows what that feels like. When you are suffering great shame, humiliation, rejection, when you are feeling loneliness, when you are feeling tired in your Christian life, when you are experiencing despair or great discouragement, Jesus knows what that feels like. That's a great comfort. But not only is it a great comfort that Jesus understands us in that deep and intimate way, there is yet more. There is this reality. When you actually fall into sin, when you are not as faithful as you should be in your Christian walk, and you fall into sin and temptation, And then you feel the guilt of your own sin, and you get a sense of God's displeasure towards your sin. And you feel the shame of being responsible for such sin. And you feel the pain and the heartache and the sorrow over your sin. Jesus understands that too. Not that Jesus ever fell into sin. Not that Jesus ever gave into temptation. But Jesus does know what it feels like to be found guilty before the Holy Judge. Jesus does know what that kind of shame feels like. The same shame that you and I experience ourselves as we see our sins and the guilt of our sins. Jesus knows what it is to have a sense of God's holy hatred against sin being directed towards Him. Jesus knows what it feels like to bear the consequences of sin. Jesus knows what it feels like to be forsaken by the Heavenly Father. Again, He knows these things to an infinitely greater degree than we have ever felt them. And because all these things are true of Jesus, Jesus knows then what you are feeling, what I am feeling. when we look upon the wretched sins that we are guilty of, and we are sorry for those sins, and we are repulsed by those sins. He knows what it feels like when you and I would once again have our Heavenly Father's smile of approval beaming down upon us. And it is that comforting thought to know that Jesus understands your griefs and the burden of your sins. Jesus has the ability to sympathize with you and does sympathize with you in your sorrow over your sins and over your weaknesses. It's that comforting thought that stands at the heart of Hebrews 4 verse 15 and that we look at this afternoon. It is that comforting thought that actually gives us the boldness to approach God's holy throne and pour out our souls before Him and pour out our sorrow over our sins. And it's that comforting thought that also gives you and me the encouragement to come to the Lord's Supper next week Sunday morning. That's what we look at this afternoon. Jesus has the ability to sympathize with us. He does sympathize with us, even as we are weeping and grieving over our own sins. That's what we look at briefly this afternoon. And the sermon this afternoon is a preparatory sermon, will serve as an encouragement for us to approach the Lord's Supper next week with boldness. We take as our theme this afternoon, exhorted to approach the throne of grace with boldness. We look at that theme under two points. First, the exhortation, verse 16. And then second, the encouragement, verse 15. The exhortation we look at comes from verse 16. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. And I want that exhortation this afternoon to be understood also this way as an exhortation for us to come to the Lord's Supper next week Sunday with boldness. I think that we know generally the context of these words and the context of the book of Hebrews as a whole. The writer is writing to Hebrew Christians, Christians who had their background in Judaism. And he is writing to these Christians to stir them on to remain faithful to their Christian confession. These Christians were enduring fierce persecution from the Jews around them, and the attraction was strong to turn back to the old and familiar ways of Judaism, with all the physical sacrifices at the temple, with the physical high priest and the other priests that they could see at the temple. And what the writer to the Hebrews emphasizes is just how much better Jesus Christ is than all those types and shadows. He's better than the angels as well. He's better than Moses. He's better than Aaron. He's better than all the Old Testament high priests. He's better than what you have in the Old Testament. As the writer encourages these Hebrew Christians in their Christian walk and confession, he's very stern with them at times. And you see that also here in Hebrews 4. The writer strings together strong admonitions. In verse 1, lest a promise being left to us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. Verse 11, he says, let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. The people in the Old Testament in the wilderness who did not heed God's word to obey Him and they did not enter into the land of Canaan. In verse 14, he says, let us hold fast our profession. In other parts of the book of Hebrews, the writer uses even stronger language to rebuke some of the Hebrews for their immaturity in their faith. But now in order for these Hebrew Christians to follow these strong admonitions, the writer directs these Hebrews to prayer. You need help. The writer says, you are struggling. You are going through a hard time. You need help. You are Christians. I know you are Christians. But in the face of all your persecution and struggle, you're becoming weaker. Some of you are faltering. You are becoming discouraged. And so the writer says, because you have such a hard way, because the world is against you, because your own sinful nature is always there, because you yourselves know that in your own strength, you cannot continue in your Christian confession, because you know it's hard to stand alone, I tell you, you must pray. You must pray because you need mercy and you need grace to help in time of need. And heaven's throne is the only place where you will find that mercy and that grace that you need to continue along your Christian confession and remain steadfast in your salvation. And so the writer says, verse 16, Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we might obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Well, the figure there in verse 16 is a beautiful figure. The throne of grace. The throne of grace that's being referred to here is the throne of God. This is not just Jesus' throne as our High Priest, it's God's throne as the absolute Lord and Sovereign of all. And the word throne emphasizes that idea of dominion, authority, and rulership. It emphasizes the idea of a king, a king highly exalted, glorious in majesty, with a powerful scepter in his hand, able to conquer and go forth conquering. This is what God's Word says about His throne. Clouds and darkness are round about Him. Righteousness and judgment are the habitation of His throne. A fire goeth before Him and burneth up His enemies round about." Psalm 97 verses 1-3. This is the throne of the terrible One before whom all the world and all creation must stand in awe and worship. This is the throne of God. But notice that in the text it doesn't speak of it as the throne of God, it speaks of this throne as the throne of grace. And that is most significant, for that means that the attitude that this Almighty King has towards you is an attitude of love and favor. He is a terribly holy and glorious God. But His attitude towards you is an attitude of love and mercy. That's what grace is. Grace is God's attitude of favor. His attitude of love towards those who are not deserving of it in the least. And grace is also the power of God's love to save and to deliver you from the bondage of sin, to bless you and to do you good and to work all things for your good. This King, who sits on this throne, is glad to receive you into His presence. He is glad when you pour out your hearts before Him. If this throne of God is the throne of grace, then everything that characterizes the throne and the one who sits on that throne is characterized by grace. The scepter He holds in His hand, a powerful scepter, is a scepter of grace which the King Almighty rules for your blessedness. The decrees He speaks from off His throne, all the utterances of the King are utterances which the King proclaims for your joy and your salvation. Yes, the very King Himself who sits on the throne goes by the name Grace. This is the throne of grace. Grace sits on this throne because God is grace. And that's very comforting to know. Because what would otherwise be a very terrible, a very foreboding throne to approach, now becomes a very pleasant, a very welcoming throne to approach. That this is a throne of grace gives us all the encouragement in the world to approach God's throne freely and completely. Well, it is to this throne of grace that we are exhorted to go, so that, as the text says, we might obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. The concepts of mercy and grace are very similar to each other. Perhaps as we read the text we could distinguish between the two words this way. We need mercy for our past failures, for how we have brought ourselves into misery, and then we also need grace for our present and our future struggles. We need to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Mercy refers to God's desire to deliver us from the depths of misery and raise us to the heights of glory. And mercy is not only that desire, but mercy is God's power to do so. To fill us with the life of joy and gladness. We need mercy because of the sins which we have committed. Because our sins have brought us into a deep pit. A deep pit out of which we cannot deliver ourselves. And so we need mercy. We need God to show pity in our helpless situation to pluck us out of the pit. Grace then refers to God's desire and God's power to uphold us in the midst of the strife. We need grace for today and for our faithful walk every day. We could perhaps also make the distinction between grace and mercy this way. Mercy, and I like perhaps this distinction better, mercy refers to God's love and tenderness upon those who are helpless. They cannot help themselves. They are in a pit out of which they cannot bring themselves. Grace refers to God's love and tenderness upon those who are worthless. They are entirely undeserving of God's help and of God's love. We are both helpless and we are worthless, not deserving of that help. God shows mercy and grace to us. We are to go to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Of course, we need mercy and we need grace at all times. But the idea is especially this, that in our temptations, when we are in the middle of the battle against sin, and we are struggling, and we are weak and helpless, we need to go to God in prayer to obtain mercy, to find grace, that we might continue to have strength to struggle against the temptations. And the idea of the text then is this, when we approach God in prayer, While we must approach God's throne with reverence and holy fear, while we must approach Him in all His holiness, recognizing that, nevertheless, we must approach Him boldly. Let us therefore come boldly. The idea really is this. We must approach God With the freedom of speech, to lay down all our sins, and all our weaknesses, and all our temptations before Him. To lay down all that is in our hearts, and where we feel that pull, to fall into temptation. And we must speak freely about those things before God in prayer without having any kind of anxiety or stress that God will cast us out of His presence if we speak to Him honestly about our sins. And when we do speak honestly and frankly before God, He will give us what we stand in need of. We must not look upon God, beloved, as one who is cold, as one who is distant from us, as one who does not really care for our struggles or our battles. We must not look upon God as one who is simply offended with us and our sins. We must come before God as our Father, with childlike faith, and approach Him as the one who loves us deeply, who will lavish forth His grace and His mercy upon us in rich abundance, and who will give us all, everything we stand in need of. When we approach God in prayer, we must approach Him anticipating, eagerly expecting that He will receive us with joy and gladness, even when we speak honestly and bluntly about our own sinful natures and our struggles against sin. His throne is a throne of grace. That's the exhortation of verse 16. Pray. You must pray. You must pray with boldness. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we might obtain mercy and find grace to help in our time of need. Well, congregation, all of that being said, as we look just at verse 16 now for the moment, there's a question that we need to answer after looking at the meaning of this verse. And that question is this. Why this exhortation? And the question is not this, why do I need to pray? But the question is this, why do I need to be exhorted to pray with boldness? Why is the writer exhorting these Hebrew Christians to pray with boldness? Well, the answer to that question gets at the heart of who these Hebrew Christians are and what they were struggling with. These Hebrew Christians had an understanding of how deep their sinfulness was. They knew their sins. They would have known exactly what the writer was talking about when the writer writes what he does in verses 12 and 13. Verses 12 and 13. For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in God's sight, that is not seen in God's sight. But all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do These Hebrew Christians would have understood that. They would have been saying, oh yes, we know. We know how God's Word exposes us before God. God's Word shows to us our sinful natures. We understand that. God's Word shows us what lies in the depths of our hearts. We know who this God is with whom we have to do. He is a just and a holy God and we are not holy. We understand our desperate need for a covering. We understand our desperate need for mercy, and for grace, and for a high priest, and for atonement. But the question these Hebrew Jews were facing was this. Where do we find these things? Where should we put our trust? Where do we put our confidence? That might seem like a very basic question. It is. That's exactly why the writer to the Hebrews is being so strong in his rebukes. At the end of chapter 5, he talks to them about how immature they are. You should be beyond this kind of question. But that's exactly how the Jews were also tempting these Hebrew Christians. That's exactly where the line of attack was. The Jews and Satan behind them was putting this temptation before these Christians. You need to put your confidence in the flesh. As contradictory as that might sound, you need to put your confidence in the flesh at least a little bit. Put your confidence at least a little bit back into Judaism and in the priests at the temple. The temptation that these Hebrew Christians were facing was this, to start to think this way. How can I approach God? When I am so sinful, and His Word exposes all that's within me, God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Even now as a Christian, as I'm struggling with my faith and I have these doubts, just look at how weak I am as a Christian, how sinful I am, how dare I appear before the kingly throne of the Sovereign God. And how dare I approach His throne and speak to Him openly, frankly, about my sin and about my weaknesses and my doubting and my disobedience? How could I possibly speak so boldly and so freely before the Heavenly Father about my own sins? Or maybe I should just flee back to Judaism and find my salvation in both. Maybe if I play it safe and I be both a Christian and also put part of my trust in the Jewish worship, well, then my bases will be covered. Besides, would Jesus Himself really have an interest in me? Is He not so far above me, highly exalted at God's right hand? Is He not the very Son of God? Could such a high priest still understand the kinds of temptations and the kinds of weaknesses and the kind of shame and the guilt that I am feeling as I live on earth? And the temptations of the Jews and of Satan would be this. You Christians need a human mediator. This sounds a lot like Roman Catholicism. You need a human mediator. A real man whom you can see with your own eyes, who is one who can truly sympathize with you. Look at how sinful you are! Jesus Christ would be ashamed to be called your High Priest. God would be ashamed to be called your God. Abandon the faith, go back to Judaism, and there you will find a high priest who is truly on your side. There you will find a high priest who truly understands your sin and your weaknesses. And so the writer to the Hebrews says this, my dear Hebrews, you need to understand once again how gracious God is. You need to be reminded once again of how merciful God is, of how forgiving God is. You need to come to the knowledge of how sympathetic God is towards you. And you need to understand once again just how great of a high priest you have. You need to understand just how human Your High Priest is. You need to understand that of all men, Jesus Christ is the one who understands you and your sin and your guilt and your sorrow perfectly. And you need to understand that you can and you must put all your confidence in Him alone. And that in Him you can have confidence and you must have confidence. to approach God's throne with boldness. And that's where we come to the encouragement that's found in verse 15. And you see that connection between verses 15 and 16 by the word therefore at the beginning of verse 16. Let us therefore come boldly. That's the exhortation. Come boldly. And now here's the encouragement, therefore, because of what has been said in verse 15. What is the encouragement of verse 15? Verse 15 says, For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. We don't have a high priest who is insensitive to our sorrows and our griefs. But He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. He is a very human mediator. Even though He is in heaven, ascended at God's right hand, even now, still now, He can be touched with the feeling of your weaknesses. For even now in heaven, He's still your perfect High Priest. And you Hebrews, with your weaknesses, with your discouragements, with your sins, you have Him as your perfect, sympathizing High Priest. As we look at verse 15, there is one thing that is important for us to understand in particular, and that's this, what a High Priest is. What was the High Priest? Well, the High Priest's function, of course, was to represent the people. He represented the people and he offered the sacrifices on their behalf, especially on that day of atonement, once a year. He went into the most holy place with the blood of the Lamb and sprinkled it on the mercy seat on behalf of the people. And the whole picture was this. Through the sacrifices being made by the high priest, the sins of the people were covered. And it all pointed to Jesus Christ. But, One of the essential aspects of the priestly office, which is reflected today in the diaconate, one of the essential aspects of the priestly office, and of the high priest in particular, was this. The high priest had to be the picture of mercy. He had to be able to bear very, very gently with the sins of the people. The high priest was not one who was cold towards the people, or who was distant from them, or who found himself somehow repulsed and kept himself separate from them. No, rather the high priest was one who understood the people exactly, who understood their guilt and their weaknesses. He understood them so well because he understood that he himself was essentially no different than the people whom he represented. He was one of them. And just as they needed mercy and grace, he understood he too needed mercy and grace. The high priest bore the people upon his very own heart. upon the breastplate of righteousness. He bore the people of the twelve tribes upon his own heart. And as part of his office, the high priest was called to sympathize perfectly with the people in their sin and in their shame. He was to be the picture of mercy. Now, in verse 15, what is being emphasized is this. Your Jesus Christ is exactly that kind of a high priest. We have not an high priest. which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted, like as we are, yet without sin." Jesus' greatness, His exaltation at God's right hand, does not create any kind of a barrier between Jesus and you, as if He cannot sympathize with you anymore. No, Jesus was in all points tempted like you are. He was and He still is fully man. Just like you, just like me, yet without sin. And again, being without sin doesn't make Jesus an ineffective sympathizer. It makes Jesus that much more of a perfect sympathizer because he truly understands how hard it is to live the Christian life, to resist temptation, and to resist sin. Long after we give up our struggle against sin, Jesus continues to resist. And He knows the agony and pain that temptation inflicts upon one's soul. He knows how offensive your own sin is to your new man. Jesus knows you. He knows you personally. He calls you by name. He knows all about you. Because He's God. And yet because Jesus Himself was also fully man, and He experienced the same struggles and the same temptations you face, He can and He does sympathize with you perfectly. Yes, so great was Jesus' sympathy towards you, so great His love and kindness, that not only did He become a man so that He could truly identify with you in all your struggles and sufferings, But in His abounding sympathy, He took all your sufferings and struggles, also, and your shame and your sin upon Himself, and He took it to the cross. Jesus is such a merciful and sympathetic High Priest, that instead of judging you, and condemning you for your sins and for all your failures, and asking you why you don't do better, because, well, He was able to resist the temptation. Instead of doing all that, this is what Jesus does. In His abounding sympathy and in His love, He takes that judgment against you, He takes that condemnation against you, and He says, let it be Mine. Let me take your shame and your pain in order to deliver you from that shame and from that pain. And He offered Himself in your place as the sacrifice for your sin. And He did that because He knew in His sympathy that no other sacrifice would suffice. If there is any other way, yes, so be it. Then go that way. But if there is no other way, let me drink this cup of God's wrath. Picture this for a moment. Picture this thought. In Jerusalem at the temple, picture the high priest in his work making the sacrifices. Taking another bull, slitting its throat, collecting its blood, putting that bull on the altar and burning it. Now taking a lamb, a spotless lamb, cutting its throat, collecting its blood, putting that lamb on the altar that it might be burnt. All day long, doing this, presenting the sacrifices for the people, in sympathy for them, understanding their sin and guilt. But now imagine this. This high priest sees and understands that all these bulls and all these goats and all these lambs aren't really doing anything to cover the sins of the people. Imagine if now that high priest who was sacrificing all those bulls and goats and lambs, imagine if that high priest now says, enough with the bulls and the goats and the lambs. These people need a covering for sin that will actually atone for their sins. I offer myself. Slit my throat. Collect my blood. Put my body on the altar of burnt offering. So that there might be a covering for the sins of the people. Would you not say of that kind of a high priest what sympathy he has towards the people? Is there any high priest in the Old Testament who ever did that? And yet, is that not exactly the sympathy of your beloved High Priest, Jesus Christ? That's exactly what He did on the cross as your merciful and faithful High Priest. The writer says to the Hebrews, you think you will find a faithful and sympathetic High Priest in Judaism? No. Even in how those High Priests were sympathetic towards the people, they were but a type and a shadow of the reality in Jesus Christ. Their sympathy, just as they were types and shadows of Jesus Christ, their sympathy towards the people is itself only a type and only a shadow of the full sympathy that is found in the High Priest, Jesus Christ. That's really the wonder of it. Jesus was God, but in order For your salvation, because of his deep sympathy towards you, he became a man so that he might be put to death. First, so that he might fully identify with you in your sufferings and taste your sufferings. So then that he might also, in his sympathy, take away your sufferings. We do not have an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. And with that same sympathy that Jesus had towards you, that moved Him to lay down Himself upon the cross, with that same sympathy, He has that same sympathy towards you today, as He is your High Priest before the Father, making intercession. And remember, this is not just the love and the sympathy of Jesus Christ. This is the love and sympathy of your God, who himself became flesh, so that he might perfectly identify with you in your sufferings and take away your sufferings. Now, congregation, I want to bring this word home to you this afternoon. When you see your sins, and your wickedness. And you are ashamed of yourself. And you find it hard to go to God in prayer. Even though you know God's throne is the throne of grace, it's sometimes hard to go to God in prayer because our sins just seem so horrible. Remember this. Jesus understands your shame. He understands the burden of your sorrow, because He was there once too. Not because He committed any sin Himself, but because He took those very sins which you are so shameful of in the moment, He took those very sins upon Himself, and He felt the shame and the burden of those very sins Himself. When you are in the middle of temptation, or when you are in deep grief over falling into sin, or whether it be any other agony of your soul, and you're going to God in prayer, and you can't find the right words, your heart is so burdened you can barely speak, and all you might be able to say is this, Lord, help me. Lord, help me. Be comforted in this thought. Jesus understands those words. And He understands the heart from which those words are being spoken. And remember this, Jesus, when you cannot express in words the burden of your grief, Jesus is able to express those burdens and those sorrows perfectly before the Father on your behalf. Exactly the burdens that lie upon your heart. And He knows exactly the right way to express your grief and your burden, because He's drawing from His own experience as your faithful High Priest. He knows the place you are in. He knows your weeping. He's been there. And Almighty God Himself, through Jesus Christ, perfectly understands your pains and your sorrows and your griefs. In this coming week, As you're examining yourself, as you see your sinful nature, as you're confessing your sins before the Heavenly Father and you're weeping over your sins, Jesus understands the shame and the embarrassment you feel. And your Heavenly Father in Jesus Christ understands you and your sorrows and your tears perfectly. When your soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death, remember, you are never without someone who understands. Are not those words exactly the words Jesus said the night before His crucifixion? My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death. And all this, congregation, is said to you this afternoon, so that when you pray and go before God's throne of grace, you might be bold. Come boldly before His throne of grace. Have the freedom of speech to confess your sins openly and your struggles. Be open with God. Pour out your heart before God. Because He is your understanding, loving friend. And then also come boldly next week to the Lord's Supper table. Jesus calls you to come. To come boldly. Why? Exactly so that you might obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Amen.