Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Hebrews 7:23-27
Pastor: Pastor Berg
Sermon Date:  April 1, 2018

Earlier this week I did a very broad Google search. I searched, “Top ten most needed things.” One of the very first links that popped up was a sight called, “The top tens.com. And sure enough, there was a top ten list for the Most Important Things in Life. I’m sure you can guess some of the things that were on there: Love, Family, Music, Health, Friends, Food and Drink, Happiness, Parents, and Knowledge. But none of those things were number one. Believe it or not, the number one most important thing on the list was God. In this age of godlessness, God was listed as the most important thing in this life. However, who that God was or why God was most important wasn’t clear. And that’s the tragedy in our world today. Our world is no different than any other time in history. The sins are the same. The challenges are the same. The questions are the same. People know that God is out there. They know that he’s important. But they don’t know why. This morning, as we celebrate the highest point of our entire Church year, the day of Christ’s resurrection, we are going to focus on the why. Why is Jesus the exact God that we needed? What did Jesus do and what is he still doing for us today? And when we’re done, I pray that we will rejoice in the truth that Jesus Is Our Eternal Easter High Priest.

In the Old Testament, the only way to get to God was through the priests and more specifically, the High Priest. It’s those High Priest’s that the writer to the Hebrews has in mind when he writes, “There were many who became priests because death prevented any of them from continuing to remain in office.” While those High Priests were able to serve as a go-between for the people, they had limitations. They were sinful. They had to offer sacrifices for themselves before they could even begin to speak on behalf of the people. And eventually they died. That’s the problem of putting your saving trust in people. They too are sinful. They too have limitations. The Bible clearly says, “the soul who sins is the one who will die…no man can save the life of another.” It’s why the psalmist declares, “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men who cannot save.” Each successive high priest, all 83 of them from the time of Aaron to the time the sacrifices ceased when the temple was destroyed, died.

But Jesus was different. We saw it again and again this Lenten season. If there’s anything that is clear about Jesus, it’s that he did not deserve to be on trial for his life. He did not deserve to die; he clearly had done nothing wrong. Pilate flat out admitted it: “I find no basis for a charge against this man.” The Jewish leaders admitted it too by finding it necessary to hire false witnesses to testify against Jesus, and even they couldn’t agree. Even Judas admitted it as the threw the 30 silver coins back into the temple and exclaimed: “I have betrayed innocent blood.”

Yes, Jesus was different. Jesus was the exact God, the exact Easter high priest we needed. Listen why: “This is certainly the kind of high priest we needed: one who is holy, innocent, pure, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.” Look at Jesus any way you want—on the inside he was holy. The all-seeing God testified about him: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” On the outside he had no sin. Jesus is perfect in everyway. That’s why he didn’t have to offer a sacrifice for his own sins. And that’s why the result of his one sacrifice is different. Those Old Testament priests had to offer sacrifices day after day after day because those animal sacrifices couldn’t take away sins. Remember, we’ve already heard that “The soul that sins is the one who must die.” No those Old Testament sacrifices ever and only pointed ahead to the promised Savior who would pay for sins once and for all. And that’s exactly what Jesus did. As our Eternal Easter High Priest, he offered himself on the altar of the cross, and that sacrifice was sufficient to satisfy the justice of the Holy God. It did what the Old Testament priesthood could never do—once and for all remove the guilt of sin from every soul deserving of death. How do we know? How can we be sure? Because Jesus is our Eternal Easter High Priest! Jesus lives forever. The writer says, “because this one endures forever, he has a permanent priesthood. So for this reason he is able to save forever those who come to God through him, because he always lives to plead on their behalf.”

“He lives, he lives, he lives…” we sing again and again, 29 times in that iconic Easter hymn. It’s this fact that leads St. Paul to rejoices as he does later in 1 Corinthians 15, “ ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law, But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul got it! He knew firsthand what made death so scary—sin. As the chief of sinners, Paul knew that unless something intervenes, punishment and torment are what awaits. And every single person of this world knows that too. Deep down in the recesses of their hearts, when you peel away the layers of bravado and arrogance, when you take away the creature comforts, when the medicine doesn’t seem to be working any more; when all that’s left is death staring them in the face, it is fearsome! Is some generic god going to help? Will being “spiritual” provide the one required answer? It won’t, but Jesus does! Jesus meets our every need! By paying for sin, Christ has pulled the stinger out of death and rendered it powerles to hurt all who find forgiveness in the wounds of the risen Savior. Now, instead of hurting us, death is none other than the doorway to an eternal life in the glorious presence of our Eternal Easter High Priest, who has met our every need. Death cannot hurt us and the grave cannot hold us because of Jesus who lives forever and says, “Because I live, you also will live!”

Have you ever had someone say, “I’ll be there for you!” only to find them not, when you really needed them? If you’re anything like me, you’ve said those words yourself, only to come up short when the time came. As good as our own intentions might be, as diligent as others try to be in being there for us, it’s really an impossible task. We can’t always be there. But the same is not true for Jesus. You see Jesus is our Eternal Easter High Priest. Listen again to how the writer describes him: “But because this one endures forever, he has a permanent priesthood. So for this reason he is able to save forever those who come to God through him, because he always lives to plead on their behalf.” The words just jump off the page at you, don’t they? Endures forever, permanent priesthood, save forever, always lives. There is never a time when Jesus isn’t there for us, never a time when he’s out of reach, never a time when he’s disinterested. As our Eternal Easter High Priest, he takes his role of interceding for us seriously. We saw that already during his earthly ministry. Already then he was praying for us. He said to his Father, “I want those you have given me to be with me…and to see my glory.” Already then, Jesus had you in mind and wanted you to be with him in glory. He had you in mind as he prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” For all the times that we have sinned against God and against his Son, Jesus prays for and grants forgiveness because of what he’s done for you.

We see the compassionate heart of our Savior on this Easter day. Mark’s gospel tells us that the angels told the first visitors at Jesus’ empty tomb to make sure that Simon Peter heard the good news. Why? For three days, a burden of guilt weighed on Peter’s heart—he had denied his Lord, even after he had been warned! But on the third day, the risen Jesus through his angels said, “Go tell his disciples and Peter!” Tell Peter. Make sure he knows the joy of forgiveness and the peace of Easter!

My friends, I’m sure you know of someone who could use the same encouragement. First, preach it to yourself! For we all have been like Peter and denied our Lord in one way or another. We all have felt the burden of guilt weighing on us. Jesus rose for you! Your Eternal Easter High Priest prays for you before his Father in heaven. It’s why we sing for joy on this day, “He lives to bless me with his love; he lives to plead for me above; he lives my hungry soul to feed; he lives to help in time of need.”

Friends, there’s someone out there right now who’s hurting. They’re longing for answers they just can’t find. The top ten list wasn’t wrong. They know there’s a God out there and they know he’s important. But they don’t know where to find him or how to be in a proper relationship with him. There’s a hole in their heart just waiting to be filled. Friends, fill it with Easter! Tell them of a Great High Priest who is exactly what they need! Tell them of the one who is pure, innocent, and holy who stepped into their place to take away all of their sins. Tell them that he lives to serve them, to comfort them, to guide them, but most importantly to save them. On this most Holy Easter, tell them of Jesus’ love. AMEN