“On To Maturity” [Matt's Messages]

“On To Maturity”

Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus 

The Letter to the Hebrews

Lanse Evangelical Free Church

May 10, 2026 :: Hebrews 5:11-6:3  

What is the most loving rebuke your mom ever gave you?

I’m not asking what is the most loving thing she ever said to you. That was probably some variation on, “I love you.” Or a promise she made to you. Or perhaps she pointed out something wonderful about you–some gift of God’s grace in you with well-chosen words.

I hope everybody here has gracious words from their mother that they can cherish all your days. I’m sure there are some who may not. The Lord knows, and He is sufficient no matter what. He has loving things to say over you even if your mom never has. 

But what I am asking right now is what is the most loving rebuke your mom ever gave you?

The time she told you off.

The time she scolded you.

The time she bawled you out.

The time she read you the riot act.

And you needed to hear it from her!

Nobody likes to be scolded, but sometimes a scolding is exactly what we need to get our attention and to keep us from going off the rails.

All good mothers know that.

And so do all good pastors. And this pastor who was writing this sermonic letter to the Hebrews chooses this moment in his missive to lovingly rebuke his readers.

Did you hear it as it was read to us? Did you hear the rebuke? It starts in the first verse. Verse 11.

“We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.”

Ouch. 

He says that he has a lot more to say about what we were studying last week–Jesus is our great high priest. Jesus is the greatest high priest there ever was. He’s like every other high priest (human, subject to weakness, called by God), but He’s better than every other high priest. He is a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

Wow! What does that mean? This pastor wants to explain it. But he’s afraid that the Hebrews are not paying attention.

“It is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.”

And that’s saying it nicely.

The King James and the ESV has “...you have become dull of hearing.”

The CSB has, “...you have become too lazy to understand.”

The updated NIV has, “...it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand.”

That’s a rebuke. That’s a scolding. He wants them to feel some shame. Because this is not about their intellectual abilities. This is about their hearts. They are not listening with their hearts. They are zoning out.

And this pastor is saying, “I’m worried about you guys. Something has gone terribly wrong here.” Look at verse 12.

“In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!”

That’s a rebuke. He’s saying that they have not grown as they were supposed to. It’s as if their mothers took their twelve year old to the family doctor, and she held up the growth chart and said, “You are in the 1st percentile for growth. Or maybe the -25th percentile. You should be here, and you are here."

Is there anything wrong with a baby who only drinks milk? No!

Is there anything wrong with a newborn baby who only nurses?  No! It would bad if a newborn baby was eating a piece of pizza! Or a porterhouse steak.

But what if you are 25 year old who is still nursing? A 10 year old that never eats a piece of pizza. Nothing but milk. 

What would that 10 year old look like? What would that 25 year old look like? We call it “failure to thrive.” “Stunted growth.” 

These readers had had the gospel for some time, and they should have been further along. They should have been teachers by now! It’s not that they should ever stop learning. It’s that they have stopped learning. They should have learned enough by now that they have something to give to others. 

“C’mon, guys.” That’s what he’s saying to them.  “C’mon, guys. Milk is good, but have you tried chicken? Solid food is even better!” Verse 13.

“Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.”

This is not working. To be “not acquainted” in verse 13 means to be “inexperienced, unskilled, undiscerning.” Sounds like a little baby to me. And it doesn’t sound like what a Christian ought to be. If you are a Christian, if you have been a Christian for any length of time, you’re going to learn what God says about what is right and how to be right with God. But these folks were still acting like babies, like spiritual infants. And so this loving pastor rebukes them.

I have only two major points this morning from this text, and they are two sides of the same coin.

#1. DON’T STAY A BABY!

Don’t stay a baby Christian.

Now, if you are a baby Christian here today, praise God! Welcome to the family. It’s okay to not know hardly anything yet about Jesus. We will teach you about Jesus here. Who He is. What He has done. What He is going to do. And what He wants from us. We will teach you “the teaching about righteousness.”

But you have to listen. And you have to grow. We will serve out the milk, but you can’t stay on the milk. You’ve got to graduate to solid food.

And not go backwards! I think that he’s implying that they have been fed some solid food before, but they’re kind of like, “I’m not sure I really want to hear all this. I’m just going to coast by on the old stuff. The milk. The introductory stuff. That’s good enough for me.”

“And I’m not going to grow.” 

Is that you? Have you said, “I’m mature enough. I think I’ll just coast from here.” That’s infantile! Don’t stay a baby.

I was trying to think about the most loving rebuke that my mom ever gave to me. And I’m pretty sure I’m forgetting some of them because who wants to dwell on the times when Mom was disappointed in you?

But what came to mind was a particular time when I wasn’t pulling my weight around the house. I think I was a teen or maybe a pre-teen. And I wasn’t doing my chores, and I basically thought that I was above all of that serving stuff. Mom could do all that stuff. She enjoys doing house work! Which is obvious by how much of it she does.

(Which tells you just how immature I was.)

And I remember my Mom rebuked me, and she basically told me to grow up. I was getting older and could be more responsible around the house, not less. 

Don’t stay a baby. Don’t stay a baby Christian. Take an inventory of your spiritual life. Take a long look at yourself.

Have you grown as a Christian? Recently? Is there any difference in your life now from before? Or over time? Have you grown in the fruit of the Spirit? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Are you more self-controlled now than you used to be? Are you more patient? Are you more gentle? Have you learned your Bible? Are you reading it? Are you understanding it more and more? Are you listening to the message on Sunday and applying it your life?

Or...are you slow to learn? Do you have your fingers in your ears like a spiritual toddler? You can be quite old physically and still act like this. Because it’s a matter of the heart. Don’t stay a baby. Flip-side:

#2. GROW UP IN CHRIST.

Look at verse 14.

“But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. [Chapter 6] Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity...”

There’s our title for today: “On To Maturity.”

Don’t stay a baby Christian, grow up in your relationship with the Lord and become mature.

The word for “maturity” in verse 1 is the same word as we saw applied to Jesus last week in chapter 5, verse 9 about how He was “made perfect.” We said that is “made complete” or “made whole.” In Jesus’ life, that was graduating from the school of suffering to being the perfected high priest.

In our case, it’s that we are becoming more and more like Jesus. More and more like we were made to be. Maturing in our faith and becoming like our Lord.

Hebrews urges us to “go on to maturity.” What does that look like? 

I think this passage gives us a picture of maturity when we consider the flipside of what it says about immaturity.

Here are 5 things I’ve noted down:

First, a mature Christian is eager to eat meat. 

They want that solid food. If an infantile Christian is choking on the solid food, a mature Christian is not only able to eat the solid stuff, but hungry for it.

My friend Nick, the pastor at Blue Course Community Church, was telling me this week about a young Christian who was in the Blue Band and got in from playing at an away game at 3am one Saturday night last year. Or I guess that’s Sunday morning. And she was at church at 10:00 because she wanted to be fed!

Are you hungry for the meat of God’s Word? If you miss a Sunday here, do you read or listen or watch last week’s message to get caught up and fed? I do! And I actually listen to last week’s message every week even though I wrote it to get myself ready this week’s.

Do you read your Bible? Do you study your Bible? Do you study it with other people?

Second, a mature Christian is ready to teach.

That doesn’t mean that you’re ready to get up here and preach. Or even back there and teach a class. But it does mean that you are ready to explain the gospel to someone else who isn’t as far along as you.

If your friend has questions, are you ready to give them some answers? Can you explain what you believe?

Moms, you need to teach your kids Christian doctrine. It’s part of the job description you signed up for when you got pregnant. And, yes, that means that you will constantly be learning. You will need to keep learning to keep teaching.  Moms need solid food so that they can nurse. Mature Christian moms need solid food so that they can nourish their baby Christians at home.

Third, a mature Christian puts it work. They put what they know to work. That’s in verse 14 of chapter 5. 

“But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

A mature Christian takes in spiritual nourishment and then does something with it. Like what Keith Hurley taught two weeks ago. A mature Christian doesn’t just hear the word and nod along. They take what they hear and do something with it. 

“Constant use.”  “Trained.” The word for “trained” in verse 14 is from the root word “gumnazmo” from which we get our word “gymnasium.” 

It’s a work out. When you listen to a sermon, do you think, “What can I do with this? What must I do with this? What will I do with this?” It’s pumping iron.

Mature Christians fill up with the protein of God’s word and then work out with it until they are changed. Until they can tell the difference between good and evil. They have discernment. 

Fourth, able to discern.

Mature Christians know what the right thing to do is. 

For example, our Lord Jesus told us to forgive those who sin against us. Does everybody agree with that? Are you doing that?

See, that’s what it means to be “slow to learn” if you don’t take what God’s Word says and then do it. Of course your spiritual growth is going to atrophy.

Jesus says, “Let your yes be yes and your no be no.” In other words, keep your promises. Are you doing that? Are you keeping your promises to your employer? To your mortgage company? To your spouse?

“Well...”

See, everybody loves Jesus until He starts to demand things. And then we start looking for loopholes.  

And then we start trying to ignore Him. Maybe we still want be counted among the Christians, but we don’t really want to be acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.

Grow up. Mature Christians grow in Christ by putting what they are learning of Christ to work which makes them able to discern right from wrong, good from evil.

And lastly, mature Christians build on the basics. 

Notice again what it says in verse 1 of chapter 6.

“Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity...”

Now, I don’t think that he means that we should abandon the elementary teachings about Christ. Do you? I don’t think he means that we should leave them in the dust. We should never abandon the elementary teachings about Jesus. We will always need them. They are our sure foundation.

But we need to build on that foundation. We don’t throw out our ABC’s. But we use those ABC’s to write sentences, and paragraphs, and books. We don’t throw out the basics, but we build on them. If we never do, then we never mature. Look at what he goes on to say in verse 1.

“Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so.”

He says that we (and notice that he includes himself here, we all need to do this) are to “go on to maturity.” Or more literally, “be taken forward to maturity” as if God is sweeping us along in the process. We don’t do this in our own power.  But we do do it. We go on to maturity not by re-laying the foundation, but I think by building upon it.

Now, the list of six things there in verses 1 and 2 have been taking differently by different biblical scholars over the years. They are obviously all basic things, but it’s not clear exactly what kind of basic things.

I tend to think that they are basic Christian things because verse 1 says “elementary teachings about Christ.”

So that’s repentance from sinful acts and flip-side faith in God.  That’s the doorway into a relationship with God. Turn and trust. And we know that’s turn and trust in Jesus the Son of God who died on the Cross for our sins and came back to life to give us life. That the basics of conversion. Conversion 101.

And then baptisms and the laying on of hands would be John’s baptism before Christ and Christian baptism after Christ and the commissioning of Christian leaders for leadership and service. These are the basics of church life. Church 101.

And then resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment are the basics of Christian teaching about the end times. Christian Future 101. There is a new world coming when Jesus returns. 

These are all things that all Christians should have been taught early on in their faith.

Do you know these things? I hope so. (If not, let’s talk!)

Should we abandon these things? No, of course not. And really, we should revisit them regularly. That’s why we recite our statement of faith and sing the songs we do to remind ourselves of the basics of our beliefs. But we go deeper. And we go higher. We build on those basics. We go on to maturity.

Interestingly, many other Christians have noted that these 6 things are not distinctively Christian. In fact, they all could be taken as basics of Jewish teaching from the Old Covenant. 

So it could be yet another way that Hebrews is saying that these believers should not go backwards.

Maturity in Christ would mean not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works (good works will not save us!) and of faith in God.

Or instruction about (the new NIV now has) “cleansing rites” which could be Jewish washings like we read about in the Old Testament or what the Pharisees were famous for doing (see also 9:10-14).

And “the laying on of hands” might be when a temple-goer lays their hand on a lamb before sacrificing it.

And “resurrection of the dead” and “eternal judgment” are truths taught in the Old Testament, too.

It may be that these Hebrews were tempted to lay again the foundation of the Old Covenant way of approaching God. The Aaronic High Priest and all.

But the author is saying, “That won’t work. You can’t go back. There is a New Covenant with a Greater High Priest, and it is much better, and it is now the way to perfection, to completeness, to maturity.”

Don’t get stuck back there. That’s all good stuff. But don’t get stuck there. Don’t keep getting started and going nowhere. Build on it.  Let us go on to maturity. Does that make sense?

And though he’s been giving them such a hard time, he ends this section with a word of encouragement.

“And God permitting, we will do so.”

We will go on to maturity! If the Lord wills.  And we know that He’s said this is part of His revealed will, His will of command. And He’s so good and gracious and loving and powerful, if He empowers us to go on to maturity, then we certainly will.

Because the opposite is just terrible to think about. Next week, God-permitting, we will think about. The next few verses are some of the hardest to interpret and heaviest receive in the whole Bible. It’s a warning. Not just a scolding but a warning.

But before he issues that warning, this pastor takes a deep breath and gives us a strong word of encouragement.

Like a good mom, he has issued a loving rebuke. “You are being dull. You are being lazy. You are not listening. You have your fingers in your ears. Do you hear me?”

He obviously thinks they might be listening. They are slow to learn, but he hasn’t given up on them. 

He’s doing that loving-dope-slap-on-the-back-of-the-head thing that some moms have perfected.

And he says, “Don’t stay a baby. Grow up in Christ.”

“Let’s all do it,” he says.

And God-permitting, we will do so.

***

Messages in this Series:

01. "The Son" - Hebrews 1:1-4
02. "Superior to the Angels" - Hebrews 1:5-14
03. "Such a Great Salvation" - Hebrews 2:1-4
04. "We See Jesus" - Hebrews 2:5-9
05. "Flesh and Blood" - Hebrews 2:10-18
06. "Fix Your Thoughts on Jesus" - Hebrews 3:1-6
07. “Today, If You Hear His Voice” - Hebrews 3:7-19
Bonus Historical Message: The Gift of My Rest - A Fictional Letter of Sabbath Theology
08. "A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God" - Hebrews 4:1-13
09. "Great High Priest" - Hebrews 4:14-16
10. "The Source of Eternal Salvation" - Hebrews 5:1-10

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“The Source of Eternal Salvation” [Matt's Messages]

“The Source of Eternal Salvation”

Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus

The Letter to the Hebrews

Lanse Evangelical Free Church

May 3, 2026 :: Hebrews 5:1-10  

“Eternal Salvation.” Those are weighty and wonderful words (there in verse 9)!

“Eternal salvation.”  Just think about that.

Salvation means rescue. We were in trouble, and we needed rescued from that trouble. In trouble with God! Our trouble was sin. We had all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And that meant death. The wages of sin is death. And not just any death, but eternal death. Death and judgment and condemnation forever in Hell. That’s where we were headed as the sinful human race.

And we could not save ourselves. We had gotten in too deep. Nothing we did could rescue us from our sin. Someone Else had to deliver us.

And Someone Else did! Someone Else provided a great rescue. What Hebrews chapter 2, verse 3 called “such a great salvation.”

And He didn’t just save us temporarily.

He didn’t just save us for the weekend.

He didn’t just save us for a lifetime.

No, He saved us for an eternity!

He provided an “eternal salvation.” A salvation that goes on forever and ever and ever and ever and ever. What could be better than that?!

These ten verses of Hebrews talk are all about (and this is our message title taken from verse 9), “The Source of Eternal Salvation.” This is where eternal salvation comes from. This is how eternal salvation is possible. This is how eternal salvation springs forth and comes to you and me.

There are very few things more important to think about than that,. and thinking about it deeply will prepare us well to celebrate the Lord’s Supper in just a few minutes. Because that Table is all about “The Source of Eternal Salvation.” Not the Table itself or the food and drink on it, but what that bread and cup represent.  Who they represent. 

Who is the Source of Eternal Salvation? It’s Jesus. We know that. We’re Christians. We’ve come to church to remind ourselves of it. Jesus is the Source of Eternal Salvation. 

Now, verse 9 says that “He became...” that. There was a process in place that had that result. Jesus “became the source of eternal salvation.” How did that come about? That’s what we want think about together this morning. And Hebrews chapter 5 helps us to understand.

[VIDEO WILL BE EMBEDDED HERE.]

What a big job!!!

What a big job it would be to provide eternal salvation for sinners like you and me. It would take an incredibly special Person to be the source of eternal salvation. Thankfully, Jesus is that special.

I’ve been thinking a lot about qualifications for a job recently because our daughter Robin is searching for her first job as a veterinary technician.

She has graduated with her degree at the top of her class. She has passed her national exam. She is ready to secure state licensesure as a certified vet tech.  And she has done an internship and an externship. Robin is fully qualified to be a Vet Tech, and the veterinary hospital that hires her will be very blessed to have her. I say that as a completely objective unbiased father.

But what kind of qualifications would it take to “become the source of eternal salvation?”

What a job that would be?! The Person Who did that would have to be a great high priest.

We learned last time that we’ve reached this middle section of the letter that could be summed up with those three words, “Great High Priest.”

It’s in our memory verse. We sang it in the last hymn. We proclaimed it in Article 4 of our Statement of Faith. In this part of the letter, we’re fixing our eyes on Jesus as our great high priest. From chapters 4 to 10, this sermonic letter focuses our attention on how Jesus is like the high priest that these primarily Jewish believers are familiar with from their Old Testament and...even better.

These believers that he’s writing to were tempted to take their eyes off of Jesus and go back to what they were used to. But this pastor is urging them to not give up or give in and to hold firmly to the faith they had professed. Because Jesus is our great high priest.

Now, what does it take to become that?  Here are the basic qualifications for the job of high priest. Verse 1.

“Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.”

They already know these things, but it’s helpful for us who are not that familiar with priests.  Verse 1 explains the basic job description.

The high priest is a mediator. He is a representative. He supposed to represent sinful people before a holy God by offering up gifts and sacrifices for sins. Do you see that?

The priest stands between the sinful people and the holy God. That’s a dangerous place to stand! And so if you’re going to be that person standing between sinners who deserve God’s righteous wrath and that holy God, you better have a holy sacrifice in your hands.

We said last time that the high priest, and the high priest alone would go into the Holy of Holies, the Most Holy Place, in the tabernacle and, then later, the temple once a year on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and take the blood of a propitiating sacrifice to put on the atonement cover make atonement for the sins of the people.

That was his job. What were his qualifications?

Three things. Every high priest had to be:

- Human in Nature

- Subject to Weakness

- Called by God

Kids who are coming to Snack and Yack today, Mrs. Mitchell and I are going to ask you for those three things.

- Human in Nature

- Subject to Weakness

- Called by God

Let’s take them in order. To be the high priest you had to be a human. Did you see that in verse 1?

“Every high priest is selected from among men...”  Or some of your versions might say, “from among the people.” The Greek word is “anthropos” which is the word that we get “anthropology” from. It emphasizes our common humanity.

Let me ask you a question. Could the high priest be an angel? No. Angels are not humans. They could not serve as a high priest. Not qualified.

Could the high priest be a Doberman Pincer? No. Dogs are not human. They may be smarter than some humans, but they cannot serve as a high priest. Not qualified.

How about this one? Could a robot be a high priest? Maybe an Anthropic A.I. Agent? No. A.I. bots are not human. They didn’t exist back then, but even if they did, they could not be a high priest. Not qualified.

You had have a human nature to be high priest. To represent humans, you had to be human.

And part of the reason for that was this second qualification. You had to be subject to human weakness. Look at verse 2.

“He [every priest] is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness.”

The ESV has “beset with weakness.”

King James has “compassed with infirmity.”

The CSB says, “clothed with weakness.”

To be qualified as a high priest, you had to be subject to weakness. You had to be able to be tempted. You had to live with human limitations. Human sins had to look good to you in some way. You had to understand what it was really like to be human. Verse 2 says so that you could “deal gently” with those who were “ignorant” and “going astray.”  Those who are acting like sheep. “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way...” (Isa. 53:6). 

That’s not good! But the high priest has to understand what it’s like. He has to be compassionate. He has to care. He has to be empathetic and sympathetic.  Not merely frustrated with sinners and looking down on them because he’s above it all. 

In fact, the high priest in the Old Testament was so subject to weakness that he would have given in to temptation time and again and need cleansed from sin himself. Look at verse 3.

“This is why [because he’s subject to weakness] he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people.”

You can read about it in Leviticus chapter 16. The priest offered sacrifices for himself and his family and then for the rest of the people. 

And here’s the third qualification: Called by God Himself. Look at verse 4.

“No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was.”

To be qualified as the high priest, you didn’t just decide that you were going to be the high priest. At least if you were doing it right. I’m sure that there were plenty of pretenders in the history of the priesthood, but it wasn’t supposed to be like that.

It wasn’t like you just on day decided that you were going to be the high priest. And it wasn’t something for which you ran for election. 

God just called Aaron to do it. And then his sons. In their case, it was hereditary and genealogical.  You had to come from a certain tribe in Israel.

What tribe was Aaron from? Of the twelve tribes? Levi. You had to be a son of Levi. And then from the Levites, Aaron was chosen and then his sons. You had to be from Aaron’s clan to be high priest.

Human, subject to weakness, and called by God just as Aaron was. Read about it in Exodus 28, Leviticus 8, and Numbers 3.

Big job. Big qualifications.

What about Jesus? Is Jesus qualified for the job of high priest? Of course He is. Let’s start with the last one. Was He called by God? Look at verse 5.

“No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was. So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, ‘You are my Son; today I have become your Father.’ And he says in another place, ‘You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek” (vv.5-6).

This pastor loves his Old Testament and has read it more deeply and carefully than just about anybody in history. He says that Jesus the Messiah (the Christ) did not just take upon Himself the glory of becoming a high priest. He probably could have. He had the authority. But He did not do it on His own.

God the Father called Him to this ministry. And the writer brings out two passages of Scripture to prove it.

The first is Psalm 2, verse 7 which he had already quoted back in the opening part of the letter (1:5).

It’s that enthronement song that King David probably sang over King Solomon, and we all recognize was fully fulfilled in King Jesus.

“You are my Son; today I have become your Father.”

And this pastor-theologian sees that as not only a calling to rule but to serve as a priest. Because he knows that the Son of Psalm 2 is also the Son of Psalm 110 where, “The LORD [said to David’s son his] Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet’” (Psalm 110:1) which he had also already quoted in chapter 1 (v.13).

The Father invited the Son to sit at His right hand! Does that sound familiar? He has “gone through the heavens” and sits at the right hand of the Majesty on High.

And then the LORD goes on to promise on oath in Psalm 110, verse 4 (quoted here in verse 6), “You [the One seated at His right hand] are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

There is so much here to unpack. And this letter is going to do that especially in chapter 7. This is the first of 10 times that Hebrews is going to reference Psalm 110, verse 4! He’s going to be talking about that verse a lot.

The most important thing to understand up front is that God the Father called Jesus to the priesthood. It happened in Psalm 2, verse 7 and Psalm 110, verse 4. Jesus is qualified to be our great high priest because God called Him to it. “You’re my Son. You’re a priest forever.”

Forever! That’s important, isn’t it? Because what kind of salvation do we need? “Eternal salvation.”

What if we had a priest who only lasted 100 years? Our great high priest is a priest “forever” and that means that our salvation can be forever, too.

Now, what is this Melchizedek thing in verse 6? What is a Melchizedek? It’s a person, isn’t it? That’s a name. 

The Mysterious Mr. Melchizedek!

Pop quiz for you. In how many books does the Mysterious Mr. Melchizedek appear in the Bible?

Only 3. The beginning, the middle, and towards the ends. Which books? Genesis. Chapter 14. Read it this afternoon. And then he disappears until where? Psalm 110! Read that this afternoon! And then he’s not mentioned again in until right here in the Letter to the Hebrews. There’s something special going on there. Can you see what an amazing student of the Old Testament this letter writer was?

In Psalm 110, the LORD swears an oath that the Messiah will be a “priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

That’s a different kind of priest. It’s a priest. Someone who is human in nature, subject to weakness, and called by God. But the Melchizedekian priesthood is of a different sort than the Levitical priesthood, and we’ll have to get into that more as we get further in our study. It’s really awesome when you understand it.

So, Jesus is qualified because He’s been called by God.

What about the other two qualifications?

Is He human in nature? Yes, He is. Look at verse 7. Verses 7 through 10 are one long sentence in the original Greek. Verse 7.

“During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.”

Sounds like a human to me.

“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth...” Literally that is, “the days of his flesh.” Remember “flesh and blood” from chapter 2? Jesus was and is fully human.

He took on everything that it means to be a true human.  Flesh and blood and weakness. Jesus was subject to weakness. He got tired. He got beaten. He got killed.

Jesus wept. Jesus bled. He was fully human and that made Him qualified to be our great high priest!

If Jesus had not been born as a baby in Bethlehem, He could not have served as our great high priest. And we would not have eternal salvation. But He was born as human and He suffered as a human.

And He prayed as a human. Did you hear how He prayed in verse 7? It sounds like pure agony.

“During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death...”

He’s yelling His prayers. Have you ever yelled a prayer before?  He’s crying. He’s wailing. 

Do you think about Jesus praying like that? Do you think about the tears running down His face? I don’t believe we think enough about Jesus’ sobbing. His struggle. His turmoil. His prayers were not pretty!

When did He pray like this? Well, it says, “in the days of His life on earth.” It happened on multiple occasions. I think about Him weeping like this at the tomb of his friend Lazarus.

But the time that fits the verse the most is in the Garden of Gethsemane (see Luke 22:34-46).

It says, “to the one (that’s the Father) who could save him from death.” That sounds to me like, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me...” (Luke 22:42). Loud cries and tears.

Oh yes, He was subject to weakness. He can understand what it’s like to be us. He can deal gently.

But, unlike Aaron, Jesus never gave in! What did verse 15 say in the last chapter? The double negative: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin.”

Through His tears like drops of blood Jesus cried, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

Hebrews calls that “reverent submission” in verse 7.  “Reverent submission.” That’s what it took for us to have eternal salvation. It took “reverent submission.” 

And because of His reverent submission, Jesus “was heard.” I don’t think that means just that God the Father could pick up the sound waves from God the Son in the Garden.

“What’s that? I think I hear my Son.”

No, I think that means that the Father answered Jesus’ prayer. 

Is that right? Did Jesus get saved from death? It feels like, “No.” Jesus died. He was a human who suffered a human death on a cruel instrument of human torture. But verse 7 says, “He was heard.”

What do you think the answer is? I think it means that the Father answered the Son’s prayer to be saved “from death” by raising Him from the dead!

Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed.

Our great high priest prayed to be saved from death, and God the Father saved Him on the third day. And then He “passed through the heavens” and sat down.

Aaron sure never did that.

Our great high priest went through so much for us. So much suffering. You wouldn’t expect it. Especially because He was the Son of God. He didn’t deserve all of this suffering. But He chose it for you and me. Look at verse 8. (Again, this is part of a longer sentence. It all goes together. Verse 8.)

“Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek” (vv.8-10).

He obviously has more to say about about that order of Melchizedek in the rest of the letter. It’s pretty important to him, and it is to us as well. But we’ll save that for later.

We do need to talk about this “learning obedience” and being “made perfect.” Those are not the words we might expect to be reading about the Son of God! And the writer knows that. That’s why he starts with “Although he was a son....”

If you remember what he said about the Son in the first four verses of the letter, you’ll remember how exalted the Son is. How superior to everything. He’s the Son of God! Heir of all thing, maker of all thing, sustainer of all things. The radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being! That Son!

What would He have to learn?

Obedience.

Now, that doesn’t mean that He was ever disobedient. You and I learn obedience through failure, through trial and error. But Jesus learned obedience by success. But it was learning, in His human nature. 

Remember, He “grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Lk. 2:52). He started out a baby, and had to learn everything. His ABC’s. His Aleph, Beth, Gimels in Hebrew. He had to learn what it meant to obey as a toddler, obey as a tweener, obey as a teen, obey as an adult–by experience.

And it wasn’t easy, especially when He had to obey the command to go to the Cross.

“He learned obedience from what he suffered...”

There’s a play on words in the Greek there. Learned is “emathen” and suffered is “epathen.” “Emathen” and “epathen.”

Jesus learned through suffering. He understands. He is able to deal gently with us. And when His learning was complete, He was the perfect high priest.

I think that’s what it means in verse 9, “once made perfect.” That doesn’t mean that He was ever morally imperfect. He never sinned. Not even once! Hebrews is very clear on this.

It means that He graduated from this school of suffering and was completely ready to serve as our great high priest.

The word for “perfect” is “teleiow” and it means to be “complete” or “have reached the goal.”

Just like Robin graduated from vet tech school and is now fully qualified to serve as a Vet Tech.

Our Lord Jesus suffered perfectly to be become our perfect high priest. And that makes Him, (v.9) “the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him.”

He got the job! And He did the job! Isn’t that wonderful?!

How do we apply this to our lives today in 2026?

I can think of all kinds of ways, but let me suggest three.

#1. BE SAVED.

Jesus is the perfect source of eternal salvation. So, come to the source and receive that salvation for yourself. It’s not automatic. Verse 9 tells us that there is a condition. There’s a certain kind of person who receives that eternal salvation. What’s it say? V.9

“He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”

And what is the command that we are called to obey?

Believe in Jesus! Put you trust in Jesus.

Again and again the Book of Hebrews the command to obey is a command to believe. This cannot mean that we must obey to somehow earn our salvation. We cannot save ourselves. Hebrews is crystal clear on that. But we must obey the call to believe the gospel. The good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection. We must put our faith and trust in this great high priest. So that He’s OUR great high priest.  And we will saved.

And we’ll be obedient, too. We’ll see that again and again this book, as well.

Don’t listen to this sermon and walk away without a savior. 

Look at what He did for His people! He did the job. He became a human. He took on flesh and blood. And He agonized in prayer. And He died so that we could live.

And He came back to life and passed through heavens and sat down. He became the source of eternal salvation, so get saved!

#2. BE STEADFAST.

You have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens. What does Hebrews 4:14 say that we ought to do because of that?

“[L]et us hold firmly to the faith we profess.”

In other words, “fix your eyes on Jesus” and don’t stop. 

You have the perfect high priest. He is a priest forever, and your salvation is forever. Don’t turn away. Instead, approach Him. Come to Him to prayer. Every day. Be bold! Don’t be scared. He understands. “...[A]proach the throne of grace with confidence! You will mercy and find grace to help us in your time of need.

Be steadfast. Don’t give up. Don’t give in.

#3. BE THANKFUL.

Because we have eternal salvation, we have everything to be grateful for. Rescue from our sins. Not just once. Not just temporarily. Not just for the weekend. Not just for a lifetime. Or 100 lifetimes. Or 1000 lifetimes. But forever!

“Eternal salvation” through our great high priest, Jesus the Son of God.

Human in nature.

Subject to weakness.

Called by God.

Perfected by suffering.

Passed through the heavens and now at the right hand of God.

The source of eternal salvation. 

Be thankful.

***

Messages in this Series:

01. "The Son" - Hebrews 1:1-4
02. "Superior to the Angels" - Hebrews 1:5-14
03. "Such a Great Salvation" - Hebrews 2:1-4
04. "We See Jesus" - Hebrews 2:5-9
05. "Flesh and Blood" - Hebrews 2:10-18
06. "Fix Your Thoughts on Jesus" - Hebrews 3:1-6
07. “Today, If You Hear His Voice” - Hebrews 3:7-19
Bonus Historical Message: The Gift of My Rest - A Fictional Letter of Sabbath Theology
08. "A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God" - Hebrews 4:1-13
09. "Great High Priest" - Hebrews 4:14-16

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“Great High Priest” [Matt's Messages]

“Great High Priest”

Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus

The Letter to the Hebrews

Lanse Evangelical Free Church

April 19, 2026 :: Hebrews 4:14-16  

“Great High Priest.”

Those three words are the title for today’s message, and they come straight from verse 14 which is our newest verse to memorize together as a church.

And they also signify the central themes of the central part of this sermonic letter to the Hebrews. 

If someone asked you what Hebrews chapters 4 through 10 are all about, you could simply answer, “Great High Priest!” (Especially chapters 4 through 7.) Great High Priest! That’s the heart of this letter.

And who is that? Who is the great high priest of the Book of Hebrews? Verse 14 clearly tells us that, as well, “Jesus the Son of God!” 

Jesus is a Great High Priest. In fact, Jesus is our Great High Priest. Verse 14 says, “we have” Him. We have Him. He’s ours. Jesus is our great high priest for the people of God.

Which sounds wonderful, but what does it mean?       

Well, it’s going to take us several weeks, probably several months, to really cover it. This is the place in the Bible where it’s most clearly taught.

The writer to the Hebrews has already used the words “high priest” to describe Jesus twice in this letter. The first was in chapter 2 verses 17 when he said that Jesus had “become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God...” 

Merciful and faithful. And then he went on to unpack the word “faithful.” I think he’s going to do the same here now with “merciful.”

And also in chapter 3, verse 1, he called upon us to “fix [our] thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.” He’s the high priest in which we believe.

And now the letter-writer is going to focus us for the next several chapters on how good it is that Jesus is our high priest. 

And He is not just our high priest. He is our great high priest!

This is the only place in the Bible where those three words are put together in that way. Some places it says, “high priest,” and others “great priest,” but here it’s all three together, “Great High Priest.”

Which sounds wonderful, but what does it mean?

In general, you and I don’t know that much about priests like this. It’s kind of a foreign concept to most modern people in the West. But it wasn’t a foreign concept to the people he’s writing this letter. 

Remember, the letter to the Hebrews was apparently written to primarily Jewish people who knew all about priests because they have had priests all throughout their history. Priests were a regular part of their world, and ever since God rescued Israel from Egypt and gave them the Law, they have had a very structured priesthood that was central to their life and worship as a people.

I’ve been reading the Book of Leviticus the last few weeks, and there is a lot in there about priests.

At its most basic level, a biblical priest is a person with a special role to safely represent sinful people to a holy God.

Priests are intermediaries between people and God. A go-between. A mediator. And specifically in the Bible, a priest represents sinful people to a holy God and makes atonement for them, offers sacrifices for them. The people are sinners who need to be redeemed. They need to have their sins covered and expunged and dealt with. They need an intermediary that somehow brings atonement for their sins, propitiating the just wrath of God through a holy sacrifice presented on behalf of the sinful people.

You see this theme again and again in the Old Testament, especially in Leviticus. Leviticus is like a handbook for priests. 

And in their system of priests, there was one priest that was the chief priest. The high priest. The big priest over the other priests. To top priest.  The priest of priests.

And he had a particularly special role. It was his job (you can read about this in Leviticus chapter 16) to make atonement for all of the people once a year on the Day of Atonement (Hebrew: “Yom Kippur”) where the high priest took the sacrifice (the blood of a bull), and he went into the tabernacle, into the holy place, and then into the holy of holies, the most holy place. 

The high priest took that sacrifice all the way in where no one else was allowed to go, and he made atonement for the sins of the people. He put that blood on the atonement cover, “the mercy seat,” on the Ark of the Covenant in the most holy place and everything was safe for another year. Only the high priest. 

So the Hebrews knew all about that. They were so thankful for that. This concept was central to their worldview.

And this pastor who is writing to them is insisting that Jesus is the high priest, and not just any high priest, but their high priest, our high priest, our great high priest. The high priest of high priests! Who has done what no other high priest has ever or could ever do.

And that makes all of the difference. If they understand this, it will cause them to fix their eyes on Jesus. Which is what he’s been trying to do to them this whole time. 

“Great High Priest”

I have only two points of application for this passage, and they are easy to find. Twice in these three short verses the writer says, “let us...” and then gives a strong word of application. Here’s the first one. It’s in verse 14.

Because Jesus is our Great High Priest...

#1. HOLD FIRMLY.

Hold firmly to your faith in Jesus. Look again at verse 14 and see its glory.  Keith put it on the front of your worship bulletin. You can’t miss it.

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.”

Hold onto Jesus and don’t let go.

Do you hear how he’s like a broken record? How many ways can he say it?

“Fix your eyes on Jesus.” 

“Fix your thoughts on Jesus.” (Chapter 3, verse 1)

“Hold on to [y]our courage and the hope of which we boast” (3:6).

“[H]old firmly till the end the confidence we had at first” (3:14).

This pastor desperately wants these Christians to hold fast to their faith in Jesus Christ.

Because he knows what’s at stake. For the last two chapters, he’s been warning them that if they fall away and don’t keep their faith in Jesus, don’t hold firmly to Jesus, then they will fall in the desert. They will not enter the promised land. They will not reach glory. They will not enter God’s (sabbatismos), His Sabbath-Rest.

But if they hear the gospel and believe and keep believing, then they will!

Remember verse 9. “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience” (Heb. 4:9-11). 

That’s what’s at stake. So he says, “Hold firmly to the faith we profess.”

Fix your eyes on Jesus, and don’t turn back.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record myself, I want to ask you how you are doing at this yourself? Are you holding firmly to the faith we profess? Are you keeping your eyes fixed on Jesus, or are you drifting away? I’m so glad you’re here today so I can ask you.  Where is your focus?  What is your faith trained upon? Which direction are you headed? Are you running the race with Jesus or are you veering off course?

The greatest thing about this letter is that it has these warnings and these exhortations to fix our eyes on Jesus, but it helps us to heed to the warnings and to fix our eyes on Jesus by teaching us and reminding us just how great He is!

And how much greater He is than anything and everything else and anyone and everything else.

In the first couple of chapters, he showed us how Jesus is greater than the angels, as amazing as they are. And then he showed us how Jesus is greater than Moses, as faithful he was.  And then he showed us how Jesus is greater than Joshua and how His rest is greater than the rest that Joshua led his people into.

And now, he’s going to show us that Jesus is greater than Aaron the High Priest and all of the other High Priests who came after him.

Great high priest. Greater High Priest! Greatest High Priest!

And he starts by pointing out where our great high priest went. Where did he go?

Church, where is Jesus right now? He’s at the right hand of the Father.  What does verse 14 say?

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens...”

What’s he talking about? He’s talking about the ascension, isn’t he?

We don’t think enough about the ascension. Jesus lifting off to heaven. We read about it briefly two weeks ago on Resurrection Sunday in Luke 24. It’s also in Acts chapter 1. Jesus blasting off. We don’t think enough about the ascension, but the writer to the Hebrews is going to make sure we do some more!

And it’s not just that He ascended. The old NIV has, “gone through the heavens.” Other versions say, “passed through the heavens.” It’s picturing Jesus as not just going to heaven, but going through the heavens–perhaps the first heaven of the atmosphere, the second heaven of outer space, and the third heaven of that holy dimension (if we can speak that way) of the place where God Himself dwells in unapproachable light (see 1 Timothy 6:16).

Jesus didn’t just go into the Most Holy Place in the mostly symbolic tabernacle here on earth.

He went into the Most Holy Place in the Universe!

And He didn’t just go there for Himself. He went there as our great high priest!

We’re going to think deeply about this for the next several months. Here’s what it says in chapter 9, verse 24. 

“Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence.”

I think that’s what he is talking about in our verse 14.

Our great high priest has gone through the heavens to the heavenly sanctuary to represent us to God! “To appear for us in God’s presence” as our mediator.

The ladies in the choir just sang about this in verse 4:

"Living for me, living for me,

Up in the skies He is living for me;

Daily He's pleading and praying for me,

All because Jesus is living for me."

    -W. G. Ovens & Gladys Westcott Roberts

And we all sang about this, too. We'll probably be singing this one a lot this year:

“Before the throne of God above

I have a strong and perfect plea:

A great High Priest whose name is Love,

Who ever lives and pleads for me.”

My name is graven on his hands,

My name is written on his heart.

I know that while in Heav'n he stands

No tongue can bid me thence depart.”

  - Charitie Lees (Smith) Bancroft

While in heaven He stands! Our high priest has gone through the heavens.

Why ever would you want another high priest?! These folks were tempted to fall back on Judaism. If they could, they were tempted to run back to whoever was the high priest at the temple in Jerusalem. We’re all tempted to find someone else to be our high priest.

But none of them has done what Jesus has done!

Because He’s (v.14), “the Son of God!” And God the Son. He’s all the things we’ve been reading about from chapter 1 on.  And He’s all we need.  And so we need to hold firmly to our faith in Him. Amen?

And that’s not all that makes Jesus great. Look at verse 15.

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin.”

Wow. What a great high priest!

Now, in English, we’re not supposed to use double negatives most of the time. Nobody’s not supposed to do that. (Gets confusing.) But when you do it well, you can really emphasize something.

See the double negative in verse 15?

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses...”

The two negatives cross each other out. We do have a high priest Who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. Our high priest understands!

That’s amazing. Our high priest understands what it’s like to be us. That’s mind-blowing. Especially because we just saw how exalted He is! He’s gone through the heavens. He’s the Son of God!

He’s glorious! He’s One of a kind.  And yet, He understands. Why?

Because He became one of us, right? The Son of God became the Son of Man. He took on humanity. He became weak for us.

There is greatness in His weakness.

What did we just sing?

“Jesus Christ, one Lord of creation

From the Father, begotten, not made.

He is the Light from Light eternal 

And the God of every age.”

That doesn’t sound very sympathetic!

But then it says:

“For this world and for our salvation

He came down from the heavens above

born of a virgin and the Spirit

truly man and truly God.”

“The God We Love” - CityAlight

And He was so much a man that he could be tempted. He could be tested. He felt temptation every single day. 

I don’t think we think about His temptation enough either. Jesus was truly tempted. We read about it in Matthew chapter 4 and Luke chapter 4 and then again in the Garden of Gethsemane in Luke 22.

Satan came after Him hard.  The enemy tried to get him to disobey the Father’s will. He threw everything at Jesus. And it was truly tempting! There wasn’t anything inside of Jesus that was sinful or wrong. So He didn’t want something sinfully from His own heart. But that doesn’t mean it didn’t look good to Him. He felt the temptation with every fibre of his human being. Look at Jesus in the garden. Wrestling. Sweating like drops of blood. 

Don’t ever say that Jesus doesn’t know what it’s like to be tempted. Nobody’s ever been tempted like Jesus was. Especially because He never gave in. Sometimes I get out of temptation by giving in to it. To my shame. But Jesus never got out of temptation by succumbing. He knows like no other what it’s like to be tempted. And that’s good news for you and me.

Because His heart goes out to us. He’s sympathetic. He’s compassionate. He’s a merciful high priest.

I can imagine a high priest who doesn’t care.

I can imagine a high priest who cannot relate.

I can imagine a high priest who turns sinners away because they are weak.

But not this One. He gets us. He fully identified with us. Jesus knows what it’s like to be weak. To feel weak.

Tempted for me

Tempted for me

There in the garden He was tempted for me. (Or at least, “like me.”)

But He never gave in. Verse 15 says, He “has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin.” 

And that makes Him the Great High Priest! Great in His weakness to be tempted and great in His strong victory over that temptation. Because that means Jesus doesn’t have to be cleansed Himself. Aaron and his sons had to be atoned for themselves first (cf. Leviticus 16). But not Jesus. And it also means that Jesus could present His own blood as the atoning sacrifice.

And so we’re saved!

“When Satan tempts me to despair

And tells me of the guilt within,

Upward I look and see Him there,

Who made an end of all my sin.

Because the sinless Savior died,

My sinful soul is counted free,

For God the just is satisfied

To look on him and pardon me.”

He’s this perfect fusion of sympathy and sinlessness, empathy and purity, weakness and victory. He’s our great high priest! And because of that, we can draw near to God.

#2. APPROACH BOLDLY.

Look at verse 16 with me. Every Christian who knows it loves this verse. Our great high priest sympathizes with our weakness, was tempted in every way, yet was without sin. Verse 16.

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

You and I are invited and expected before the throne of God. We are supposed to come to God for help. And we can expect to be heard when we ask for it! We can get mercy and grace to help us in our time of need.

When is that? Most of the time, isn’t it? It’s today. It’s tomorrow. It’s when life gets hard. We need help.

And, church, we don’t deserve it.

If we get help, it will be mercy. Help that we couldn’t do on our own. If we get help, it will grace. Help that, by justice, we shouldn’t receive. You and I? If we go up to the throne of God, we should be turned away. We are sinners. We have rebelled.  We have given in to temptation time after time. Why should we expect good things from the God we’ve spurned?

And it’s not because He missed it. It’s not because we’ve pulled a fast one on Him. Remember verse 13. “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

Why should we expect good things from that God?

Because of our great high priest, that’s why! 

Church, where is Jesus right now? He’s at the right hand of the Majesty on High. He’s right there at the throne! It’s a holy throne of a holy God, and yet for us it’s a “throne of grace.” It’s a throne where we can expect a welcome. It’s a throne where we can expect help.

Do you need help today? I know you do. Where are you going for help? Go to the throne of grace. Because of our great high priest, we are accepted there. We are forgiven. We are covered. We are loved. We are not turned away. We are embraced.

“What do you need, my child?” That’s how God is towards us when we pray. When we worship Him. When we draw near to Him, we find grace.

What are you praying for these days? Are you too scared to pray? Are you too scared to bring your troubles and cares to the throne? Are you too intimidated to pray to come to the throne?

If you have faith in Jesus, you don’t have to be scared. He understands. He cares.  He’s calling you to come to Him. 

Verse 16 says, “Let us then approach the throne...with confidence.” Some of your translations may say, “boldness” or “courage.” He’s saying, let’s march right in there and ask. Don’t be afraid. Fear God. Be worshipful. Be respectful. But be expectant. Not timid. Not terrified. But bold! Tell Him what you need. Tell Him how it hurts. Tell Him how He could help. 

Be bold. Come! Approach boldly. 

Because you will not be not alone at the throne.

You’ll be there with your great high priest.

***

Messages in this Series:

01. "The Son" - Hebrews 1:1-4
02. "Superior to the Angels" - Hebrews 1:5-14
03. "Such a Great Salvation" - Hebrews 2:1-4
04. "We See Jesus" - Hebrews 2:5-9
05. "Flesh and Blood" - Hebrews 2:10-18
06. "Fix Your Thoughts on Jesus" - Hebrews 3:1-6
07. “Today, If You Hear His Voice” - Hebrews 3:7-19
Bonus Historical Message: The Gift of My Rest - A Fictional Letter of Sabbath Theology

08. "A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God" - Hebrews 4:1-13

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"King: A Life" by Jonathan Eig

King: A Life by Jonathan Eig
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Reading this book was a dream about a dream. What a masterpiece! Jonathan Eig has achieved the nearly impossible with King: A Life–a beautiful reconstruction of a very short yet outsized life. This biography is meticulously sourced history without feeling academic in any way.

I was amazed at how Eig brought together all of the threads to tell a complete and complex story. I especially appreciated how unflinching Eig was in presenting Dr. King’s glaring flaws (mostly hidden in his lifetime) in the context of his nearly immeasurable achievements. Eig also tells the complicated and often untold story of what Dr. King stood for beyond civil rights that wasn’t popular then and isn’t often emphasized now.

It’s not a dreamy easy read–pain on every page!–yet is worth any time invested. I understand MLK today in ways I never would have before reading King: A Life.

View all my Goodreads reviews

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“A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God” [Matt's Messages]

“A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God”

Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus

The Letter to the Hebrews

Lanse Evangelical Free Church

April 12, 2026 :: Hebrews 4:1-13

You’ve may have noticed as I read this passage that there’s a word that gets repeated over and over and over again in it.

It’s a four-letter word in English, but it’s one of the good four letter words.

In fact, it means something incredibly wonderful. 

What is it? What’s the word that gets repeated over and over again?

R-E-S-T. Rest.

Ahhhh. What a good word! “Rest!”

Now, I am not very good at resting, but I love the idea of rest.

Rest is when the work is done.

Rest is when the toil is over.

Rest is when the problem has been solved.

Rest is when the broken has been fixed.

Rest is when the trouble has ended.

Rest is when there is nothing to worry about.

Rest is when things are settled and stable and safe and secure from all alarms.

Isn’t rest wonderful?

What do you think of when you think of the blessing of rest?

A good night’s rest.

A restful day off.

A truly restful vacation.

The feeling of crossing off every single item on your to-do list and nothing  hanging over your head. No more constant motion.

Some of you are like, “I don’t know what that feels like, but it sounds pretty good.”

No more fighting. 

Nobody coming after you.

Nothing to prove. Nothing to lose.

Just...rest.

Imagine if all of life was like that.

Every need met.

Nothing stressing you out.

Peace and wholeness and shalom on every side.

Not that you couldn’t be active, but that you didn’t have to be.

Like what the Sabbath day was supposed to be for the people of Israel in the Old Testament. 

They didn’t have to work to eat that day. God provided all the manna, and He said once a week, “Take it easy today. I’ve got you. Don’t do anything today but rest and enjoy Me. It’s the Sabbath, and I’m giving it to you.”

Imagine if life was like that all the time! Imagine if life could be like that every single day. 

And then we read verse 9 of Hebrews chapter 4 which is where we get the title of this message:

“There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God...”

God is offering and promising to His people a special kind of rest. Not just a day of rest but a life of rest that is like the Sabbath day but even better and all the time.

The word for “rest” in verse 9 is special, and it’s possible that the pastor who wrote this letter made it up on the spot. He might have “coined” it. This is the first time this word appears in all of Greek literature, and it’s the only time it appears in the Bible.

It’s “sabbatismos,” and you can hear how it has “Sabbath” embedded in it. It’s not just “rest” (which is wonderful all by itself) but “Sabbath-rest.” Rest all the time like what the Hebrews enjoyed in their Sabbath day. It has more of the flavor of “celebrating the Sabbath” and delighting in the God Who gives the rest.

There remains, then, a sabbatismos, “a Sabbath-celebration” for the people of God. And that is good news for you and me.

And we’ve been singing about it already this morning, haven’t we?

One of my all-time favorite worship songs that we do here as a church. Sing it at my funeral, okay?

“No chilling winds nor poisonous breath

Can reach that healthful shore;

Sickness, sorrow, pain, and death,

Are felt and feared no more.

When shall I reach that happy place,

And be forever blessed?

When shall I see my Father’s face,

And in His bosom...rest?”

- Samuel Stennett (1787)

That song is singing about the Sabbath-Rest, the “sabbatismos” for the people of God.

Not just a day in a week, but “one eternal day.”

“All o’er those wide extended plains,

Shines one eternal day;

There God the Son forever reigns,

And scatters night away.”

I think that’s what verse 9 is talking about, and I can hardly wait.

“A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God.”

Now, this passage is very complex and complicated with deep and wonderful theology, but the bottom line is very simple: The writer wants us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.

Remember, that’s the point of the whole book, and the point of our whole series, and the theme of our whole year together as a church family. We need to keep our spiritual eyes–the eyes of our hearts–fixed on Jesus.

This letter was written to some (primarily Jewish) Christians who were apparently considering dropping out of the race of faith in Jesus Christ.

They were scared. Life was getting was really hard. Persecution was coming at them fast. And they were thinking about trying to go backwards and just be old covenant Jews instead of New Covenant Christians. And this pastor writes to warn them against that very bad idea. Impossible to do, and terrible even if you could. He writes to warn them against apostasy–turning their back on Jesus and walking away from Him forever.

And he’s done that by reminding them how great Jesus is and how much greater Jesus is than anything and everything and anyone and everyone in the Old Testament, as great as they all were.

He’s pointed out how Jesus is greater than the angels. As wonderful as angels are!

He’s pointed out how Jesus is greater than Moses. As faithful as Moses was!

And here in chapters 3 and 4, he’s pointing out how Jesus is greater than Joshua and how Jesus’ rest is greater than the rest that Joshua led his people into. As great as that was–for those who reached it.

Jesus is greater than all of that, so we need to fix our eyes on Him. That’s the bottom line, so keep that in mind as we delve into this deep theology together.

Now, I know that it’s been about a month since we were in Hebrews together.  So let me try to bring you back up to speed.

We’re actually dropping into the middle of a warning section of the letter. 

The writer is kind of preaching Psalm 95 at them. (Do you remember this?)

He believes that the Word of God is “living and active” and speaking to them in his day (and therefore to us in our day), so he has drawn their attention to the song of Psalm 95 which was written about a thousand years before, and it was a warning song by King David to warn the people of his day to not fall away. (Do you remember this?)

We read all of Psalm 95 and sang some of it. It’s all about how the LORD is a great God, and we are the people of his pasture, the sheep of His hand. It’s so good (and restful!) to belong to Him.

And then without warning, the song turns into a warning.

David writes in Psalm 95, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me, though they had seen what I did. For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest’” (Psalm 95:7-11).

And there’s our word, “rest.” It’s the last word of Psalm 95.

And what “rest” was that? It’s a rest that these people if they make the wrong choice will not enjoy. In the Psalm, he’s referencing the “rest” that the people of Israel did not to get to enjoy when they did not get to enter the Promised Land. David’s song was referencing a story that happened nearly 500 years before he was born. (So 1,500 years before Hebrews and 3,500 before us.) The Retreat of Unbelief in the Book of Numbers chapters 14 and 15. (Do you remember that story?)

The people of Israel had been rescued from Egypt and marched up to the Promised Land, and then they had sent 12 spies into Canaan. And 2 of them, Joshua and Caleb, came back and said, “This is going to be great! Wait until you see the rest that God has for us.” But the other 10 spies said, “It’s impossible. There are giants in the land. And we’ll get squished like bugs.”

And the people listened to the 10 instead of the 2, and they rebelled against God and refused to enter the Promised Land. They turned away. Apostasy.

And therefore God was angry, and rightly so, and He said in His wrath, “You will never enter my rest.” And a whole generation died in the wilderness. Probably more than a million adults. 

They were bound, they were bound, they were bound, for the Promised Land. But they never arrived!

And Psalm 95 sings, “Don’t be like them. Don’t be like them. Don’t be like them.”

And the Book of Hebrews says, “Don’t be like them. Don’t be like them. Don’t be like them. Today, if you hear His voice, don’t harden your heart.”

Does that make sense? Are you with me?

Don’t take your eyes off of Jesus.

Don’t turn your back on Jesus.

Don’t stop believing in Jesus.

Or else...you will miss the rest.

But you don’t have to miss the rest! Here in chapter 4, the writer is encouraging us because he notices that the song of Psalm 95 is making a promise that God’s people can still enjoy God’s rest. God’s rest is still “on offer.” Look at verse 1 of chapter 4.

“Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.”

I only have two points this morning to summarize this passage, and here is number one.

A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God?

#1. IT STILL REMAINS!

Verse 1 says, “...the promise of entering his rest (God’s rest) still stands...”

Don’t be discouraged by all of this warning talk. Heed the warning, but hear the promise! God still is offering His rest! It’s still accessible. It’s still around. It’s still promised for all who believe in Jesus and keep believing in Jesus. 

He’s going to say it again in verse 6 and in verse 9. Verse 6 says, “It still remains that some will enter that rest...” And verse 9 says, “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God.” That’s so important. “It still remains.”

This rest is real. And it’s still available for all of God’s people.

Don’t miss that! In fact, it’s the whole point. This rest remains, it is real, and it is wonderful. It’s worth singing about, and it’s worth taking care to not miss. Listen to verse 1 again. 

“Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.”

Don't miss this. “Be careful.” In fact, that could be translated “Be fearful.”  As Christians, we are not supposed to be afraid of many things. We are supposed to fear God and not much else.  But this is one thing to be afraid of–missing out on the Sabbath-rest for the people of God. It’s one way of fearing God. And the writer includes himself in this warning. “Let us be careful...” “Let us be fearful” to not fall short of this rest.

How do you “fall short” of it? By not believing. Look at verse 2.

“For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.”

Who’s he talking about? He says that we have had the good news preached to us (the gospel), just as they did. I think that means just like Joshua and Caleb gave the good news about how good the Promised Land was to the Israelites.

“It’s flowing with milk and honey!“We’re going to have the best rest there!”

And we have had something similar (and better) preached to us. What kind of rest do we expect?

Revelation 21, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

That’s where the songwriter got:

“Sickness, sorrow, pain and death,

Are felt and feared no more.

All because Jesus is alive. Alleluia!

But did they listen to Joshua and Caleb? No. Did they believe? No! V.2 again.

“...but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.”

That’s the key. Faith is the key. You get the rest if you have the faith. That’s what he says in verse 3.

“Now we who have believed [we who have faith] enter that rest, just as God has said, ‘So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.'”

It’s really simple. If you believe in Jesus, you will enter that rest. If you do not believe in Jesus, you will not enter that rest. Let me say that again. If your faith is in Jesus, then you will enter that rest. If you do not have faith in Jesus, then you will not enter that rest.

Is the difference whether or not you hear the good news? Both heard the good news. Some people hear the good news and do not believe. 

And some of them seem like they are headed for the Promised Land. They sing the song, “I am bound, I am bound, I am bound for the promised land...” But they are not. Because they do not believe. They do not combine hearing with believing.

You’ve got to hear the gospel and believe the gospel. And keep believing the gospel, or you will not enter His rest.

Now, this pastor who is writing this letter notices something else in Psalm 95 about this rest that remains. He notices that God keeps calling it, “My rest.”

Isn’t that interesting? I wouldn’t have seen this. I just thought it meant “the rest that God gives to His people,” but this pastor writing this letter sees something deeper. He sees that this rest actually belongs to God. It’s God’s own rest. 

What does that make you think of? When we talk about God “resting,” where does your mind go? All the way back to the beginning, right? Genesis chapters 1 and 2. Look at verse 3.

“And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: ‘And on the seventh day God rested from all his work.’”

This pastor may not know the reference (it’s Genesis 2:2), but he’s seeing something deep here.

God rested on the seventh day of creation. Not because He was tired. Not because He was worn-out. “Oh, boy, after making those humans, I sure could use a break!” But because He was finished with what He had started, and it was time to stop and enjoy it.

And to give His people a model for their rest. What did He eventually call that seventh day?  “The Sabbath.” That’s right. 

He rested, and He told the Israelites to rest.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Rest.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Sabbath.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Rest.

And that was on the model of His own schedule for creation week. 

I’ll say that this rest remains! It’s eternal! It’s divine! God is offering for us to share in (some mysterious way) the rest that He has enjoyed since creation! It remains and remains and remains and remains. And it’s still being offered to us Today. Look at verse 5.

“And again in the passage above he says, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience.”

He’s just repeating it all again for emphasis. If you hear the gospel and believe, you will enter that rest. But if you hear the gospel and do not believe (or stop believing) then you will not go in. You are disobeying the gospel.

Don’t do that! That’s why this song, Psalm 95, exists. Verse 7.

“Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.’”

He’s fixed on Psalm 95 right here, isn’t he? He keeps repeating it over and over again. He probably had it playing on infinite repeat on his Spotify.

He focuses on this word, “Today.” We noticed that last time.

What “Today” is he talking about?

David meant Today for his day

Hebrews meant Today for their day.

And I think it means “Today” for us, too.

Isn’t the Word of God amazing?! It’s “living and active.” It’s powerful and effective. A song that David wrote 3,000 years ago about a disobedient people 500 years before that, and it’s still speaking to us Today.

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” 

How is your heart today? What’s it like? Is your heart soft? Is your heart tender towards God? Is your heart pliable and hopeful and trusting? Is your heart open? See to it, church, that it stays that way. Do not harden your heart. Fix your eyes on Jesus. He’s our only hope. Today!

He’s talking to you Today. And He’s telling you about another day. A day that is still to come. Look at verse 8.

“For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.”

Now, wait a second. What is he saying?

He’s making another point about Psalm 95. He’s really studied that Psalm. He’s pointing out that Joshua and Caleb and the second generation did get to cross the Jordan River and enter the Promised the Land, and the book of Joshua says that God gave them rest on every side (see Joshua 21:43-44 and 22:43-45).

But Psalm 95 warns the readers that there is still a rest that they might still miss. That means that Joshua did not give them all of the rest that God has for His people. There’s another day than Today.

There is a Sabbath Day that lasts for eternity. Verse 9.

“There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God...”

What is that?

That’s the kingdom!

That’s glory!

That’s heaven!

That’s Sabbath living every day for ever and ever.

That’s true rest.

That’s what the Sabbath Day was simply a shadow of. That’s what the Promised Land was only a picture of. That’s why we sing songs like: “On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand.” And we don’t mean the actual Jordan River. That’s just a foreshadowing of our life right now, looking into the Promised Land that is still to come when Christ returns.

Heaven! The new heavens and the new earth.

“On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand,

And cast a wishful eye

To Canaan’s fair and happy land,

Where my possessions lie.”

Where do your true possessions lie? Where is your true home? Where will you find true and lasting...rest?

“There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; [v.10] for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.”

God rested, and so will we! Our work, our striving, our fight will be over! We will be settled and stable and safe and secure from all alarms. The struggle will be over. We will have rest from our enemies. And not just the Amalekites and Canaanites, but sin and self and Satan. The world, the flesh, and the devil will bother us no more!

John the Revelator said in chapter 14 of the Apocalypse, “Then I heard a voice from heaven say, ‘Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them’” (Revelation 13:14).

Doesn’t that sound so good? There still remains a Sabbath-rest for the people of God. And all of the people of God will enjoy it forever!

I can’t wait. Can you? 

When?

“When shall I reach that happy place,

And be forever blessed?

When shall I see my Father’s face,

And in His bosom rest?”

Come, Lord Jesus! Bring the rest that remains.

The application of all this is in verse 11. Here’s where he’s going with this. Verse 11.

“Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.”

Here’s point number two of two.

A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God?

#2. STRIVE TO ENTER IT.

Do whatever it takes to enter that rest. Don’t be left behind. Don’t get to the Jordan and then turn back! Don’t believe the lies that say that it’s not worth it. That it’s not true. That it’s just all a big scam.

Verse 11 says, “Make every effort to enter that rest.”

As Keith put on the front of your worship bulletin, “Strive to enter that rest.”

Now, don’t get this wrong. Some people right here might think that this is saying that we need to do something to save ourselves. 

No, no, no. We know that’s not how it works! We cannot save ourselves. Our good works will never save us. We do not strive to save ourselves. The rest of this whole letter will make that abundantly clear.

Jesus saves us!  Jesus saves us through what the choir sang to us just a few minutes ago. The Wounds of Gods! And the Empty Tomb. Jesus is the One who provides the rest. He provided purification, and then He sat down at the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 1:4). We cannot earn our salvation. He provides our salvation.

He’s our Joshua! It’s not obvious to us, but it would have been obvious to them that the name “Jesus” is a derivation of the Hebrew word Yeshua (Joshua). “Yahweh Saves.” [In fact, in the King James “Joshua” is translated “Jesus” in v.8!]

So, Jesus is our Joshua. He has provided us with the ultimate rest! And our part is simply to believe. And keep believing. We have to put our faith and trust in Jesus alone and what He did on the Cross and at the Empty Tomb. And keep our faith there. So we need to do whatever it takes to keep believing.

It’s sounds a bit strange, I know. It’s like we have to strive to not strive. We have to strive to rest. I heard one pastor say once that we need to “wrestle to rest.” That’s right.

What in your life might keep you from believing? What in your life might threaten to knock you out of the race? Hebrews says do whatever it takes to get that out of your way so that you keep on believing. 

And help each other! Entering the Sabbath-rest is a group project that we do together. The word for “make every effort” or some of your versions will say, “strive” can actually be translated “hasten” or “race.” Race to rest.

In other words, “Fix your eyes on Jesus and run the race before you.” And don’t take your eyes off Him. Not for one second. Strive! Not to earn your salvation but to keep on believing no matter what. Do whatever it takes so you keep on believing. [cf. “[L]et us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and run” the race! (See Hebrews 12:1.)]

And don’t try fool God. Don’t try to pretend. Don’t just put on a show. God knows what’s going on in your heart. Verse 12.

“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. [He’s saying that Psalm 95 is speaking to you and calling you out. And penetrating the impenetrable. You can’t trick God into thinking that you’re believing when you’re not. Verse 13.] Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

You can’t fool Him. So don’t try. Instead, trust Him. For real. Believe. And keep believing.

Race to rest in Jesus.

***

Messages in this Series:

01. "The Son" - Hebrews 1:1-4
02. "Superior to the Angels" - Hebrews 1:5-14
03. "Such a Great Salvation" - Hebrews 2:1-4
04. "We See Jesus" - Hebrews 2:5-9
05. "Flesh and Blood" - Hebrews 2:10-18
06. "Fix Your Thoughts on Jesus" - Hebrews 3:1-6
07. “Today, If You Hear His Voice” - Hebrews 3:7-19

Bonus: The Gift of My Rest - A Fictional Letter of Sabbath Theology

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