Hebrews Chapter Seven, Attributes Of Our High Priest

 

Hebrews 7:26a For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy,

 

Jesus is a fitting High Priest for sinful humanity. Why? This verse answers the question. Jesus is, first of all, holy. Holiness is a quality uniquely God’s. More to the point, it is natively His, though He imparts it to those who come to Him through His Son.

The holiness the saints possess is an imputed one, because holiness, unlike other of God’s characteristics, is not native to humanity. Holiness is synonymous with the term righteousness. And it is taught in Scripture that human righteousness is seen as filthiness before God, Isaiah 64:6, Philippians 3:9, Titus 1:16.

 

Holiness is defined as separation. That is, at least, one aspect of this uniquely divine quality God alone possesses in Himself. He is separate from sinners, incapable of sin, and whose purity abhors sin, because sin distorts what is right and corrupts the image of God He created in His creatures. Peter writes, “but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy,” 1 Peter 1:15, 16, see also Leviticus 11:44, 45, 19:2, 20:7. There is a subtle yet important difference in Peter’s injunction. We are to BE holy in our conduct because God IS holy in His person. As God is love (1 John 4:8), He is also holy. While mankind can reflect the loving being that God is, we do not reflect by nature His holiness. We are in our conduct to reflect it, meaning that Christians are to separate from all that God disdains in our private actions and personal lives. If we have a habit, hobby, lifestyle, incongruent with God’s holiness we are defying Peter’s command to by holy in our conduct.

 

Holiness is an attribute unfamiliar to us, so we need to look to God to emulate it. True holiness finds our conduct grounded in a selfless love for others, whose desire stems from a wish to separate the sinner from his sin by the gospel of Christ before the sinner is separated from his God by choices contrary to holiness. We should want to see our fellow man free from sin’s burden and Satan’s control. More than that, we should, in our own sphere, strive to resist sin by the Holy Spirit’s power so our own lives conform to God’s will for us. If we are immersed in something we know we would never want to have Jesus walk in and find us so doing, rest assured holiness is far from us. This is holiness of conduct, to separate ourselves from sinful behaviors and conform our thinking to mirror our Lord’s. How do we do this? By learning from Him. Scripture is the source, the Holy Spirit is our light and power, and our vigor to learn is imperative.

 

Hebrews 7:26b For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is…harmless,

 

Jesus Christ is harmless. In His capacity as High Priest and sacrifice for sin He most certainly is. It is written, “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet he opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth,” Isaiah 53:7. Elsewhere we read, “He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for victory,” Isaiah 42:2, 3.

 

The picture portrayed is of a benevolent Savior come to provide salvation, not ruination, as Jesus Himself stated in John 12:47. Jesus appeals for us to come to Him and take up His yoke to find rest, testifying of Himself that He is gentle and lowly of heart, Matthew 11:28-30. Our Savior wants to bring salvation and its attendant joy to all who will receive Him, so He may set us free from the darkness of sin and the fear of death. Our Lord’s harmless nature, His truly winsome personality expressed in the gospels, has won many a foe over to Him. He is approachable because He is harmless; His purpose as God’s High Priest is not to harm or intimidate, but to offer. He offers Himself, a Man who will not break the bruised reed, the most fragile of states for the plant, or quench smoking flax, about to snuff out. His purpose is not to break, but to lift up to the Father. The Christ portrayed in Scripture is harmless.

 

Jesus expressed His purpose for the first advent when He said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly,” John 10:10. Of His followers, that is, those who by following conform their lifestyle to His, He says, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves,” Matthew 10:16. The saints are called upon to practice wisdom, but also to manifest a spirit of gentleness. We are, in our Lord’s own words, supposed to be as harmless as doves. Interestingly, a dove’s palate consists almost primarily of grains and seeds. They don’t take life to survive (save for the occasional snail), and show the typical avian penchant for insects, spiders and the like. They subsist off of what the land produces and avoid harming other living things to get by. Is this necessarily part of what our Lord meant when he told His followers to be harmless as doves? Whether it was or not, it is an interesting fact about this docile bird that does not take life to preserve its own. Likewise, Christians ought to mirror their Lord and practice harmlessness: no backbiting, tumults, insults, needless bouts of anger, jealousy, pride, etc. Christ is harmless; so too ought to be His sheep.