Our Great High Priest Offers Mercy and Grace

Jesus is serving as our Great High Priest. He offered the ultimate sacrifice to pay for our sins — himself. And because he came to earth as man, Jesus sympathizes with us. He has experienced what we experience as humans. 

As our high priest, Jesus also leads us into God’s presence. In Hebrews 4:14-15, the writer tells us that Jesus is our great high priest, far greater than any earthly high priest. He has passed through the heavens, experiencing life as a human before returning to the heavens in the presence of God (Hebrews 9:24), where he sits at God’s right hand. He’s been tempted like us and knows what we experience in life, without ever sinning. Because of all that, the author says: 

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

We’re invited to approach a throne, which reminds us that Jesus is reigning. He’s been given authority over all creation. He’s our King, but he’s also our priest, the one who made the sacrifice and now offers his grace and forgiveness. That’s why the author calls it the “throne of grace.”

Because of who Jesus is and all that he’s done, he invites us to approach this throne boldly and with confidence. When you come to Jesus with a problem, you can approach him with the confidence that he is able. He’s on the throne. When you call on him in faith, he is able, he will hear, and he will answer.

When we come to God in prayer, he promises two things: mercy and grace.

Paul also mentions these two words, and he does so in the context of God’s great love for us: 

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved… (Ephesians 2:4-5)

It’s because of his great love for us that God gives us mercy and grace and, even when we were in rebellion against him, “made us alive together in Christ.” He promises you mercy and grace because he loves you.

While the two words, mercy and grace, overlap in meaning, there are subtle differences. Mercy pities; grace pardons. Or think of it this way: grace is getting what we don’t deserve, and mercy is not getting what we do deserve.

The writer of Hebrews is saying that you never have to approach God in fear of judgment. You don’t have to come to God hoping for mercy while expecting a lightning bolt of judgment. He’s already paid for your forgiveness. You’re his child, so come to your loving Father in confidence, no matter what you’ve done. Even when you have a problem that you’ve brought on yourself, he’s there with mercy. Jesus says, “I know.” 

When one of our children was learning to drive, she pulled into our driveway and lost control of the car a little bit. Well, more than a little. She sideswiped my beautiful, immaculate truck. She came running inside, crying hysterically, saying she was sorry. My first thought was to ask if she was okay. She was, at least physically. I hugged her until she calmed down and told her all was well and that I loved her. We’d spend some time going over what happened and how we can prevent it from happening again, mainly for her future safety. But right then, she just needed mercy. I thought, “What have I done to make this child think I would respond in judgment for this?” But then I realized, it wasn’t that she was afraid of judgment. She was just heartbroken that she had hurt me.

Isn’t that the way we are with God sometimes? Yes, there are times when we go to God fearing judgment, and this verse tells us we don’t have to do that. But there are also times when we go to God upset because we know we’ve hurt him. We’ve grieved him. In those times, he doesn’t answer us with judgment. He gives us mercy. He hugs us tight and tells us as many times as we need to hear that he loves us. He says, “We’ll talk about what happened and how we can prevent it from happening again, but for now, just be filled with my mercy and grace.”

Often in the Bible, the word “grace” brings with it the idea of strength. See 2 Corinthians 12:9 for example. When you go to God with a problem, you can do it with confidence that he knows the pain you feel, he understands the load you carry, and he will give you all the grace and strength and comfort and healing you need. You don’t even have to ask for this. It’s promised to you. 

Sometimes, God breaks into our situation and gets us out of it. He reaches down and solves our problem. At other times, he says, “I’m going to give you all the grace you need to endure this.” 

God doesn’t usually give you a long-term supply of grace or strength. You’re not like a camel who can store up water. You can’t store up grace and pull it out of your reserves as you cross the desert of life. 

What God promises to do is to give you sufficient strength and grace “to help in time of need.” God knows exactly what you need and when you need it, and he’ll provide it the way he knows is best. 

Maybe there was a time when you begged God for something, and nothing changed. As you look back, you see that he gave you the strength to get through that experience. Sometimes God will deliver you out of a mess, but always he will deliver you through a mess.

God promises you mercy and grace. Whatever difficulty you’re facing today, take it to God. You can ask him whatever you want to. Come boldly, come with confidence. God promises you his presence, and you experience that presence through his mercy and grace. 

He promised.

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