WE pursue our theme of last month respecting the personal glory and exaltation of Christ, our Sacrifice and Priest. As the first chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews is chiefly occupied with Him as Son of God, so is the second with Him as Son of Man. Jesus is God, Jesus is Man. He has entered upon His priestly glories in heaven, He will enter upon His kingly glories on earth. As Man He is now exalted to the throne of heaven, and as Man, in the day to come, He will occupy the throne of earth. In order to fit Himself for His service for man on high, He took the place of a servant, not, indeed, that of the angel-servants of Jehovah, no, He became a little lower than the angels; as man He served, suffered and died ; and as man He is now exalted in heaven above all angels.
According to the purpose of God, man was set over the works of His hands on earth, and all things were placed under man's subjection, but, because of sin, suffering and death have entered the world, and the people of God now wend their way through trial and difficulty to the rest prepared for them in heaven, But by faith we lift our eyes and behold the Man,
CHRIST JESUS, CROWNED IN HEAVEN;
the same Jesus, who, by God's grace, tasted death, for everything. For He has appeared once in the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself (Heb. 9:2626For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. (Hebrews 9:26)), and by virtue of His sacrifice, the sin of the world shall be removed, and all the earth smile in the sunshine of God's favor. Until that expected day, we have in Jesus in heaven—the Captain of our salvation—the Friend who is not ashamed to call us brethren—our mighty Deliverer from the devil and from the fear of death—our merciful and faithful High Priest—our tender and compassionate Succorer.
JESUS IS THE CAPTAIN OF OUR SALVATION.
He is Savior; He saves; and thus stands alone. He is also the Leader; it was He who went the foremost into battle, and of all was the most deeply wounded, and He has deigned to associate Himself with the saved as the Captain of their salvation. This salvation is to the glory of God. Weak, sinful men are saved from their sins and for the glory of God, where their Captain now is, He has won this gracious Captaincy by sufferings; so that none of His own can be more than followers of Him. Even among men some hearts are more capacious for suffering and more capable of sympathy than others; the heart of Jesus was the most filled with grief and is the most full of tenderness. Our Captain has won the fight and has entered into glory, and He will save His own out of every danger and from every foe, and bring each to the glory whither He has gone.
But temptations and, it may be, death, lie before us, and more-the false accuser, the devil—is ever on the watch to afflict and obstruct the sons on their way to glory. Trials, afflictions, persecutions, martyrdoms, have beset their path. Be it so. In the Captain of our salvation we have
A MIGHTY DELIVERER
both from the power of the devil and from the fear of death.
Jesus has rendered the devil powerless over His followers, and has done so through death. By suffering death Himself, He has removed its sting, and has disarmed the devil. The fangs of the serpent have lost their venom, the poison is abstracted from the scorpion.
In His own person our Captain has endured the pain and borne the stroke, so that the serpent can strike with venomed fangs no more. By His own death Jesus has rendered the devil impotent against true believers, and has thus freed His people from the fear of death.
The array of martyrs, of overcomers, testifies to the might of Jesus. More than conquerors through Him who loves us, they witness to the power of Jesus and His grace.
As we fill our hearts with thoughts of Himself, the Victor, passed into glory, the Spirit of God teaches us that His meekness is as noteworthy as His might, for
JESUS IS NOT ASHAMED TO CALL US BRETHREN.
Now it is the will of God that the Sanctifier and the sanctified, that Jesus and His people, should be all of one. The Captain and His company are all of one army, and the Mighty One condescends to call His weak followers—brethren Even in this world great men can do lowly things, to which small men could not stoop. Jesus is so great and glorious, that without detriment to His majesty He can call us “brethren." He is not ashamed to do so I His grace enhances His glory. Let us with reverence conduct ourselves towards Him, and as we rejoice in His grace, presume not on His meekness, and call the Lord of all, "brother!"
The children whom God has given to His Son are not mighty, they are not spirits like the angels-servants of Jehovah; they are weak and frail, being partakers of flesh and blood. Hence has Jesus humbled Himself to humanity, and partaken of flesh and blood.
In the glory He will lead the victorious songs of men; He will associate Himself in praise with the sufferers of earth, as He presents them to God, saying, " Behold, T and the children Thou hast given Me," and while His own are on earth He associates Himself with them in their conflicts.
Thus has the Lord most perfectly taken upon Himself the cause of the seed of Abraham. He passed by the angels and grasped man, and, such being His purpose, He fulfilled it perfectly in every detail— "it behoved Him in all things to be made
LIKE UNTO HIS BRETHREN."
It was right and fitting in His eyes that He, the Lord of all, should experience the suffering and the weakness of humanity. He hungered, was thirsty and weary, He had not where to lay His head, He was despised of men, buffeted by the devil. Sin apart, He tasted the cup of human sorrow in all its varied bitterness. Neither should it be forgotten that He ever was the obedient servant of His God, the dependent Man obeying the written word, the Man of prayer.
We beg our reader's attention to the way in which the Holy Spirit thus introduces Jesus as High Priest, first fixing our thoughts on Him as the victorious Leader, the condescending Friend, the mighty Deliverer, and then declaring, "it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be
A MERCIFUL AND FAITHFUL HIGH PRIEST
in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people." His character is not to be separated from His office. He is a merciful High Priest, for He is merciful. There is not a single believer who needs not His mercy, Every day calls for mercy, and in Jesus is an exhaustless fund of mercy. He is a faithful High Priest, for He is faithful. What He has promised He will perform. Not one good word of His can ever fail. How good is He to the erring, how tender to the wanderer, how patient with the ignorant! Would that Jesus were better known among His people as their High Priest; for then the pretensions of men whose character often defiles the name of priest would be disregarded. Never in the followers of Jesus can character be separated from office, save at the cost of the desecration of His Name.
All priests profess to serve for men in things pertaining to God, and unless they can render effective service their priesthood is vain. What does God require in relation to His holiness of those who would approach Him? First, and foremost, atonement for sins. If we are to approach the Holy God, we must do so in moral consistency with His holiness, and this can only be based upon atonement for sins. Our Lord has made atonement, and He serves for His people, whose sins are atoned for.
Before we close this paper, we ask our reader to ponder over the lovely verse which ends the chapter before us, where are unfolded gracious things respecting the tenderness and the compassion of our High Priest, “For in that He Himself hath suffered, being tempted,
HE IS ABLE TO SUCCOUR
them that are tempted." He has acquired this gracious ability by exposing Himself to the weakness of humanity and the sorrows of this life. He was pleased to enter the school of affliction, and thereby to learn as Man the needs of men. As God, He knew all things; as Man, He has acquired the experience of suffering. As the tenderness of Jesus is before us, how strange it seems that any should betake themselves to men calling themselves priests, who teach the pity of saints and angels as comfort to oppressed hearts! Jesus is our Succorer; He hears the cry of the heart, and hastens to its help; He knows all things, and knows the temptation of the souls of His people. To Him, our High Priest, we will ever go for succor.