Have you ever had a trial when you felt the fabric of your faith unravel or  deconstruct? Everyone will go through these challenges. That’s why looking to Jesus and his work as our high priest is the greatest protection against discouragement in the midst of trials. There are three things from Hebrews 4 that we can learn about Jesus’ priestly role to encourage us.

First is Christ’s effective intercession (vs. 14). Rather than merely going into a temple or tabernacle made with hands, he passed through the heavens and into the presence of God to eternally intercede for us. We will therefore always have a representative at the throne of God. It is only through Jesus that we can get back to God, which is why we can hold fast to our confession of faith in him.

Second is Christ’s full empathy (vs. 15). He knows what it’s like to be a limited and frail human, and a human who faced all manner of temptation—and yet was without sin. He overcame sin with the same means of grace that we have available today: written scriptures, the fellowship of other believers, and the I dwelling Spirit of God. It is because of his full understanding of humanity that we can, in our weakness, appeal to God’s strength.

Third is his true purification (vs. 16). He did not just pay the price for our sin; he gave us his righteousness. We do not approach God as a forgiven convict hesitantly approaching a holy God. Because of Christ’s work to purify us and bring us into God’s family, we can boldly approach God as his dearly beloved children.