Hebrews 4:14-16
No Contest!

Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

New Revised Standard Version

There's something about this passage that sounds very unusual, if we read it from a human perspective.

Think first of how we often react to people who are better than we are at some task. There is such a strong level of competition in our society that we may feel we have "lost" when confronted with another's superiority. In those circumstances, we are "good sports" when we applaud them for their achievement, while refocusing our efforts on how we can "win" later on. At our worst, we may tear them down surreptitiously to convince others of our value and to retaliate against the one who made us look bad in comparison.

Think then of how we often react to people who are worse than we are at some task. We too often celebrate our success in ways that emphasize their failure, just as no sports championship telecast would be considered complete without images of anguish on the faces of the losing team's athletes. We have all attempted to be gracious in our victory, instead finding that we insulted others even more with an attitude they considered condescending and patronizing. Even worse, at times we may sabotage and punish ourselves for our abilities so we can guarantee we will not succeed, preferring to deal with defeat instead of dealing with victory.

So, in Hebrews, we are confronted with the person of Jesus, who experienced every temptation and challenge we can experience, but who succeeded where we failed. How can we relate to One whose victory over sin just makes our defeat stand out in contrast?

First, we stop the competition.

The New Testament times were much more dangerous than our modern times, no matter how seriously we consider terrorism and nuclear proliferation. Even as often as Paul used metaphors of athletic contests, Paul also knew that the struggle against Evil was not a game, it was a war. Competition in games emphasizes the difference between people, while full-scale war demands that people draw together. There is no place in war times for jealousy over a compatriot's skill, since every victory won or achievement made by one citizen is won and achieved by the whole army and the whole country. In as much as we are foot soldiers in Jesus' army, Jesus's victory is our victory.

Second, we follow our leader.

The writer of Hebrews made it as plain in this passage as he could that Jesus does not respond to his "win" the same way we often do when we win. Jesus chose to live a human life so He could identify and sympathize with us. He chose to go through the worst Satan could do so that He can help us and support us. He wants us to come to Him "with boldness" so that we can receive His help, mercy, and grace. There is no condescension with Jesus! There is pure, eternal, unbounded, limitless love.

So, let us hold fast to what we believe, and Who we believe, so that His eternal victory is also ours!