Devotional 13 June 2025

June 13, 2025 • Steve Torres

Hebrews 4:14-16.jpg

"Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 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 4:14-16, ESV)

The author of Hebrews has been building to this moment since the end of chapter 2. There, we were told that Jesus had to be made like His brothers in every respect so that He could become a merciful and faithful high priest (Heb. 2:17–18). He suffered and was tempted, just as we are, in order to help those who are being tempted. That thread has not been lost—Hebrews 4:14–16 is not a shift in topic but the culmination of a long and layered argument.

The heart of that argument has been this: Do not harden your hearts. Enter God’s rest. And how do we do that? By faith, yes—but faith that draws near. The rest promised to us is not simply the cessation of work or the absence of fear. It is found in proximity to God Himself, in restored communion with the one who made us. That is what the “throne of grace” represents—not merely a place of judgment or authority, but the seat of mercy, where our High Priest now stands on our behalf.

To draw near is to return to what was lost in Eden. There, mankind was barred from the Tree of Life, driven east of the garden, guarded from reentry (Gen. 3:24). But now, because Jesus has passed through the heavens, He opens the way back. Revelation 22:2 gives us the vision: the Tree of Life once again in the midst of God’s people, its leaves for the healing of the nations. And who is it that heals? “By his wounds we are healed” (Isa. 53:5). Jesus is Himself the Tree of Life. He is the source of eternal nourishment and healing. In Him, we have access to the life we were created for.

This is why He says, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever” (John 6:51). In this we see the great reversal of the serpent’s lie in Genesis 3. Humanity was tempted to become like God through rebellion. But Jesus–God in flesh–became like us in obedience, that through Him we might truly be conformed to His image (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18). The likeness of God is not grasped but gifted. It is given in mercy, not seized in pride.

This is the rest into which we are invited: not simply the forgiveness of sins, but the restoration of life itself. A life where we are no longer striving to prove ourselves, to save ourselves, or to earn love, but where we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Eph. 2:6), secure in His mercy.

So let us hold fast our confession. Let us draw near—not with fear, but with confidence. He is not a distant king, cold on His throne. He is our Brother, our High Priest, our Tree of Life. And from His fullness, we receive grace upon grace (John 1:16).