Hey, y'all, you're listening to the Join the Journey podcast with your host, Emma Daughter.

To learn more about today's reading or to read along with us, check out Jointhejourney.com.

Thanks for joining.

Today, we're just going to dive right in.

We're in Hebrews 4 and in Ethan's Devo, which you can access at join thejourney.com.

He talked all about rest, really the bulk of today's

chapter. So I want to use our time to specifically hone in on verses 14 through 16. They're full of

some deep theology, but also really, really encouraging pastoral applications. They read,

verse 14, 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. And when we read these verses, which are

somewhat fairly well known in the church, the first thing we should notice or observe is that

Jesus is referred to as the great high priest. That's key. So who or what was the high priest? Think about it as

the highest ranked religious leader of Israel. It was the highest religious leadership position

and Israelite could hold. That was the great high priest. It started way back in Exodus 28. You can go

read about it with Aaron. He was Moses's brother and was from the

tribe of Levi. And there were a lot of requirements regarding how the priest had to live, which

you can find in Leviticus 21. And basically, this role was passed down generationally. It was all

from the tribe of Levi. And the Israelite high priest, he'd oversee other religious leaders. He'd

wear special clothes. But most importantly, he'd oversee other religious leaders. He'd wear special clothes.

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