Read Hebrews 7:26. What are the five characteristics of Jesus in this passage?
Jesus was “holy.” This means that Jesus was without fault in relationship to God (Hebrews 2:18; Hebrews 4:15; Hebrews 5:7-8, ). The Old Greek translation of the Old Testament used the same Greek term to designate those who maintain their covenant relationship with God and with others.
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Jesus was “undefiled.” He remained pure and untouched by evil, despite being tempted in “all points” (Hebrews 4:15, Hebrews 2:18). Jesus’ perfect sinlessness is important for His priesthood. The old covenant stipulated that sacrificial victims had to be “without blemish” to be acceptable to God (Leviticus 1:3, Leviticus 1:10, etc.). Jesus’ perfect obedience during His earthly life made it possible for Him to offer Himself as an acceptable sacrifice to God (Hebrews 9:14).
Jesus was “separated from sinners” when He ascended to heaven. The Greek verb tense suggests that this is a present state for Jesus, which began at a specific point in time. Jesus endured hostility from sinners during His earthly life, but He was victorious and was then seated at the right hand of God (Hebrews 12:2-3, ). Jesus is also “separate from sinners” in that He was perfectly sinless (Hebrews 4:15).
Jesus was “exalted … above the heavens” (ESV). It means that Jesus has been exalted above everything there is and, therefore, He is one with God. In the Psalms, God is the one who is “exalted above the heavens” (Psalm 57:5, ; Psalm 108:5).
Jesus was fully human, but He was not a sinful human being as we are (Hebrews 2:14-16, Hebrews 4:15). Jesus is perfect, not simply because He never sinned but because He was not corrupted by sin as we are.
Yet, because He was also fully human, He is also our example. He shows us how to run the race of life (Hebrews 12:1-4). He is the example that we must follow (1 Peter 2:21-23). Because He is “holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners” (Hebrews 7:26, ESV), He is our Savior, and we too can reflect His character.
| Though Jesus was a human being, like us, He never sinned. How do we wrap our minds around this amazing thought? Think about just how holy He must be! Why, then, should the promise of His holiness being credited to us by faith help assure us of salvation? |
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