11/19- Sympathy from the throne

(Adoration of the Lamb- Van Eyck)

Devotional using scripture, quote from John Calvin and thoughts for the day each day- on the 500th anniversary of Calvin's birth.

14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Calvin Abridged: This passage shows us what benefit Christ’s priesthood has for us. Because He is the priest we can hold fast to our profession of Him. The Son of God has sanctioned our faith and His Gospel, and so we may be confident in His pledge, and we can rely on the Gospel without hesitation. It should not be glossed over that he calls Jesus “the Son of God.” Jesus has the power to mediate between us and the Father because He is truly God and truly man. We are reconciled and have peace with God because He is one of us. Christ was tempted yet he was without sin. Poverty and sickness- are outside circumstances and are not counted as sinful. Christ controlled the inside (the feelings and affections) so that his emotions were always regulated while ours flow turbulent and unbridled. 16- Access to God comes freely and openly to all who come to him relying on Christ as Mediator.



Thoughts: A priest is supposed to hold God in one hand and the people in the other, and try to mediate and reconcile them. For Protestants, there is only one great high priest- and that is Jesus. Teh good news is that our high priest who empathizes with our weakness, who knows what it means to be tempted, sits on the throne, and bleeds for us. Becuase He is there, a sympathetic priest-king, we can have confidence to approach God's throne in our prayers, and be confident in them of his willingness to help us (as priest) - and also his ability to help us (as king on the throne).

Prayer: Thank you, Lord for being there for us in our time of need.