The Throne Not to Fear

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. 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. 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.

Hebrews 4:14-16 NIV

Let me ask you a question: and be honest.

When you think about approaching God, what’s the first feeling that wells up within?
For a lot of us, it’s not confidence. It’s hesitation. Maybe even guilt. Maybe the feeling that you need to get your life together first. That you need to clean yourself up, fix the mess, and then: maybe, just maybe: you can come to God! But Hebrews 4 flips that entire notion on its head.

This passage from Hebrews might just be one of the most freeing things we’ll hear all year, fot it tells us that we have a ‘Great High Priest’ that we can actually approach

Let’s jump in.
The writer of Hebrews is talking about a ‘great high priest’.
Now, in the ancient world, a high priest was not someone you would casually walk up to. He represented holiness, he represented the presence of God. Back then the whole religious system was built on distance, barriers, rituals, and warnings.
So you didn’t just stroll into the presence of God. You approached with fear and with caution.

But here’s what the writer of Hebrews says; and this is huge:

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence.”

Wait a moment, did we read that right.  ‘Confidence? before a throne?’

That’s not how thrones work, thrones are for judgment, thrones are for power, thrones are for people who have earned the right to be there.

But Hebrews says God’s throne is different, for it's a throne of grace.

And the reason we can approach it with confidence is not because of who we are: but because of who our High Priest is!

Jesus Understands the Pressure of this life
Look at verse 15:

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are: yet he did not sin.”

Now, let’s be clear about what this doesn’t mean.

It doesn’t mean Jesus experienced every exact situation that we’ve been through.
He didn’t have our bosses. He didn’t have our family dramas. He didn’t lie awake at night scrolling social media at 2 a.m. comparing himself to people he barely knows.

But he did face the full range of human pressures that we do;
Desires.
Fears.
Exhaustion.
Betrayal.
Grief.
And even Loneliness.

And the wonderful thing is: ‘He faced it all without sin’.
Not because He was distant from the struggle: but because He stood in the middle of it and He didn’t break.

“Jesus didn’t just come to save us from our weakness: he came to stand in it with us.”

And that changes things, big time!. Because most of us think our weaknesses disqualify us from God. But Hebrews says our weakness is exactly where Jesus meets us.

Sympathy Is Not Pity
Verse 15 says Jesus is able to sympathise with our weaknesses.

Now, we need to be careful with that word. Because in our culture, sympathy can sound like pity. Like someone looking down at us and saying, “Aw, that’s too bad.” But that’s not what this means. The word here means ‘shared feeling’. It means Jesus doesn’t just observe our pain from a distance: he enters it.

He’s not shocked by our struggle. He’s not disappointed that we’re not stronger.
He’s not standing there with his arms crossed, waiting for us to get it together. He draws near. And this is where most of us get it backwards. When we feel weak, we run away from God. We hide. We avoid prayer. We stop showing up.
But Hebrews says: our weakness is not a reason to stay away: it’s an invitation to come close.

“We don’t have to clean ourselves up before we come to Jesus: we come to Jesus to be cleaned.”

Now that’s grace, and that’s the gospel.

The Throne of Grace

Now let’s stay with verse 16 for a moment:

“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.”

There’s a shift happening here that’s easy to miss. A throne is normally a place of judgment. We stand before a king, and we hope we’ve done enough. We hope our record is clean. We hope the verdict goes our way. But in Christ, the throne becomes a place of grace.

Not because God has lowered his standards: but because Jesus met them for us. So the confidence here isn’t arrogance. It’s not swagger. It’s the boldness of a child who knows they are loved completely.
"The throne didn’t change: but the way we’re welcomed did.”

Same God. Same holiness. Same power. But now, because of Jesus, the door is open. And we don’t have to crawl in. We can walk in with our head up: not because we’re perfect, but because our High Priest is.

We have Help for the Exact Moment. Look at the end of verse 16:

“so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

This is not some vague, distant comfort. This is practical, present-tense help. Mercy deals with what we’ve done. Grace empowers us for what we’re facing.
Mercy says, “Your past is covered.”
Grace says, “Your present is supplied.”

And notice the phrase: “in our time of need.”

Not in some future season when we finally have it all together. Not when the storm passes. Not when we feel worthy. But right now. In the middle of it.
God’s help is not just for our past failures: it’s for our current pressure.


So, what do we do with this?

Let’s get practical. What does this actually look like in real life?

We need to stop hiding our weakness and bring the real version of ourselves to God. Not the polished version. Not the Sunday morning version, but the 11 p.m. version, the anxious version, the struggling version. Because that’s the version Jesus already knows, and already loves.

Practice bold prayer.
Confidence before God isn’t based on our performance. It’s based on Jesus’ priesthood. So stop praying like you’re bothering God. Stop apologising for existing. Come with boldness, not because we’re worthy, but because we’re welcomed.

Reframe our struggle. Temptation and pressure are not proof that God is far away. They are invitations to draw near. The moment we feel weak is the moment we need the throne the most.
So run toward it, not away from it.

Receive grace today. Mercy and grace are not abstract ideas. They are available in our time of need: which is now. Not tomorrow. Not when we feel more spiritual, but right now.

Let me leave you with this.
Most of us live with a quiet assumption that God is disappointed in us. That he’s keeping score. That we’re one mistake away from being disqualified.

But Hebrews 4 says something different.
It says we have a High Priest who knows our struggles.
A High Priest who doesn’t roll his eyes at our weakness.
A High Priest who opened the door and said, “Come.”

And because of him, we can approach the throne of God: not with fear, not with shame, but with confidence.

One final thought to reflect upon,

“We don’t need a perfect life to approach God: we need a perfect High Priest. And we already have one.”

Have a blessed week,

Trev