Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9 (NRSV)
Read Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9 on biblegateway.com
Verse 14Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. Verse 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Verse 16Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Verse 7In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Verse 8Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; Verse 9and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,
Devotion
You are despised, rejected. "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep before its shearers is silent..." (Isaiah 53:7). And so the church laments.
"A Lamb goes uncomplaining forth
to save a world of sinners.
He bears the burden all alone,
dies shorn of all his honors.
He goes to slaughter, weak and faint,
is led to die without complaint;
his spotless life he offers.
-Paul Gerhardt,
"A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth," ELW 340
But, mystery of mysteries, the church also voices the beauty of the paradox.
"Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle;
tell the triumph far and wide;
of the cross, the Crucified;
tell how Christ, the world's redeemer,
vanquished death the day he died.
—Venantius Honorius Fortunatus,
"Sing My Tongue," ELW 356