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I. THE REALITY of our Lord's holiness is most clearly and strongly declared in Scripture.

1. We are told that He came into our world with a holy nature.

2. His life, too, was holy.

II. THE PECULIARITY of His holiness.

1. It was holiness amidst sin and temptation, perfect holiness amidst abounding sin and the utmost possible temptation.

2. His was holiness also amidst weakness and suffering.

III. Let us come now to THE IMPORTANCE of Christ's holiness. The character He had to sustain, and the work He had to perform, required it.

1. It was necessary in order to constitute Him a real manifestation of God.

2. It was needful to make Him an effectual sacrifice for our sins.

3. But our Lord's office as our great Redeemer was not to end with His life on earth, He was to go into the eternal heavens in the same character that He bore here, and to carry on there, though in a different manner, the same work. We sometimes think of Him as simply entering there into His glory and joy, but He is intent on our salvation in the midst of His glory and joy; as much engaged in it on His throne as He was on His cross. The apostle accordingly represents Him in this passage as our High Priest in the heavens, "ever living to make intercession for us"; and tells us that it became Him to be holy in order to qualify Him for this heavenly office and work.

4. As the pattern and example to which all His people are to be conformed, it was needful that our Lord should be holy. We want a perfection like His, the perfect on of holiness, and earthbound as our affections sometimes are — nothing below this will satisfy us. But now there is this perfection in the hey Jesus, a sinless perfection. We cannot look higher. Be is purity itself, the Divine purity embodied. To be made like unto Him comprehends m it all that is blissful and glorious. We feel that we shall indeed be satisfied when we awake with His likeness. Lessons:

1. Let us rejoice in His holiness, and admire and adore Him for it.

2. Let us seek for ourselves a share in this holiness of Christ.

3. And let us banish from our minds for ever the thought, that though living ungodly lives, we may yet be followers of this holy Saviour.

(C. Bradley, M. A.)

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KJV: For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;

WEB: For such a high priest was fitting for us: holy, guiltless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;