What does Hebrews 4:14 mean?

The prior passage was intended to both reassure and encourage Christians. "Today," for each person, there is still an opportunity to respond to God in faith, in order to obtain His "rest." This is not about working for our salvation, but about obtaining all of the heavenly rewards He has offered to His children. Earlier verses stated that this inheritance is only available to those who "hold fast" to their faith (Hebrews 3:6, 12–14). Fortunately, according to Hebrews 4:12, we have an immensely powerful tool available to help us in this effort: the written Word of God. And, per this verse, we have Jesus.

Chapter 2 pointed out that Jesus was able to become our ultimate example, and the true High Priest of all mankind, due to His humanity (Hebrews 1:3; 2:17; 3:1). Hebrews 2:18, in particular, made it clear that Jesus can sympathize with our suffering, since He has also suffered (Hebrews 2:14). This came as an introduction to the command to "hold fast," and both ideas are merged in this verse. Since Christ, the "founder" of our salvation (Hebrews 2:10), understands our condition, we have every good reason to maintain our faith in the face of struggles.

While Jesus is often referred to as our High Priest, it should be noted that the New Testament never explicitly refers to any Christian church official as a "priest." This is not because there are no such people any more. According to the Bible, the Christian church does not have a priesthood—it is a priesthood, made up of every believer (1 Peter 2:9).