Remember, Hebrews is like a sermon, it has a natural ebb and flow.
Teaching or preaching, then personal application, or warning.
Then again, more teaching, then, another warning, adding a little more to the picture
each time.
It can be read through in about an hour.
The first century listeners could’ve heard the whole sermon
at one time and understood the message. However, 2,000 years later in an entirely
different culture we need to divide and discuss in sections.
Up to this point in Hebrews we’ve heard that God spoke
at various times in various ways through prophets, but in these last days He spoke
through His Son.
His Son? You mean an angel? (that’s what some might’ve
thought back then; and even today in some cults).
No, not an angel. Much better than an angel.
God never said to an angel, “You are My Son,
today I have begotten You.”
However, He did say of His Son, “Let all the
angels worship Him.”
Jesus is better than angels, He created the angels, He
created the worlds with His Word. He’s the exact essence of His Father. He and
His Father are One.
Then we heard our first warning: “Therefore, we must
give the more earnest heed to the things we’ve heard, lest we drift away.” Hebrews 2:1.
Then, the Son, greater than the angels, willingly
became lower than the angels.
As Moses was a faithful as a servant, Jesus was
faithful as a Son, taking on the nature of man to face the same temptations,
same sufferings, so He could be a compassionate, merciful High Priest between
God and man.
Then we were given a second warning.
“Today if you hear His Voice, harden not
your hearts.” Heb. 3:7.
Okay, this is important. Pause and glance back over the
ground we just covered, and notice the theme.
God spoke.
Earnestly heed what
we heard.
Today,
if you hear His Voice.
His theme is clear. We must earnestly
and urgently heed His Word.
Jesus is the Word.
John 1:1, 14. In the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with God and the Word was God... and the Word
became flesh and dwelt among us.
Heb. 4:12, For the Word of
God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and
marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
After the Today, hear, harden not, warning the preacher
returned (Heb. 4:14) to the topic of High Priest, which is where he will camp through
chapter 10.
Hebrews 4:14, Seeing then that we have a great High
Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us
hold fast our confession. (our words) 15 For we
do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses,
but was in all points tempted as we
are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come
boldly (not proudly, or arrogantly, but humbly, yet confidently, like family)
to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time
of need.
Those three verses (Heb. 4:14-16) gave a snapshot of Jesus
as our High Priest in heaven. The next three give a snapshot of the high priest
on earth.
That’s where we drop into chapter 5.
Hebrews 5:1
For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for
men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices
for sins.
The earthly priest offered gifts and sacrifices for
sin.
Jesus offered Himself, the ultimate Gift and Sacrifice
for sin.
2 He can have compassion on those who
are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject
to weakness. 3 Because of this he is required as for
the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifices for
sins.
The earthly priest could have compassion on those ignorant
and going astray, because he too was ignorant and going astray. Subject to the
same weakness.
Thus, he was required to offer sacrifices not only for
the people, but also for himself.
Likewise, Jesus has compassion on us in our weakness
because He too felt every sting and temptation. However, He was without sin. Therefore,
there was no need for Him to offer a sacrifice for Himself.
Nevertheless, He offered a Sacrifice for sin. Not for
Himself and not from animals. The blood of animals could never take away sin,
but just temporarily cover it. He was looking for something better. He offered Himself,
the Perfect Sacrificial Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.
By so doing He was both our great High Priest and the Perfect
Sacrifice that met all the Divine demands of Divine Justice, making a Way for the
forgiveness of sin for all mankind.
This week someone asked: “I’ve always heard that Jesus
died for our sins. But how does that apply to you and I? I don’t see the connection.”
This is what we said:
God is Love.
God is just.
The Cross is Divine Justice filled with Perfect Love
It all began where everything begins, the beginning.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the
earth, and it was good, very good. He put man in the perfect paradise with a
perfect wife.
Everything was great.
God is Love and love allows liberty, so there had to
be opportunity to choose. God put two trees in the midst of the perfect garden for
that purpose.
One was the Tree of Life, the other, the Tree of the Knowledge
of Good and Evil.
God said, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely
eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you
shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Gen. 2:16-17.
Man ate. Man died. In the day he ate thereof. Just
as God had said.
His body was still walking, but he was a dead man
walking.
You see, when God breathed the Breath of Life into him,
he became a living spirit, in the image of God, clothed from the inside out with
the glory of God.
When he sinned, the glory left, man was naked, and dead.
God is Love.
God is just.
He just wanted His family back.
So, He found the naked couple hiding behind some fig
leaves and handed them two things.
A new wardrobe and an eviction notice.
The eviction notice said you’ve got to leave Paradise.
From now on, whether making a living or birthing a life, labor will be hard
and painful.
The wardrobe was of animal skins and that set the
precedent for Divine Justice.
How?
Blood was shed to cover sin.
The clothes were temporary, and not for everybody.
So, it wasn’t perfect, but it was the precedent set by
God.
After that (especially after the law) the blood of animals
was shed to temporarily cover sin, until the day Perfect
Love filled with Divine Justice was nailed to an old, rugged cross.
That’s why when Jesus died, He cried, Tetelestai,
which means Paid in Full.
Divine Justice paid in full by Perfect Love.
Greater
Love has no Man than this, but that He lay down His life for His friends. John
15:13.
He just wants to gather with family, in His Perfect
Paradise. One day, He will. And for a bonus, He has new wardrobe for those who join
Him.
4 And no man
takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just
as Aaron was.
The high priests generally descended from the eldest
sons of Aaron, the brother of Moses. Thus, the priesthood was not something a
person chose for himself or elected by man but was appointed by God.
Today is the same, regarding the ministry. It is not
something a person chooses as a career, but something they are called to by God.
It’s an inner knowing, yearning, compelling, calling.
Several years ago, I had a desire to start a Church in
our Clubhouse. At the time the “religious pharisees” rejected the idea. I put
the idea on ice and watched and waited and prayed. For about twelve years.
Then, suddenly the Church a few blocks down the street
decided to ask their Pastor to leave. The very next Sunday, we had a Church in
our Clubhouse.
A year or so later, the still small inner Voice, said,
“Pastor is leaving and will ask you to take over, be ready.”
Three months later he asked. I said, “I don’t need to
pray about this, Jesus told me three months ago to be ready.”
I didn’t ask for it. God called. It was confirmed by
man, appointed by God.
Okay, back to Hebrews.
The comparison of Jesus as our High Priest continues.
5 So also Christ
did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said
to Him:
“You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.”
Did you notice, we’ve come full circle, back to these
same words, “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.” (Psalm 2:7,
Heb. 1:5).
God continuously confirmed His approval of His Son,
through signs and wonders, and His Word.
As Jesus raised from being baptized the Holy Spirit descended
like a dove and a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17, Mark 1:11, Luke 3:22.
At the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus was glowing,
talking to Elijah and Moses. Peter, interrupted saying, awesome let’s set up
camp! God interrupted saying, “This is My beloved Son in whom I
am well pleased. Hear Him.” Matthew 17:5, Mark 9:7, Luke 9:35.
6 As He also
says in another place:
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek”;
Quoted from Psalm 110:4.
Jesus did not make Himself High Priest by self-promotion,
He was declared to be by the Word of God.
Notice the earthly High Priest comparison separates
here.
Jesus is not compared to the temporary Levitical
line, but after the eternal order of Melchizedek.
7 who, in the
days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with
vehement (fervent, passionate, intense) cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him
from death, and was heard because of His godly (reverential)
fear, 8 though He was a
Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.
Some rich parents give their kids top positions in
their company not because they earned it, or learned it, but just because they’re
their kids.
Other rich parents give their kids jobs in their company
starting at the bottom, and they must learn obedience through suffering,
and work their way up the ladder.
Which parent is God like?
Jesus, the second member of the trinity, God the
Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, learned obedience through suffering.
Jesus had to be fed as a baby, had to have his diaper
changed. He cried as a baby, and as an adult. He felt tired, hungry, angry, troubled,
stressed to the point of hematidrosis (sweating blood). He learned obedience
through suffering.
Some erroneously believe Jesus was half God and half man.
Called Docetism, which states Jesus only seemed to be human; that
His suffering was only an illusion.
The Truth is that Jesus was fully God and fully man.
He fully tasted sorrow, pain,
death.
To understand this, consider:
You are a spirit. You have a soul. You live in a
body.
You are fully human and fully spirit.
Jesus showed us how it’s supposed to be done, to live
and walk in the Spirit.
We too often live and walk in the flesh.
9 And having
been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey
Him,
Jesus wasn’t made perfect, He always was perfect, but
He perfected the Perfect Plan of God, through His Perfect Sacrifice on
the Cross, thus becoming the Author of so great an eternal Salvation.
Then, what does it say? To all who... believe? Say the
sinner’s prayer? God to Church? Be good?
NO.
For all who obey Him.
10 called
by God as High Priest “according
to the order of Melchizedek,”
The preacher of Hebrews had much more to say about
Melchizedek (and will in chapter 7). However, the congregation had become dull
of hearing, they were yawning, not paying attention, falling asleep, playing
on their phones, looking at their watch.
They were thinking about bailing on Jesus, since
persecution was rising. They were entertaining foolish superstitions. They were
not holding fast and disciplined in His Word.
So, he needed to take a discipline detour.
11 of
whom we have much to say, (about Melchizedek)
and hard to explain, since you have become dull
of hearing.
12 For though
by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to
teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have
come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone
who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word
of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But
solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that
is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to
discern both good and evil.
So, we want to ask ourselves, “Lord have I become dull
of hearing?”
Today, He calls with
passion and compassion for us to earnestly and urgently heed His Word which is
sharp, not dull, not lukewarm like the last, lukewarm, Laodicean Church in
Revelation 3.
Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, our Compassionate High Priest,
have we become dull of hearing? Have we drifted from You, our faithful
compassionate High Priest? Do we take for granted so great a Salvation? Lord,
we pray for Your Word, like a two-edged sword to pierce our soul and spirit,
and discern the thoughts and intents of our hearts, laying bare our motives, so
we can see the need to heed, and not become slothful in our walk with You. Wake
us up, and help us walk, with fervency, blazing a trail for others to follow,
straight to You.
Thank You, Lord.
We love You, forever.
Amen.
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High Priest, Hebrews 5
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High Priest, Hebrews 5
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