Transcript
Jesus The High Priest - Chapter 4-5
Amen. It was good to be able to worship the Lord in song today and pour out our heart. This week we will continue. Hebrews our journey through Hebrews with the Lord is better, Jesus is better. And we've been examining a lot the last few weeks what Jesus is better than we, you know, just kind of recaping bringing everyone up to speed. We talked about in, in Hebrews one that Jesus is better than the prophets. He's better than the old testament, he's better than the angels and us. Chapter two, we continue to see that he was better than the angels, that he was better than man. Chapter three, last week, we talked about the fact that Jesus was better than Moses, he was better than the servants of God, he was more faithful than the servants of God. We talked about the fact that the person who builds the house receives more honor than the house itself, and that Jesus is the builder of our house. And so today, in chapters four and five, we're going to see that Jesus is the greatest high priest, He is our high priest forever, and he is the better high priest. So normally, we've been going through whole chapters, we're going to skip most of chapter four, and we're going to begin in verse 14, if you have your Bibles with you. And we're going to read about Jesus, the high priest. It says that, seeing then, that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heaven, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted, like as we are, yet without sin. I love that. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Okay, so this is a beautiful passage here. Seeing that Jesus is our high priest, now, the vast majority of this chapter here, is encouraging us to hold on, to not. It's telling us to fear being left it's telling us to seek the kingdom of God. It's telling us
it's telling us to enter into God's rest. If you had remember, was it last week? It was. Last week, we talked about the Israelites, who were not faithful for the 40 years in the wilderness. Who despite seeing God's power, being brought across the Red Sea, on dry ground, having manna from heaven clothing that never wore out water springing up in the desert, they tempted God and would not believe in Him. And because of that unbelief, they did not enter into God's rest, and chapter four, for the most part, encourages us to make sure we can enter into that rest. And then it tells us, how. First we have a great high priest. Notice that we do not just have a high priest. In Israel's in Israel's. Wow, let's see if my mouth will work in Israel's history, they had numerous, they had over 80 high priests, but none of them were great. All of those high priests were human. All of those high priests were flawed. All of those high priests would die and leave their office but we have a Great High Priest that is passed into the heavens. Notice that he's not dead, but he is in the heavens. Our, the Old Testament high priests, they functioned in officiated from here, on Earth. But our High Priest is sitting, in heaven, he has already entered into that rest, and sits before the throne of God on the throne of God before the Father. So we have a Great High Priest, even Jesus, the Son of God. So who is our high priest? I'm not your high priest, I'm going to tell you that I'm also going to tell everybody, if you think you need to come to me and confess your sins in order to be forgiven, you're looking at the wrong person. It was the job of the high priest in the Old Testament, to offer sacrifice for sin. The Old Testaments job was to be a mediator, that's that's what the high priest was. Now, I'm not your mediator between you and God, but Jesus is the mediator. So to be forgiven of your sins, you must confess to Him, not to me. On a side note, if you need my help overcoming sin, then sure come to me. But don't confess it because you think I can mediate and have you forgiven. We have a great high priest, Jesus, the Son of God, He is the high priest. Now who is he? Is he some man, just some random person, from the tribe of Levi from just some random person in Israel? No. That He is the Son of God, so we can reword this: Jesus is God, our High Priest is God. Therefore seeing that let us hold fast our profession. Let us hold on to the faith that we first had when we got saved. We do know we talked about this a few weeks ago, he who was saved is he who holds fast to the end, who doesn't just say I believe today, and tomorrow's not sure. And the next day flips back and forth, we will hold to our profession because our High Priest sits in the heavens. He is greater than any priests that officiated from earth, He is greater than any priest who is the son of man, because he is the Son of God, whom we have professed. It tells us that we do not have a high priest, which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. How many people have heard someone say, I don't think there's many in in here, who have said this, and I may be wrong. But whether you've said it, or you've heard someone say that God cannot resonate with us, God doesn't understand being tempted. God doesn't understand our feelings. How many people have heard that? But the Bible tells us that's not true. We don't have a high priest that doesn't know the feeling of our infirmities. He can identify with you. Because in all points, he was tempted as we were, he came down here he knows hunger. He knows hunger than I do, because I've never gone 40 days without eating. So he knows hunger better than me. He knows sin better than me. He was tempted by the devil.
In human history, I can name three people who were tempted by the devil. Eve, was directly tempted by the devil. Job was directly tempted by the devil. And Jesus Christ was directly tempted by the devil. There is no other person in human history recorded as being directly tempted by the devil. So Jesus knows temptation better than I do. He's been tempted by the Great Deceiver. And yet it says, without sin. Can we just say that Jesus is better? How many of you here today are without sin? You know, raise your hand if you if you think you are so we can talk. How many of you know somebody else who is without sin? I don't think there's a single person that I have met who is without sin. I don't know a person who has been tempted by the devil and yet they are still not without sin. So we need to hold to our profession, because our High Priest knows, not only knows you, but he knows what you are feeling. He knows how to overcome temptation. He knows what hunger and weariness feels like. He knows what pain and suffering feels like. Very few people have suffered exactly the way that Jesus did. So he knows. We feel like he is not a high priest, which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. And so we can go to him boldly because he will intercede for us. There's a section in the New Testament, I was reminded of, I think yesterday, maybe the day before. Christ is having a conversation with Peter. And I'm going to be paraphrasing here: tells Peter that the devil came calling for him. Now, you know, came asking for him. And Peter's like, and you told him no, right? He can't have me. No, but here's what Christ said to Peter about it, he said, but I was praying for you that you would overcome. Our intercessor not only knows us and knows how we are feeling and what we're going through, but he is actively interceding for us. Talk about a High Priest! Now the Old Testament high priests, they pretty much only except for one day a year where they interceded for everyone. The priests in the Old Testament only interceded when you approached them. But our High Priest is actively interceding for us actively praying for us. Now I want to touch point on the fact that he is without sin. Now I may be getting ahead of myself. We, but in the Old Testament, when the priests when the high priests offered sacrifice and atonement for sin, they had to first offer atonement for their own sins. Because they were not without sin, they had to atone for their sin before they could atone for my sin or for your sin. But Jesus does not have to do that. How great is that? So it tells us to go boldly, to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace, to help in time of need. What's this about? This passage right here is about us being able to hold strong, to go boldly when we are being tempted with sin, to find help. In times of need, he will intercede. To go boldly when we need forgiveness, because he will intercede. To go boldly when we need comfort, because he will intercede. To go boldly, when we are doubting our beliefs, when we are doubting Christianity, when we want to give up because we will receive help in time of need.
And the throne of grace is a marvelous thing. The throne of grace is what saves us. Grace here, to be clear is the unmerited and unfavored gifts of God. What we receive through grace we do not earn, we don't deserve, and yet it is that throne of grace that grabbed each of us and pulled us from the pits of hell. That throne of grace that grabbed us and rescued us from sin, it took us out from under the bondage of the law. It's that same grace that intercedes that allows us direct access to the throne of God. But if we continue reading here, verse, chapter five, verse one, it continues to talk about the high priest. It says that every high priest, taken from among men as ordained for men and things pertaining to God, that He may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. Who can have compassion on the ignorant and an, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself is also compassed with infirmity. And by reason hereof he ought, as for other people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. So this is what we just talked about. The high priest is taken from among men, and he is sinful. And so it tells us that he needs to atone for himself, because he himself has sinned. But as we continue what says that no man taketh this honor unto himself. But he that is called of God as was Aaron, so also Christ, glorified not himself to be made a High Priest. But he that said unto him, Thou art my son, today I have begotten thee.
No high priest just decided to be a High Priest, just woke up and said, Well, I'm going to be the high priest. They didn't say, I'm going to glorify myself. But they were called by God, they were appointed to be a High Priest. Here's the thing about Christ, he too, was appointed to be the high priest. But he was not appointed to be a high priest, but for our time, he was appointed to be high priest, forever. He was appointed to be in a higher office, it says in verse six, as he saith, as he saith also in another place thou art a priest for forever, after the order of Melchizedek. So he is not a high priest for a time, he's not a high priest for yesterday, or just for today, or maybe for a month. The Old Testament high priest was priest until death. And when they died, what happened? A new high priest came and took over. And he served until he died and the new one came and took over, but he is a high priest, forever. And this is promising to us, because our High Priest will always be able to identify with us, we will never have a new one that that may be cannot be touched by our infirmity. But we will always have a sinless, a perfect and understanding and compassionate high priest who is after the order of Melchizedek. The Levitical priesthood was after the order of Aaron. Melchizedek is in a higher order. Now who is Melchizedek? Well, I believe He is Christ, I believe Melchizedek is God. The Bible tells us that Melchizedek has no parents, no beginning of days or ending of days. Okay, the name Melchizedek when we break it down, Melich is king. We know the zedek. We talked about this in Genesis, a while ago, we know that this is the king of peace. The king of peace whom Abraham payed a tithe to. So we're talking about a higher priesthood here.
And it gives us an example that shows us how Jesus is the example, it says that in the days of his flesh, he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death. And he was heard and that he feared. What did Jesus do? He prayed. If you read through the Gospels, particularly through Luke, what will you notice? You will notice that Jesus prayed continually, he prayed before every major decision he prayed before every day, he prayed constantly he prayed for those that he loved, he prayed for the Father's will to be done. It says here that he prayed with strong crying and tears. But it also says there is one able to save unto eternal salvation. It says that though he was a Son, He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. Although Jesus was perfect, can we not say that he learned a human perspective of obedience? Can we not say that Jesus truly learned obedience by being able to feel the way humans feel and go through such a thing with temptation? But because of what he went through, verse nine says, that being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all that obey Him. Jesus is not just our high priest, but he is the author of The Salvation. Later on Hebrews will tell us, he's the finisher of our salvation. What does that tell us? It tells us, our entire salvation is in his hands. I don't author my salvation, you don't author yours, and that is great, because he who is perfect author's our salvation, and it says eternal, eternal salvation. Our salvation is not here, and then not there, but it is forever. Our salvation, salvation is not only for 10 years or 20 years, or for the next 1000 years into the future, and then we perish, but it is eternal. And so Jesus is better. What did the Old Testament priests give us? They pointed to Jesus. They didn't save from sin. What does the law give us? It gives us a curse. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death. And what does Jesus give us? According to Hebrews four and five, he gives us a priest who can understand us. He gives us eternal salvation. He gives us aid in time of need. He gives us gifts and sacrifices. He, He doesn't give us sacrifices anymore. He, he was the sacrifice. He gives us an example to follow that no other priest could give us.
If we continue to read here, I was debating getting into this. This kind of takes a side track from Jesus being a high priest into what we are or are not doing. Let's look at it real quick before we close. Verse 11, says: Of whom we have many things to say, and and are hard to be uttered, seeing that you are dull of hearing. For when the time ye ought to be teachers, Ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. I want to talk about this real quick, because this is strong. This is very strong, what it's saying. Christians are not meant to be saved and then be idle. The author here is telling us there are many things that we should be learning of Christ, but it's hard to teach them because we are dull of hearing. But as we get into it, and commentators have pointed this out, it is laziness that makes us dull of hearing. It is that we for some reason, do not grasp the importance of what we just talked about. The importance of Jesus, the high priest of whom there's much to learn. And so our priorities are out of whack. Our priorities are on our jobs. I'm not saying Our jobs are bad. We actually need jobs. But our priorities are on external activities. Where we like to say that it is hard to follow the commandments because we have such busy lives. So I'm going to tell you what the word busy means. It actually has a meaning. And it is not overworked, it's not a lot on your plate. It is being under Satan's yoke. Because Satan wants us busy. As Christians we should be progressing. Especially as we obey the commandments of God. And yet we're not. We're too focused on everything else. And we become hard of hearing, because we are not obeying the word. Now in Luke it tells us that when we exercise light, the light that we are given, we receive more light. And when we don't, we lose what we had. So he tells us here that there are those to his audience that he is right. And remember, this was not written specifically to us. But to his audience. There are those who ought to be teachers who have been Christians who have been learning or should have been learning and growing, and they should be teaching this. And yet they need to be taught, again, the first principles of the oracles of God. They need to relearn all about Jesus, relearn all about salvation. And they need milk and not strong meat. But what I really want to, want you to pay attention to is verse 13 and 14: it says that he who uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. If we stay on milk forever, as a human, do we ever grow up? Do we get strong? Do we mature? No, because we don't get the nutrition that we need. In order for a human to grow up healthy and develop well, we need to move off of milk and formula to solid foods, and work our way up to meat. In Christianity, if you just stay on milk forever, it tells you it says that you are unskillful in the word of righteousness, you cannot discern what is right and what is wrong in doctrine.
And that's a scary scary thought. Because we are told, we are warned of false prophets, false Christs, false messiahs. The Bible tells us that in the last days, which we are, that there'll be many and various strange doctrines that people will flock to and that those who stay on milk cannot tell the difference. But those who move on to strong meat, which to move on, we have to obey what we are given to receive more. They by reason have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. So we have a great high priest who stands ready to save all who would call upon his name. It says here that he can get, he's the author of eternal salvation unto all of them that obey Him. I've talked about this a lot. What it is to call yourself a Christian. As we learn about the fact that Jesus is better we need to live, Jesus is better. What does it mean to be a Christian? To profess him as Lord? For those who follow me on Facebook, I posted something a week ago? Week and a half ago? That I had an epiphany that there are many who say, just accept Christ and be saved. But nowhere in the Bible does it say to accept Christ and be saved. It's foreign to the Bible. It says to make him Lord, to confess Him as Lord and call upon the Lord to be saved. And so if Jesus is to be the author of our salvation, he also needs to be our Lord. And here's where doctrines mix. We are not saved by works. We're saved by grace. But when we get saved by grace, there's a change. And you want him to be your Lord and you follow Him because He is better. To recap just real quick about Jesus, the high priest. Jesus, the high priest is our priest for how long? Forever. He is eternally our high priest. And he officiates, not from earth, like the high priests in the Levitical line, but from the throne of God. And He intercedes through one sacrifice, which he offered for all men, and not through animals, sacrificial animals on the altar. He, like us was tempted in every way. He was tempted with sin. He was tempted, with not wanting to go through with what he was sent to do, and yet he is without sin. And He says that he offers us help in the time of need, if we would boldly come to the throne of grace, and that He gives eternal salvation to all of those that obey Him. If you're listening to this, and you're realizing Yes, this man is better. He's better than sin. We talked about that last week, what does sin offer us? Sin is a liar, but Jesus is truth. So he's better than sin, he's better than death, because he gives us life. He's better than damnation because he gives us salvation. If you're realizing this, you can make him your Lord. And I will tell you a secret he already is your Lord. The Bible says that every knee will bow, that every tongue will confess. He's already your Lord, whether you like it or not. So you can confess Him as your Lord, you can recognize His sovereignty over you. And call upon us name today and be saved. Because I'm going to tell you tonight, and I'll tell you for the next few weeks to come that Jesus is better. So if you want to do that, what does the Bible say? The Bible says, in Romans 10:9, to confess the Lord Jesus with your mouth, and to believe in your heart that he was raised from the dead, and you will be saved.
So if you confess Him as Lord, you are saying, you're willing to do what he wants you to do. You're willing to give up your life, your will, your desires, the yoke that Satan has you under to follow Him and do what He says to do. It means that you believe that He is sinless and that He rose from the grave. And then Christ tells us himself, he says, confess Me before your fellow men, and I will confess you before the Father, which is in heaven. So if you believe today that you're a sinner, and you believe that Jesus is your Lord, let me help you right now. Just repeat in the closing prayer after me. No, say it out loud, mean it, be sincere, and then tell us that Jesus is your Lord, forever. Let's pray. Father, God, Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and cannot save myself. But Lord, I believe that like me, you were in, you had the flesh, that like me, you were tempted in every way, but you remained without sin. And Lord, I believe that you died, that you were a sacrifice for me. But that God rose you from the grave that third day, like your Word says, and I believe what your Word says that if I would call upon your name, and believe, then you would save me you would be the author of my salvation. And so Lord, I believe and ask you into my heart. Father, as we depart, we just praise you and want to say that you are better, or want to say, Lord, Jesus is better. Lord, we thank you for being a better high priest to us, a perfect high priest that knows us, understands us, and is interceding for us at the throne of God today, and Lord we thank you and love you, and praise you in the beautiful and Holy Name of Jesus Christ, Amen. Amen.
Amen.