Hebrews 5:1-11 Jesus Our High Priest

Intro:

Last Sunday as The Village Chapel

Village Chapel described our location, Hope Chapel describes our vision

Among the first things a Jew might have asked another person about his religion were, “Who is your high priest? Who mediates between you and God? Who offers the sacrifices to atone for your sins?”

A Jew during the time of the early church may well have asked a Christian, “How are your sins going to be pardoned when you have no one offering sacrifices and no one interceding for you?

How can you claim that this new covenant supersedes and is superior to the Old Covenant made through Moses when it leaves you without a high priest?”

The Christian would have replied, “But we do have a high priest, a perfect High Priest.

He has offered sacrifice for our sins. He does not confine Himself to an earthly temple, nor does He have to sacrifice yearly, much less daily.

He made one sacrifice that atones for all sins ever committed, from the beginning to the end of time.

That is how great a high priest He is and how great His sacrifice was.

Not only that, but our High Priest is seated at the right hand of God and continually intercedes for those of us who belong to Him.”

The heart of the book of Hebrews (chaps. 5–9) focuses on Jesus’ high priesthood.

His superior priesthood, more than anything else, makes the New Covenant better than the Old.

He has done what all the priests together of the old economy did not do and could never have done.

Read Hebrews 5:1-10

Transition:

As I state chapter 5-9 focuses on Jesus being the High Priest

Before we get into that we see a model for priestly leadership

The pastor fills three roles in the church: Prophet, Priest, & King

The Prophet is the voice of God

This comes through teaching the Word and Hearing from the Spirit

The King is the leader

This is the vision, management, and discipline

The Priest is the Compassionate Intercessor

This is the prayer, counseling, & confrontation of sin

To be a pastor you must be called by God

It is not something that you choose, it chooses you

We are going to look at a model for priestly leadership and then look at our high priest, Jesus Christ

Model for Priestly Leadership vs. 1-4

There are four aspects of priestly leadership in this passage

vs. 1 Focus on the People

The first aspect of a priestly leader is that they focus on the people

Vs. 1 says that they are to act on behalf of men in relation to God

In Jesus’ day they would offer gifts and sacrifices for sins

Today they offer prayer and counsel

Pastors are to point people to Jesus

The focus is not to be on them, but on the people they minister to

I’ve come in contact with so many pastors who have forgotten ministry is about the people

They focus on their ministry

They treat the people like they are there to serve them

This is a danger for every minister

A true priestly pastor focuses on the people and understand they are there for the people

vs. 2 Show Compassion on the Weak

The second aspect of priestly leadership is that they show compassion on the weak

The ESV says they deal gently with the ignorant and wayward

He does this because he understands that he himself is beset with weaknesses

Ignorant here means “not knowing or be unaware”

There are people who don’t know that what they are doing is sinful in God’s eyes

A Pastor is patient

He understands God’s sovereignty in working out the sanctification in a person’s life

One of the things that excites me about our new property is the ability to reach out to those who are lost and hurting

I saw yesterday Harvest, down in Riverside, had a back to school outreach where they ministered to 4,000 foster & lower income kids

They gave them a pair of shoes, a backpack filled with school supplies, a medical & dental exam, and fed them In-n-Out for lunch.

We could so easily do that at our place

We need to start by asking God to enlarge our hearts for the lost

I’ve been criticized in the past for not being outreach oriented

There is a fair amount of truth to that

For the last 20 years I have been raising 4 children, two of which have special needs

I am unapologetic about making them a priority

But on the other hand in the early years of our church we did do outreach inside the village we were met with resistance because even though they needed it, in their pride they wouldn’t take it

Now I feel we are in a place and heading into a time where people are going to need our assistance

vs. 3 Face Sin Head On

The third aspect of of priestly leadership is that they face sin head on

OT Priests would offer sacrifices for the people and himself

They would bring the animal and the priest would take the blood and throw it against the base of the altar

A pastor, in his priestly duties, faces a person’s sins head on

This is the hardest of all four

A Pastor is to confront a follower of Jesus in their sin

They are to do it with compassion and love, but for the health of the person and of the church it must be dealt with

Most pastor’s choose to do it from the pulpit and not in person

Some choose to do it personally in a harsh and judgmental way even though they too are guilty of sin

The truth of Scripture is to be taught from the pulpit, sin is to be called out, and in person it is to be dealt with firmly

As a believer, who is submitted under Jesus, they need to receive the rebuke and respond correctly

vs. 4 Called by God

The final aspect of priestly leadership is that they are called by God

This is the most important of all four

You have to be called by God

vs. 4 no one takes this honor on himself, but only when called on by God

To be a priest you must be called by God

It never goes well when someone enters ministry when they aren’t called

I once had a guy come up to me and tell me he was laid-off from his job and was thinking about going into the ministry

I asked him why?

He told me he liked telling people what to do and getting up and speaking his mind seemed to fit that bill

I nicely told him that’s not how it works

He didn’t listen and went somewhere else and he didn’t last long

He realized that the sheep don’t like having orders barked at them and they actually bite back

Jesus the Perfect Priest vs. 5-10

No man can perfectly fit the role of the priest, but there is a Perfect High Priest in Jesus

vs. 5-6 Appointed High Priest

Jesus didn’t exalt himself

He was appointed by His Father before he arrived on earth

The writer of Hebrews reminds his readers of the messianic prophecy in Psalm 2

Psalm 2:7 ESV

I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.

It’s one thing to desire to be a minister

It’s a whole nother thing when you exalt yourself

But Jesus is the anointed one

The name Christ means “anointed savior”

He came to be the high priest who would stand before God on our behalf

He offered a sacrifice for our sins, once and for all, himself

Philippians 2:8–9 ESV

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,

Today I have begotten You: This refers to Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.

At that time He fully assumed His role as our great High Priest

He is a priest according to the order of Melchizedek

Quotes Ps 110:4

A priest forever: This is an important contrast.

Jesus’ priesthood (like Melchizedek’s) is unending, but no High Priest descended from Aaron ever had a forever priesthood.

Hebrews 7 will more fully develop the theme of Jesus as a High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

vs. 7-8 Learned Obedience

The agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane proved He struggled with the difficulty of obedience, yet He obeyed perfectly.

This answers the question, “How can this glorious, enthroned Jesus know what I am going through down here?”

He knows; obedience did not always come easy for Jesus.

Though Jesus was God and is God, yet He learned obedience.

God, enthroned in heaven’s glory, can only experience obedience by casting off the glory of the throne and humbling Himself as Jesus did.

Jesus did not pass from disobedience to obedience. He learned obedience by actually obeying.

Jesus did not learn how to obey; He learned what is involved in obedience.

Jesus learned the experience of obedience, and part of that learning was enduring suffering.

vs. 9-10 Source of Salvation

Jesus’ experience of suffering – and subsequent resurrection – made Him perfectly suited to be the author (the source, the cause) of our salvation.

Jesus differed in two very important ways from other high priests.

First, He did not have to make a sacrifice for Himself before He could offer it for others.

Second, His sacrifice was once-and-for-all. It did not have to be repeated every day, or even every year or every century

By His death, Jesus opened the way of eternal salvation.

All the priests of all time could not provide eternal salvation. They could only provide momentary forgiveness.

But by one act, one offering, one sacrifice, Jesus Christ perfected forever those who are His.

The perfect High Priest makes perfect those who accept His perfect sacrifice, those who obey Him.

Some don’t want Jesus to be the author of their salvation. They want to write their own book of salvation – but God won’t read it.

Only Jesus can author your eternal salvation.

The obedience mentioned here of those who obey Him is not that regarding commandments, rules, and regulations.

It is not obedience to the law. It is “the obedience of faith”

God wants us to obey Him by believing in Christ

Sadly and tragically, all people do not believe.

And whoever does not believe does not truly obey, no matter how moral, well-meaning, religious, and sincere.

In First and Second Thessalonians, Paul speaks of the two responses to the gospel—the only two possible responses.

In 1st Thess Paul praises their obedience in the faith

It actually brought others to faith

in 2 Thess Paul talks about the retribution on those who do not obey the Gospel

Closing: Gospel

GOD created us to be with Him. 

OUR sins separate us from God. 

SINS cannot be removed by good deeds.   

PAYING the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again.   

EVERYONE who trusts in Him alone has eternal life. 

LIFE with Jesus starts now and lasts forever!