The True High Priest
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
adam and eve
The first pages of the Bible tell the story of God creating Adam and Eve. Their names literally mean human and life.
work and keep
When God told Adam and Eve to “Work and Keep” the garden he used the same words that were later used to describe what the priests would do in the tabernacle.
royal priests
God gave these first humans dominion over the earth, meaning they were the first king and queen. And God said that He created them in His image. They were his representatives and they were supposed to partner with Him to rule the world and minister on His behalf. Which means Adam and Eve were royal priests.
rebellion
And then they sinned by trusting Satan instead of God. As soon as they gave into Satan they gave him dominion over them, losing their royal position, and their failure to partner with God cut short their priestly role too.
But God stepped in and promised that one of their descendants would crush the government of Satan and take back the royal throne. The Bible tells us that this promised one would completely and fully represent God and therefore be the true, royal priest that Adam and Eve were supposed to have been. This is the first promise of the anointed one—the messiah.
title
Today we’re studying Hebrews 4 and 5 where Paul says that Jesus is the great high priest. I’d like to explore this idea through the Bible with you. It’s an idea that is integrally tied into the story of salvation.
suffer
In that original promise of the anointed, royal priest, God said that He would crush the snake’s head, but in the process the anointed one would be bruised. This idea of sacrifice and suffering was built into the plan to save humanity from the very beginning.
Abraham & Isaac
Abraham & Isaac
Abraham and Sarah
Abraham and Sarah were given a promise that the royal priest would come through their family. Since Sarah was barren, they decided to take matters into their own hands and try having a surrogate give them a baby, but that was disastrous. God made it clear that this baby was going to be a son of promise—a miracle baby that only God could give them.
Abraham and Isaac
When Isaac was finally born, you can forgive Abraham and Sarah for wondering if He would be the priest that God promised to Adam and Eve. To test Abraham and to teach him an important lesson because of how he had previously taken things into his own hands, God told Abraham to take Isaac to Mount Moriah and offer him there as a sacrifice. This sounded somewhat like the promise made to Adam and Eve that through sacrifice the promised one would crush the head of the snake.
Isaac Sacrifice
On the mountain Isaac surrendered himself, willing to die for the cause. In that way, he was like the royal high priest, but he was not the one who would come. So God stopped Abraham before he sacrificed his son and showed him a ram caught in the briars nearby as a substitute.
This story is one of the most vivid examples of sin and salvation that exists before the cross and its filled with the concepts of the priestly work. In this story a human, Abraham, acts as a mediator for humanity and a minister for God. His son, Isaac, acts as the sacrifice and in his willingness to die he acts out the other part of the priests’ role—the sacrifice and representative of God. But Isaac was a sinful human and could never actually accomplish God’s plan to crush satan’s government or save humanity. So God prevented them from going through with the sacrifice and gave them a substitute—a ram.
God will provide
In this story Abraham gives us an important concept — God will provide himself a lamb. Not just that God will provide a sheep as a substitute, but that God himself would become the sacrifice.
No human could ever fulfill God’s promise to be the representative, royal priest that God had promised to Adam and Eve.
Moses and Aaron
Moses and Aaron
Moses
The next story is about Moses and Aaron. Moses was called by God to lead the children of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob—the Israelites—out of slavery in Egypt. In a sense, Moses held both the royal and priestly role and he was specially ordained by God for this job. He served as God’s representative and minister and he led the Israelites with the authority of a king.
kingdom of priests
But when the Israelites got to Mount Sinai God told them that they were a kingdom of priests. Not just Moses, all of them… They were all to hold this role of priest. He told them that they could have no other gods besides Him and that they were never to make an idol and bow down to it. They couldn’t represent the God of creation while worshiping a created things. But they were afraid and told Moses that they wanted him to represent them before God and asked that God not talk to them again.
High Priest Pattern
One day Moses went up on a mountain and met with God. There God showed him the sanctuary of heaven and a model of that sanctuary that he was supposed to build on the earth. In that model he saw a high priest who would minister to the people on behalf of God.
Aaron Idolatry
But while he was up on the mountain his brother Aaron was down with the people making an idol and letting the people worship a false god that he had made. When he came down, Moses shattered the tablets with God’s ten sayings on them, demonstrating how they had broken God’s law and that they could no longer hold the position of priests.
Moses sacrifice
Moses went back to God and pleaded for their lives, offering for God to take his life instead of theirs. Like Isaac, Moses was willing to suffer and be sacrificed for the people. But he was also a sinful human and could never fulfill the role of the anointed royal priest that God had promised to Adam and Eve.
Aaron priesthood
Instead of all the people being priests, and instead of Moses being the sacrifice, God set up a priesthood through the line of Aaron. Yes, the same Aaron that had helped the people worship an idol. He had repented and his tribe had been instrumental in helping deal with the rebellion. But Aaron was not to be a royal priest, nor was he to offer his own life. These human priests would represent God, but incompletely. They wouldn’t offer their own lives, but instead use lambs and goats and cows as sacrifices instead. And because they were sinful humans, they had to offer sacrifices for themselves before ministering to the people. These priests were play-acting to help the people see a daily demonstration of what God’s plan to save them would be like.
Jesus the High Priest
Jesus the High Priest
Jesus Baptism
Fast forward all the way until Jesus.
When Jesus was about 30 years old he came to his cousin, John the Baptist, and asked to be baptized. John, realized who Jesus was, and called him “the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.”
god will provide
This was an echo of Abraham’s words that said that God would provide himself a lamb. John said, “this is God’s lamb! This is God’s lamb!” He recognized that Jesus was the Royal Priest who would suffer and sacrifice himself to crush the serpent. And so he asked Jesus to baptize him instead. Jesus insisted that John baptize him to fulfill all righteousness.
Father anoints Jesus
When Jesus came up out of the water the holy Spirit descended on Him, anointing Him in His priestly role. And the Father in heaven called out with a thundering voice, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.”
These phrases were taken right out of the prophecies about the royal priest to come:
“You are my son” is from Psalm 2:7
I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.
This is a reference to the divine, kingly role Jesus held.
“Whom I love” was a reference to the story of Abraham and Isaac when God said, Genesis 22:2
He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
This is pointing towards the sacrifice Jesus would one day make, and it’s tying him to humanity, not just as God’s son, but as the son of Adam and Eve—the promised royal priest.
“With whom I am well pleased” comes from the psalm about the suffering servant in Isaiah 42:1
Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.
Anointed by God’s spirit, identified as the heir to the throne of the earth, and now activated in his role as minister and representative, Jesus was now the anointed, royal priest.
priest behind the veil
At the time of Jesus’ baptism, Israel already had a high priest who ministered in the temple behind the angel embroidered curtain. He was appointed to that role by birthright as he was a descendant of Aaron, the first high priest in the earthy sanctuary. The priests would oversee health issues by diagnosing skin diseases. They would teach the people about God. And they would offer sacrifices for the people.
Jesus acting like a priest
When they saw Jesus going around teaching things that opened people’s hearts to God, they were offended because it felt like he was taking their authority. And when he healed leprosy they were offended because diagnosing and cleansing from diseases was their job. And then Jesus marched into the temple making a whip out of chords and he drove out the money changers and livestock sellers saying, “don’t make my Father’s house a den of merchandise!”
where do you get your authority?
He was an outsider. From the tribe of Judah. And yet he was coming into the temple acting like he was the one in charge. Like he was the priest! How dare he! It made the priests really mad.
When they asked Him where He thought He got His authority from—the authority to act like a priest—this is how Jesus responded.
Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.”
He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet” ’? If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?”
Jesus was showing them that the royal priest that was promised would be the son of David—from the tribe of Judah—but that he would also be greater than David because David would call him “Lord.”
In that same passage that Jesus quoted from Psalm 110 where we find this addition tidbit about the messiah:
The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
This statement shows that the anointed one would be a priest, but not like Aaron—the guy who made an idol. Or like his children who kept dying and having to pass on their role to the next generation. Jesus was claiming to be outside of the inherited priesthood from the line of Aaron. He was claiming to be a priest after the order of Melchizedek.
Abraham and Melchizedek
Let’s do a quick aside here and remember who Melchizedek was.
Melchizedek was one of the kings in the Jordan valley when the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were ransacked during the time of Abraham. Abraham helped get their families and stuff back, and when they returned one of the people that greeted him was a guy named Melchizedek, the king of Salem and the priest of God Most High. Abraham paid him a tithe of all the loot he had brought back, and Melchizedek said a blessing over Abraham.
So, here’s what we know about Melchizedek:
He was the king of Salem.
He was called a priest.
Abraham paid him tithe.
He has no origin story. No death record. He just pops up in the history books and disappears just as quickly.
But in this brief moment we have our first introduction to JeruSALEM, the place where God’s high priests would one day minister. And with Melchizedek we are again reminded of the royal, kingly priest like we saw with Adam and Eve.
The Bible is using the metaphor of Melchizedek’s life as a tool for understanding the supremacy of Jesus’ priesthood. Hebrews even suggests that Aaron’s high priesthood was inferior simply because Levi, Aaron’s tribe, paid tithe to Melchizedek through Abraham his great great great… grandfather.
Turn with me to Hebrews chapter 4 and let’s see what Paul says about Jesus’ role as the High Priest.
So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Every high priest is a man chosen to represent other people in their dealings with God. He presents their gifts to God and offers sacrifices for their sins. And he is able to deal gently with ignorant and wayward people because he himself is subject to the same weaknesses. That is why he must offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as theirs. And no one can become a high priest simply because he wants such an honor. He must be called by God for this work, just as Aaron was. That is why Christ did not honor himself by assuming he could become High Priest. No, he was chosen by God, who said to him, “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.” And in another passage God said to him, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. And God designated him to be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Paul positions Jesus as the God/Man. the one who though He was God, came “through the heavens” and became a man so that He could sympathize with us. He was the great representative of God. The one who could mediate between God and man.
Later, In Hebrews 7, Paul points out that Jesus was better than Aaron’s sons:
There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.
Jesus’ priesthood is permanent because he lives forever. And that’s why he is able to save us “to the uttermost” when we draw near to God through Him, because he will always make intercession for us.
jacob’s ladder
That word, “intercession,” is kind of like prayer, but it’s more than that Jesus prays for us, Jesus is the in-between one. We’ve been talking about how the Hebrew Christians were in-between Rome and the Jews, and in-between rescue and rest. Well, Jesus is the ultimate in-between person—the one who connects humanity with divinity. Jacob dreamed about a ladder that connected heaven and earth, and that ladder represents Jesus’ priestly ministry of connecting us with God. It is because of Jesus that we can enter into the presence of the heavenly father. And we will always be able to enter God’s presence because Jesus is our intercessor—our in-between priest.
Hebrews 7 continues with another important aspect of Jesus Royal Priesthood:
He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven. Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins.
Every priest offered sacrifices, but Jesus offered himself. They had to offer sacrifices day after day, but Jesus’ sacrifice was perfect—a once-for-all sacrifice that doesn’t need to be repeated.
Unlike Isaac who needed a substitute when he was on the mountain, and Moses who couldn’t actually give his life to save the Israelites, Jesus’ sacrifice was all-sufficient. He didn’t need a substitute or alternate or additional sacrifice. Why? Because at His death Satan bruised Jesus, but Jesus crushed the very head of Satan’s government. He took back dominion of the earth out of Satan’s grip. At his resurrection Jesus even claimed authority over death. He is the sovereign king of earth with all the rights of both Adam and God.
Hebrews 9 opens up the story just a tiny bit more.
Hebrews 9:6-7
When these things were all in place, the priests regularly entered the first room as they performed their religious duties. But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year. And he always offered blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.
All the priests could do the daily ministry of offering sacrifices, but only the high priest could go into the most holy place and do the final work of cleansing the sanctuary. This represents the cleansing of the universe from sin. This is the work that Jesus is engaging in right now in heaven.
For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf.
Conclusion
Conclusion
This is a pretty simple concept, but let’s back up for a minute to grasp how Jesus did this.
Jesus on the cross
First, Jesus came down from heaven, the son of God, but also one of us—a human. He was annointed by the Father and the Spirit as the royal High Priest after spending over three years ministering to people, he submitted himself as a sacrifice. On the cross he was bruised by Satan, but his sacrifice broke Satan’s government and gave it a deadly wound that it will never recover from.
A few days after his death Jesus rose from the grave because he is the author of life and so he couldn’t stay dead.
Jesus ascending
A few weeks later Jesus ascended up into heaven while his disciples were watching. He promised, “I will come again…”
Jesus the royal priest
While we wait for His return, the Bible tells us that Jesus is in heaven doing all the stuff that’s required to save us and to get rid of sin from the universe once and for all time.
You are a royal priesthood
Just a few days after Jesus went to heaven he sent His Holy Spirit to fill the church so they could take the good news that Jesus, the Royal High Priest was dead but he’s alive forevermore and he wants you to be saved from sin and death. One of Jesus’ disciples, Peter, recognized what was going on and he told the church, you are living stones, the temple of the holy spirit—YOU ALL ARE A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD!” (1 Pet 2:5, 9)
Simple, right? Jesus is the heavenly Royal priest, and he turns to you and me and says, “you are my witnesses… Go into all the world and make more disciples of me.”
Christian sacrifices
As royal priests we minister with sacrifices as well, but because Jesus is the perfect sacrifice our ministry is with the sacrifices of praise, of prayer, of kindness, of doing good, of the preaching the gospel and of sharing and generosity. When we bring these sacrifices to God, the world will be drawn to Jesus.
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Will you stand with me and sing a song of praise to Jesus for being our sacrificial High priest who brings his own blood so that he can save us forever.
Jesus, Lamb of God
