A High Priest Appointed by God

Introduction

The more important and specialized a job is, the more qualified the person doing it needs to be. A famous joke in the Simpsons is that the father, Homer Simpson, works at a Nuclear power plant but is completely unqualified for the job. The humour comes from how rediculous, and unimaginably dangerous, this would be in real life. People must be able to complete the task, be trained for their work, have the intellegence and wisdom to act with caution and care, and be able to control themselves to perform those jobs which would affect so many people if done poorly. How much more is this the case for a priest? They opperate, not merely with forces or situations in this world; indeed they do something much more dangerous and much more necessary. If they do not do it correctly, they not only put themselves at risk for divine wrath, but they cut off all of those whom they represent from God. When Adam and Eve, humanity’s first high priest, failed to act according to God’s Word, all of humanity suffered. So it is absolutely crucial that our high priest is qualified, perfect, and able to bring us to God while still being gentle towards those whom he represents.

In our text today, we see the author of Hebrews make the point that Jesus, as our great and heavenly high priest, meets and supercedes the qualifications for any high priest who was chosen by God from among sinful humanity. His point is to show that Jesus was appointed by God to that position specifically so that he might save those who come to him in faith and follow him in obedience in faith as their Saviour. Because Jesus excedes the qualifications for a priest, then we have every reason to hope and trust that he will successfully bring us to God. The author will prove this first by going over three biblical qualifications that OT priests had in order to lawfully carry out that ministry, and then he will show us how Christ fills and goes beyond each of those qualifications himself.

My goal for you this morning is that this look into Christ’s position as a great high priest will encourage you that in him you have eternal salvation, and will push you to strive in your walk with him so that you may draw closer and closer to God until you see him face to face in his heavenly Temple in glory.

High Priests Chosen from Among Men

Now, I said that the author of Hebrews will mention three qualifications for a priest from among sinful humanity and how Christ fulfills them as well, but we will see that the order is different. In typical Hebraic style, he uses a chiastic structure, where he lists these qualifications forwards in the first half and backwards in the second half so that our passage starts and ends on a similar point.

Our text begins by talking about all priests chosen from among men to act on behalf of men. Again, a key assumption about the priestly ministry in Hebrews is that human beings can only be represented by human beings before God. This is because our priest needs to be able to relate to us since his role is to reconcile us to God. If he couldn’t relate to us, than we would need a mediator to that mediator, and so on. Besides this, we cannot be truly represented before God by someone who is not like us. So, the OT priests were chosen from among human beings for human beings. THey were also chosen from among the tribe of Levi, but that is going to be addressed later in chapter 7. For now, our focus is on the humanness of an effective priest.

There are three qualifications that were necessary for a priest in the OT that are relavent for the author here.

First, they must be able to offer sacrifices for sins (1).

Since the purpose of a priest is to “act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins”, he needs to be able to actually do that or he cannot be a priest any more than someone who doesn’t know how to cook can be a chef. This implies that a true priest must have God’s revealed instructions for how to carry out that atonement effectively. He had to have access to the Tabernacle, he had to undergo cleansing rites, and if he were unclean for any reason he could not come into the house of God and make those offerings. The nature of the offerings themselves must be according to what God revealed or they will not be accepted. Remember what happened to Aaron’s sons when they offered an unholy insence which God had not prescribed. Being able to offer sacrifices for sins is not easily or casually done.

Now, as we will see in chapters 9 and 10, the blood of bulls and goats could never truly take away sin. Instead, they stood as placeholders for the coming sacrifice of Christ; blood that is truly able to provide salvation. Nevertheless, their ministry was a true ministry of God as they performed this service in expectation of God’s provision. Even in that service, sacrifices had to be done carefully; to neglect the way God had instructed the priestly ministry to be carried out would result in death at worst and exile from God’s people at best. The message was clear; to come near to God you need a priest and that priest needs to come God’s way, not one of human invension. Salvation can only come through a sacrifice offered by a worthy priest, and so any priest must be able to bring such a sacrifice.

Secondly, a legitimate priest must be able to sympathize and deal gently with those he ministers to (2-3). Specifically, we are told that a priest “can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward.”

“Deal gently” refers to the ability to regulate your emotional reactions towards someone; to be patient in your attitude towards them. A priest cannot be someone who flies off the rails every time they see someone sin. Since their ministry is one of reconciliation and to be a conduit of mercy, they cannot be short tempered or lack any sympathy for those whom they represent. They must appease the just wrath of God, not add their own wrath to it. This also cannot be someone who does not take sin seriously, which is why the Greek word here has an emphasis on moderation in emotions, not a cold unfeeling attitude. Think of the kind of attitude we want to see in emergency responders; a sense of urgency tempered by professional self control. You want someone who cares, but you also do not want them to act emotionally. The priest needs to be able to maintain an attitude of temperance, control, and care along with the seriousness which all sin should be treated with.

We are told that those they must deal gently with are the “ignorant and wayward”. This could also be construed as the ignorantly wayward. In the OT, the atonement made through the priestly office was not a liscense to sin. On the contrary, the OT law only allowed for atonement of unintentional sins.

Sin is a violation of God’s commands within the context of the covenants he establishes with us. However, because we are weak, full of sinful desires, fallible, easily mislead, and prone to temptation, a sacrifice to atone for these failings was provided for. But for someone who intentionally lives in contradiction to God’s Law, there is no sacrifice of atonement. We will the author make this connection to apostacy in 6:6, showing that someone who falls away from Christ either in their profession or through a life of hypocrisy has no atonement for their sins either. This is why the heresy of “once saved always saved” is so dangerous (and is very different from the reformed doctrine of perseverance of the saints). The idea that simply praying a prayer or getting baptized once guaruntees forgiveness no matter what I do in the future is damning, for it lulls the would-be-believer into a false belief that living in repentance and persevering is not important. What a tragedy that many wake up in hell because they were assured that faith was a one-time event rather than a life of discipleship.

However, even in the new covenant Christians find themselves falling into sin because of our weakness. We are weak to temptation, and so in a moment may give into our passions which we have sworn off gratifying. We may be overcome by a sinful attitude that later reveals itself for what it is. Or we may be mistaken and commit sins which we did not realize were sins. The difference is that the elect have their hearts set on dying to sin in every way so that they might live all the more for Christ. We, like all of God’s people at all times, are often ignorant and wayward and so need a high priest who can deal gently with us, lest we be driven away from the reconciliation we so desparately need.

Now, the reason that priests from among mankind are able to sympathize and deal gently with sinners is because they are weak sinners themselves. This has the benefit that they can sympathize with and show patience towards foolish sinners. HOwever, it also means that they have sin to atone for, and this they need to do constantly and repeatedly. The author will deal with that aspect later, but it certainly does create a bit of a paradoxical need in a priest. How can a priest relate to our weakness so that he is gentle with us, and yet bring us to God when such weakness inevitably leads him to fall into sin?

The third qualification for priests is that they are appointed by God for that honour and role (4).

The mention of Aaron here incedental; the author will later spend a lot of attention on the difference between the priestly order of Melchizedek vs. Levi and Aaron, but here he is mentioned as an example of someone who was specifically appointed to the role of a priest.

Just like it is no good being represented to God by someone who has nothing in common with you, or who is unable to sympathize with human weakness, it is also useless to be represented by someone whom God doesn’t approve of. While priests in the ANE world often were trying to manipulate the gods for their favour, priesthood before the one true God was submissive and according to God’s will and instruction. A relationship with God is only possible if God initiates it and sets the terms. We are not on equal footing with him. We are not his peers. We have nothing to bargain with. We have no right to refuse him. So, if someone sets themselves up as a priest apart from God’s expressed calling, anything they do will not be pleasing to him, but rather will be an afront to him.

Priesthood is an honour, for it bears the greatest of responsabilities. God’s wisdom, the way he has set up the world, shows that honour comes to those who are given the greatest and most weighty responsabilities. The risk and cost is great, and so the honour is great. A wise king sees the honour they are given, not as a mere priviledge, but as a reminder of the weighty and costly responsability they have to lead well.

Christ Chosen into the Order of Melchizedek

Now that we have seen what we need in a priest, the author of Hebrews moves on to show us how Christ fulfills and exceeds each of these qualifications. Much of the remaining letter will be arguing that Jesus is the high priest for a better covenant than what the Jews had in the OT, and if he is going to convince his readers of that, they need to first see that Jesus is qualified for such a task. This is especially the case since Jesus came from the Tribe of Judah, not the Tribe of Levi or the house of Aaron, so from the perspective of the OT law one would think that Jesus cannot be a high priest. So, the author begins where he left off with the need for human priests to be chosen by God.

Christ is appointed as Son to the Father to a more ancient priestly order (5-6)

Here, the author quotes Psalm 2 again to remind his readers of the special relationship that Jesus has with the Father. If you want to know more about Jesus being the Son, you should go back and listen to our messages on Hebrews 1. Jesus unique relationship with the Father is shown in how God appoints him both as the one who makes atonement for sins and the one who rules over his people as the priest-king of God’s people (1:3-4). Throughout his earthly life, God the Father showed his pleasure in the ministry of Christ. In his resurrection and ascention into heaven, God’s appointment of him as a high priest is beyond doubt.

But how can he serve as a high priest when he is not from the tribe of Levi? Judah was the tribe of kings, so that Jesus is a king makes sense, but only Levites could act as priests in an official capacity, and even then only from the line of Aaron. How can God stay consistent with previous rules around priesthood?

The answer is something that draws upon an almost legendary figure from Genesis, Melchizedek. Melchizedek was the priest king of Salem, later Jerusalem. Jerusalem was where the Davidic Kingdom was centralized, as well as the city where the Temple was. Since Jesus is the descendant of David and rightly declared to be the King of Israel, he also inherits the priestly title that goes along with it. The King of Salem is also the Priest of Salem. The author will go on to develop this idea of Jesus being a priest in the order of Melchizedek, which is based on the prophecy in Psalm 110, but for now it is enough for us to say that because Jesus is rightly King of Israel, he is also rightly King of Jerusalem and therefore inherits the more ancient priesthood of Melchizedek which God had promised to give the Messiah.

So it is clear that Jesus has been appointed by God to rightfully be a priest for his people.

Second, Christ experienced human weakness but was obedient (7-8)

Remember the problem we have with priests from among men, that they are able to be gentle and sympathize with the sinners they represent before God because they themselves are sinners. We are left with the problem that if a perfect being intercedes for us, they cannot understand our weakness, but if a weak person intercedes for us they will also be a sinner and so have to have their own sins atoned for.

Christ provides the answer by being someone who was made perfect through a process of suffering in bodily weakness. This was accomplished throughout his life, culminating in the sufferings of the cross, and was done without sin. In this way, a perfect high priest is able to deal gently with imperfect and weak people because he knows what it is to be as we are, yet without sin. His sinlessness guarunteed that the Father heard his cries and answered them by raising him from the dead. Although he was already a son who obeyed the Father in every way, he learned obedience as a human does through suffering.

This is why we can be assured that Jesus is gentle with us, and yet is perfect, righteous, and sinlessly holy to come before God and...

(Thirdly) become the perfect source of salvation for his followers (9-10)

In chapters 9-10, the author will detail how Jesus’ sacrifice and offering are better than anything offered by any priest on earth. Jesus offers, not the blood of animals which were placeholders, but rather the true sacrifice that takes away sins: his own blood. When Jesus entered heaven, he came into a heavenly temple and offered the blood which he spilled on earth as our perfect priest. He did this without sin, being made perfect, in obedience to the Father, and with a pure and acceptable atonement for sins.

So, if there were ever someone that could bring us salvation, it is Christ. He alone is perfect among human priests and so is able to come before God in such a unique way and yet perfectly and patiently represent us in our weaknesses. He pays for our sins with the atonement of his own blood, offered once for all for us.

Conclusion: The Source of Eternal Salvation

A relationship with God is exclusive and we, as weak sinners, are in need of someone to bring us to God. That person needs to be experienced in weakness enough to truly represent us with gentleness and mercy, but also perfect and righteous so that he can enter the holy presence of God. That priest also needs a perfect sacrifice to cover the injustices and crimes we have committed against a holy God’s good decrees. If we have this, we have a perfect relationship with the one true God and eternal life.

This is what is offered to you in Christ Jesus, however it is not bestowed universally. There is one qualification for those who can be represented by our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ. In verse 9, it says “he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.”

This may leave a bit of a sour taste on your tongue. After all, Scripture is clear that we are saved by grace alone through faith, and not as a result of works. So why is obedience a requirement here for eternal salvation? Remember the warning back in 3:18, that those who were denied God’s rest were those who were disobedient, and then the following verse concluded that “they were unable to enter (God’s rest) because of unbelief”. If disobedience is equated to unbelief there, then obedience must be the same and belief, and vice versa.

The faith you are called to is a living faith and obedience to the Gospel. It means to pledge your allegience to Christ, follow him through this life of suffering and darkness holding up the light of the Gospel, and striving to the end with the help of your great high priest.

This is the call for all people everywhere, and this is how we can know God. Do you want to know God, experience eternal life, and be who you were created to be? Do you want the forgiveness from sins and freedom from their power? Do you want to know eternal love and joy in his presence? Do you want hope that the world cannot take away? Come to the great high priest who is more than qualified to save all who follow him.

Are you a Christian, but feel far from God? Is there a sin that you are struggling with overcoming? Do you seek to feel God’s forgiveness, peace, and love? Do you feel controlled by anxiety, worldly cares, destractions? Are you overcome with shame or passions? Come to the great high priest who is qualified, gentle, and ready to bring you once again to the Father, your sins washed clean in his blood, so that you may walk in the life that he made you to experience.