Sermon Tone Analysis

Jesus - Our Great High Priest

If you will remember, last week we talked about the book of Hebrews being divided into three sections.

The first section, dealing with the development of Sonship of Jesus.

The second section, 4:14-10:18 dealing with the development of the Great High Priesthood of Jesus and in 10:19 through the end of the book dealing with the development of Great Kingship of Jesus.

We finished last wee part 1 and started into the Great High Priesthood of Jesus.

If you will remember and if you weren’t here, the High Priest in the time of the Tabernacle and the Temple was the only one who could go into the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat of God was.

The High Priest could only enter once a year and that was to offer the Sacrifice for sin on the Day of Atonement.

But, that sacrifice was only temporary, awaiting the permanent sacrifice of the perfect Lamb, Jesus.

The Temple sacrifices ended in 70 AD with the destruction of the Temple by the Romans.

Jesus with His sacrifice at the Cross became the Great High Priest and ended the need for any more sacrifices.

We are told in the Bible that in the end times that the Jewish leaders will begin sacrifices again in the rebuilt Temple that will be stopped in the middle of the Tribulation by the Anti-Christ.

That gets into some serious end times studies that hopefully you have or will pursue some day.

We wrapped up last week hearing that our Great High Priest Jesus, who paid the sacrifices for our sins and the sin of the world can sympathize with our sufferings because He suffered as we do.

He can sympathize with our weaknesses because He was tempted in all ways as we are but He was without sin because He never gave in.

And here we will pick up in Chapter 5.

5 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. 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.

4 And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was.

From the time of Aaron, every High Priest was appointed that he would make sacrifices for the people but each one was subject to the sacrifices himself.

They were compassionate because they were under the same fallen state of sin as all others.

No man could take this honor to himself but must be called to be a High Priest by God.

Assumed that it was done by lots.

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.”

6 As He also says in another place:

“You are a priest forever

According to the order of Melchizedek”;

7 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, 8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.

9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, 10 called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,” 11 of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

Jesus did not call Himself to the position either but was called by the Father.

He was named to be a priest forever.

Here we get into an interesting thing.

This name comes up, Melchizedek.

He is mentioned only in two other books of the Bible, and , which is being quoted here.

We’ll run across his name several times in this chapter, 6 and 7 and then he will disappear without a trace.

This fellow Melchizedek gains a position of honor in being related to our Lord and Savior as the only other person with the position of King and Priest.

And, he is one of the least known characters in the Bible.

Melchizedek comes out of no where in Genesis and disappears the same way a few verses later.

Next thing we know, King David is comparing Jesus to him through the prophetic words of the Holy Spirit.

Melchizedek, his name means King of Righteousness.

Back in Genesis, we have the story of the Four kings against five.

You can read this in this week.

There was a great battle and the four kings routed the armies of the five which included the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah who fled during the defeat.

The four kings then plundered the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and also carried away people including Abraham’s nephew Lot and his family.

When Abraham found out Lot had been taken, He rounded up his 318 trained servants and went in pursuit of them.

He divided his forces against them and ran them all the way back to northern Syria.

Abraham got all the goods back and rescued Lot and his family.

Upon Abraham’s return, the king of Sodom came out to meet him and it says in

18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.

19 And he blessed him and said:

18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.

19 And he blessed him and said:

18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.

19 And he blessed him and said:

“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,

Possessor of heaven and earth;

20 And blessed be God Most High,

Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”

And he gave him a tithe of all.

This is during a time of very little monotheistic religion happening.

The Jewish nation had not yet been established as the covenant between Abraham and God had not happened.

That comes in .

Out of nowhere, we have this King of Salem show up.

Salem was Jerusalem and all this was taking place in the Valley of the Kings, east of the city.

“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,

In these three verses, we see several things about Melchizedek.

First, he was king of Jerusalem.

He brought out bread and wine, not really explained but significant none the less.

He was the priest of God Most High.

This is the first use of the term priest anywhere in the Bible.

And last, we see that Abraham gave Melchizedek a tithe, a tenth of all that was recovered.

This also is the first use of the term tithe in the Bible.

And, as quick as he shows up here, he disappears, not to be heard of again for about 1000 years.

I’ll leave you with a bit of suspense about this for a few weeks.

We’ll get back to Melchizedek in .

“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,

Back to .

This brings up Jesus, God in the flesh as a human and defines His most human qualities summed up.

“In the days of His flesh,” when Jesus was man, and acting and living solely as man (not using His God powers), He offered prayers and supplications.

Let’s stop there for a minute because that brings us to a learning spot.

Possessor of heaven and earth;

Possessor of heaven and earth;

Many people think that prayers and supplications are the same but they have distinct differences.

Prayers are praises and even requests lifted up to God along with thanksgiving and honor.

A supplication is generally more of a humbled and pleading time before God.

Supplication is generally made on the knees and bending, bowing down before Him in a humbled state making a petition or entreaty of God.

Supplication is always a prayer of request.

20 And blessed be God Most High,

20 And blessed be God Most High,

Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”

Hebrews tells us the Jesus prayed and supplicated “with vehement cries and tears to God.”

If this doesn’t point out the humanity of Jesus, nothing will.

He cried out it says in a strong, mighty, and powerful voice with tears.

He cried out to the one that could save Him from death.

He couldn’t go back on His choice to leave His godly powers aside to be here as a man.

He had to rely upon God the Father just as each of us has to and IS ABLE TO!

He cried out and God heard Him because He revered the Father from His position as the Son.

He honored God and although He was God’s only Son, Jesus learned obedience (compliance and submission) by His suffering.

God knows what obedience is but in this aspect, He practiced it in a way as never before.