Hebrews 5:1-10 Jesus: The Chosen High Priest

Alright. Go ahead and grab a seat. We are going to be in Hebrews chapter 5 verses 1-10 today as we continue this section of Hebrews looking at Christ as our Great High Priest.

To remind you, this section started back in which says...

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

The Author’s whole point is that Jesus is our great high priest, and last week I told you that great in this verse means most excellent or superior in every way.

So what the Author is doing is showing the Hebrews that they must hold fast to Christ, they must persevere in their faith and not go back to Judaism because Jesus is superior in every way to the high priests of the Old Testament, and therefore is the supreme fulfillment of the priesthood in general.

And some of you might be thinking, why are we spending so much time talking about all this? I mean, we aren’t being tempted to go back to Judaism and we already believe Christ is superior in every way to the high priests of the Old Testament. So what is the point of these passages for us?

So to help you understand why God wants all Christians to see Jesus as the great high priest of his people, here’s what you need to keep in mind in passages like this.

Well first, it shows us how all of Scripture is about Christ. Studying Christ as our great high priest reminds us that Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the Old Testament.

Jesus himself even said in Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Jesus was always God’s plan to save his people. It wasn’t as if God was doing one thing in the Old Testament only to call an audible in the New.

No. Everything in the Old Testament pointed him. All the OT was written to show the people of God how God was going to save them through the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Ever since humanity first sinned against God, God set in motion a plan to save sinners through Jesus Christ.

Second, while we might not be tempted to go back to the Old Covenant like the Hebrews were, understanding what it means that Jesus is our great high priest gives us a deeper understanding of everything Christ did to save us, and also, how he currently serves us by interceding on our behalf as our perfect mediator.

So knowing what it means that Christ is our great high priest allows us to worship him more because we are able to see how God permanently forgave our sins through the sacrifice of his life and how Jesus now helps us to follow him faithfully as our priest forever.

So the aim of knowing Christ as our great high priest, the reason God put these passages in the Bible knowing that Gentiles like us would read them, is to see all that God did for us in Christ so that we might love and worship him more.

And last week in we looked at how Christ is superior to the high priests of the Old Testament because he overcame every temptation he faced and lived a sinless life so that he can now help us overcome our own temptations.

And this week, in chapter 5 verses 1-10, the Author focuses how Christ is superior to the high priests of the Old Testament because he was appointed by the Father to be our great high priest who saves everyone who believes in him.

In fact that is our big idea that we are going to look at this morning. So if you are a note taker, this is the one big thing God wants to teach us in this passage. And that is: God appointed Jesus to be our great high priest and save us from our sins.

And so to help us understand the significance of Jesus as our great high priest, the Author uses the first section of this passage to explain the ministry of the high priests of the Old Testament in general to remind us that, point number 1...

I. Jesus is Our Great High Priest

For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. 3 Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. 4 And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.

When you read these 4 verses, they don’t talk about Jesus, instead they talk about the old high priests who all pointed to Jesus. After all, Jesus is not obligated to offer sacrifices for his own sins because he is sinless.

So what you have here is a description of the human high priests from the Old Testament.

And the first thing we are told is that every high priest was chosen by God to act on behalf of men in relation to God.

That means God chose the high priests to be mediators between God and his people.

You’ll remember from last week that a mediator is someone who stands between two opposing parties. They are someone who stands in the middle and reconciles two people to each other.

And here’s why that is significant. God appointing the high priests of the Old Testament to be mediators between Israel and the Lord, shows us that God says if we want to worship him, then we must do so through a mediator.

That is because God is holy. He is absolutely separated from everything that he has made and as the only True God, is worthy of all worship and glory from all things.

Humanity, on the other hand, is not holy. Through Adam all of us have sinned against God, and because of that sin, deserve to suffer under his wrath.

And so to be saved and escape God’s judgment and condemnation, we needed a mediator who could reconcile to God. We needed to have our sins forgiven and be made right with him so that we could worship him as he created us to.

And this is where there is good news. God is not only holy in his judgement but he is also holy in his love, he determined to reconcile us to himself and save us from our sins.

In the Old Testament, God did this by appointing the high priests. These high priests served types, or pictures, of what God would ultimately do through Christ.

Hebrews says that these high priests would offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. These sacrifices were offered to temporarily deal with Israel’s sin until the Messiah would ultimately come to save his people.

Remember, Old Testament saints were saved through faith just like we are. They had faith in God’s promise to send a future Messiah, we have faith in the Messiah God has sent, Jesus Christ.

The sacrifices themselves did not save anyone. They were acts of faith that temporarily dealt with the sins of God’s people until Christ came to give the fullness of salvation through his sinless life, sacrificial death, and bodily resurrection.

This is why Paul said in For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

In his divine forbearance, God allowed the sacrifices of the Old Testament to temporarily deal with his people’s sin until Christ came to be our true propitiation.

This is one of the reasons why Jesus is our great high priest. The sacrifice he offered, namely his own life, doesn’t temporarily deal with our sin. Instead, it was a perfect once for all sacrifice that fully atones for all our sin.

Also, the high priests were appointed to act on behalf of men. That means that when the high priest offered sacrifices he did so in the people’s place.

In the same way, Jesus as our great high priest offered the sacrifice of his own life on behalf of men in relation to God.

Jesus died in our place for our sins. Where we deserved to die under God’s wrath, Jesus died as our substitute so that God’s wrath against our sin could be satisfied and we could be forgiven.

Going back to Hebrews, the high priests of the Old Testament could deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness.

Here the author says that the high priest is able to deal gently with sinners as their mediator because he shares the same weaknesses they do. In other words, he just as sinful and weak as they are.

In other words, he just as sinful and weak as they are

But this also poses a problem. Verse 3 says Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people.

Because the high priest was every bit as sinful as the people he served, he also needed God to atone for his sins.

This again, is used to contrast the high priests of the Old Testament with Jesus as our great high priest.

Last week in the Author said For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Just like the high priests of the Old Covenant, Jesus is able to deal gently with us as our mediator because he knows our weaknesses. He knows our temptation and struggles with sin because He himself suffered and endured temptation as a man and yet...he never sinned.

And because Christ never sinned, his sacrifice could be a pure sacrifice, a perfect sacrifice offered solely on behalf of his people.

When Jesus offered the sacrifice of his life he didn’t have any sin of his own to atone for.

Instead, the fullness of his sacrifice could be offered on our behalf. In other words, all the sins of every person who trusts in Christ could be washed away because Jesus offered himself as our pure and spotless lamb. Our perfect substitute.

Finally in verse 4, the Author concludes his description of the high priests of the Old Testament saying...

And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.

Aaron is of course Moses’ brother and he was the first high priest of Israel.

Back in , God called Aaron to become the high priest. The whole point being that no one can just appoint themselves to be a mediator between God and his people.

Only God can appoint a mediator and when God does, that appointment is set in stone.

All throughout Israel’s history, the only people who could serve as priests were from the line of Aaron. Meaning if the people of Israel wanted to worship God, they had to go through the one whom he appointed to serve as their mediator.

And today this appointed mediator through whom we can draw near to God and worship him, is Jesus Christ because point number 2...

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Because God has now appointed Jesus as our great high priest, no one is able to worship God except through faith in him.

The high priests of the Old Testament were just a type, just a shadow of our perfect mediator, our great high priest Jesus Christ.

And just like God appointed them to serve as the mediators between him and his people, God also appointed Jesus.

II. Jesus is Our Appointed High Priest

Jesus is Our Appointed High Priest

So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”; 6 as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”

“You are my Son,

today I have begotten you”;

6 as he says also in another place,

“You are a priest forever,

after the order of Melchizedek.”

Just like the High priests of the Old Testament were appointed by God to serve as mediators between God and his people, so also Christ was appointed by the Father to be our perfect mediator.

And to show these Jewish believers that the time of the Old Testament high priests had come to an end and the mantle of mediator between holy God and sinful man was taken from the Old Testament high priests and given to Christ, the Author quotes two Psalms.

The first is which is the Lord speaking to the Son saying, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you.”

The Jews always saw this Psalm as looking forward to the Messiah. If you read the whole Psalm it is all about how God will crush the wicked nations and give them to his Son to rule and reign over all things. This was the Jewish hope of the Christ.

So by doing this, the Author is identifying Jesus as the appointed Messiah. He is the Son of God who will rule over all things.

But what does this have to do with Jesus as our great high priest.

That’s where the next quotation comes into play. The next quote is from verse 4.

The beginning of says this

The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” 2 The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies!

“Sit at my right hand,

until I make your enemies your footstool.”

2 The Lord sends forth from Zion

your mighty scepter.

Rule in the midst of your enemies!

3 Your people will offer themselves freely!

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .!

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

I want you to notice the kingly language. This is a Psalm all about the Messianic King who will crush his enemies and rule over all things, just like had promised.

And then in we read The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

So God says this King who will rule all things is also the priest, the mediator between God and his people, forever. It is set in stone. The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Therefore, if Jesus really is the King talks about, then that means he is also the King in , which we know is true because the Author used this same Psalm in chapter 1 in direct reference to Jesus.

And so if he is the King in , then God has also appointed him to be a priest forever.

Jesus truly is our great high priest appointed by God. He is the eternal mediator who reconciles sinners to God through his once for all sacrifice.

And the Psalm goes on. Jesus is a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.

Now what in the world does that mean?

The Author will go into detail about Christ being a priest after the order of Melchizedek in chapter 7, but here let me just say that Melchizedek is a priest who is mentioned two times in the Old Testament. Once in that we’ve been looking at and the other is in .

And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,

Possessor of heaven and earth;

20 and blessed be God Most High,

who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”

And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

And just like that Melchizedek is gone, not to be mentioned again until . So what is the Author of Hebrews saying by tying Jesus’ priesthood to such an obscure priest from the Old Testament.

Well we are told that Melchizedek was the king of Salem, which was a Gentile nation because remember, the Jews came from the line of Abraham, so Melchizedek was not a part of God’s covenant people.

And yet, Genesis says he was a priest of God Most High. That is, the God of the Bible.

So in some mysterious way, God sovereignly chose Melchizedek to serve as a priest even though he was outside of the line of Aaron who wouldn’t be born for hundreds of years.

appointed Melchizedek to be a Priest to himself from a foreign people. He was a priest who was outside of the line of Aaron, because Aaron wasn’t even born yet.

Now here’s why all that matters. To say that Jesus is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek means two things.

MelchizedInstead, Melchizedek was appointed to be a priest solely on the basis of God’s sovereign purposes.

First, it validates Jesus’ priesthood to these Jewish believers.

You have to remember, the Hebrews were wanting to go back to Judaism where all the priests were from the tribe of Levi, the line of Aaron.

Every Jew who knew his Bible knew that only a Levite could serve as a priest. So how could Jesus, who was from the line of David and the Tribe of Judah, be our great high priest if he wasn’t even able to be a priest to begin with?

Well the Author says, its because he is a priest after the order of Melchizedek. The Author validates Jesus’ priesthood by saying that he is a priest, just not a priest of the Old Covenant. This of course points to Jesus being the high priest forever of the New Covenant.

Second, Jesus being a priest after the order of Melchizedek means that his priesthood, like Melchizedek’s own priesthood, is born solely out of God’s sovereign purposes.

Namely, that he would be the once for all, perfect mediator between God and his people.

God appointed Jesus to be our great high priest to say, “My Son is the only one who can reconcile sinners. There is no other mediator who can save sinners. Only Christ.

Jesus himself said the same thing.

I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

He is the only mediator.

If God really has appointed Christ to be our great high priest, superior in every way to the priests of the Old Testament, then that means there is salvation in no one else.

He is God’s appointed mediator, and the only way we can be reconciled to God is through faith in him.

The high priests of the Old Testament were just a type, just a shadow of our perfect mediator, our great high priest Jesus Christ.

Because through faith, Christ’s sacrifice becomes our sacrifice. Christ, becomes our great high priest who offered his life on our behalf so that we could be saved.

And this salvation is available to anyone who puts their faith in Jesus. So if you are falling under the conviction of your sin, knowing that you deserve God’s wrath and need a savior to reconcile you to God, then don’t delay.

And just like God appointed them to serve as the mediators between him and his people, God also appointed Jesus.

Come to Christ. Come to the high priest appointed by God to save sinners and he will give you grace. The Bible says if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved.

I promise you, there is no other way to have your sins forgiven.

There is no other way to be saved. You need a mediator, and there has only been one mediator appointed by God with the authority to give salvation and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all.

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all

There is no other way to be saved. You need a mediator. And there is only one mediator appointed by God who has the authority to give salvation and that mediator is the Lord Jesus Christ.

He is the one who gave himself as a ransom for all, and it is only through faith in him that we are saved.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

And the reason that God appointed Christ to be our mediator, to be our our great high priest is because of point number 3...

III. Jesus is Our Perfect High Priest

Jesus is Our Perfect High Priest

In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

Now we need to be careful here because when it says Jesus was made perfect, the author is not saying that Christ was somehow imperfect.

As the incarnate GodMan Jesus was absolutely sinless and absolutely perfect in every way. So what does the author mean by saying that Christ was made perfect?

It means that he became the perfect savior for us. That through living a sinless life as a man and suffering and dying as a man, Christ became the perfect substitute to pay for our sins so that we could be forgiven.

And before saying this, the Author explicitly tells us why Christ became our perfect savior saying, In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death.

In the days of his flesh refers to Christ’s life on earth, and during his life, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications to the Father.

And while of course Jesus constantly prayed and depended on the Father throughout his life, the Author here has in mind here a very specific moment of Jesus’ incarnation.

When it says that Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears, the author is talking about Christ’s prayers in the garden of Gethsemane.

The night before his crucifixion, Jesus took his disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray to God knowing the suffering he was about to endure for the sins of the world. And says

And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. 34 And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” 35 And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36 And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

When Jesus prayed that God would remove the cup from him, Jesus was referring to the cup of God’s righteous wrath against sin. This is a prominent theme throughout the Old Testament.

One example is which says For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.

says For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.

with foaming wine, ywell mixed,

Jesus knew that he was about to drink the cup of God’s wrath for the sins of everyone who believes in him. That the holy and righteous wrath that God had against every person that he elected to salvation was going to be poured out on Jesus as their substitute.

And so Jesus, in his humanity prayed, Father will you please take this cup from me? Can there please be another way to save sinners? Is there some way to forgive sin without me having to take all the wrath of God upon myself?

and he pours out from it,

In fact, Jesus was so grieved, and so dismayed at his impending crucifixion and suffering that says And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

And when Jesus sweated blood, doctors say that that is only possible when someone is under the most extreme fear and distress.

But what did Jesus say? Yet not what I will, but what you will.

Jesus submitted himself to the Father’s will, and says that he learned obedience through what he suffered.

Christ’s suffering was an act of obedience.

When it says learned there, that doesn’t mean Jesus came to know something he didn’t know before. He was always obedient. Instead, it means that Jesus realized or experienced obedience through what he suffered.

That he understands fully what it means to obey God as a man, and by doing so he is able to be our sympathetic high priest like says.

This is similar to what Paul said in And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Christ’s suffering was an act of obedience.

And when the author of Hebrews said that Jesus learned obedience through what he suffered, he likely had in mind which is a prophesy about Christ obeying God through suffering. That prophecy says this.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward. 6 I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.

The Lord God has opened my ear,

and I was not rebellious;

I turned not backward.

6 I gave my back to those who strike,

All of these things were part of Christ’s suffering. He was flogged and bloodied by the Romans. The Jews ripped out his beard, beat him, and spit on him. And Christ endured all these things to obey the Lord.

That’s why it says The Lord God has opened my ear. That is Christ saying that God has told him his will. That the Father sent the Son to suffer and die for the sins of the world. Jesus even acknowledges this several times in the gospels because he’s constantly telling his disciples that he is going to die.

and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;

I hid not my face

And then, at the Garden of Gethsemane, Christ’s obedience reaches it climax. Will he continue submitting to the Father and suffer the cross, or will he disobey?

from disgrace and spitting.

And Jesus said, I was not rebellious; I turned not backward. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.

And Hebrews says he was heard because of his reverence.

And you might say, “Wait, he wasn’t heard. The cup did not pass from him. He still drank God’s wrath on our behalf! How could the Author say that Jesus’ prayers were heard?”

The key is to understand what exactly it means that Jesus offered up prayers and supplications.

The word translated offered is the same word used in verse 1 to talk about the high priest offering sacrifices on behalf of Israel.

So the Author is using a play on words to say that Jesus’ prayers were a sacrificial offering.

But how can that be? Jesus’ prayers don’t save us. It is his death that atones for our sins.

But think of it like this. By saying, not my will, but yours, be done, Jesus was essentially offering up his own body as the sacrifice for our sins. It was a prayer that God’s will would be done and that he would make atonement for the sins of his people, and Jesus then secured this atonement by dying on the cross.

So Jesus was heard, because through his humble obedience, God was pleased with Christ’s sacrifice, and showed that Christ had satisfied his wrath by raising him from the dead three days later.

Jesus offered prayers to the one who was able to save him from death and he was heard because God did indeed raise him from the dead and forgave sinners through his death.

And so Hebrews says, Jesus was made perfect, and became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.

Because Jesus suffered and died as the sinless Son of God, he alone is able to save sinners.

And to understand the full weight of what it means that Jesus is the source of eternal salvation, you need to know which says But Israel is saved by the Lord with everlasting salvation.

But Israel is saved by the Lord

with everlasting salvation;

Remember, the Hebrews were being tempted to go back to Judaism so when the author says that Jesus is the source of that eternal salvation. He is calling the Hebrews to hold firm to Christ because he is the everlasting salvation that God promised Israel long ago.

Finally, this everlasting salvation is available to all who obey Christ.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

and all the wicked of the earth

shall zdrain it down to the dregs.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Whoa. That sounds a little bit like Hebrews is teaching a a works based salvation. How can it be salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, if salvation is given to all who obey Christ?

This really isn’t that hard to understand if you think about it. Biblically, faith and obedience go together. You can’t have one without the other. Look how James says it.

For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

James gives us an amazing picture. In the same way that the body is dead if it does not hold your spirit, faith is dead if it is not accompanied by works.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

In other words, our works are the natural outworking of our faith. If you have faith then you will have works. Likewise, if you have works, specifically works that obey and glorify God, it is only because you have faith.

As Paul said in For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Unequivocally you are saved by grace through faith. But here is what that grace through faith produces.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Therefore, when Hebrews says that Jesus has become the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, it means those that have put their faith in Jesus actually follow him.

Application

To be a Christian is to be a like Christ. And just like Jesus, the Son of God, submitted himself to the Father and obeyed, so too Christians are adopted as sons and daughters of the Father and called to obey like our big brother Jesus obeyed.

Faith and obedience go together.

This makes so much sense especially when you remember who the Author is writing to. He is trying to encourage the Hebrews to not abandon their faith in Christ, but to continue following, in other words obeying, Jesus.

And we must obey because Jesus has been designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. As we said earlier, There is no other mediator. There is salvation in no one else. It is Christ alone who forgives our sins.

Jesus is our great high priest who offered himself as our perfect sacrifice so that everyone who puts their faith in him could be saved.

Application

Now, how does this passage apply to us? Learning the truths of God’s word does us no good unless we actually put those truths into practice and apply them to our every day life.

because without thinking through how we can practically live out the truth of God’s word, we

But we aren’t Jews. We aren’t being tempted to abandon Christ and convert to Judaism so that we can have our old priesthood back.

How can we put the truth of God’s Word into practice in our every day life. We aren’t Jews. We aren’t being tempted to abandon Christ and convert to Judaism.

So how do we apply such a heavily Jewish passage to our lives today? I think there are three ways.

1. Worship God

Seeing Christ as our perfect High Priest, our One True Mediator who reconciles us to God should should inspire worship in the heart of every Christian.

Just consider what Jesus went through to become our great high priest. Hebrews says that he became our perfect high priest through his suffering and death.

He suffered God’s wrath for us. Every sin that you and I have ever committed or will ever commit was laid on him and he took our punishment upon himself.

Just for a moment, think about standing before God without Christ. The wrath that would await you. The wrath that we all deserve would be poured out on us for all eternity in hell. And God would be pefectly just to do so.

I can’t imagine drinking the cup of God’s wrath down to the dregs like I deserve, but because of Christ we will never have to. He drank it on our behalf so that we could be saved.

And God did all of this because he loved us.

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

God created us to know and glorify him and in Christ

What a joy it is to know salvation and have eternal life in Christ.

Because God loved us, and has saved us through faith in Christ, all of our lives should be marked by joyful adoration and praise.

Psalm 95:1-2 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 3 For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;

let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;

let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

3 For the Lord is a great God,

and a great King above all gods.

2. Obey Christ

Number 2, our worship of God for saving us in Christ should always reveal itself in our obedience to him.

So many Christians believe that worshiping God is this kind of feeling. That true worship looks like some kind of secret joy, goose bumps, or an emotional catharsis.

But biblically, true worship is obedience. It is loving God in such a way that we actually live for his glory.

Think of it this way. If worshiping God means honoring him as the supreme and infinite treasure of all things, obedience is simply how we bring all of our lives into submission to that truth.

In other words our obedience is how we say with our lives, not just our mouths, God you alone are holy and worthy of all praise.

If I had to say it in a single sentence obedience is nothing more than loving God for loving and saving us.

Like Jesus said in one of my favorite verses in all of Scripture, If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

clearly says that Christ gives eternal salvation to everyone who obeys him. If our faith is not marked by obedience, what confidence do we have that we’ve truly been saved?

And even as I say that, I’m not wanting you to doubt your salvation based on your own obedience. All of us are imperfect. All of us are going to stumble and make mistakes.

Yes. We should make it our aim to obey God’s word out of love for him. But we shouldn’t allow our failure to make us question God’s love for us when we disobey.

Because thankfully, the assurance of our salvation doesn’t rest in our obedience, it rests on Christ as our high priest forever.

This is part 3 of our application...

3. Rest in the Assurance of Our Salvation

Hebrews says that Christ is our high priest forever.

The sacrifice he offered atones for all our sins. He offered himself as a lamb without spot or blemish so that we do not need to live in fear of finally disobeying God so much that he disowns us. If that were true, then Christ would not be our perfect, once-for-all sacrifice.

Also as our faithful high priest, Christ keeps us in the faith, and intercedes for us on our behalf.

Look at what Paul says about salvation.

And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

This is the process of salvation. God predestines us, calls us, justifies us which means he declares us righteous and holy in Christ, and because he has justified us, he promises to glorify us.

And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

And this promise is so secure that the glorification process has already started through our sanctification as we grow to be more and more like Christ by obeying him.

God’s Everlasting Love

Paul continues...

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ro 8:31–35. If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

31 What then shall we say to these things?If God is for us, who can be against us?

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), . If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

Meaning how will God possibly not give us the inheritance of our salvation if he did not spare his own Son to save us in the first place?

33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

And Paul goes on to say that there is nothing that can separate us from Christ.

Because Christ is enthroned at the right hand of God interceding for us as our great high priest, we can have every assurance that we will receive what he has promised.

Your salvation does not depend upon your worship of God or obedience to Christ. Those things aren’t what save you, they are the results of Christ saving you.

All of our salvation rests in Christ and in him alone as our great high priest and appointed mediator.

As says Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

Closing

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Let’s Pray

Scripture Reading

Pauls says that Jesus

though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

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