Our Great High Priest - The Author or Eternal Salvation - Part 1

The Person of the Priesthood — (Vs. 14b)

“Jesus the Son of God”

Isaiah called Him Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace

He is the Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star, the Shepherd of Our souls, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah

He was born of a virgin

Lived a perfect life

Died a sinners death

He was resurrected after three days

He ascended into the heavenlies and now sits at the Father’s right hand

He is our redeemer, our advocate, our mediator, our intercessor

He is the bread of life, the resurrection and the life, the way, the truth and the life

He is the light of world, the true vine, the door of the sheepfold, the good shepherd

He is the great I AM!

He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and ending, the first and the last, that which was, which is and is to come, the almighty!

He is the lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world, the Messiah, the Christ, the Hope of Israel and most importantly...

He is Emmanuel!

He is God with us! And that my friend is but a glimpse into who our high priest is!

Every other religion gives you a list of works and tells you how to get to their God but we serve a God this morning who took the list of ordinances that was against us and nailed it to His cross making a way for sinful man to return unto a Holy God!

We serve a God this morning who knew we couldn’t get to Him, so He set aside His divine nature, robed Himself in human flesh, made himself a little lower than the angels on high and came to us as a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger!

He didn’t come as a king from on high but as a faithful servant to all mankind to give us an example of how a true king should look and act!

He is before all things, and by Him all things were created!

All things were created by Him and for Him and through Him all things consist and have their being!

Without Him was not anything made that was made!

Prophecies of old were fulfilled in Him at His coming and the Patriarchs of old longed for the day of His arrival!

Never before has there ever been a man to come as He came with power and dignity from on high and never again shall another come as He did.

This is what sets Him apart and gives cause for every man, woman, boy and girl to stop and give Him reverence for He is justly due it!

This is what makes Jesus, the one and only Son of God our great high priest!

Not only is He the Person of Our Priesthood but I also want you to see the Priority of our Priest.

The Priority of Our Priest — (Vs. 14a)

He’s not just any priest, or one of many. He is the “GREAT HIGH PRIEST!”

“great” high priest - Greek word (megas) – when speaking of a person or a position it means...much in degree, great in status, important

Hebrews 1:1–4

1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

Philippians 2:9–11

9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

He is the Great High Priest of our salvation!

The Roman Catholic church sits a man on high and calls him the pope and he is to them their high priest but dear friend, if they’d but open their Bibles they would see that there is one greater than the pope!

The pope pales in comparison to the great high priest we serve this morning.

Praise God, Our Great High Priest bridged the gap between myself and God and therefore I don’t need to go to a man in a little box and confess my sins!

No, I can now go straight to the source, to the throne room of grace and ask for God to forgive me!

Jesus, Our Great High Priest, satisfied the price for my sins by sacrificing Himself on Calvary’s cross and praise God when that happened the veil between God and man was rent and twain from top to bottom thus giving you and I access to the God of all creation!

In the Old Testament only the high priest had this kind of access but Jesus becoming Our Great High Priest and paying the ultimate price for our sins made a way for us to now come boldly unto God through Him!

I now don’t need a man to make sacrifices for me, I just need simply to trust in Jesus, the one and only Son of God and His provision for my sins!

There is nothing ordinary about the priest we serve this morning but there is everything extraordinary about Him, amen!

He is in a position of priority and a person of authority praise God!

Which leads us to our next section…I want to dive a little deeper into...

The Position of Our Great High Priest — (Vs. 4:14-16)

Notice what the Bible says here in Verse 14 about the position of our great high priest.

It says that He has… “passed into the heavens”, right?

Do you know where His position is in Heaven?

At the right hand of the Father!

5 times in the Book of Hebrews alone the Bible speaks of Jesus sitting at the right hand of God.

But what I want us to understand this morning is the underlying reason as to why our great high priest was exalted to such a lofty height!

It wasn’t just because He was the Son of God but it was because of what He accomplished and His place of accomplishment before ascending to the right hand of the Father.

Going back to Philippians 2:9 the Bible says...

Philippians 2:9 KJV 1900

9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

In order to understand why the Lord Jesus Christ was exalted to the right hand of the Father we have to read what came before the wherefore!

Philippians 2:6–8

6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Why though?

Why would Jesus humble Himself and become obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, knowing that at any moment He could call upon 12 legions of angels to come and deliver Him?

Because it was the will of the Father!

If you look in...

John 6:37–40

37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

This selfless act of personal humility and obedience is what exalted the Lord Jesus Christ to a position of priority and in turn bestowed upon Him the title of Great High Priest!

Hebrews 2:16–18

16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.

17 Wherefore in all things it “behoved” (obligated) him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to “succour” (come to the aid) them that are tempted.

Going back to the scripture before us, notice what it says here in Hebrews 4 Verses 15-16...

Hebrews 4:15–16

15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Because He became like we are, and suffered as we suffer, we can come to Him as we are and He will make us like He is!

He became as we are so that we might become like He is which brings us to our final point this morning…The Purpose of Our Great High Priest.

The Purpose of Our Great High Priest — (Vs. 5:1-10)

He was Called - (Vs. 5-6)

He was Commissioned

Hebrews 2:9–10, 14-15

9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

10 For it “became” (was fitting, proper and appropriate for) him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Jesus was sent to save us from our sins by sanctifying us through His sacrifice and thus setting us free from the bondage of Satan!

That was the commission He was called to do.

Did He complete the mission at hand?

Of course He did!

Which leads us to the last point…He was Called, He was Commissioned and...

He Conquered — (Vs. 9-10)

“Being made perfect” - (teleioō). vb. to complete, fulfill, or finish, make perfect, consecrate. The basic sense is “bring to completion”; this can refer to making something perfect, accomplishing a task, or fulfilling a scripture.

“Author” - (aitios) - reason, basis, source

Hebrews 10:10–14

10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:

12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;

13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.

14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

Colossians 2:13–15

13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

He was called, He was commissioned and He Conquered the mission at hand which was defeating the devil and his power of death!

For those who believe upon The Great High Priest - The Author of Eternal Salvation, the power of death has no hold on you!

But for those who do not believe but as the writer put it in Hebrews Chapter 3… those who have in them “an evil heart of unbelief”, the power of death still has a hold on you and the only thing you have to look forward to is “a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.”

Adversaries of who?

Adversaries of God!

You see, if you are not a friend of God then you are an enemy of God and the only way to be a friend of God is to believe upon His dear Son.

So, if you have not done that today then by default you my friend are in a very precarious situation for the Bible says in...Hebrews 10:31

Hebrews 10:31 KJV 1900

31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

The Lord Jesus Christ has become like you are so that you might become like He is.

He died for you so that you in turn might find eternal life in Him.

The writer of Hebrews said in Chapter 2 Verse 3...

“How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation;”

The answer is, you won’t!

If you don’t accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior friend, there is no escape from the wrath to come of a Holy, Righteous God!

It’s not His will, but it will be your way unless you trust in His Son today!

Won’t you believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ today?