Jesus, our Faithful High Priest

Hebrews, It’s written for us!

Hebrews as we have seen so far is not a book for the faint of heart. It’s not meant for the new believer.

HEBREWS AFFIRMS OUR POSITION IN CHRIST!

Our position in the universal Church

And the position of Christ as the Great Hight Priest

It is full of warning, not to neglect our salvation

It affirms that Jesus is greater than Moses.

— This would not be significant to us.. as to the Hebrews who read and lived it they hold Moses up as their ultimate deliverer.

— For us as followers even in 2022 we need to hear that Jesus is affirmed as God’s Son… listen to this passage

Hebrews 1:1–3 (ESV)

1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,

2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

— In verse 3 we see that “he upholds the universe by the word of his power.”

— “Word”, here is “re-ma” it means “saying or expression” the word is NOT “Logos” meaning Christ.

The author here has specifically and universally declared a couple of important things

Switch to verse 2

God is telling these Hebrews that Moses is no longer their representative to God… it is The Son, Jesus

He is the heir of all things and it is confirmed that created all things.

Colossians 1:15–16 ESV

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

So let’s get to our passage

Hebrews 4:12–13 ESV

12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

— In verse 12, The “word of God” is Logos…

Jesus is the Logos, the Word of God!

— Living and active

— Sharper than a two edged sword

— Piercing to the division of soul and spirit of joints and marrow.

— Discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart

Verse 13

Hebrews 4:13 ESV

13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

— 13. creature—visible or invisible.

— in his sight—in God’s sight (Heb 4:12). “God’s wisdom, simply manifold, and uniformly multiform, with incomprehensible comprehension, comprehends all things incomprehensible.”

— opened—literally, “thrown on the back so as to have the neck laid bare,” as a victim with neck exposed for sacrifice.

The Greek perfect tense implies that this is our continuous state in relation to God.

Let us, therefore, earnestly labor to enter the rest lest any fall through practical unbelief

— But we are ALL exposed to the eyes of Jesus.

— And we must give account!!

“To Whom we must give account?”

— Okay here is where it gets a little sticky. — — Ultimately at the End of the Age, Jesus has been given complete control over the end times.

— He also sees everything that we do and how we do it.

— IF YOU HAVE JESUS THE ACCOUNTING OF YOUR LIFE WILL GO SOMETHING LIKE THIS...

GRACE, GRACE, GOD’S GRACE!

None of us can live without God’s Grace. We deserve to be removed from God’s family and cast into eternal darkness.

But we are not because of God’s Grace!

So this should be the background for Verse 14 and beyond!

Jesus, the Great High Priest!

Hebrews 4:14 (ESV)

14 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.

— Jesus of course is that “great high priest.”

— Attached of course is a warning… “Let us hold fast to our confession.”

— If we are followers of Christ, we are to remember, ponder, and stay close, stay true to our confession

Hebrews 4:15 ESV

15 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.

We dealt with temptation last week… Just so I get a feel for my audience.

RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN TEMPTED!

We have been tempted and with varying degrees of strength we have and can resist that temptation.

Temptation is common enough that the Apostle Paul wrote about it to the Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV

13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

— And a way of escape that we may endure any temptation.

Verse 16

Hebrews 4:16 ESV

16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

— Because of what you have done and what God has done through His Son Jesus we have “confidence.”

— We have a place… already assigned to us, to “receive mercy and find grace and can find help in a time of need.

Hebrews Chapter 5

Hebrews 5:1 ESV

1 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.

— IF I could, I would ask you to get up and change places… Why, because we need a different perspective to read now.

— Chapter 5 begins with language concerning the “high priest” that was chosen.

Our “high priest” was NOT chosen… He was the Son God from the beginning and will continue to be until the end.

— So this is another high priest..

— This section that begins with Chapter 5 is dealing with the Jew who still goes to temple/synagogue.

— There were, many maybe 100’s of temple priests that were “qualified” to go into the holy of holies and offer sacrifices for the jews.

— each year they would “cast lots” or shoot dice to decide who actually got to serve in the temple.

— When the priest entered the Holy-of-Holies he had a rope around his waist… Why you ask? So that if he died while in their they could pull him out. And didn’t have to wait the year out.

The high priest, representing man before God, in the Old Testament era was a type of mediator whose fulfillment came in Jesus Christ.

— But was just a man… as a man he could identify with weakness.

The high priest now is Jesus, represented all of us to the Father in Heaven… Who claimed Jesus as Lord and Savior, not just for that time… But for all time!!!

Temptation is common enough that the Apostle Paul wrote about it to the Corinthians.

Philippians 2:6–7 ESV

6 who, 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.

His purpose in all of that was so that men and women would have a Savior who truly identifies with you.

— This Savior did NOT come as a King Crowned… But as a servant, a servant until His death on a cross.

Hebrews 5:2 ESV

2 He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness.

— Interesting… Jesus didn’t cast away or sentence to hell those who approached him in Spirit and Truth,

— Instead he handled them gently

— Like we would like to be “handled”

— IT’s interesting that Jesus did NOT do this His strength… In fact he did this in His weakness.

Let’s move ahead to V.5

Hebrews 5:5 ESV

5 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”;

— Being a “priest” or a “pastor” is a “calling” in your life.

— It can happen to anyone.

— A “True Calling” in your life is from God!

— He doesn’t look at time the way we do… Because He transcends time and space to find you and call you.

— A call in your life is PERMANENT!! God gave it to you and will maintain it.

— The phrase “You are my Son, today I have begotten you.”

“You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”

Hebrews 5:6 ESV

6 as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”

— Wait just a minute… I get the priest forever thing but who is this Melchizedek?

— The Bible is a fascinating book. We know what we know, because we know it...

— And then God throws in “Melchizedek.”

— We who live in a different era and in another culture are unable to fathom the turmoil that must have taken place when Jew and Christian realized the Levitical priesthood had definitely ended in A.D. 70.

— The end of an era, however, had come because Jesus by his death on the cross had fulfilled the law.

— Jesus had become the great high priest, not like any other temple priest they had ever seen

— We will be looking Melchizedek next week and the week beyond.

Jesus is designated as a Priest in the order of Melchizedek

V. 7 & 8 & 9&10

Hebrews 5:7–10 ESV

7 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.

— V.7 in the days of his flesh, Jesus cried out to His father who was able to save him.

— V.9 If you needed a connection to God… There you go he wants all of your sacrifices, he wants all of your works.

— NO… He wants those that OBEY!!

— V.10 He has been designated as a priest in the order of Melchizedek.

We are going to be spending much more time working through Hebrews and Melchizedek in the coming weeks.

As the band plays our final song and you would like a prayer I would encourage you to come forward now or at the end of the service.

Have a seat in the first row here and Our Elders and our prayer warriors, Dave and Kelly Charvet are available to confidentially pray for you

Let’s Pray.