Sermon Cloud

Jesus Christ: Our Great High Priest:

As Compared with Earthly High Priests

Hebrews 5:1-10

Grace Fellowship Church

September 30, 2007

Series 3 Sermon 16

 

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

 

Introduction

Most of you know that while in Seminary I worked for OfficeMax.  What I did there was work in the CopyMax area.  Basically I made copies for a living.  We made copies for individuals and we made copies for businesses.  We made one copy for some and thousands for others.  Our task was simple.  Make every copy as close to the original as humanly possible.  But the reality is, whether due to human error or machine malfunction, copies were never perfect, especially color copies.  No matter what you did the copy was never as good as the original.  Some people complained others just knew that this was the case and moved on with life.  The copies were not bad but were just not perfect. 

 

Many things in the Bible are talked about as copies.  The Temple that sat in Jerusalem was a copy of the Heavenly Temple that is in Heaven today.  The tabernacle that Moses oversaw the construction of in the wilderness was a copy of the Heavenly Tabernacle.  And in our context this morning the priesthood was a mere copy of what would come in Christ as the perfect priesthood.

 

The Levitical Priesthood was very interesting.  The men who could serve as priest was limited to the very best of that one family descended from Levi through the line of Aaron.  If you go back to the Old Testament to Leviticus 21 and 22 and read the various laws concerning priests you will find that not all men of the house of Aaron could serve in the esteemed role of priest.  Physical deformity by birth or accidents would disqualify a man from serving.  Marrying the wrong woman would disqualify a man.  Furthermore the Levitical Priests had laws by which they had to abide apart from the people of Israel.  And they were held to a stricter judgment in the office that they held.  Listen to Leviticus 22:9.

'They shall therefore keep My charge, so that they will not bear sin because of it and die thereby because they profane it; I am the LORD who sanctifies them.

 

We know that the Lord was very serious about this office of priest because HE killed Aaron’s two sons, Nadab and Abihu, for offering strange fire on the alter of God.

 

Context

The writer of Hebrews thus far has been driving home two realities for us and his original readers.  The first reality is that Christ is far superior to Old Testament prophets, angels, and now priests because of His Sonship.  The second reality is that because of the superiority of Christ the readers of this letter are to hold fast their confession of Christ. 

 

Last Sunday we saw what we were to do in light of the convicting power of the Word of God and the fact that all of us will stand before the Lord from whom nothing can be hidden and give an account.  Look back at Hebrews 4:14-16.

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. 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. 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.

 

We saw that we were to hold fast our confession and run to the throne of grace in time of need.  When the Word convicts us of sin we head straight to the place of forgiveness and mercy and that is God’s throne of grace.

 

So naturally the Jewish mind would have to wonder, “Don’t we already have a place of forgiveness in Judaism?  Can’t we just offer a sacrifice like the Old Testament tells us to do and get the same mercy now?  Why is Christ superior in His priesthood over the priests that serve in the temple now?” 

 

After all, the person before 70 AD could go to the temple and see these sacrifices happen.  They could hear the priest proclaim them absolved from the sin.  They could take a goat, lamb, bull, or dove and have the priest sacrifice it for them.  They could see it die and smell it as it was being burned.  When convicted by the Word they could actually do something that was tangible to their senses. 

 

So in this section of Hebrews that runs from 4:14- 8:22 the writer of Hebrews is going to unpack for us the superiority of Christ’s priesthood over the priests of the Old Testament.  There are similarities and great differences between the two priesthoods. 

 

PNP

From our text this morning, Hebrews 5:1-10, I want you to see two ways in which Christ is superior in His priesthood thus making obsolete the old order of Levitical Priests. 

 

1.  Christ is superior in His priesthood because of His lineage which makes the old order obsolete.

2.  Christ is superior in His priesthood because of His work which makes the old order obsolete. 

 

Purpose

What I want you to take home from this is the fact that in Christ all things are superior. The writer of Hebrews was writing this letter to show his readers that the Old Covenant that they were considering returning to was now obsolete because of the superiority of the New Covenant in Christ. 

 

There will always be a push by the world to draw Christians away from Christ.  The main reason for their success is a lack of understanding about what the Bible says about Christ and how He is far superior to any other perceived prophet or religious figure that man can contrive.  Christianity in the first century AD was unpopular and biblical Christianity in the 21^st century is unpopular as well. 

 

This past week I sent out a link to a Barna research poll that showed that among young adults and teenagers Christianity is becoming less and less perceived as something good.  Over the coming decades if the Lord holds back a biblical revival in our country I can assure you that biblical Christianity will become less and less popular.  Maybe even to the point of Christians being systematically persecuted and used as scapegoats if some natural or economic disaster happens. 

 

This is why it is so important for us to understand the superiority of Christ over any other religious system.  If persecution comes and it is intense, then we may be tempted to forsake Christ for what is easier.  The first century believers were tempted to leave Christ and return to the Old Covenant sacrificial system or synagogue Judaism. 

 

Someone may argue, “Joe, there is no temple in Jerusalem for us to go back to.  So why focus on this today?”  There may be no temple now, but it has been in the works for decades.  Have you ever heard of the Temple Mount Society?  It is an organization in the old part of the city of Jerusalem that has for its mission the rebuilding of the temple and the reinstitution of the sacrificial system.  I have been to that place and with my own eyes I saw the items that will be in this future temple.  I saw the garments that the priests will wear and with my own nose I smelled the incense that will be offered.  I saw the huge Menorah that will go inside the temple.  I saw hanging on the wall the picture of the large stone that will hold the sacrificial alter that is ready to be put in place.  This group is ready to go back to the sacrificial system that has been null and void for almost two thousand years. 

 

And when they do, if they do in our lifetime, do you not think there will be a mass pilgrimage to Jerusalem by so called Christians to go have something offered on that apostate alter that is blasphemy to the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ?  You bet there will be.  It will be a money maker just like it was in the days when the Lord Jesus turned over the tables and drove the apostates out with a whip of chords.  The point is this, we must understand the superiority of Christ over the Old Testament system and any other religious system in the world.  The fact of the matter is people like things prepackaged and neat and in a lot of order.  We like what we can see and hear and touch and taste.  Christianity is by faith and not by sight and if your faith is not educated in the superiority of Christ, when trouble comes you may be tempted to go to what you can experience with your senses. 

 

RPNP

So look with me at these two ways in which Christ is superior in His priesthood thus making obsolete the old order of Levitical Priests. 

 

1.  Christ is superior in His priesthood because of His lineage which makes the old order obsolete.

First we need to see the similarities between the two lines of priests.  In order to adequately present this information I am going to focus your attention starting in verse 4. Look at the verse with me.

⁴ And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.

First I want you to see that serving in the role of High Priest is an honor.  The prototypical High Priest in the Jewish mind was Aaron, the brother of Moses.  He served the nation of Israel in the wilderness as the High Priest. He did not take this honor for himself and appoint himself as the one in charge of the religious observances of Israel but God appointed him.  

Was it because Aaron was perfect?  Absolutely not.  The line goes back to the family of Levi.  In Israel there was this separation of the tribe of Levi from the other eleven tribes of Israel.  Listen to Numbers 1:47-51.

⁴⁷ The Levites, however, were not numbered among them by their fathers' tribe. ⁴⁸ For the LORD had spoken to Moses, saying, ⁴⁹ "Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, nor shall you take their census among the sons of Israel. ⁵⁰ "But you shall appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings and over all that belongs to it. They shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it; they shall also camp around the tabernacle . ⁵¹ "So when the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle encamps, the Levites shall set it up. But the layman who comes near shall be put to death.

 

First the priests come from the line of Levi but the High Priests are descendants of Aaron.   This was a particular choosing by God for this office.  Look again at verse 4.

⁴ And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.

Now look at the qualifications for the Lord Jesus Christ becoming the Great High Priest.  Look at verse 5 and 6.

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

 

Christ did not meet the genealogical requirements to serve as a priest.  Christ was born in the line of David as king descended from the tribe of Judah.  So there has to be something different about the priesthood of Aaron and the priesthood of Christ. They can not be the same.   

 

Keep in mind here that it is God who chose the High Priest and the line to follow.  Look back at verse 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”;

The Lord Jesus did not walk into the temple and boot everyone out, put on the high priestly garments and start overseeing the worship of Israel.  As God the Son He had every right and full authority to do so.  But He is perfect.  And His mission was not to place Himself over the worship of Israel but to simply do the will of His Father. 

In John 5:30 Jesus said,  "I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

 

The Lord Jesus went into the Temple and began to teach.  He was then questioned by the Jews about where He got His seminary degree.  Listen to John 7:14-18.

¹⁴ But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and began to teach. ¹⁵ The Jews then were astonished, saying, "How has this man become learned, having never been educated?" ¹⁶ So Jesus answered them and said, "My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me. ¹⁷ "If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself. ¹⁸ "He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

 

Verse 5 is where the greatest qualification for Christ’s Great High Priesthood lies.  Look at verse 5 again.

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”;

His sonship qualifies Him and His Father who called Aaron as High Priest has now called the Lord Jesus Christ as His Great High Priest.  The Aaronic line has now officially ended and we have a perpetual Great High Priest in the Lord Jesus Christ who although did not aspire to that office has been exalted to the office forever. 

 

And the writer sites Psalm 2 verse 7 and the decree of the Lord as the proof of this exaltation.  Listen as I read Psalm 2:7-9.

⁷ "I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD:
He said to Me, 'You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
⁸ 'Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance,
And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.
⁹ 'You shall break them with a rod of iron,
You shall shatter them like earthenware .' "

 

So the first way the Lord’s priesthood is superior to the Aaronic priesthood in its lineage is because of Christ’s sonship.  But there is more.  Christ does not come from the line of Aaron of Levi but from a much older line.  Look at verse 6.

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

Here the writer cites Psalm 110:4.

⁴ The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, "You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek."

 

This happens to be the most quoted verse in the Epistle to the Hebrews.  Let me give you just a bit of information on this mysterious man Melchizedek.  The writer is going to provide us more information as we move through this section but briefly let me tell you that this was the King-Priest of Salem, the ancient name for the city of Jerusalem and after Abraham won a decisive battle Abraham paid tithes to this King-Priest. 

 

The point is that Melchizedek is superior to the Aaronic line because it predates that line.  And this is the line of priests that Christ is from. 

Look at verse 10.

¹⁰ being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

We will learn a great deal more about how this works in the coming weeks but suffice it to say for now this shows Christ’s vast superiority to Aaron.  Christ is a priest after the order of Melchizedek and He is a priest forever.  No mere man of the Levitical order could fulfill that role.  Only the Lord Jesus who has “passed through the Heavens” as chapter 4 verse 14 told us. 

 

So far we have seen that Christ is superior in His priesthood because of His lineage.

 

Now I want you to see that:

 

2.  Christ is superior in His priesthood because of His work which makes the old order obsolete.

 

Every priest appointed by God had a job to do.  His role was a very important one in the days of the Old Testament.  Look with me starting in verse 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.

There are three functions here for the high priest.

1.The priest served as the go-between, the middle man. 

His special appointment gave him the authority to offer sacrifices to God on behalf of himself, his family, and the nation.  These sacrifices were for sins.  No one else was allowed to offer these on the alter of God.  These sacrifices were an atonement for the sins of the people.  An animal who had not sinned must die for the sins of the people of Israel and this was a perpetual sacrifice.  There were constant sacrifices taking place at the Temple.  It must have smelled like a BBQ pit.   

 

2.  The priest also had to be able to deal with people. 

He was not aloof and above them in his demeanor but had to understand the proclivity to sin.  Look at verse 2.

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

 

3. Because the high priest was beset with weakness which means he had a sin nature there was an obligation that he had to fulfill. He had to be the go-between for himself to maintain his standing with God. Look at verse 3. 

³ Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people.  

 

So what we see as the job of the High Priest in these verse is threefold.

1.  He is the mediator of the old covenant between God and the people of Israel.

2.  He has to deal gently with those in sin to correct their sin and to make atonement for it.  He can do this because he is beset with sin also. 

3.  Because he is beset with weakness he must first offer sacrifices for his own sin.

 

What we have pictured here for us is the Old Testament Day of Atonement.  Here is the one day in a year that the High Priest performed his most important function.  But because he is taken from among men and is beset with weakness the first thing he had to do was offer a bull for his sins and the sins of his family.  It was only after this was done that he could offer the goat to cover the sins of the nation. This had to be done year after year.  

 

This is where Christ’s work becomes immensely superior to Aaron.  If you remember last week I showed you that Christ understood our weakness.  He experienced temptation just as we do.  I pointed you to a very important phrase in chapter 4:15.  Look back there with me. Read the whole verse.

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.

 

Christ understands our weaknesses because He Himself has been tempted but unlike the Aaronic priests the Lord Jesus never yielded to that temptation.  

Verses 7 and 8 show us that the Lord Jesus in His earthly ministry came to this position through suffering.  Look at verses 7-8.  

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.

The possible picture may be the preparation for the final sacrifice in the Garden of Gethsemane.  It could just be representative of Christ’s earthly ministry.  He prayed often and did so many times with tears.  If the writer is talking about Gethsemane Christ was not praying to be delivered from dying but was praying for His upcoming separation from His Father.  I want you to understand this morning that Christ is far superior to the priestly line of Aaron.  He is because of His lineage but also because of His work. 

 

His Sonship provided the Lord Jesus with indescribable privilege.  Yet He took none of it.  He sacrificed Himself on a cruel Roman cross.  He walked this earth and allowed Himself to be tempted by Satan.  In Christ taking on human flesh he cast Himself headlong into the human condition.  Yet He walked the earth and had no sin.  He was perfect yet in His sacrifice of Himself to atone once and for all for His people He suffered for us all. 

 

Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:21 shows us in dramatic language what this sacrifice was.

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

 

I want you to come to grips with that statement.  The only One who was not guilty and could stand before the throne of God holy and blameless on His own, the one who knew no sin was made to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 

 

Folks, we have nothing to compare this too.  I have tried to think of ways to illustrate this but it all breaks down.  None of us are sinless so we can’t even pretend to understand the sacrifice involved here.  The sinless, perfect Son of God was made sin on our behalf. 

 

Isaiah 53 tells us that the Lord has laid the iniquity of us all on Him.

 

I think I know the time on the cross where this happened.  Listen to Matthew 27:45-46.

Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. ⁴⁶ About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" that is, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?"

 

There was no special treatment for the Lord Jesus on His way to the High Priesthood of Heaven.  Even with His status as Son of God he took no shortcut. Look at verse 8. 

⁸ Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.

What the writer is telling us is there is absolutely no suffering that you can endure in this life that the Lord Jesus Christ can not feel with you and understand fully.  This tears away the Superman image that most people have of Christ.  When people rejected Him and despised Him and mocked Him and tried to kill Him He understood the pain that came with that.  When He cried tears over Jerusalem and said, “Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, How I have longed to gather you as a hen gathers her chicks but you would not!” 

 

When the lashes crossed His sinless back he felt the pain as they tore His flesh.  When His beard was plucked out he felt the hair being ripped from His face.  When the nails were driven through His hands and His feet he knew the pain of cold steel through flesh. 

 

The comfort that we have is that our Lord Jesus Christ understands anything you might be going through right now. 

 

But let me show you the ultimate proof of the office of the Lord Jesus Christ as our Great High Priest.  Let me show you why we must hold fast our confession.  Let me show you why we can go boldly before the throne of grace in time of need.      

 

I want you to see one word in verse 3 that proves all that the Old Testament says about the Messiah and all that the New Testament says.  Look at verse 3.   

³ Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people.  

The NASB says he is required. 

 

Here is where Christ’s ministry as High Priest is so vastly different.  Christ was in no way obligated to offer sacrifice for His sin because He had no sin.  He had every right to walk away from the cross and refuse to die and would have been perfectly justified in doing so.

 

Herein lies the beauty and glory of our Great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, who has passed through the Heavens and sits at the right hand of the Father.  It was Christ who said in John 10:17-18 in the context of being the Good Shepherd, ¹⁷ "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. ¹⁸ "No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father."

 

Of His own desire and will He decided that He would lay His own life down for His elect people and that He would then sympathize with their weakness and not only that would open Himself up to offer help any time they needed it.  You know what our problem is?  We think we have to earn everything when in fact as the people of God, the Lord has decided to bestow all of this on us already. 

 

Understanding that Christ had no obligation to do the work of High Priest, no obligation to offer Himself as the sacrifice, and even today has no obligation to minister on our behalf makes verses 8 and 9 come home to our hearts even more.  Look again at these verses.

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,

 

Conclusion

We have already seen that Christ’s ministry as Great High Priest makes obsolete the Levitical priesthood based on Christ’s lineage as Son of God and priest forever after the order of Melchizedek and that His work is vastly superior to the Levitical high priest thus rendering it obsolete. 

 

It’s like the difference between driving a Mercedes and an Amish horse and buggy.

 

But in closing I want you to see verse 9 again as the final blow against going back to the Old Testament sacrificial system or embracing some other religion instead of Christ.  Verse 9 will guard the interpretation of chapter 6 when we get there.  Look at verse 9 again. 

⁹ And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,

Because Christ is the Great High Priest and God has appointed Him to this position, we can know and understand based on this verse and the testimony of the rest of Scripture that there indeed is no other name given among men by which we must be saved.  Salvation is only in Christ.  Salvation is only for those who know Christ as the source of eternal salvation and they hear His voice and they follow Him. 

 

The writer is clear; salvation is for those who obey Christ.  It is not for those who merely make a claim.  It’s not for those who leave for easier religion.  It is for those who hold fast their confession in Christ.  It is for those who understand Christ’s superiority over angels, prophets, and priests. 

 

Are you one that obeys the Lord Jesus this morning?  If not, the only hope that you have is to run to the throne of grace and plead for mercy and forgiveness and ask the Lord to give you the gifts of repentance and faith in Christ the Great High Priest. 

 

This is why we have no need for an earthly priest.  The Bible says that there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. 

 

Let’s pray.