Hebrews 5:1-11 Jesus Our High Priest
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Intro:
Intro:
Last Sunday as The Village Chapel
Village Chapel described our location, Hope Chapel describes our vision
Among the first things a Jew might have asked another person about his religion were, “Who is your high priest? Who mediates between you and God? Who offers the sacrifices to atone for your sins?”
A Jew during the time of the early church may well have asked a Christian, “How are your sins going to be pardoned when you have no one offering sacrifices and no one interceding for you?
How can you claim that this new covenant supersedes and is superior to the Old Covenant made through Moses when it leaves you without a high priest?”
The Christian would have replied, “But we do have a high priest, a perfect High Priest.
He has offered sacrifice for our sins. He does not confine Himself to an earthly temple, nor does He have to sacrifice yearly, much less daily.
He made one sacrifice that atones for all sins ever committed, from the beginning to the end of time.
That is how great a high priest He is and how great His sacrifice was.
Not only that, but our High Priest is seated at the right hand of God and continually intercedes for those of us who belong to Him.”
The heart of the book of Hebrews (chaps. 5–9) focuses on Jesus’ high priesthood.
His superior priesthood, more than anything else, makes the New Covenant better than the Old.
He has done what all the priests together of the old economy did not do and could never have done.
Read Hebrews 5:1-10
Read Hebrews 5:1-10
Transition:
As I state chapter 5-9 focuses on Jesus being the High Priest
Before we get into that we see a model for priestly leadership
The pastor fills three roles in the church: Prophet, Priest, & King
The Prophet is the voice of God
This comes through teaching the Word and Hearing from the Spirit
The King is the leader
This is the vision, management, and discipline
The Priest is the Compassionate Intercessor
This is the prayer, counseling, & confrontation of sin
To be a pastor you must be called by God
It is not something that you choose, it chooses you
We are going to look at a model for priestly leadership and then look at our high priest, Jesus Christ
Model for Priestly Leadership vs. 1-4
Model for Priestly Leadership vs. 1-4
There are four aspects of priestly leadership in this passage
vs. 1 Focus on the People
vs. 1 Focus on the People
The first aspect of a priestly leader is that they focus on the people
Vs. 1 says that they are to act on behalf of men in relation to God
In Jesus’ day they would offer gifts and sacrifices for sins
Today they offer prayer and counsel
Pastors are to point people to Jesus
The focus is not to be on them, but on the people they minister to
I’ve come in contact with so many pastors who have forgotten ministry is about the people
They focus on their ministry
They treat the people like they are there to serve them
This is a danger for every minister
A true priestly pastor focuses on the people and understand they are there for the people
vs. 2 Show Compassion on the Weak
vs. 2 Show Compassion on the Weak
The second aspect of priestly leadership is that they show compassion on the weak
The ESV says they deal gently with the ignorant and wayward
He does this because he understands that he himself is beset with weaknesses
Ignorant here means “not knowing or be unaware”
There are people who don’t know that what they are doing is sinful in God’s eyes
A Pastor is patient
He understands God’s sovereignty in working out the sanctification in a person’s life
One of the things that excites me about our new property is the ability to reach out to those who are lost and hurting
I saw yesterday Harvest, down in Riverside, had a back to school outreach where they ministered to 4,000 foster & lower income kids
They gave them a pair of shoes, a backpack filled with school supplies, a medical & dental exam, and fed them In-n-Out for lunch.
We could so easily do that at our place
We need to start by asking God to enlarge our hearts for the lost
I’ve been criticized in the past for not being outreach oriented
There is a fair amount of truth to that
For the last 20 years I have been raising 4 children, two of which have special needs
I am unapologetic about making them a priority
But on the other hand in the early years of our church we did do outreach inside the village we were met with resistance because even though they needed it, in their pride they wouldn’t take it
Now I feel we are in a place and heading into a time where people are going to need our assistance
vs. 3 Face Sin Head On
vs. 3 Face Sin Head On
The third aspect of of priestly leadership is that they face sin head on
OT Priests would offer sacrifices for the people and himself
They would bring the animal and the priest would take the blood and throw it against the base of the altar
A pastor, in his priestly duties, faces a person’s sins head on
This is the hardest of all four
A Pastor is to confront a follower of Jesus in their sin
They are to do it with compassion and love, but for the health of the person and of the church it must be dealt with
Most pastor’s choose to do it from the pulpit and not in person
Some choose to do it personally in a harsh and judgmental way even though they too are guilty of sin
The truth of Scripture is to be taught from the pulpit, sin is to be called out, and in person it is to be dealt with firmly
As a believer, who is submitted under Jesus, they need to receive the rebuke and respond correctly
vs. 4 Called by God
vs. 4 Called by God
The final aspect of priestly leadership is that they are called by God
This is the most important of all four
You have to be called by God
vs. 4 no one takes this honor on himself, but only when called on by God
To be a priest you must be called by God
It never goes well when someone enters ministry when they aren’t called
I once had a guy come up to me and tell me he was laid-off from his job and was thinking about going into the ministry
I asked him why?
He told me he liked telling people what to do and getting up and speaking his mind seemed to fit that bill
I nicely told him that’s not how it works
He didn’t listen and went somewhere else and he didn’t last long
He realized that the sheep don’t like having orders barked at them and they actually bite back
Jesus the Perfect Priest vs. 5-10
Jesus the Perfect Priest vs. 5-10
No man can perfectly fit the role of the priest, but there is a Perfect High Priest in Jesus
vs. 5-6 Appointed High Priest
vs. 5-6 Appointed High Priest
Jesus didn’t exalt himself
He was appointed by His Father before he arrived on earth
The writer of Hebrews reminds his readers of the messianic prophecy in Psalm 2
I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.
It’s one thing to desire to be a minister
It’s a whole nother thing when you exalt yourself
But Jesus is the anointed one
The name Christ means “anointed savior”
He came to be the high priest who would stand before God on our behalf
He offered a sacrifice for our sins, once and for all, himself
And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
Today I have begotten You: This refers to Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
At that time He fully assumed His role as our great High Priest
He is a priest according to the order of Melchizedek
Quotes Ps 110:4
A priest forever: This is an important contrast.
Jesus’ priesthood (like Melchizedek’s) is unending, but no High Priest descended from Aaron ever had a forever priesthood.
Hebrews 7 will more fully develop the theme of Jesus as a High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
vs. 7-8 Learned Obedience
vs. 7-8 Learned Obedience
The agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane proved He struggled with the difficulty of obedience, yet He obeyed perfectly.
This answers the question, “How can this glorious, enthroned Jesus know what I am going through down here?”
He knows; obedience did not always come easy for Jesus.
Though Jesus was God and is God, yet He learned obedience.
God, enthroned in heaven’s glory, can only experience obedience by casting off the glory of the throne and humbling Himself as Jesus did.
Jesus did not pass from disobedience to obedience. He learned obedience by actually obeying.
Jesus did not pass from disobedience to obedience. He learned obedience by actually obeying.
Jesus did not learn how to obey; He learned what is involved in obedience.
Jesus learned the experience of obedience, and part of that learning was enduring suffering.
vs. 9-10 Source of Salvation
vs. 9-10 Source of Salvation
Jesus’ experience of suffering – and subsequent resurrection – made Him perfectly suited to be the author (the source, the cause) of our salvation.
Jesus differed in two very important ways from other high priests.
First, He did not have to make a sacrifice for Himself before He could offer it for others.
Second, His sacrifice was once-and-for-all. It did not have to be repeated every day, or even every year or every century
By His death, Jesus opened the way of eternal salvation.
All the priests of all time could not provide eternal salvation. They could only provide momentary forgiveness.
But by one act, one offering, one sacrifice, Jesus Christ perfected forever those who are His.
The perfect High Priest makes perfect those who accept His perfect sacrifice, those who obey Him.
Some don’t want Jesus to be the author of their salvation. They want to write their own book of salvation – but God won’t read it.
Only Jesus can author your eternal salvation.
The obedience mentioned here of those who obey Him is not that regarding commandments, rules, and regulations.
It is not obedience to the law. It is “the obedience of faith”
God wants us to obey Him by believing in Christ
Sadly and tragically, all people do not believe.
And whoever does not believe does not truly obey, no matter how moral, well-meaning, religious, and sincere.
In First and Second Thessalonians, Paul speaks of the two responses to the gospel—the only two possible responses.
In 1st Thess Paul praises their obedience in the faith
It actually brought others to faith
in 2 Thess Paul talks about the retribution on those who do not obey the Gospel
Closing: Gospel
GOD created us to be with Him.
OUR sins separate us from God.
SINS cannot be removed by good deeds.
PAYING the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again.
EVERYONE who trusts in Him alone has eternal life.
LIFE with Jesus starts now and lasts forever!