Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to Hebrews chapter 5. We'll read
verse 2 for our text. It is the last three words that
are upon my spirit, compassed with infirmity. The whole verse
reads, Who can have compassion on the ignorant and on them? that are out of the way, for
that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. Infirmity means physical or mental
weakness. Compassed is surrounding, encircling,
being surrounded and encircled with physical and mental weakness. And we may feel so, as we gather
this morning, we may feel so, physically, mentally, and it
surrounds us. We have it, loved ones have it,
many round us. And this word, compass with infirmity,
we may feel well describes us. Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the
gospel according to Matthew, we read in chapter eight, from
verse 16, when the even was come, they brought unto him many that
were possessed with devils, And He cast out these spirits with
His Word, and healed all that were sick, that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took
our infirmities and bare our sicknesses. Quoting from Isaiah
53 and verse 4. Our text is speaking of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ. It is speaking of Him as our
Great High Priest, and it sets before us some of those qualifications
of such a priest, qualifications that include Himself also compassed
with infirmity. I want to look, with the Lord's
help, firstly at the high priest taken from among men. This is the high priest of the
Old Testament, how that they were compassed with infirmity. But then secondly, our Lord Jesus
Christ. We have him set forth in The
previous chapter, Son of God, where we began our reading, that
is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. And then lastly, the people of
God, compassed with infirmity. Firstly, the high priest taken
from among men. From verse 1 in chapter 5, For
every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men
in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts
and sacrifices for sins, who can have compassion on the ignorant
and on them that are out of the way, or that he himself also
is compassed with infirmity. God saw fit when he brought the
children of Israel out of Egypt to establish a priesthood. The first priest was Aaron. Remember that Moses, because
he felt that he could not speak well, was given Aaron as his
mouthpiece. Moses was then to speak to Aaron,
and Aaron was to speak to the people. In one sense he was a
mediator, but he was a high priest. And that priesthood, which was
chosen and established by God, went through his sons, Eliezer,
Phinehas, Abishma, and right through until the Solomon's Temple
was destroyed, and the priesthood in that proper way was then disbanded. We read, of course, in Christ's
day that there were the priests, the high priests. But really,
in reality, it went through to Solomon's day. But all of those priests were
types. They pointed to our Lord Jesus
Christ. They were men, sinful men. And we are reminded of that with
Aaron. who even was instrumental in
the children of Israel making the golden calf. We see he was
but a sinner and even reproved of God for what he did at that
time. But we think of what is implied
and what is the reason for a priest at all. The implication here is that
man has sinned, man has transgressed the law of God, he's broken the
law of God, he has defiled himself. Adam and Eve, they were cast
out of the Garden of Eden. They no longer could have that
communion and fellowship with God that they had enjoyed before. And he implies this, that God
will no more permit man, sinful man, on his own, just to approach
unto God. The Old Testament saints, they
knew this, that no man could see God and live. They could
not approach unto Him in themselves. They need a high priest. They need one to represent themselves. And God was pleased to do this. He was pleased to provide a way
that sinful men could approach unto God, and it was through
this priest, through a mediator, through one, to appear in the
presence of God for them. Of course, the Old Testament,
it was the priest that then made the offerings. He was the one
that approached even right to the mercy seat into the holiest
of all. The people were not permitted
to go there, but he went there, and on his shoulders were these
stones engraved with the names of the children of Israel, and
on his breastplate, the stones as well with the names of the
tribes of Israel, signifying that he was appearing in the
holiest of all, the presence of God, for others as their representative,
as their priest, a priest acting for another in the presence of
God. It's very evident as well that
this provision then encourages all that should come to God by
this priest to so come, and that they are Welcome, we have in
verse 16 in chapter 4, let us therefore come boldly unto the
throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help
in time of need. And this is because we have a
high priest in these gospel days, not just the time, but our Lord
Jesus Christ. But here then we have the priest
as set before us in the Old Testament. And in the passage here, there
are those qualifications for that priest. And he had to be
chosen by God, as Aaron was. Remember, they tried to usurp
that office. Others wanted to be priests instead
of Aaron. And the way the Lord used to
determine who, they each had to put up their rods before the
Lord. And in the morning, the rod that
budded, that was the one that was chosen by God, whose rod
that was. And Aaron's rod not only budded,
but it bore fruit, bore almonds, a miracle indeed, just a bud
breaking forth You wouldn't think such a miracle, but to actually
come forth and have flowers and fruit, that which usually takes
for months to take place, here we have done immediately. And
that rod was to be laid up before the Lord as a reminder to those
that would rebel, those that would rise up and pull Aaron
from his position, that he was chosen of God. If one is to be
a high priest for God, a mediator between God and man, then he
must be chosen and appointed by God and not just one that
appoints himself. He must have that access unto
God. And so the qualifications that
are set before us here is that he be taken from among men, that he be like unto those that
had sinned, that he be truly man, that qualification God had
appointed, that it should be so, a real man, and yet with
authority to approach unto God. Also, he had to be able to offer
gifts and sacrifices for sins. The priests were given the provision
of the lambs, of the bullocks, of those things that they were
to offer, and that provision was made through Israel, that
they should bring their offerings to the priest to offer. There had to be an offering. There had to be the bloodshed. There had to be that which was
done before they could approach. And of course, the priest, because
they were sinners in the types, in the wilderness, Aaron, they
had to offer for themselves first and then for the people. that
just belonged to the time, to those high priests. But then we have in verse two,
the word of our text, the requirement that this priest could have compassion
on the ignorant. He could feel for them, feel
sorry for them, heart moved after them, pitied them, have compassion on the ignorant,
those that did not know, those that knew nothing of the things
of God, those who didn't even know their own sinnership, those
who didn't know what was required, those that made mistakes, those
that knew nothing as they should know. This was one of his qualifications,
that he could have compassion. There are some that don't appear
to have any compassion, any tolerance, any pity on those that are ignorant. And then is added to that, not
only having compassion on the ignorant, but also on them that
are out of the way. Those that are not in the way
of holiness, those that are not in the Lord's way, those who
are in by-path ways, those who have left the right way. And
this priest had to be able to feel for them, have compassion
on them, be sorry for them, That was one of his qualifications. And then there was that he had
to experience as well infirmity himself. He was taken from among
men, he was just like his brethren, therefore these things he knew
himself. When he saw those that were ignorant,
When he saw those out of the way, he knew that he himself
was just the same. He remembered what kind of person
he was. I doubt Aaron ever forgot what
he had been left to do there at the Mount with the golden
calf, and other occasions as well. It proved him to be but
a mere man. but chosen to that office. And it is because he actually
experienced that and felt that, that he was able to have compassion. He remembered what he was like. No doubt with all the people
of God, the Lord uses this same way You think of Peter and his
fall, and how after he was recovered he was to strengthen his brethren. But this was the qualification
of the priest. And then, as we have said, that
he was to be called of God as in verse 4, no man taketh this
honour unto himself but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. And so we have this office, this
position, and the qualifications of it, and the reason for it. There was a reason, There was
an office and there were those that fulfilled it. And it was
the way God had chosen to allow poor sinful men to approach unto
him, to find mercy, to have in verse 16, obtain mercy and find
grace to help in time of need. The picture of the priest himself
in the Old Testament and of those he ministered to is not a perfection. It's not of those who didn't
need a priest because they were pure, holy, didn't have any infirmities. They could do well without. They
needed a priest, God saw their need, and He provided that need. On the people's part, and it's
a good thing you've realised this, there is need for us to
approach unto God. Now many think, well, there is
no God, there's no need to approach unto Him. And yet really, in
our nature, as formed and made in the image of God, man has
an inbuilt thought, desire, to approach unto a God. Those in Athens, Mars Hill, they
had altars to many gods, and then to the unknown God, just
in case they missed one. Many people, even though they
would say that they're not religious, yet at some time in their lives
they're making expressions or saying that they're praying,
and yet they know not to whom. Some say that the presence of
so many gods in the world is the reason why they don't believe
in any god. But when you think that the world
was created by the One and True and Living God. And when sin
enters into the world, then man goes his own way, chooses his
own way, makes his own gods, in utter foolishness, out of
trees and wood and things that cannot speak or hear. And even
the children of Israel are carried away with the Baal God. And we
think that here is man with that desire after God and seeking
after God, and yet he is turned away from the living and true
God. And how in the Word of God, our
God sets before us how he is to be approached. He is to be
approached, but how and what provision is made for us to approach
unto God. May we be mindful of this is
not an option just to say, well, we can do without God. We will
not approach unto Him because one day when we die, we shall
be brought to Him. We shall stand before His judgment
throne. And it is our blessing, our mercy
if here below that we have sought Him and sought to approach unto
Him in the way that He has appointed and provided. So may we be encouraged to approach,
but let us not just think then of the Old Testament and of the
priests that were only but types, but come to think of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ. Verse 14 of Chapter 4, and this
is our second point, Jesus, our great High Priest. Seeing then
that we have a great High Priest that is passed into the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. We think of the qualifications
that we mention that belonged to the priests that were the
times. And those things are so vital
that should belong to the great anti-time, our Lord Jesus Christ. The priest was to be taken from
among men. How vital it is that our Lord
be made like unto his brethren, but sin accepted. we have in verse 15. But was in all points tempted
like as we are, yet without sin. No sin in the Lord, but a real
man, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that
are under the law. How vital it is that even the
blasphemy, even the speech of the Jews who said, why this is
Jesus, the son of Joseph, the carpenter's son. They viewed
him as a man, a real man. They accused him of being a man
making himself God. In truth, he was God who made
himself man, Emmanuel, God with us. But it is vital that even
their witness should reinforce that they viewed one who was
made like unto his brethren, a real man, one that was then
taken from among men. We read here that the priest
must have gifts and sacrifices for sins somewhat to offer, Our
Lord Jesus Christ was to offer himself without spot to God. He was the offering. Never, ever
had that been done and never would have ever veiled anything,
even if the priest had given his own body and his blood being
shed. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
true Lamb of God. John Baptist pointed him out
so clearly at the beginning of his ministry. Behold the Lamb
of God that taketh away the sin of the world. He was the offerer,
and he was the offering, and he was the high priest that was
to offer this offering. So also, we have the Father, bearing witness, this
is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased. The authority from
heaven, the Jews asked him, who gave thee this authority? And
by what authority doest thou these things? Our Lord Jesus
had the authority from heaven. The qualification here, that
should have compassion on the ignorant and on them that are
out of the way. It could not escape us in reading
the Gospels how our Lord so fulfilled this word. How many that he saw,
the woman that had the spirit of infirmity eighteen years,
bowed down, he had compassion on her and healed her, the man
who was 38 years at the pool with infirmity, and the Lord
healed him. And all of those that thronged,
that compassed him round about, in this sense, he was compassed
with infirmity because he was compassed with the infirmity
of the people. The people were infirm people
round about him. They thronged him that were blind,
that were maimed, that were sick, those that were coming to be
healed of Him and He healed them all. One great mark of our Lord's
ministry was His compassion, His kindness. This was truly fulfilled as we
read at the outset, He Himself took our infirmities. But also He had that qualification
of taking our sinless infirmities. We read that he was weary by
his journey. He sat on the well. That was
when the Samaritan woman came to him. He was asleep in the
hind part of the ship. We know that he was willingly,
freely ignorant of things. The knowledge that he had was
given by his father. And even concerning the end of
the world, no, not any man, no, not the son, but the father only. Mystery to us. But our Lord taking
on him infirmities and weaknesses, compassed with infirmity, in
humbling himself, crucifying through weakness. We have the
picture here in verse 7, who in the days of his flesh, when
he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying
and tears unto him that was able To save him from death was heard
in that he feared. Though he were a son, yet learned
he obedience by the things which he suffered. Being made perfect,
he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that
obey him, called of God and high priest after the order of Melchizedek. And of course that's going back
to the type of Melchizedek in Genesis 14 that met Abraham after
the slaughter of the kings. And Abraham gave him tithes of
all, and Melchizedek blessed Abraham. And in chapter 7 of
this epistle to the Hebrews, the apostle describes very clearly
the link between that Old Testament time and our Lord Jesus Christ. We won't go into that here, but
it is a subject really on its own, but the beautiful provision
of our Lord Jesus Christ as our High Priest, and one that is
not needed for the whole, as he said, the whole need not a
physician, But they that are sick, and it is especially this
last part of our text that has been with me, compassed with
infirmity. For he himself also is compassed
with infirmity. And just the feeling of our Lord
for those that have such infirmities, the part really of his suffering. We might think of the sufferings
just on Calvary's tree, but those sufferings he had right through
his life. And here he, through the years
of his ministry, We have this picture that we must not lose
sight of. Now that the Lord is in heaven,
the sacrifice is offered. He has ascended up into heaven. He appears in the presence of
God for us. He is our advocate with the Father. He is the one that speaks for
us to God, appearing in the presence of God for us. This is He, the
same Jesus we have in Hebrews 13, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday
and today and forever. And I just, I really wanted to
highlight the office of priest that was a type so vividly set
forth in the Old Testament So clearly a office the Lord Jesus
Christ holds and the feeling, the real compassion that he has
on the ignorant and on them that are out of the way, compassed
with infirmity we may feel to be. but our attention is drawn
to the Lord. We are directed to Him and to
look unto Him. Look unto me or the ends of the
earth, for I am God and there is none else. When we think of this word compassed
with infirmity, surrounded, encircled, with infirmity. And we think of the word where
two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the
midst. Unto him shall the gathering
of the people be. We think of the Lord on the cross,
the two thieves. And then we think of all of those,
the Romans, the Jews round about. And our Lord saying, Father,
forgive them. They know not what they do. And we have the qualification
here, who can have compassion on the ignorant? They know not
what they do, even while he was suffering. And we have the picture of our
Lord passed into the heavens, this same Jesus. What a wonderful, a beautiful
provision we have for the people of God, the Church of God, in
our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus, our great High Priest,
that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us
hold fast our profession. What a word to those Troubled,
tossed, tried and tempted. Tempted to cast everything away. Tempted to give up. Let us hold fast our profession. We have a high priest, a great
high priest. I want to think then lastly of
the people of God. The people of God compassed with
infirmity. You know, it's not always good
for us to be looking inwardly, introspection. We are exhorted
to examine ourselves whether we be in the faith or not, but
we're not always to be looking inwardly. But when we're encompassed
with infirmity, then we cannot escape those things that come
upon us and we feel our infirmities. As we get older we feel our pains
and our aches and our frailty and this frame being slowly taken
down to the grave. In Ecclesiastes, The last chapter,
we have a picture of the body slowly being taken down. It cannot
hear, it cannot chew, it cannot sing, it cannot hear singing,
it cannot see. And these infirmities, they increase. In one sense, it's a mercy, they
are warnings to us that this body is to be taken down. Put
in the context of our text, It should make us more to think
of our Great High Priest as we get more weaknesses of body,
weaknesses of mind, often both together, sometimes not, sometimes
in the younger, the weakness of the mind too. But as these
things come, may it lead us to think of the Lord, to think that
this is one of the qualifications of our Lord as the High Priest,
that He can have compassion on us. And when we think of how
it extends to our faith and those things that we see, In the book of Psalms, we have the Psalmist in Psalm 77,
able to identify what was his infirmity. And in the first part of that
Psalm, he is troubled, He considers the days of old. He says, I call to remembrance
my song in the night. I commune with mine own heart,
my spirit, my diligent search. Will the Lord cast off forever? And will he be favourable no
more? Is his mercy clean gone forever? Doth his promise fail forevermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger shut up his
tender mercy, Sila? All these questions. You might
have these questions. I might have these questions
as well. And then he says this. This is my infirmity. This is my weakness. But I will
remember the years of the right hand of the Most High. I'll remember the works of the
Lord. Surely I will remember thy wonders
of old. I'll meditate also of all thy
work and talk of thy doings. When we feel the same, when we're
thinking God has cast us off, when we think that God has forgotten
to be gracious and there's no mercy for us, Then may we remember
and think that this is our infirmity. This is not true. You have in
Isaiah 49, Zion is saying, the Lord hath forgotten me. The Lord
says, in answer, can a woman forget her sucking child, the
fruit of her womb? Yea, she may forget. Yet will
I not forget thee. I have graven thee upon the palms
of my hands, thy walls ever before me. And it is the complaint of
the church, the people of God so often. They feel low, they
lose sight of the Lord, they're troubled by unbelief, their doubts
and their fears. They have infirmities of mind,
they have infirmities of body. But then we remember what the
qualifications of this high priest, our Lord is. That he should have
compassion, Have compassion on those with infirmity. He is compassed
with infirmity. Compassion on the ignorant and
on them that are out of the way. We think of Paul in Romans 8,
that we know not how we should pray as we ought, but the Spirit
maketh intercession for us. You know, this again is one of
the infirmities of the people of God. They do not know. They struggle. They feel so often
that they cannot pray. Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth
our infirmities. The Lord has said, Lo, I'm with
you always, even unto the end of the world. The Lord with us
by his Spirit. I pray the Father he will give
you another Spirit. For we know not what we should
pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession
for us. Watch the work of the High Priest
appear in the presence of God for us. Intercession. And here
is the Spirit with groanings which cannot be uttered. He that
searcheth the heart knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because
he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will
of God. We think of the Apostle Paul
with his thorn in the flesh, 2 Corinthians 12. And he besought the Lord three
times that this messenger of Satan, this thorn in the flesh,
might be taken away. And the Lord said unto him, My
grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect
in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will
I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may
rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in
infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions,
in distresses, for Christ's sake, For when I am weak, then am I
strong. The first thing he mentions,
not the necessities and persecutions or distresses, will Christ say,
but infirmities. And here is the word for the
high priest, that which is the qualification of him, who can have compassion, on the
ignorant and on them that are out of the way, for that he himself
also is compassed with infirmity. May we be really encouraged,
encouraged as in Hebrews 4.16, to come boldly unto the throne
of grace, to have an eye to this high priest, to have recourse
unto him, to realise what provision God has provided for us, not
for those that have theological degrees, not for those that are
in the way, but those that are ignorant, those that are out
of the way. Our Lord rejoiced in spirit that
thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent and
revealed them unto babes. and may we be encouraged to come
to the Lord and seek his face, remembering this wonderful provision,
this blessed office of our Lord Jesus Christ, our great High
Priest, passed into the heavens. May the Lord have mercy on us,
bless us through this word, compassed, with infirmity. Amen.