Between the holy, infinitely
holy Lord God and fallen, depraved, sinful, corrupt man, there is
a great gulf fixed, a gulf which neither God nor man can span. God in the essence of his being,
in the holiness of his character, in his burning august majesty,
in his thick justice, cannot so much as speak to a man or
allow a man to speak to him. No man can approach God. No man
can stand before his presence. No man can lift his eyes up unto
God. Who has ascended to the hill
of the Lord, the psalmist said? He that has a clean heart, a
clean hands and a pure heart, and has not lifted up his soul
to vanity. No man can approach God as God. The Holy Spirit tells us that
our God is a consuming fire. No man can stand in his presence.
No man. Not you, not me, nobody. Man being sinful, corrupt, defiled,
can never expand that great gulf either. He cannot arise to God. He can't bring God down to himself
and he can't bring himself up to God. Deplained, helpless,
condemned men, all of us by nature, are banished from God, exiled
from God. It's called death, spiritual
death. And we must be forever banished
from God, exiled from God, exiled from grace, exiled from goodness,
exiled from righteousness, forever in hell. It's called the second
death. being forever banished from God,
unless there is someone who is able to lay hold both of God
and man, span that great gulf, and bring the two together. Job
realized this. We won't read it now, but you
turn back this evening or tomorrow at your leisure and read the
ninth chapter of Job. He said, if I justify myself
before God, my own mouth will condemn me. He said, if I wash
myself in snow water and wash my hands until they're ever so
pure, ever so clean, I can't lift them up to God. He said,
God is not a man that I should come to him or him to me. He
said, oh, that there were a daismon who could lay hold of both and
bring us together. Because as it is, I dare not
meet God, not in such Dare not approach the Holy Lord God, unless
there is a daysman found, a mediator, an umpire between God, the Holy
One, and man, the sinful creature. We're without hope, unless there
is a mediator found, who can lay his hand upon the Holy Lord
God, and upon fallen, guilty, sinful men, and bring sinners
and God together in harmony. in reconciliation, in peace,
then we must forever perish from the presence of the Lord. Unless
there is a priest found who can fully satisfy all the demands
of God's holiness, all the demands of justice, all the demands of
strict judgment and truth, making an effectual atonement for sin,
and cause sinful men to be made holy before God, then we must
forever die. But blessed be God, such a priest
has been found. The Lord God says concerning
his people, deliver him from going down to the pit. I have
found a ransom. I have laid help upon one that
is mighty. That mighty, ransoming, sin-atoning,
daysman, mediator, and high priest who is able to lay hold of God
because he is God, and able to lay hold of man because he made
himself to be a man, is Jesus Christ our Lord. And it is he
of whom the Holy Spirit speaks in Hebrews 2, verses 17 and 18. Now I want this evening, by the
grace of God, to show you something of the beauty and glory of the
person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ as our great High Priest. Let's look at the way he's described
here in Hebrews 2, verse 17. Wherefore in all things it behooved
him. Now that word, wherefore, in
this case does not refer to what has been said, but rather to
what is about to be said. The Holy Spirit has told us in
chapters 1 and 2 that the Lord Jesus Christ is superior to the
angels. And that he came here not to
save angels, but to save men. But now he's about to tell us
that Christ is superior to Moses, to Joshua, and to Aaron. And
so he begins the text with, wherefore? Because Christ is better not
only than angels, but better than all the great men who lived
before. Wherefore, it behooved him in
all things to be made like unto his brethren for this purpose. that he might be a merciful and
faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation. Do you see that? It bewoved him
to be made like us, in order that he might be a merciful and
faithful high priest in order that he might be a merciful and
faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, and that in
doing so he might make reconciliation for the sins of his people. For in that he himself hath suffered
being tempted, he is able to succor, he is able to help them
that are tempted. The Lord Jesus Christ became
a man. so that he might be a merciful
and faithful high priest," I love these next three words, "...in
all things." So that whatever things we have need of a priest
to accomplish, he is a merciful and faithful high priest in all
things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation to God because
of our sins. Now the thing that's taught us
in the text that I call your attention to tonight, Is this
one great fact? The Lord Jesus Christ was appointed,
ordained, and anointed by God the Father to be our great High
Priest. The Lord Jesus did not assume
this office on his own. He was called, appointed, and
anointed to it by God the Father. Turn over to Hebrews chapter
5, if you will. Now, let me show you this in three ways. This
will be what I'll deal with tonight. Christ was anointed to this work,
called to this work, and appointed to this work in the covenant
of grace before the world began. It is revealed in the book of
God, in the prophecies of the Old Testament, and in all the
types and ceremonial pictures in the Old Testament scriptures.
First, in the covenant of grace, before the world began, the Lord
Jesus Christ was called of God and ordained of God, appointed
by God the Father, to be our great high priest, our desmon,
our mediator between God and man. Here in Hebrews chapter
5 and verse 1, for every high priest taken from among men,
now remember he's got to be a man, He's got to be a man. You can't
have a priest before God who's not a man, but he's got to be
more than a man. He's got to be God. Every high priest taken
from among men is ordained for men. The priest is for us in
things pertaining to God that he might offer both gifts and
sacrifices for sins. In order for Jesus Christ to
be our High Priest, in order for him to be our Mediator, he
must be taken from among men, he must offer gifts and sacrifices
acceptable to God for the sins of his people in things pertaining
to God. Look at verse 4. And no man taketh
this honor unto himself. These days, you know, you have
folks volunteering. Everybody wants to get you to
volunteer. A fella makes a profession of
faith, and if he's been a dopehead and a drunk and a murderer, then
they want him to be a preacher. Volunteer to be a preacher. You
don't volunteer for this work. And most particularly with regard
to this business of being a priest. Even in the earthly sense, no
man volunteered for the job. No man was allowed to volunteer
for the job. Priests must be taken only out
of the Aaronic priesthood to be a high priest. And those who
served in the ordinary function in the temple, they must be taken
only from among the Levites. In other words, they were born
to the priesthood because God set them apart for the priesthood
and called them to the priesthood. All right, read on. No man taketh
this honor, this great honor of being a priest after the order
of Aaron unto himself. But he that is called of God
as was Aaron, so Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ, though
he is God the Son, glorified not himself to be made an high
priest. He didn't say, I'll become the
high priest, I'll go do this work and I'll be accepted. Oh
no, no no. But he that said to him, thou
art my son, this day have I begotten thee. In other words, as a man,
our Lord Jesus Christ was called to this great work by his Father
on the basis of the perfection of his obedience as our sin-atoning
sacrifice and our substitute before God. In Psalm 110, verse
4, listen, the Lord hath sworn and will never repent, thou art
a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. And yet at the
same time, though he is called to this work by the Father, our
Lord Jesus Christ did voluntarily and agreed to and assumed all
the responsibilities of the great work of being our High Priest.
He agreed to and assumed all the responsibilities necessary
to fulfill all that God required to make reconciliation for the
sins of the people, so that he might bring us to God by himself. He said sacrifice and offering
thou wouldest not. All those sacrifices in the Old
Testament, all the sacrifices made from the days of Adam throughout
the time of the abolishment of the Old Testament services, all
those sacrifices were incapable of making any atonement for sin,
of bringing anyone to God. Those priests could not make
reconciliation except ceremonially. And whenever you read the Old
Testament, and you read about the tabernacle, and the priesthood,
and the temple, and the sacrifices, and the altar, and the mercy
seat, the Ark of the Covenant, all those things, Do not ever
get the idea that back in those days, God used to accept sinners
through the mediation of a priest, through the sacrifice a priest
made, through an altar, in those ceremonial ways. Not at all.
Not at all. He accepted sinners only by what
those things represented, Larry. He accepted sinners only through
Christ, our priest. Christ our altar, Christ our
ark, Christ our mercy seat, Christ our true tabernacle. Those things
were given only to typify and represent him. So the Lord Jesus
says, sacrifice an offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast
thou prepared me. And this was done in the everlasting
covenant of grace before the world began. A body hast thou
prepared me, which I am ready at the appointed time to assume,
and offer up as a sacrifice to divine justice for the sins of
my people." John Gill stated it better than I can. He said,
These eternal decrees and mutual transactions are the basis and
foundation of Christ's priesthood, and make it sure and certain.
That is because before the world was, God the Father and God the
Son met together in blessed covenant grace and planned and purposed
and agreed to all things necessary for the saving of our souls.
The Son said, Lo, I call to do thy will, O my God. All right,
now that's the covenant. Christ was called to and ordained
and appointed to this work before the world began. Yet these things
were spoken of also in the scriptures with great plainness. Let's look
at a few of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the prophetic
nature of our Lord's offices as our prophet, priest, and king,
most particularly as our priest. In the prophetic scriptures of
the Old Testament, Christ is frequently described as a priest. Turn to 1 Samuel 2, verse 35. The promised Messiah of the Old
Testament had to have these three characteristics in one person. Whoever Messiah is, he must be
in one person prophet, priest, and king. Never did any person
except Christ possess all three offices. There were many who
possessed one or two of the offices, but no one possessed all three
offices. Only Christ does. He is prophet,
priest, and king. A priest like Levi, yes, a priest
like Aaron, yes, but a priest after the order of Melchizedek. Now that's spoken distinctly
and spoken numerous times. Kind of took it away in the back
of your mind. I'll show you why in a moment. Here in 1 Samuel
2, I think it was Brother James Jordan who read chapter 3 the
other night, and in this passage God is talking about taking the
priesthood away from Eli. Because Eli's sons had defiled
his name, defiled the sacrifice, defiled all Israel, and blasphemed
him. He said, I'm going to take the
priesthood out of your house. I'm going to destroy your priesthood.
It was always God's purpose to destroy that earthly priesthood. I'm going to destroy this priesthood,
but I'm going to have a priest. I'm going to destroy these carnal
priests, but I'm going to have a priest. I'm going to destroy
this natural priesthood, but I'm going to have a priest. Alright,
look at verse 35. The Lord God says, I will raise
me up a, just one, just one faithful priest. Oh, thank God Christ
is a faithful priest. That shall do according to that
which is in my heart and in my mind. I'll raise up one faithful
priest. He's going to do what I have
on my heart. He's going to do what I have in my mind. And I
will build him a sure house. And he shall walk before mine
anointed forever. Then in Psalm 110, verse 4, I
quoted it a moment ago, turn there now if you will. Psalm
110. This psalm speaks of the resurrection
of Christ. It's a prophecy of his coming,
of his performing the work of a priest, of his ascending up
on high and saving his people. Thy people, he says in verse
3, shall be willing in the day of thy power. Now look at verse
4. The Lord hath sworn and will not repent. Thou art a priest
forever. A priest forever, forever. Abram was a priest for a day
or two. His sons, priests for a day or two. His priesthood
existed and lasted for a day or two. But Christ is a priest
forever. He's going to be our priest,
Paul, even when this world's over. He's still our priest.
A priest forever. A priest like Melchizedek. A priest like that one that met
Abraham when he returned from the slaughter of the king. A
priest like that one before whom Abraham and to whom Abraham paid
tithes. A priest like that one who brought
bread and wine to Abraham. A priest like that one who blessed
Abraham. Back in Genesis chapter 14. Now
turn to Zechariah chapter 6, if you will. Zechariah 6. These are just a few of the many
texts that speak of our Lord's priesthood. Here Zechariah says
some things about him that are not said in other texts, in other
prophecies. And he brings the prophecy down
a bit more specifically. He says in verse 12, Behold the
man, behold the man, whose name is the branch. Jesus Christ,
he is the branch. Behold the man whose name is
the branch, and he shall grow up out of his place. And he shall
build the temple of the Lord. Even he shall build the temple
of the Lord. Not might, not he'll try, not
he wants to. He shall build the temple of
the Lord. And he shall bear the glory.
All the glory of God resides in and rests on and is established
by and revealed in this one man. And he shall sit and rule upon
his throne. The only priest ever to sit on
a throne is Jesus Christ the Lord. The only priest to rule
as a king is Jesus Christ the Lord. God has made him Lord and
Savior. He's exalted him to be a prince
so that he might as a priest give repentance to Israel and
the remission of sins. And he shall be a priest upon
his throne and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.
Now those prophecies specifically speak of him as a priest. There
are numerous other passages in the Old Testament that refer
to our Lord's priestly work. In Isaiah 53, that great, great
prophecy describing the substitutionary, sin-atoning death of our Lord
Jesus Christ tells us this. He shall make his soul an offering
for sin. God Almighty makes his own dear
Son, in the depth of his being, to be an offering for sin. And
he will make intercession for the transgressors, so that he
who is our sin offering is also our priest, who makes intercession
to God on the basis of the offering made. Ezekiel and Daniel both
described the Lord Jesus like this way, like this. He is one
clothed in the garments of priesthood. He's called a man clothed with
white linen, a man clothed with the linen garments of the priesthood,
clothed with the perfection of righteousness because he is the
Lord, our righteousness. All right. Now, thirdly, let
me show you some of the typical significance of the Old Testament.
In addition to these Old Testament prophecies, in addition to that
which was ordained in the covenant, the priesthood of Christ was
foreshadowed by the typical priest of the Old Testament dispensation.
Now understand this, there never was but one priest by whom transactions
were made with God, and that priest is Christ. All the other
appointed priests, all who were otherwise involved in priestly
functions, who were called priests, only represented him. They were
called priests and they existed only in order to point to, foreshadow,
and represent the priestly work of Christ. Only Christ could
atone for sin. Only his sacrifice could turn
away the wrath of God. Only the Son of God could bring
men in reconciliation to God. But all the Old Testament priests,
all those Old Testament sacrifices and everything that had to do
with the priesthood, represented and pointed to and portrayed
something about our Savior. Back in Genesis 14, verse 18,
you don't need to turn there, I've already mentioned Melchizedek.
This is by far the most eminent, the most excellent type of Christ
as our High Priest. Melchizedek is called the king
of Salem, the priest of the Most High God. In the book of Hebrews,
we are told three times that Jesus Christ is a priest, not
after the order of Aaron, but rather after the order of Melchizedek.
This man, Melchizedek, met Abraham as he returned from the slaughter
of the kings of the plains of Sodom, and by whom Abraham was
blessed when he gave tithes of all that he had before God Almighty. Now this man Melchizedek was
a remarkable type of Christ. He brought bread and wine, pointing
to the sacrifice of Christ. He blessed Abraham on the basis
of the bread and wine given. And Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek
as one would worship the Lord God himself. He was called the
King of Salem. because that means he's the king
of peace. He's called the king of righteousness.
He's one who has neither father nor mother, neither beginning
of days nor end of life. He was made a priest by the direct
ordinance of God himself, and his priesthood is perpetual,
endless, everlasting in its character. Now, turn to Hebrews 7. Let me
show you I realize that this is not clearly stated, and someone
may have another idea and be all right, but it appears to
me that Melchizedek was more than a type of Christ, he was
a pre-incarnate manifestation of Christ. This priest is Christ
himself. This one, the great one who is
the first priest ever to come on the scene. After whom all
the other priests come, and whom all the other priests shall themselves
represent. This Melchizedek is Christ himself. Let's see if Hebrews 7 doesn't
bear that out. Verse 1. For this Melchizedek, king of
Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning
from the slaughter of the kings. It doesn't say Abraham met him,
he met Abraham and blessed him. to whom also Abraham gave tenth
part of all, first being by interpretation." Now this is what the Holy Spirit
says. I'm going to tell you what it means when it says Melchizedek
is king of Salem. It means that he's the king of
righteousness. After that also, the king of
Salem, which means he's the king of peace. You see that? What's
Christ? He's the king of righteousness.
His name is Jehovah Sikinyu. What's Christ? By virtue of his
righteous obedience to God. He's the king of peace. And he's
got peace to give to sinners. He's made peace between God and
man. He lays hold of man and lays hold of God. And the two
kiss one another and embrace in perfect peace on the grounds
of strict justice. He's the king of peace. Read
on. He's without father and without
mother. without descent, having neither
beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto the
Son of God, abideth a priest for ever." Now consider how great
this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a
tenth of the spoils. Down in verse 8, And here men
that die receive tithes, but he that receiveth them, of whom
it is witnessed that he liveth. This priest, we never hear from
him again. Never saw him before, don't see
him afterwards. Know nothing at all about him, except this
priest is that one to whom Abraham paid tithes as one who lives
forever. He is Christ, our high priest.
The Lord Jesus Christ was also typified by Aaron, the great
high priest of Israel, Moses' brother. Aaron was a clear picture
and type of Christ in many ways. When Christ came, the Aaronic
Order, the former order of the Old Testament, you read about
it in 2 Corinthians 3, back in the office, was completely abolished. The Old Covenant and all things
pertaining to the Old Covenant was completely abolished, Aaron's
priesthood included. But Aaron served to typify and
represent Christ throughout the Mosaic Age. Like Aaron, the Lord
Jesus was chosen from among his brethren. Like Aaron, he was
separated by a holy anointing, as Aaron had his right ear and
his thumb and his great toe and his right foot all sanctified
by blood. So the Lord Jesus Christ, when
he came into the world, was given the Spirit without measure, so
that the Father anointed him as our priest. The Lord Jesus
Christ offered a sacrifice of atonement to God for sin, as
Aaron would go in once a year. just one time a year, exactly
according to the prescription of God's law. He'd take the blood
of that Paschal Lamb, that holy, innocent victim, that Lamb without
spot, blemish, or weakness of any kind, slaughtered the Lamb. And he'd take the blood, catch
it in a bowl, and carry it in with incense into the Holy of
Holies. And he'd sprinkle the Mercy Seat
seven times. He didn't just go in there any
casual way he wanted to and just throw some blood on, oh no, no,
no, no, no, meticulously. You take that hyssop seven times.
How come? Because seven is perfection. And seven is grace, and seven
is God. Seven times he sprinkled the
blood and obtained atonement ceremonially. The Lord Jesus
Christ, with his own blood, entering once into the holy place, having
obtained eternal redemption for us, and he did what Aaron could
never do. He sat down on the right hand
of the majesty on high. The Lord Jesus, unlike Aaron,
Or like Aaron, rather, performed his work alone. Aaron, when he
went into the Holy of Holies, he went in alone. Just him and
God. Just him and the glorious, holy
majesty of God. Shelby's been preparing some
studies on Tabernacle for her kids in Bible classes, and we
were talking the other day. All my life growing up, I'd hear
folks talk about those bells and pomegranates. Bells and pomegranates
on the hem of Aaron's gorgeous outer garments. And folks would
say to those, that was so that when he was in the Holy of Holies,
folks could hear while he was moving around. If they quit moving,
they'd know he was dead and the sacrifice wasn't accepted. There was no
possibility of his sacrifice not being accepted. That was
not even a possibility, because he brought what God required.
He brought what God commanded. Besides that, he pulled that
gorgeous robe off before he ever went into the Holy of Holies.
And he wasn't wearing those bells and pomegranates. Oh no, he was
in there in the solitude and quietness of complete isolation
with God, making atonement for sin. And that's what Christ did. when he went to Calvary, and
God poured darkness over the earth at midday, and the heavens
were silent and would not speak, and man turned his back as well
as God himself on his son, and Christ made atonement alone. Like Aaron, the Lord Jesus is
our spokesman before God. He carries the incense of his
intercession with his blood into the holy place, and then he comes
out and blesses his people on the basis of atonement made,
he comes out and puts on again his gorgeous robes, his gorgeous
apparel. Now remember, all of this was
done for a specific people. When Aaron went into the door
of the tabernacle, he went in wearing that breastplate on which
he had the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
Brother Joe, the other night, I was listening to the message
he preached here, and he said it didn't have a name for Egypt,
and it didn't have a name for Pharaoh, and it didn't have a
name for the Philistines. There wasn't a stone for any
of them. Just for the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
Because he represented somebody specifically. You understand
that? Everything done by the priest
was done for Israel alone. And everything done by Christ
is done for the Israel of God, his elect, and them alone. And
when the Lord Jesus went in with our names into the holy place,
and with this plate on the front of his miter that said, Holiness
to the Lord, the Lord Jesus goes in, representing us before God. He takes off those gorgeous robes
and wears the clean, white garments of his perfect righteousness,
and enters in with his own blood into the holy place in death.
And then three days later, He arose from the dead, and he put
back on the gorgeous apparel of his perfect priesthood, the
glory which he had with the Father before the world was. Our Lord
Jesus effectually accomplished the redemption of a chosen people,
and now, in the fullness of time, at the appointed time of mercy,
love, and grace, he comes out on the basis of atonement made,
and by the power of his Spirit, he touches us with his grace,
and he says, the Lord bless you, And the Lord make his face to
smile, to shine upon you, and the Lord give you peace. And
God's promise is, I'll bless them. I'll bless them. That's our priest. That's our
priest. Now all the Levitical priests,
they too represented Christ. But they were, like all types,
not perfect at all. They were many. He just was.
They offered many sacrifices. He offered just one sacrifice.
They could never put away sins, Christ did. And all the sacrifices
that were offered spoke of him. You see, Christ is everything
we need to come to God. Now this is what we need, Bob.
If we're going to come to God, we've got to have a priest, we've
got to have a sacrifice, and we've got to have an altar that
God accepts. Not only that God accepts, but
that God provides. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
priest. He's the altar, and he's the
sacrifice. He's everything. That's the reason
the Apostle says, he's all. He's all. Everything God gives,
everything God requires, we offer to God in the person of his Son,
by the merit of his blood and his perfect righteousness. Now
our priest, unlike Aaron, lives forever. and makes intercession
for his people according to the will of God. That's the guarantee
of our everlasting salvation. This is how John wrote, he said,
my little children, these things right I unto you that you sin
not. And if any man sin, well you can kiss it goodbye, it's
all over. That's not what it says, is it
buddy? Oh no. If any man sin, Our priest hasn't
changed at all. He hasn't lost a thing. We have
an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and
he's the propitiation for our sins. He's the propitiation for
our sins. He is the justice satisfying
sacrifice, and he perpetually, perpetually leads our calls before
God Almighty. pleading for us, for our everlasting
salvation, for the non-imputation of sin, for the perfection of
everlasting glory, saying, Father, I will that they also whom thou
hast given me be with me where I am. And here's the grounds
of my plea, perfect atonement made by my blood for thee. Amen. All right, Lindsay, let's
sing a hymn together.