Hebrews 5: The Great High Priest Described

Q: What does the Bible say about the priesthood of believers?

Every believer is a priest, as stated in Revelation 1:6 and 1 Peter 2:5. The Bible teaches that every believer is part of a royal priesthood, which means that all Christians have direct access to God without the need for priests as intermediaries. Revelation 1:6 states that Jesus has made us 'kings and priests unto God,' affirming that we have a ministry in offering spiritual sacrifices. Additionally, 1 Peter 2:5 describes believers as a 'holy priesthood' meant to offer up spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. This concept is foundational for understanding our identity in Christ and our relationship to God.

Q: How do we know Jesus is our high priest?

Jesus is our great high priest as affirmed in Hebrews 4:14, who has passed into the heavens. The book of Hebrews presents Jesus as our great high priest, uniquely qualified to mediate between God and humanity. Hebrews 4:14 states, '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.' Jesus, unlike the earthly priests, has entered the Holy of Holies, not made by hands, and has offered Himself as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. His priesthood is eternal, fulfilling the requirements for atonement and intercession once for all, which is a vital doctrine in sovereign grace theology.

Q: Why is the concept of a mediator important for Christians?

A mediator like Jesus is essential for reconciling sinners to a holy God. The necessity of a mediator is a central theme in Christian theology, particularly within the Reformed tradition. According to 1 Timothy 2:5, 'For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.' This emphasizes the unique role of Christ in reconciling sinners to a holy God. We, as fallen human beings, cannot approach God without a mediator who stands in our place, bearing our sins and offering the perfect sacrifice. Jesus alone fulfills this role, enabling believers to have a direct relationship with God through His righteousness and atoning work.

Q: What does it mean that Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchizedek?

Jesus being a priest after the order of Melchizedek signifies His eternal and unique high priesthood. The reference to Jesus as a priest after the order of Melchizedek, found in Hebrews 5:6, indicates the superior and everlasting nature of His priesthood compared to the Levitical priesthood. Melchizedek, who met Abraham and blessed him, represents a priesthood that is not based on genealogy or temporality but on an indestructible life. This designation emphasizes that Jesus' priesthood is eternal, superceding the old system established by the Law, thus fulfilling the prophecy and providing a greater hope for believers. It assures us that He continually intercedes for us as our great high priest.

Q: How should Christians respond to the holiness of God?

Christians should approach God with reverence and submission, acknowledging His holiness. The holiness of God is a profound attribute that must shape the way Christians live and worship. As stated in Hebrews 12:14, 'Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.' This calls believers to acknowledge their own unworthiness and to approach God through the mediation of Christ. We must maintain a healthy fear and awe of God's holiness, realizing that it is through Christ's righteousness that we are accepted. This understanding encourages Christians to live lives of gratitude, worship, and obedience, reflecting the holiness of the God we serve.

Now I must, as plainly and forcefully as
I can, both for my own sake and for yours, and I believe for
the glory of God, reject, totally, completely reject and pronounce
as heresy the Catholic, the Mormon, or
the Episcopal priesthood of this day. I must, and as a preacher
of the gospel, as a pastor of a church, I must publicly, on
record, declare it to be heresy. Now that's just so any man who
professes to be a representative priest between any human being
and God is a phony That's so. Because, and this is, there's
several reasons. Number one, because every believer
is a priest. Now that's the first reason.
Every believer, I'm a priest. You're a priest. Every believer
is a priest. Let me show you that. Turn to
Revelation 1. Let's check that out with the
Word of God now. Revelation chapter 1 and verse 5. It says, and from
Jesus Christ, Revelation 1, 5, who is the faithful witness and
the first begotten of the dead and the prince of the kings of
the earth unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins
in his own blood and hath made us, all of us, kings, kings and
priests unto God. We are a royal priesthood. kings and priests unto our God."
That's so. All right, Revelation 5. Turn
over just a couple of pages. Revelation 5. Now, don't tell me we must not say
these things, because these things are imperative. They are necessary. They must be said. The air must
be cleared. These men are false. apostates,
they are false messengers, they are messengers of Satan. Look
at Revelation 5, verse 9 and 10. And they sung a new song,
saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, to open the seals thereof,
for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood
out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation, and hast
made us unto our God kings and priests. we shall reign on the
earth. Now 1 Peter 2, 1 Peter chapter
2, let me give you several verses. I'm saying that every believer,
every child of God is a priest. In 1 Peter 2, 5, you also, Peter
writing to the elect, strangers scattered throughout Pontus,
Galatia, Cappadocia and so forth, verse 5, chapter 2, 1 Peter.
You also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, a
holy priesthood. We are a holy priesthood to offer
up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God. What are spiritual sacrifices? We've already offered some tonight.
Praise, praise, prayer, thanksgiving. These are spiritual sacrifices.
Gratitude. And they are acceptable. God
accepts them. He accepts them from our hands
and hearts and lips, just like he accepted the sacrifices of
old from the hand of his anointed priest. But they're accepted
by Jesus Christ. That's how they're accepted,
in the Beloved. All right, another verse, Jeremiah 31. Jeremiah
31, verse 33 and 34. He wrote here of this new covenant,
this everlasting covenant of grace, everlasting covenant of
grace. He says in Jeremiah chapter 34,
And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every
man his brother, saying, Know the Lord. I don't need an earthly priest.
I need a teacher. I need a pastor, pastor teacher.
I can't except some man show me this sort of thing, you know.
I need someone to direct me in the reading of the word, the
instructions in the word. But I don't need someone to stand
between me and God. No, some human being, because
I know the Lord. That's what he said, for they
shall all know me. They're all priests. They're
all saints. They're all kings. They're all brothers. They're
one in Christ. You see, that's what he's saying.
There's not going to be a priesthood. Like you've got set up today
where a man goes in a confessional boot and confesses his sins to
some fellow that takes him to God, confess him to God yourself.
It's the liberty of our own conscience, we have liberty of interpretation,
personal liberty. That's right. Read the Word. Now we have teachers and instructors,
but we're all priests, we're all sons of God, we all know
the Lord. He said, from the least of them to the greatest. from
the least of them to the greatest. All right, but, turn back to
Hebrews now, Hebrews chapter 2. But, now listen carefully. In other words, he taketh away
the first that he may establish the second. He's taken away the
old priesthood. It's gone. The old priesthood,
the types, the pictures, the patterns, the sacrifices, taken
away and established the second. We have a high priest. Yes, we
have a high priest. Now like Israel of old. Now watch
this. There was one great high priest.
One great high priest at a time. Only one. There were many priests.
There were many priests that went about the sacrifices and
the ceremonies and all these things. There were many priests.
Many priests. But there was only one high priest.
And while you and I are priests, We are priests to offer unto
God spiritual sacrifices acceptable by Christ, and we come to God
as priests. But we have a high priest. We
have a great high priest. Now watch this, let me show you
this. Hebrews 2, 16, 17. For verily he took not on him,
the Lord Jesus Christ didn't take on him the nature of angels. He didn't become the redeemer
of angels, the representative of angels, the savior of angels.
He took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore, in all things it behooved
him to be made like unto his brethren, those whose nature
he took, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things
pertaining to God. He's the high priest. We do have
a high priest. Let me show you that again, Hebrews
3.1. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,
consider the apostle and high priest of our profession, of
our hope. We have a high priest now, and
it's Christ Jesus. We have a high priest. Let me
show you another scripture, Hebrews 4.14. Seeing then, I read this
a moment ago, that we have A great high priest, a great high priest
that's passed into the heavens, Jesus Christ the Son of God,
let us hold fast our profession, verse 16, and let us therefore
come boldly to the throne of grace. In other words, the high
priest was one. Back in these days of pictures
and types, one high priest, there were priests, but one And the
high priest was the only priest that could come into the Holy
of Holies. The only one. I want you to turn to Hebrews
9. Now, the Holy of Holies, you see, there was the holy place
and the veil and the Holy of Holies. There was that awesome
place where God manifested his glory. There was the Ark of the
Covenant, the cherubims, and God said, I will dwell between
the cherubims on the mercy seat. That was the Shekinah glory.
It just, I feel uncomfortable talking about it. Uncomfortable. The presence of God, whom the
heavens cannot contain. The earth is his footstool, yet
he chose to manifest his glory, his presence. His awesome, awful
presence, his Shekinah glory, right there on that mercy seat.
And no one was allowed in there. But once a year on the Day of
Atonement, the high priest, the only one, the high priest would
come in there. Some say he entered once into
the holy place, but he really entered three or four times because
he brought the incense, he brought the blood, he brought the blood
of the I don't know, but I do know he was the only one who
could enter. And I know he entered that holy place, and they tied
a cord around his leg. That's right, they tied a cord
around his leg in the event he died, in the event God killed
him, so that they could drag him out, because no one would
dare go into that holy place. And I tell you, it frightens
me. I live in a day when familiarity with God is commonplace. I mean
the way men talk. Me and God got a good thing going.
That's an idiot talking. We're just too familiar even
with the name of God. Most people who use the name
of God take it in vain. That's exactly right. They take
God's name in vain. If we knew something of the holiness,
the infinite holiness and righteousness of God, we'd be so careful how
we referred to him, how we used his name, how we intimated anything
being from God or of God or God motivated. Everybody says,
the Lord led me to do this. You better be careful what you
give God credit for. Most of the time we are led of
our own wicked hearts, and we give God the blame. But this
high priest goes in there once a year with the blood, and they
tie that cord around his leg so they could drag him out of
there if something happened to him, if the bells quit ringing.
Isn't that right, John? Hebrews 9, now you look at this,
verse 6. Now, when these things were thus
ordained, this tabernacle and all these things, The priest
went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the services of
God. That's the ordained priest. There were a lot of them. But
into the second, the Holy of Holies, went the high priest
alone, once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself
and for the errors and sins of the people. And the Holy Ghost,
this signified that the way into the holiest of all was not yet
made manifest. They had to have a high priest.
They had to have that representative. He represented them to God and
God to them until Christ came and ripped the veil in two and
opened up the holy of holies to every believer. But the Holy
Ghost said the way into the holiest isn't manifest yet while that
first tabernacle was standing. And I'll tell you this, they're
never going to put it back either. I hear people talking about they're
going to tear down the dome of the rock and build the temple
again, hogwash, and going to reinstitute the sacrifices, foolishness. It will never be. God will never
permit it. It will never be. And this, see
verse 9, this was a figure for the time then present. in which
were offered gifts and sacrifices. It could never make him that
did the service perfect as pertained to the conscience. It stood only
in meats and drinks and divers, washings, baptism, carnal ordinances
imposed on them until the time of reformation. But Christ being
come, a high priest, of good things to come. What are those
good things to come? Justification, righteousness,
redemption, sanctification, wisdom. eternal life, good hope, good
things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle.
What's that talking about? That's his own body. Not made
with hands, that is to say, now this building, neither by the
blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered
where? Into heaven itself, that holy place. And what did he do? He obtained, past tense, done,
finished, completed, redemption for us. He obtained it. That's
our high priest. Alright, Christ Jesus is our
high priest. Now go to chapter 5. And in this
chapter, the apostle gives us an account of the high priest.
And he applies that office to our great high priest. I tell
you, If you can get a hold of what I'm talking about tonight,
who God is in his awesome holiness, righteousness, infinite majesty. What we are in our inability,
impossibility of our ever even comprehending God, let alone
approaching him. And the absolute essential necessity
of having that high priest approved of God. Now, approved of God,
the one he chose, the one he ordained, the one he put between
us and him as a fitting, suitable representative, we can have life
everlasting. It doesn't matter how much faith
you have, how strong your faith is, it's in whom. Isn't that
right? I'm telling the truth if we can
just get a hold of this. We're walking them down aisles,
we're waving our hands, we're cutting up, we're getting baptized,
we're joining churches, quitting that one, joining another one,
following this man, that man, and we're missing the way to
God. It's through the great high priest. Now watch verse 1. For
every high priest is taken from among men. The high priest was
a man. The high priest was a man, ordinary man. But he was taken
from among men by God. He was selected by God and ordained
by God and set apart by God, watch it now, for men, to represent
men. See, every high priest is taken
from among men, ordained of God as a representative of men. Not man now. Now watch this.
It's men. Well, Scripture says there's
one mediator between God, it doesn't say between God and mankind,
or man. Because Christ is not the mediator
of all mankind. He is the mediator of men. That's
right, and this is for men in things pertaining to God. He
represented us in things pertaining to God, and he represented God
in things pertaining to our salvation. And he appeared before God in
our stead, and he presented the sacrifice, and he blessed men
that he may, watch verse 1, offer both gifts and sacrifices for
sin. Who offered it? The high priest
offered it. The high priest. Now listen to
me right here. The high priest, taken from among
men, selected by God, ordained of God, literally stood between
God and men. And he stood between an angry
God, he stood between that God you read about tonight, righteous
God, that righteous God and unrighteous men, and he stood there with
a suitable offering, with a suitable atonement. And it's literally,
actually, scripturally, biblically impossible for any son of Adam
to get to God except through that high priest. Now just write
that down, that's so. My Lord said, and I know we've
got a, and it's true, Steve, over in the country where you
come from, there's a live and let live attitude, there's a
kind of a, what you call a holy compromise, you know, to get
along and don't say anything, don't upset people. We're going
to have to upset our generation or watch it go to hell. Now we're
going to have to do one or the other. Christ said, I'm the way, the
truth, and the life, and no man cometh to the Father but by me.
There's no salvation for a Baptist or a Catholic except in Christ.
There's no salvation for a Church of Christ or a Mormon except
in Christ. There's no salvation for a Pentecostal
except in Christ. I don't care who says it differently.
Other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid Christ
Jesus our Lord. There's none other name unto
heaven given among men whereby we must All right, watch verse
2 now, in verse 2 and 3. And this high priest that was
taken from among men, this representative person, this type of Christ,
was a man who can have compassion on the ignorant because he is
a man. And he can have compassion and
pity on them that are out of the way, for he himself is a
man of infirmity and affliction. He understood and sympathized
with the people in their sins and ignorance, for he was a son
of Adam. He was a sinner, this high priest
taken from among men. And by reason hereof, verse 3,
he ought, as for the people, so for himself to offer a sacrifice
for sin. That old high priest, when he
went into the Holy of Holies, took the blood. But he wasn't
some high and mighty character that was just representing somebody
else. That blood was for him too. Because he was a sinner
and he understood those people out there, he was one of them.
He wept for them and prayed for them and had compassion and pity
on them because he was a man. And I'll bet you this, in that
awesome holy place he saw more of his carnality than anywhere
else. I just bet he did. Now, even
so Christ our Lord was taken from among men. He was ordained
of God and set apart by God to be our high priest, to represent
us in things pertaining to God, to offer us a sin offering, an
atonement, a sacrifice to God for us. And he can have compassion
on us because he is a man. Jesus Christ became a man in
all points we read, tempted and tried in all points, but there's
one difference. He had no sin. He knew no sin. He did no sin. So when he offered
up his sacrifice, it wasn't for himself, it was for his people.
But he can have pity on us. He can have compassion. He knows
our praying. You're not praying through a
great high priest that doesn't know your infirmities and know
your frame and know your difficulties and know your trials. He knows
them by experience. Right? All right, verse 4. Now, no man takes this honor
into himself. No man takes this honor. The office of the high priest
is the highest honor. There is no honor like that honor,
superior to all honor, for several reasons. The office of the high
priest is the highest honor because God chose him, because, secondly,
of the grave duty performed, thirdly, because he bears the
atonement. And no man takes this off. This
wasn't a volunteer proposition. God chose him. Now watch this.
So also Christ glorified not himself to be made a high priest. Let me tell you something. Here's
the offender. Here's the offended. Here's the
guilty. Here's the holy righteous God
against whom we have sinned. Mercy has got to come from Him.
He purposes to show mercy. He doesn't have to. He doesn't
have to, but He chooses to show mercy. Now, mercy is going to
be based upon a mediator. A mediator of whose choice? Theirs? Oh, no. A Mediator that comes
out and volunteers and says, I'll be the Mediator. I tell
you this, anybody who volunteered to be the Mediator, I'd be a
little bit wary of whether or not God accepted him or not.
But if I can find, watch it now, listen, if I can find the one
whom God said, he's my choice, he's my Mediator, he'll offer
a suitable sacrifice and I'll accept him, then John has some
confidence in that Mediator. And that's what this is saying,
this Mediator Jesus Christ. Muhammad made himself a Messiah. Confucius made himself a Messiah. All these other self-chosen representatives
of God made themselves, but he made my Lord the Mediator. That's
right. So Christ glorified not himself
to be made a high priest, but he that said unto him, Thou art
my son, he's the one that made him the mediator. He's the one
that made him the high priest. You see that? That's the reason
a lot of times Christ said this when he was on the earth in the
flesh. He said the words I speak are not my words. Now, there's
a sense in which they were his words. He's God. He and the Father
are one. But there's another sense in
which they're not his words as the representative. The representative
speaks the words of him that sent him. He said, the works
that I do are not my works. Well, there's a sense, do you
understand what I'm saying, in the sense in which he's God,
that they are his works. But there's another sense, they're
not his works. They're the works of him that
sent him. He's my elect. He's my servant. You see that? And he's obedient to the Father.
He's submissive, not my will. Well now, wait a minute. God
the Father and God the Son can't have contrary wills, but he's
speaking as a mediator, he's speaking as a representative.
Not my will, I'm totally, completely submissive to his will. He chose
me, he ordained me, he sent me, he gave me the work to do. I
finished the work you gave me to do. I don't understand all
that, I just know it's so. I just know it's so. in the days of his flesh. For
a time our Lord limited himself and yet received the Spirit without
measure, but he was in every aspect of the Word a man, in
every sense of the word a man, and was tried and tested and
challenged by hell and earth and by the law. And as a man,
in the flesh, he literally, actually fulfilled all that the Father
put upon him to do. And he said, I finished the work
now you gave me to do, and I glorified thee. So he said, he didn't,
Christ glorified not himself, but God said, God who said, Thou
art my son. I wish I could get this truth
across. Christ is not a way, he's the way. Christ is not a
priest, he's the only high priest. Christ is not a sacrifice. We're
not in competition with anybody. Anyone who has any other way
of redemption or salvation, we're not even in the same business.
He's the sacrifice. He's not a prophet, he's that
prophet. There's not going to be another
one. He's that king, he's that atonement, he's the great high
priest and the only. Now watch verse 6. And he saith
also in another place, this is the same one that made him our
priest, our great high priest, the same one that made him our
mediator. The Father said in another place, you are a priest
forever, after the order of Melchizedek. Now my friends, in many ways,
our Lord is typified by Avalon. the priest of the Old Testament,
in many ways, they're types of Christ. Many ways. I can name them. They were taken
from among men. They were men of flesh. They
were chosen of God to be the high priest. They were intercessors. They were representatives between
God and men in things pertaining to God, and they offered up sacrifices.
But there are so many ways in which our Lord's priesthood It
cannot be typified by men in many ways. In one way, there were many of
them, many high priests, but he's one great high priest from
eternity to eternity. That's why he's one great high
priest. There's never been but one great high priest. And then
their priesthood was temporary. They were born, they became high
priests, and they died. His priesthood is eternal. Thou
art a priest forever. Thirdly, they offered many sacrifices. He offered one. And then they
offered the blood of others. No high priest ever offered his
own blood. Christ did. They ministered on earth. He
ministered in heaven. Their sacrifices couldn't put
away sin at all. Some people think that the folks
of the Old Testament were saved by those sacrifices. Not so.
They were saved by Christ. Every time God saw the high priest
of old, he saw Christ. That's right. Every time God
saw the blood sprinkle on the mercy seat, he saw Calvary. Even
Abel, back to Abel's sacrifice. God didn't accept that blood. of that lamb, he accepted Abel's
offering, which is Christ. Isn't that right? And then these priests, their
work was never finished, but he, after he had offered one
sacrifice for sin forever, sat down. So who is going to represent
Christ? Turn to Hebrews 7. Where are
we going to find a type of his priesthood? Here we are. And
here Christ is our great high priest, representing us to God
and things pertaining to God with his blood atonement. How
are we going to find a picture of this? God gave us one. 5,
verse Hebrew 7-1. This Melchizedek, king of Salem,
that means king of peace, priest of the most high God, met Abraham
returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed to whom
also Abraham gave a tenth part of all. First, being by interpretation
king of righteousness, after that king of Salem, which is
king of peace, without father, by natural genealogy, without
mother, without pedigree, ancestry, having neither beginning of days
nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God, abideth
a priest continually." By the way, what's this talk about?
When Abraham was coming back from the slaughter of the kings,
and this is before the tabernacle. This is before the Aaronic priesthood.
This is before the mercy seat and the Ark of the Covenant.
This is before the law. They met him, someone. And here's
that someone, Melchizedek, right out of wherever. This man, Melchizedek. And God calls him. He says he's
got no mother or father by natural genealogy. He has a father, the
heavenly father. He has no pedigree or ancestry.
He has no beginning or end of days. He's king of righteousness,
king of peace. And he met Abraham. And you know
who that was? That was the one great high priest,
the Lord Jesus Christ. That's who that was. And he blessed
Abraham. And you know something? He didn't. And you can't bless someone without
the sacrifice. You can't approach God without
an atonement. But this high priest gave him
bread and wine. Oh, I can just roll the years
of time forward and see mine. Lord, Melchizedek breaking that
bread and giving it to his disciples, it's my body broken for you.
It's my blood. That's who he is. And that's
what our Lord says. Turn back now to Hebrews 5. Let's
move on. He said you're a priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek. Now watch this. Who in the days
of his flesh. What's that talking about? That's
the days of his humanity. I hear preachers, they talk about
something happening in the days of Christ. Every day is a day
of Christ. Let's be careful how we say this.
When the Lord was on the earth, he's on the earth now. Let's
use it like it says here. It says, who in the days of his
flesh, in the days of his humiliation, in the days of his humanity,
when he was walking on this earth clothed in human flesh, he offered
up prayers and supplication with strong crying and tears. What
is this? He's a man of sorrows acquainted
with grief. And this shows the actual, literal
weight and sorrow of our sins which he bore. This isn't make-believe. He literally bore our sins. He
suffered as a man of sorrows acquainted with grief. This shows
the human nature of our great high priest and our Lord. His
crying and his tears were real and genuine, bearing our shame. Why, even in that garden of Gethsemane,
his sorrow was so great, he said, I'm going to die under this.
If I'm not relieved of this time and delivered of this experience,
I'm going to die right here. And the Father ministered to
him. Verse 7, who in the days of his
flesh, of his humanity, when he offered up prayers and supplications
with strong crying and tears, when did he do that? In the days
of his flesh. Not now. Not now. There's no crying and tears now.
Oh, he's the victor. He's seated. I know Jesus weeps
and pleads for me. Uh-uh. That's a bad line on that
psalm. Bad line. He doesn't weep. His weeping is over. That's right. His sorrows are over. His sufferings
are over. He's the victor. I know a lot
of sentimentality and emotion wants to carry this thing over,
but our Lord Jesus Christ, who in the days of His flesh suffered
and offered strong crying and tears. Not now. Not now. He's
seated. He's confident and satisfied.
His will will be done. unto him that was able to save
him from death." What that's saying is this, "...who was able
to raise him from the dead." Our Lord wasn't delivered from
dying, He died. He had to die. By His death we
live. But the Lord God, He prayed,
and you know why He was heard? You know why He was raised? You
know why He didn't stay dead? His piety. His holiness. That's what that's saying there.
His holiness. Now listen to me. You and I are
heard because of Him. The Father hears us because of
Him. He hears our worship. He hears
our prayers. He hears our praise. He receives
our sacrifices. But He was heard. He didn't have
a mediator. And I come as a man. He can go
to the Father. because of his piety, his holiness. Holiness will be heard. Now you
can take your choice, you can come to God like you are, it's
all right, you don't, skip the high priest. But I tell you this,
you better have a holiness. Without holiness, no man will
see the Lord. So I don't have that. So I'm going to come through
him. I'm going to take the prescribed
way. But he was heard in that he was holy. And I'll tell you this, he was
heard because he was holy and righteous, and when he took us
there, he took a suitable righteousness for us too, and a suitable sacrifice. Verse 8, though he were a son,
and he is, the Son of God. Let me help you here a little
bit. I worked on this and wrestled with it a little bit and didn't
find anybody that really satisfied me, but I think I found what
it's saying. Though he was son, though he's
the God-man, though he is the holy, equal in nature, essence,
power and all with the Father, yet learned he obedience by the
things which he suffered. Yet, listen now, he experienced
obedience. He effected obedience by the
things he suffered. Now look up the word learned.
It's the same word that Paul used, I have learned in whatsoever
state I am to be content. What was that to Paul? Well,
it wasn't a creed. It wasn't a theory. It wasn't
something he got out of that book. He learned it. How'd he learn it? He experienced
it. That's how he got hold of contentment. He experienced it. And he experienced
it in submission to the trial. And he learned it. He experienced
it. And our Lord Jesus Christ, the suffering that was required
by our obedience, he actually experienced. God decreed it. God purposed it. But Christ had
to experience it. And that's what he did by the
things he suffered. He experienced obedience. He
effected obedience. He imputed to us that perfect
righteousness and obedience by the things he literally actually
suffered, even though he was a son and had no sin of his own. Is that clear what I'm saying?
If it is, nod your head if it isn't. Somebody said, why are
Eastern Kentuckians stoop-shouldered and have flat heads? Somebody
said, well, I'll tell you the reason Eastern Kentuckians are
stoop-shouldered and have flat heads. You ask them a question,
they go. And when you tell them the answer, they go. But that's what it's saying.
He learned, that ain't funny, he learned, he experienced obedience by actually suffering. And that's,
Barnard said this one time, believe it's right. You don't really
believe anything until you experience it. That's when you believe it. Now you can talk about it, you
can tell people, I tell you what I'd do if I was you, you don't
know. Now after they get through it, they can tell you what to
do. But you don't know until you've been there. My Lord knows
you've been there. Alright, the next verse. Now
watch this, I'll wind it up. My time's gone. call of God,
a high priest after the elder Melchizedek, of whom we have
many things to say, many things to say, things that are difficult
to teach. Why are they difficult to teach?
Why are they hard to teach? Because people are dull of hearing.
That's why they're difficult to teach. People are dull of hearing. Not
you, but many are. You're anxious. You're learners.
You're here with your Bible in your hand, but there are a lot
of places that these things I'm trying to teach tonight, the
preachers just don't touch them. They say that's deep doctrine,
that's meat, that's meat, and we'll show you something in a
minute. He says, now watch this, and
we're going to talk about this Sunday night, next Sunday night,
Melchizedek. He said, I've got a lot of things
to say about Melchizedek and about his priesthood and about
our Lord's priesthood. These are things that are difficult
to teach because men are dull of hearing. I asked Doris sitting
at the supper table tonight, I said, let me try something
out on you. Why are people dull of hearing out yonder in our
day? Why are they dull of hearing?
Well, lack of interest. Secondly, lack of love for the
word. There's not much love for the word, is there? Thirdly,
the cares of this world. Everybody nowadays is so involved,
they just haven't got time. Cares of this world. And fourthly,
the deceitfulness of riches, materialism. But, you get all
that lack of interest, lack of love for the word, cares of the
world, deceitfulness of riches. But the foundation of the whole
matter, and the reason they have lack of interest, the reason
they have no love for the word, the reason the cares of the world
are more important is because, now here's what it really is,
dull of hearing, because they don't know who God is. Now if
a man ever finds out who God is, he'll get interested. That's
right, if they ever find out who God is, the eternal almighty
God who reigns. Secondly, if they ever find out
who they are and the mess they're in, our spiritual condition,
They're not interested because they're not lost. You know when
a man gets interested in the doctors? When he gets sick. Tonight
you go home and that chest starts paining down the left arm, across
the back of the neck. You'll get interested in Mr.
M.D. But not until. And then men and
women just don't believe they're going to die. They just have no understanding
of the glories of heaven and the fearfulness of being damned. So they're dull of hearing. But
you and I have cares. We have our children and homes
and all these things, but Christ is first. You and I are interested in making
a living, but Christ is first. You see what I'm talking about?
You and I have love for various things, but we love Him first.
And why? Because we know who God is, what
we are, and who Christ is. For when you, he's talking about
that generation, he said, when you ought to be teachers, you
have need that one teach you. Again, the very first principles
are the articles of God. And you become as such that need
milk instead of strong meat. For everyone that uses milk is
unskillful in the word of righteousness. He's obeyed. What are these first
principles? They're down in chapter 6, and
that's where we'll pick up Sunday morning. The first principles,
repentance, faith, baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection. That's good. We've got to preach
those things. But I tell you, we need to get into the meat
of the Word. And the meat of the Word is not
prophecy. It's not Armageddon. That's not
the meat of the Word. The meat of the Word is who Christ
is and what Christ did and Melchizedek and the priesthood and the glories
of the atonement. That's the meat of the Word.

Hebrews 5: The Great High Priest Described

What does the Bible say about the priesthood of believers?

How do we know Jesus is our high priest?

Why is the concept of a mediator important for Christians?

What does it mean that Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchizedek?

How should Christians respond to the holiness of God?

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Hebrews 5: The Great High Priest Described

What does the Bible say about the priesthood of believers?

How do we know Jesus is our high priest?

Why is the concept of a mediator important for Christians?

What does it mean that Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchizedek?

How should Christians respond to the holiness of God?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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