King, High Priest, Forever: Session Four
In the last session, we talked about the convictions we feel, the rest God has promised us and introducing a main theme of the Book of Hebrews that lays out the theology for why and how Jesus is our High Priest. Today, we explore that further and expand upon it, solidifying our understanding the Priesthood and promises it is built on.
Recap Scripture: Hebrews 4:11-16
Hebrews 4:11–16 (ESV)
11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Jesus the Great High Priest
14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
First Portion of Scripture to Read: Hebrews 5:1-10
Hebrews 5:1-14 (ESV)
5 For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. 3 Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. 4 And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.
5 So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,
“You are my Son, today I have begotten you”;6 as he says also in another place,
“You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
Who is the High Priest: Hebrews 5:1-4
In the old covenant, God appointed a High Priest to act as a mediator between God and Men. For example, during the Exodus Aaron was appointed High Priest before God, and his sons carried the priesthood mantle "forever":
Exodus 29:1–9 (ESV)
Consecration of the Priests
29 “Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. Take one bull of the herd and two rams without blemish, 2 and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil. You shall make them of fine wheat flour. 3 You shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket, and bring the bull and the two rams. 4 You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and wash them with water. 5 Then you shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the coat and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastpiece, and gird him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod. 6 And you shall set the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban. 7 You shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him. 8 Then you shall bring his sons and put coats on them, 9 and you shall gird Aaron and his sons with sashes and bind caps on them. And the priesthood shall be theirs by a statute forever. Thus you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.
The priesthood was a calling from God, Aaron did not exalt himself as High Priest, if you want to see the proof you can refer to my third session of my last study series, which studied the rebellion of Korah. God authenticated Moses' Prophethood and Aaron's Priesthood through miracles, exactly like He did when Jesus was on earth preaching the Gospel to us, but Jesus came as the Son of God, with a message that has greater promise, and better authentication than theirs.
In the ordination of the High Priest there are garments, a breast piece, a turban and a "Holy Crown" that clothes him. Remember this as we continue forward, and how it draws a parallel to Christ's own ordination as our High Priest.
The High Priest is also the one who makes intercession for the people when he meets with God in the temple. Through his intercession, and the service in the temple the people are forgiven of their sins by God. The High Priest acts as a mediator then, between God and other Men. The priests/other Levites would pass on confessions from the people and judgments on matters in the kingdom, but the High Priest is the one who brings these petitions on behalf of the nation before God to be heard. The matters pertaining to the nation are in his hands, whether that is because of widespread apostasy in Israel as was common in some periods, normal sinful actions of the people (that our own righteousness could never reach that of our God), or greater threats of destruction by other nations, the High Priest must make atonement for and intercede on behalf of the people in order for the forgiveness of sins to occur. We will be expanding upon the specifics of these duties fulfilled in Jesus Christ later as we continue in the book of Hebrews.
Why was Jesus ordained as High Priest: Hebrews 5:5-10
Christ did not ordain himself as High Priest, just as Aaron did not ordain himself a High Priest. He was chosen by God the Father for his ministry on earth before the foundation of the world. That much was established early on in the book of Hebrews, so I will not be expanding on that here (refer to the first session of this series for that). In order for Christ to become our High Priest, the Old Testament prophesied of this beforehand.
The first quotation made in verse 5 was covered in the first session previously mentioned, and is a quotation from God the Father directed to the Son who is made ruler over the Earth. The second quotation found in verse 6 is referenced a few more times as we continue the book of Hebrews and is a major point we will have to expand on later. For now, it will have to be sufficient to say that God the Father also said this about the Son, as indicated by the author of Hebrews here. The book will be expanding on this, please do not forget about Melchizedek!
The following verses are an explanation as to why He was made a Priest forever, or why was Jesus ordained as High Priest. Not unlike Aaron, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications on behalf of himself and for the disciples. He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane with tears, He wept over the death of Lazarus, and He cried out on the cross just before He died: "It is finished", entrusting Himself to "him who was able to save him from death". His obedience to the Father in the days of His flesh taught Him the suffering and temptations we all experience as men, so that He is able to save those who obey Him from the same fate of death.
John 17:1–5 (ESV)
The High Priestly Prayer
17 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
During His trial, instead of being clothed with the righteous garments of the High Priest, and adorned with a "holy crown", Jesus was stripped of His garments by the Romans. They whipped Him, beat Him and pushed an unholy crown of thorns over His head. In utter reversal of the honors of the High Priesthood, the dishonor of His death is what sets Him apart from any other High Priest. Jesus Christ was adorned with "the glory I had with you before the world existed" because He emptied himself and in humility became obedient to the point of death (Philippians 2:5-13), but the other High Priests were chosen by God and adorned with God's righteousness and glory through the earthly robes because they were filled with the Holy Spirit by Him who is able to save, and chosen by Him to serve.
Philippians 2:5–11 (ESV)
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The garments stripped from Jesus were one aspect of glory removed, but the lashes and beating He had received likely rendered Him unrecognizable to most but His closest disciples. In a way, this removed what little glory that comes from man you could possibly imagine. In this utter reversal from the Old Testament adornment, Jesus is stripped of that before His exaltation.
Following the trial, being stripped of His human glory, and adorned with the crown of thorns, Jesus is brought outside the city to be crucified for our sin. He became the offering for our sin, after becoming our High Priest (as with many other points it seems, we will discuss this more as we continue. The book of Hebrews is very detailed about the specifics of this, and as such I'm not covering them until we hit those sections, or else I'd have to do it several times over)
Second Portion of Scripture to Read: Hebrews 5:11-14; Hebrews 6:1-20
Hebrews 5:11–6:20 (ESV)
Warning Against Apostasy
11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
6 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits. 4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. 7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.
9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
The Certainty of God’s Promise
13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
The Hebrews Have Become Infants: Hebrews 5:11-14
Here the Author is addressing the Hebrews who by now should be the teachers of these principles of righteousness, but are actually those who need to be taught again the "basic principles of the oracles of God". The Author uses the same language that is used in 1 Peter, that they need to grow up into maturity. The Author also uses similar language to Paul's other writings:
1 Corinthians 3:1–3 (ESV)
Divisions in the Church
3 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?
This lends good weight to the book of Hebrews being — at least in part — written or dictated by the Apostle Paul, among several other reasons. The reason we don't confidently state that Paul alone wrote Hebrews is because it reads more like a group letter to the Hebrews from the Church, rather than a personal epistle to a particular church and lacks the typical signature. We have no historically named group receiving the instructions we can trace back to Paul who visited them, but it's more like a general group of people receiving these writings as instruction for general use; The book is not addressed to a particular church or group, but to the Hebrew people as a whole who had fallen away from the understanding of God in the eyes of the Early Christians who were overwhelming themselves Hebrews also who found the Truth in Christ.
Whoever the Author is, the book has a striking similarity to the Greek used in Luke's Gospel also. Traditionally, Clement of Alexander recorded that Paul wrote the book in the Hebrew language, and Luke translated it into Greek for the Church. It's a bit hard to say the actual literacy rates in Israel during this period, but it's estimated that no more than 10% of the population could read and write, and even less of that was those who could read Aramaic and Hebrew texts. If Luke translated the text into Greek, it was because the average person would know the language and be able to speak Greek due to the Hellenization of the region prior to Jesus' time, thereby reaching a wider audience. It's the same reason the rest of the Bible is written in Greek also (yes even the Old Testament), it was the common tongue of the day, kinda like English has become the common tongue for a lot of people.
What is Spiritual Milk: Hebrews 6:1-8
Now if you have ever read these passages and though "what is spiritual milk?", the list of things here is a great example. The Gospel itself is considered spiritual milk so that even an infant (literally and figuratively) can accept it. Of note, the word in the ESV translated "washings" is literally the word for Baptism, and contextually I would argue that it should be about baptism since the rest of the instructions are also parts of the gospel (yes, even the laying of hands which for some may seem uncomfortable).
At some point, however, we need to move on from just preaching about being saved from our sins and mature into a believer who produces a crop of righteousness fitting for the Lord of the Harvest.
This section, lays out a pattern for believers that can seem frightening at first: "What do you mean it is impossible to restore someone to repentance who has fallen away?" It's not that simple, the Greek is actually a bit more complicated than the English can convey, but it's more like someone who has set aside their salvation, the word "fall away" is "παραπεσόντας" or "parapesontas" comes from the words "para" and "piptó" which are "beside" and "fall" respectively. This passage speaks of a person who "fell beside" their belief, literally failing to uphold it. You cannot repent from sin if you do not believe it is sin any longer, and if you were to somehow make repentance, it's as if you "crucified for yourself the Son of God and put him to open shame" because you rejected the sacrifice the first time and require it a second time.
It doesn't speak about a faith where you occasionally fall short, and repent turning toward Christ. It speaks of a faith that was in vain, one where you set aside the conviction you have and turn towards your sins instead of away from them, that is why it's impossible to repent and "turn away" from the sin. Consider how the section ends, that the Author reminds the reader that the land that produces thorns and thistles it is rejected, and its end is to be burned. It's a call to bear fruit fitting of your love for Christ and the sacrifice he made for you, rather than rejecting and setting aside the sacrifice and putting Christ to shame by re-crucifying him as if it were done for you again, but in vain.
If you say you are a Christian, but live as if you had never been ransomed by the precious blood of Christ, you make Him a spectacle for onlookers to gawk at and ridicule our Lord; We are called to holiness, to be set apart from the world. This passage is not a sentence of death for a person who falls short on occasion, but is a reminder to never set aside your hope in Christ, and a reminder of just how serious a matter it is.
1 Peter 1:13–23 (ESV)
Called to Be Holy
13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
When we read the text, it doesn't ever say whether the land was good to begin with, but that the land that bears good fruit is blessed. It's not diagnosing our sickness due to sin, but prescribing a test to see if you're falling away. Just like Judas, we can receive the rain from God through Christ, but in the end it's how we react to Him and bear fruit that will change our fate. Do you accept Christ, and turn to him for forgiveness of your sins, leading to a life that lives for Him and grows the Kingdom of God for His glory? Or do you forsake Him and reject His sacrifice, destined to be uprooted and tossed into the fire.
A Call to Endure through Imitation: Hebrews 6:9-12
Ending out this point, the Author continues by reminding the Hebrews that their judgment is not final, that though they speak in this way concerning them, God will remember their work and love for Him in service, and that through imitation of the faith the saints demonstrated, they too can inherit the promise of Salvation. Christ spoke of similar rewards for those who serve others from their heart and receive a reward from Christ through their love and service.
Matthew 10:5–15 (ESV)
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles
5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. 9 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. 11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
Matthew 10:40–42 (ESV)
Rewards
40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41 The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”
This final message regarding rewards comes right at the end of Jesus commissioning the 12 Apostles to go to the children of Israel and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to them. Jesus tells them not to bring anything with them but the clothes on their back, because Israel themselves will provide all they need. The reward is given to the children of Israel who accept the message of Christ, and serve the Apostles out of love for them, because the Kingdom of God is coming into the world. Their obedience builds the kingdom with each and every step they take, every cup of water they fill in service of Christ, is potentially another disciple being made in a that city.
The person here believes in the message being preached: "the one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward", this is not someone who does kind to you because they are just a good person, but someone who receives the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, and repents from their ways by serving others in the name of Jesus. Now remember, this work is not work that earns your salvation, but is work that flows from the saving grace of God. You ought to want to bear fruit for Him because he saved you, not because you think it will save you. The Author will later use examples to demonstrate this, but the immediate passage that follows will be a good example.
Promise of Salvation Confirmed: Hebrews 6:13-18
The Author reminds the Hebrews of the promise God swore to them through their father Abraham. That through his faith, Abraham listened to God, obeyed him, and through his "work" obtained the promise. We need not look further than where the scripture quoted comes from to prove this, it happens right after Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac on the mountain!
Genesis 22:1–18 (ESV)
The Sacrifice of Isaac
22 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”
15 And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
Abraham was given the promise that through his offspring all the nations of the earth would be blessed before this, but God makes the covenant firm at this moment "because you have obeyed my voice". Here God swears by Himself, and since there is no one greater than God, there is no promise that could be greater. When the Author of Hebrews then says "that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie", one of those things is the earlier promise he would "bless and multiply" Abraham, which happened before this event and was before Isaac was born. God had partially fulfilled this promise by the time Abraham is taking Isaac up the mountain, and had fulfilled its entirety by the time of writing the book of Hebrews. The second oath that was sworn here to Abraham, confirms the first promise that was yet to be fulfilled "in your offspring all the nations of the earth be blessed" — which was Jesus who came later — and to do so God swore by Himself (and God cannot lie); These are the two unchangeable things: The Promise, and the Oath
The promise is that God would bless and multiply Abraham's offspring, and that through his offspring all the nations would be blessed. When we get to Mount Moriah where Abraham is asked to offer Isaac, the oath is sworn to confirm that promise because of the obedience of Abraham.
Our Hope in Christ: Hebrews 6:19-20
In the same way, we too are given a promise of salvation through Christ, and the hope we have set before us was confirmed by the oath of the resurrection. In a prefiguring of Christ, Abraham was given his own son back (figuratively speaking) from the dead, through that obedience, God promised that a blessing would come for us all. We, too, are given a promise through the offering of a Son, the only Son of God on the cross who was given back to us from the dead. After this, Christ "enters into the inner place behind the curtain" like the High Priest would for the people of Israel, but this time "after the order of Melchizedek", and He did so in order to make atonement and intercession for His people. This will be the focus of the next study session as we continue deeper into the book of Hebrews.