Jesus Christ, Greater Than Aaron
Text: Book of Hebrews Chapter Five
In the Old Testament, the ministry of the Priest was to be a go-between between man and God.
In the New Testament church there is no such office!
In the Church there are only two biblical offices.
1.) That of the Pastor.
2.) That of the Deacon.
There is no place in the Church for any kind of priesthood!
The New Covenant of Our Lord teaches we that are saved by the grace of God in what the Bible says Is The Individual Priesthood Of Every Believer!
This means that every believer can boldly approach the throne of God without any man on this earth as a go between!
We have no need of a go-between because we have Our Mediator in Heaven, who is Our Risen Savior, Jesus Christ!
Christ Jesus has the threefold office of Prophet, Priest, and King!
And since the words of Christ Jesus are God's final Word to mankind, NO MAN on his own or with the help of others, can appoint himself to be a priest, a pastor or a deacon!
In the Old Testament and under that covenant, Aaron was chosen by God to be the High Priest and he was duly ordained and installed into that office.
The main task of the Old Testament priests was at the altar!
If the sacrifices were not offered in the right place, and by the right person, they were not accepted of God!
Jesus Christ is our Great High Priest to the Church!
He offered the right sacrifice, at the right place and at the right time!
"Every believer is now a priest" just as those of the tribe of Levi were God's priesthood, before the true High Priest, Christ Jesus came!
1Pe 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
Our salvation is not based any ritual or by any priesthood!
Our salvation is not based on any emotional response to praise and worship!
Our salvation is based on the truth of the Written Word of God and God's promises and these came through Jesus Christ!
Jesus Christ is the final Word of God!
AND, The Priesthood of Christ Jesus is much greater than the priesthood of Aaron!
*****Heb 5:1 For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:
What is the definition of the priest?
This verse says that every High Priest must be a man. He must represent man to God. He is ordained for man in things that pertain to God. Because he goes before God, he must be acceptable to God!
Therefore a High Priest must be:
1.) Taken from among men.
2.) They are ordained for men.
3.) They go to God for men.
There is a great difference between a priest and a prophet!
A priest represents man before God!
A prophet goes from God to man to bring God's message!
In the Old Testament the Priest did not tell men what God had to say!
This was what the Prophet did!
Today, Jesus Christ is the only priest and there can be no more!
The priesthood of Jesus is for the believer and not for those that are lost!
Jesus represents those that are saved before God!
1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
Jesus died and paid the price for every sin BUT He is High Priest only to the saved believer!
When our enemy Satan accuses us before God when we fail Him, The Lord Jesus Christ comes to our defence!
I would be a foolish man to depend on some so-called priests of this world!
And so is every believer!
We can see that the priests could offer both gifts and sacrifices.
Aaron offered only animal sacrifices!
Christ Jesus offered Himself!
There will never be another sacrifice needed and there will never be another priest needed!
*****Heb 5:2 Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.
Here are the words of Jesus:
Joh 8:46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
Those disciples that followed Jesus would have known if He was telling the truth. They would have known if Jesus had done something that was against the Laws of Moses.
No other man on this Earth could say these words in truth!
Pro 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, [but the end thereof are the ways of death].
Even when we think we are doing everything right, we are probably not doing some things we should be doing!
Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; [and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all].
Because all sheep go astray we must realize that we will also go astray from time to time!
Aaron had sin, and blood had to be shed to cover his sin.
Jesus Christ is able to show mercy!
He neither condones sin nor will He condemn the sinner!
When we approach God with our confession of our sins, He will not lecture us!
He will not tell us to do better next time!
Our High Priest will just extend His mercy to us!
1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1Jn 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
*****Heb 5:3 And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.
Now we see Aaron could not do the things Christ Jesus did!
Aaron had to make a sacrifice for himself before he could sacrifice for any other person.
Jesus Christ did not have to make an offering for Himself so He made an offering for all of us!
Aaron had to make a sacrifice for himself and for all the people once every year on the day of "atonement".
Even then those sacrifices could only cover up those sins, those sins were not forgiven!
Only by the sacrifice of the spotless Lamb of God can sin be cleansed and removed!
*****Heb 5:4 And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.
No man can appoint himself to be priest!
Some try but they do not know the Word of God!
Under the Law given by Moses the High Priests had to lead the people in the things of God!
God chose Aaron to be High Priests and once this office was established, it became a hereditary position which passed from Aaron to his oldest son and was to continue this way until the Messiah came!
But after the Romans controlled Israel the office of High Priest became a political issue and was appointed through acts of wealth and power and submission to the throne of Rome!
The Romans appointed whomever they chose to fill that position!
The Romans allowed the Jewish worship system but only under governmental control!
The Chinese government and some others do this same thing in our day!
God was clear, the priesthood was to be Aaron and passed down through that family. This way these Jews knew exactly who would be the next High Priest and that person would serve until their death!
*****Heb 5:5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.
Again we see that Our Lord Jesus was not begotten in Bethlehem!
Jesus Christ the Son was begotten at the Garden Tomb where He was buried after His crucifixion.
This is where His resurrection took place and this is the day He was begotten!
Forty days later, when Christ Jesus went back to Heaven was when His High Priesthood began!
The priesthood of the believer does not begin until being "Born Again"!
This is unchangeable and this is the fact of the Word of God!
*****Heb 5:6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
It is a fact that the Messiah was not to come from the line of the priesthood through Aaron!
Jesus Christ was not High Priest in the order of Aaron!
This does not mean that Aaron is not a "type" of Christ in his duties!
Aaron was just a servant chosen of God But Christ Jesus is the Son of God!
Who is Melchisedec?
The only historical record we have of Melchisedec is in the Old Testament.
Gen 14:18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
Melchisedek, is a "type" of Christ as King-Priest!
Melchisedek was at one time, man, priest, and king.
Melchisedek was not in the family of Abraham!
Israel took great pride in saying they were descendants of Abraham.
BUT, God chose His only begotten Son above all others to be High Priest and King.
It is by Him we can approach the Father! .
We should never attempt to go to God without going through His Son and we cannot expect any favor of God since any favor of God can only come through the merits of His Son!
As a "type" of Christ, Melchisedek has no record in the Bible of his beginning nor of his ending.
It is these facts that make him a "type" of the eternal Son of God!
AS king of Salem, Salem meaning peace, he was king of peace!
Christ Jesus is the Only One who is the universal King and High Priest!
Jesus Christ is truly the King of Peace and the King of Righteousness!
This was also a fulfillment of the prophesy of the Book of Psalms!
Psa 110:4 The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
*****Heb 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications [with strong crying and tears] unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
We know that this verse is speaking of the Jesus, the Son of God, when it says "in the days of His flesh".
The Bible records three times that Jesus shed tears in His crying:
1.) Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus:
Joh 11:34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.
Joh 11:35 Jesus wept.
2.) Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem:
Mat 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Mat 23:38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
3.) Jesus wept in the Garden of Gethsemane:
Luk 22:41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
Luk 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
The truth is that Jesus shed tears for us many more times than we can know!
Psa 22:2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.
***** Heb 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
Heb 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
Jesus Christ was made complete and made full and made perfect by the things He suffered while in the flesh.
Not because He was not already perfect but He became the perfect sacrifice by being obedient and learning from the things He had suffered.
Not everything Jesus suffered came from the cross!
He suffered rejection and ridicule among many other things for at least three years before the cross!
What did people ask Jesus about how to get saved?
Joh 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
AND, What was Jesus's answer?
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, [This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent].
There is no simpler answer to give anyone that ask this same question!
The only work we need to do to be saved is to believe on The Lord Jesus Christ!
This is where Satan will always lead his attack!
2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted [from the simplicity that is in Christ].
The theme of this chapter in the Book of Hebrews is "Jesus Christ superior to Aaron", the God appointed High Priest!
Jesus Christ as the Son of God was already perfect!
I believe we can see that through the suffering He had before the cross, through the suffering He had on the cross, through the suffering of loosing fellowship with The Father, and by freely being that sacrifice for all our sin, Jesus Christ became the perfect High Priest to be our go-between of us and Our Father in Heaven.
There can be no greater "Advocate" between man and God, than Jesus, The Son of God our perfect Savior!
*****Heb 5:10 Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
The Greek word used for "called" in this verse, is found only this one time in the Bible!
Only Jesus, The Son of God, could be "called" of God to be the perfect High Priest, and also the only King of Peace!
God has spoken many words to show those Hebrew believers the superiority of Christ Jesus, The Son of God!
It would be foolish for anyone to return to a trust in those old laws!
Legalism and ritualism are the downfall of many of the houses of Body of Christ even in our day!
To walk with God is to be mature in the ways of His Son!
There are to many today that hold to the idea that a man can be saved today, and then, through some sin, ruin his salvation tomorrow or some other day and die without God.
But, The fact is when you believe and have met the Perfect Savior, who then becomes your Perfect High Priest, then salvation is in His hands and you have no other part even in your own salvation!
Every believer is then "Born To God"!
AND, God keeps all His children!
God does not throw away any of His children!
Our God is not a dead beat dad!
In fact God makes a home for all wayward children that is perfect and is permanent!
Once saved then, every believer needs to stay in and be obedient to the Word of God!
Every believer is instructed to grow in the "Grace of God"!
*****Heb 5:11 Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
When we become tired of hearing the Word of God we will break fellowship with God by grieving the Holy Spirit!
We get the term "backsliding" because of these that have become dull to hearing the Word of God!
In other words, the preaching becomes dull, Sunday School becomes dull, the Sunday School teacher seems to be dull, the pastor becomes dull.
The problem is not in these people and what they do, the problem is that we have become dull to hearing the Word of God!
It is a true saying that most believers remain "Babes in Christ" all their lives:
1Co 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
1Co 3:2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
1Co 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
This one thing brings more problems into God's Church than any other thing!
Paul writes:
Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
It is the Word of God that increases our faith!
Again Paul writes:
1Th 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, [but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe].
It is the Word of God that makes us effective believers!
Even Job said:
Job 42:5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.
It is by hearing, reading, and studying the Word of God, that we can see God!
We are foolish when we remain "Babes in Christ" and miss out on the blessings that come from the Word of God!
*****Heb 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Not all believers can be teachers. I do not feel that I am much of a teacher!
But, sharing the Word of God is an ability that God wants us all to have and He wrote it all down for us and all we have to do is present His Word!
We must share what God has given to us all!
This verse says that these Hebrew believers "had to be taught again" the basic principles of salvation.
They were in fact experiencing a second childhood as a child of God!
In the Book of Revelation, God teaches us about the Church Ages.
The final Church Age tells us of lukewarm believers.
In this Church Age there are "Babes in Christ" and non-believers.
We can see that the Gospel is not spread because of the Babes in Christ, who will not and cannot spread God's Word and there will be a falling away from the Word of God!
This is the lesson of the writer of the Book of Hebrews to the Jewish believers.
Even those who study God's Word can become dull of hearing God's Word!
When we cease to progress spiritually we are going back-wards!
We have become backsliders!
Our sensitivity to God lessens!
Our understanding of the Bible becomes more difficult!
It truly takes a commitment to the study of the Word of God, which includes the preaching and also includes Sunday School!
We should all have the goal of getting closer to God and we do that with Bible study and Prayer and Meditating on the Words of Jesus!
We cannot leave off either one and we cannot stop going to the House of God!
Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
*****Heb 5:13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
If God would dress each one of us according to our spiritual growth, Just What Would We Look Like?
Like babes, like toddlers or possibly would we be in mature spiritual clothes?
Each one of us have to make this decision on our own!
It is always time to grow in Christ!
It does not matter how active you are in the Church, if you do not take the Word of God seriously!
This Book of Hebrews is some of the meat of the Bible!
We must accept that Jesus Christ is above all others in the Bible.
The Bible is His Word!
We begin our Christian life according to the Gospel, the good news of Jesus, and His finished work on the cross. His death, His burial and His resurrection!
We grow as Christians because our High Priest is at our defence at the right hand of God!
God expects us to grow:
Heb 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
Heb 13:21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
*****Heb 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, [even those who by reason of use] have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
My biggest fear in trying to teach is that I will not handle the Word of God properly because it is the strong meat of God's Word that we need to learn and teach.
Jesus Christ made salvation simple but He requires us to be His witnesses on this Earth after we are saved.
We can certainly do some of that with the way we lead our lives after salvation!
There are always those that are looking at your life if you say you are Christian!
But, we must lead our lives according to what the Word of God says and not on what we think God's Word says!
The Bible says:
Pro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
We will never understand the Bible until we use it and handle it properly!
You know, A BABY WILL PUT ANYTHING IN IT'S MOUTH!
If we do not have a good understanding of the Word of God then we will be led astray by those that teach a false doctrine, and who deliberately twist the Word of God into something that is not the truth of the Gospel.
We owe it to our own children, to the children of this Church and to everyone that God sends across our path, to be able to share the Gospel!
This what God left us here on this earth to do!
What was Aaron's job?
1Ch 6:49 But Aaron and his sons offered upon the altar of the burnt offering, and on the altar of incense, and were appointed for all the work of the place most holy, and to make an atonement for Israel, [according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded].
We should see that Christ Jesus is much greater than Aaron and all the High Priests that came after him!
The nation of Israel were never able to discern between good and evil!
Our own nation is failing because people do not know how to discern between good and evil!
The only thing that can change these things is for everyone to become mature Christians and share the Word of God!
We can do that only when obey God by learning His Word!
2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Let's Pray!
Text: Book of Hebrews Chapter Five
In the Old Testament, the ministry of the Priest was to be a go-between between man and God.
In the New Testament church there is no such office!
In the Church there are only two biblical offices.
1.) That of the Pastor.
2.) That of the Deacon.
There is no place in the Church for any kind of priesthood!
The New Covenant of Our Lord teaches we that are saved by the grace of God in what the Bible says Is The Individual Priesthood Of Every Believer!
This means that every believer can boldly approach the throne of God without any man on this earth as a go between!
We have no need of a go-between because we have Our Mediator in Heaven, who is Our Risen Savior, Jesus Christ!
Christ Jesus has the threefold office of Prophet, Priest, and King!
And since the words of Christ Jesus are God's final Word to mankind, NO MAN on his own or with the help of others, can appoint himself to be a priest, a pastor or a deacon!
In the Old Testament and under that covenant, Aaron was chosen by God to be the High Priest and he was duly ordained and installed into that office.
The main task of the Old Testament priests was at the altar!
If the sacrifices were not offered in the right place, and by the right person, they were not accepted of God!
Jesus Christ is our Great High Priest to the Church!
He offered the right sacrifice, at the right place and at the right time!
"Every believer is now a priest" just as those of the tribe of Levi were God's priesthood, before the true High Priest, Christ Jesus came!
1Pe 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
Our salvation is not based any ritual or by any priesthood!
Our salvation is not based on any emotional response to praise and worship!
Our salvation is based on the truth of the Written Word of God and God's promises and these came through Jesus Christ!
Jesus Christ is the final Word of God!
AND, The Priesthood of Christ Jesus is much greater than the priesthood of Aaron!
*****Heb 5:1 For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:
What is the definition of the priest?
This verse says that every High Priest must be a man. He must represent man to God. He is ordained for man in things that pertain to God. Because he goes before God, he must be acceptable to God!
Therefore a High Priest must be:
1.) Taken from among men.
2.) They are ordained for men.
3.) They go to God for men.
There is a great difference between a priest and a prophet!
A priest represents man before God!
A prophet goes from God to man to bring God's message!
In the Old Testament the Priest did not tell men what God had to say!
This was what the Prophet did!
Today, Jesus Christ is the only priest and there can be no more!
The priesthood of Jesus is for the believer and not for those that are lost!
Jesus represents those that are saved before God!
1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
Jesus died and paid the price for every sin BUT He is High Priest only to the saved believer!
When our enemy Satan accuses us before God when we fail Him, The Lord Jesus Christ comes to our defence!
I would be a foolish man to depend on some so-called priests of this world!
And so is every believer!
We can see that the priests could offer both gifts and sacrifices.
Aaron offered only animal sacrifices!
Christ Jesus offered Himself!
There will never be another sacrifice needed and there will never be another priest needed!
*****Heb 5:2 Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.
Here are the words of Jesus:
Joh 8:46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
Those disciples that followed Jesus would have known if He was telling the truth. They would have known if Jesus had done something that was against the Laws of Moses.
No other man on this Earth could say these words in truth!
Pro 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, [but the end thereof are the ways of death].
Even when we think we are doing everything right, we are probably not doing some things we should be doing!
Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; [and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all].
Because all sheep go astray we must realize that we will also go astray from time to time!
Aaron had sin, and blood had to be shed to cover his sin.
Jesus Christ is able to show mercy!
He neither condones sin nor will He condemn the sinner!
When we approach God with our confession of our sins, He will not lecture us!
He will not tell us to do better next time!
Our High Priest will just extend His mercy to us!
1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1Jn 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
*****Heb 5:3 And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.
Now we see Aaron could not do the things Christ Jesus did!
Aaron had to make a sacrifice for himself before he could sacrifice for any other person.
Jesus Christ did not have to make an offering for Himself so He made an offering for all of us!
Aaron had to make a sacrifice for himself and for all the people once every year on the day of "atonement".
Even then those sacrifices could only cover up those sins, those sins were not forgiven!
Only by the sacrifice of the spotless Lamb of God can sin be cleansed and removed!
*****Heb 5:4 And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.
No man can appoint himself to be priest!
Some try but they do not know the Word of God!
Under the Law given by Moses the High Priests had to lead the people in the things of God!
God chose Aaron to be High Priests and once this office was established, it became a hereditary position which passed from Aaron to his oldest son and was to continue this way until the Messiah came!
But after the Romans controlled Israel the office of High Priest became a political issue and was appointed through acts of wealth and power and submission to the throne of Rome!
The Romans appointed whomever they chose to fill that position!
The Romans allowed the Jewish worship system but only under governmental control!
The Chinese government and some others do this same thing in our day!
God was clear, the priesthood was to be Aaron and passed down through that family. This way these Jews knew exactly who would be the next High Priest and that person would serve until their death!
*****Heb 5:5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.
Again we see that Our Lord Jesus was not begotten in Bethlehem!
Jesus Christ the Son was begotten at the Garden Tomb where He was buried after His crucifixion.
This is where His resurrection took place and this is the day He was begotten!
Forty days later, when Christ Jesus went back to Heaven was when His High Priesthood began!
The priesthood of the believer does not begin until being "Born Again"!
This is unchangeable and this is the fact of the Word of God!
*****Heb 5:6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
It is a fact that the Messiah was not to come from the line of the priesthood through Aaron!
Jesus Christ was not High Priest in the order of Aaron!
This does not mean that Aaron is not a "type" of Christ in his duties!
Aaron was just a servant chosen of God But Christ Jesus is the Son of God!
Who is Melchisedec?
The only historical record we have of Melchisedec is in the Old Testament.
Gen 14:18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
Melchisedek, is a "type" of Christ as King-Priest!
Melchisedek was at one time, man, priest, and king.
Melchisedek was not in the family of Abraham!
Israel took great pride in saying they were descendants of Abraham.
BUT, God chose His only begotten Son above all others to be High Priest and King.
It is by Him we can approach the Father! .
We should never attempt to go to God without going through His Son and we cannot expect any favor of God since any favor of God can only come through the merits of His Son!
As a "type" of Christ, Melchisedek has no record in the Bible of his beginning nor of his ending.
It is these facts that make him a "type" of the eternal Son of God!
AS king of Salem, Salem meaning peace, he was king of peace!
Christ Jesus is the Only One who is the universal King and High Priest!
Jesus Christ is truly the King of Peace and the King of Righteousness!
This was also a fulfillment of the prophesy of the Book of Psalms!
Psa 110:4 The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
*****Heb 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications [with strong crying and tears] unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
We know that this verse is speaking of the Jesus, the Son of God, when it says "in the days of His flesh".
The Bible records three times that Jesus shed tears in His crying:
1.) Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus:
Joh 11:34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.
Joh 11:35 Jesus wept.
2.) Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem:
Mat 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Mat 23:38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
3.) Jesus wept in the Garden of Gethsemane:
Luk 22:41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
Luk 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
The truth is that Jesus shed tears for us many more times than we can know!
Psa 22:2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.
***** Heb 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
Heb 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
Jesus Christ was made complete and made full and made perfect by the things He suffered while in the flesh.
Not because He was not already perfect but He became the perfect sacrifice by being obedient and learning from the things He had suffered.
Not everything Jesus suffered came from the cross!
He suffered rejection and ridicule among many other things for at least three years before the cross!
What did people ask Jesus about how to get saved?
Joh 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
AND, What was Jesus's answer?
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, [This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent].
There is no simpler answer to give anyone that ask this same question!
The only work we need to do to be saved is to believe on The Lord Jesus Christ!
This is where Satan will always lead his attack!
2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted [from the simplicity that is in Christ].
The theme of this chapter in the Book of Hebrews is "Jesus Christ superior to Aaron", the God appointed High Priest!
Jesus Christ as the Son of God was already perfect!
I believe we can see that through the suffering He had before the cross, through the suffering He had on the cross, through the suffering of loosing fellowship with The Father, and by freely being that sacrifice for all our sin, Jesus Christ became the perfect High Priest to be our go-between of us and Our Father in Heaven.
There can be no greater "Advocate" between man and God, than Jesus, The Son of God our perfect Savior!
*****Heb 5:10 Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
The Greek word used for "called" in this verse, is found only this one time in the Bible!
Only Jesus, The Son of God, could be "called" of God to be the perfect High Priest, and also the only King of Peace!
God has spoken many words to show those Hebrew believers the superiority of Christ Jesus, The Son of God!
It would be foolish for anyone to return to a trust in those old laws!
Legalism and ritualism are the downfall of many of the houses of Body of Christ even in our day!
To walk with God is to be mature in the ways of His Son!
There are to many today that hold to the idea that a man can be saved today, and then, through some sin, ruin his salvation tomorrow or some other day and die without God.
But, The fact is when you believe and have met the Perfect Savior, who then becomes your Perfect High Priest, then salvation is in His hands and you have no other part even in your own salvation!
Every believer is then "Born To God"!
AND, God keeps all His children!
God does not throw away any of His children!
Our God is not a dead beat dad!
In fact God makes a home for all wayward children that is perfect and is permanent!
Once saved then, every believer needs to stay in and be obedient to the Word of God!
Every believer is instructed to grow in the "Grace of God"!
*****Heb 5:11 Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
When we become tired of hearing the Word of God we will break fellowship with God by grieving the Holy Spirit!
We get the term "backsliding" because of these that have become dull to hearing the Word of God!
In other words, the preaching becomes dull, Sunday School becomes dull, the Sunday School teacher seems to be dull, the pastor becomes dull.
The problem is not in these people and what they do, the problem is that we have become dull to hearing the Word of God!
It is a true saying that most believers remain "Babes in Christ" all their lives:
1Co 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
1Co 3:2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
1Co 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
This one thing brings more problems into God's Church than any other thing!
Paul writes:
Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
It is the Word of God that increases our faith!
Again Paul writes:
1Th 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, [but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe].
It is the Word of God that makes us effective believers!
Even Job said:
Job 42:5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.
It is by hearing, reading, and studying the Word of God, that we can see God!
We are foolish when we remain "Babes in Christ" and miss out on the blessings that come from the Word of God!
*****Heb 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Not all believers can be teachers. I do not feel that I am much of a teacher!
But, sharing the Word of God is an ability that God wants us all to have and He wrote it all down for us and all we have to do is present His Word!
We must share what God has given to us all!
This verse says that these Hebrew believers "had to be taught again" the basic principles of salvation.
They were in fact experiencing a second childhood as a child of God!
In the Book of Revelation, God teaches us about the Church Ages.
The final Church Age tells us of lukewarm believers.
In this Church Age there are "Babes in Christ" and non-believers.
We can see that the Gospel is not spread because of the Babes in Christ, who will not and cannot spread God's Word and there will be a falling away from the Word of God!
This is the lesson of the writer of the Book of Hebrews to the Jewish believers.
Even those who study God's Word can become dull of hearing God's Word!
When we cease to progress spiritually we are going back-wards!
We have become backsliders!
Our sensitivity to God lessens!
Our understanding of the Bible becomes more difficult!
It truly takes a commitment to the study of the Word of God, which includes the preaching and also includes Sunday School!
We should all have the goal of getting closer to God and we do that with Bible study and Prayer and Meditating on the Words of Jesus!
We cannot leave off either one and we cannot stop going to the House of God!
Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
*****Heb 5:13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
If God would dress each one of us according to our spiritual growth, Just What Would We Look Like?
Like babes, like toddlers or possibly would we be in mature spiritual clothes?
Each one of us have to make this decision on our own!
It is always time to grow in Christ!
It does not matter how active you are in the Church, if you do not take the Word of God seriously!
This Book of Hebrews is some of the meat of the Bible!
We must accept that Jesus Christ is above all others in the Bible.
The Bible is His Word!
We begin our Christian life according to the Gospel, the good news of Jesus, and His finished work on the cross. His death, His burial and His resurrection!
We grow as Christians because our High Priest is at our defence at the right hand of God!
God expects us to grow:
Heb 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
Heb 13:21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
*****Heb 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, [even those who by reason of use] have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
My biggest fear in trying to teach is that I will not handle the Word of God properly because it is the strong meat of God's Word that we need to learn and teach.
Jesus Christ made salvation simple but He requires us to be His witnesses on this Earth after we are saved.
We can certainly do some of that with the way we lead our lives after salvation!
There are always those that are looking at your life if you say you are Christian!
But, we must lead our lives according to what the Word of God says and not on what we think God's Word says!
The Bible says:
Pro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
We will never understand the Bible until we use it and handle it properly!
You know, A BABY WILL PUT ANYTHING IN IT'S MOUTH!
If we do not have a good understanding of the Word of God then we will be led astray by those that teach a false doctrine, and who deliberately twist the Word of God into something that is not the truth of the Gospel.
We owe it to our own children, to the children of this Church and to everyone that God sends across our path, to be able to share the Gospel!
This what God left us here on this earth to do!
What was Aaron's job?
1Ch 6:49 But Aaron and his sons offered upon the altar of the burnt offering, and on the altar of incense, and were appointed for all the work of the place most holy, and to make an atonement for Israel, [according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded].
We should see that Christ Jesus is much greater than Aaron and all the High Priests that came after him!
The nation of Israel were never able to discern between good and evil!
Our own nation is failing because people do not know how to discern between good and evil!
The only thing that can change these things is for everyone to become mature Christians and share the Word of God!
We can do that only when obey God by learning His Word!
2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Let's Pray!
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