The Priesthood Of Christ Series

The Priesthood of Christ

Hebrews Chapter Five

Introduction:

1. In chapter four Paul introduced the Christian rest.

a. He shows how we can truly find the Prize (1-11).

b. How we can have the power to make this promise real (12-13).

c. And how Jesus, our “Great High Priest,” makes “rest” possible (14-16).

2. In this chapter Paul will further expound on Jesus’ qualifications for the High Priesthood.

As the Union Pacific Railroad was being constructed, an elaborate trestle bridge was built across a large canyon in the West. Wanting to test the bridge, the builder loaded a train with enough extra cars and equipment to double its normal payload. The train was then driven to the middle of the bridge, where it stayed an entire day. One worker asked, "Are you trying to break this bridge?" "No," the builder replied, "I’m trying to prove that the bridge won’t break." In the same way, the temptations Jesus faced weren’t designed to see if He would sin, but to prove that He couldn’t.

Today in the Word, March 14, 1991.

I. Imperfect Priesthood of Aaron (vs. 1-4).

a. Selected from men (v.1).

i. Allotted from among men.

1. The high priest was taken from among the people he represented.

2. The Levitical Priesthood had three qualifications (Reese, Hebrews)

a. Oneness with the people he represents

b. Compassion

c. Appointment by God

3. These priests would be familiar with the people they represented.

a. Their conditions.

b. Their needs

ii. Appointed on behalf of men.

1. God has never had a need for a high priest.

a. He has no sin.

b. Sinning men need a priest.

When I was preaching in the Southern States of America, the minister called my attention to one of the elders. He said: "When the Civil War broke out, that man was in one of the far Southern States, and he enlisted in the Southern Army. He was selected by the General and sent to spy the Northern Army. As you know, armies have no mercy on spies if they are caught. This man was caught, tried by court-martial, and ordered to be shot. While he was in the guardroom awaiting the day of execution, he would call Abraham Lincoln by every name that he could think of.

"One day while he was in prison, a Northern officer came into his cell. The prisoner, full of rage, thought his time was come to be shot. The officer, when he opened the door, handed him a free pardon, signed by Abraham Lincoln. He told him he was at liberty; he could go to his wife and children. The man who had before been full of hatred asked, ’Abraham Lincoln pardoned me? I have never said a good word about him.’ The officer replied: ’If you got what you deserved, you would be shot. But some one interceded for you at Washington, and obtained your pardon. You are now at liberty.’" --Christian Endeavor World

iii. Awarded atonement.

1. “Gifts”

a. Unbloody offerings

i. The meat offering (KJV; used in the since of “food” and not “flesh,”) (ASV, “meal offering”) consisted of white flour, or unleavened bread, cakes, wafers, or ears of roasted grain, always with salt, except in the sin offering, with olive oil.

ii. Sometimes it was burned on the altar.

iii. Sometimes it was placed on the altar and some would be given to the priest.

2. “Sacrifices”

a. Bloody offerings

i. These of course were the meat offerings.

ii. Bulls, rams, sheep, ect..

3. “for sins”

a. Aaron and those priest who were to come later, would have to understand the human needs and the subsequent offering to fix their need.

b. He ultimately was the stand in for God, and had to make a decision concerning the sins of any given person.

b. Sympathetic because of his own weakness (v.2).

i. A compassionate priest.

1. This word is not easy to translate.

Hebrews 5:2 ASV

(2) who can bear gently with the ignorant and erring, for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity;

a. It is a compound word in the Greek, taken from metron, and pascho, (μετριοπαθέω) “to suffer.”

b. It is a feeling somewhere between grief and indifference.

2. We as the priesthood of Christ should consider this compassion when dealing with sinners.

ii. A capable priest.

1. Each day sinners would come to the priest to confess their sins and to have sacrifices made for them.

2. The high priest could not become irritated with the sinner requesting forgiveness.

3. He would also nee to watch that he did not become indifferent to sin.

iii. A corrupted priest.

1. These priests were not perfect as Jesus was.

2. They had known sin, and had succumbed to temptation.

3. They were to keep this in mind when dealing with others.