WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:03.200 Turn in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 5. 00:00:03.359 --> 00:00:11.599 That's where we're at uh this morning, Hebrews chapter 5, in our series entitled Mediator. 00:00:11.839 --> 00:00:18.879 As you're turning there, um, you know and I know that no one likes being misrepresented. 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:19.120 Right? 00:00:19.199 --> 00:00:20.239 Is that fair to say? 00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:23.039 No one likes being misrepresented. 00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:35.600 I mean, our hope when someone represents us, maybe in a formal way or even informally, is that the representation is fair, that it's accurate, that it's true to form. 00:00:36.320 --> 00:00:46.880 And good representatives is necessary in a variety of different ways, especially if you think about um what's writing on the representation. 00:00:47.119 --> 00:01:04.719 If you're in a court of law and you are a defense attorney, you need good witnesses, you need good representers, representatives who hopefully are going to represent things in a way that is good and fair and accurate and true. 00:01:05.040 --> 00:01:08.959 Maybe you're receiving a reference or a recommendation for a job. 00:01:09.040 --> 00:01:17.439 I would hope that that representation is fair and favorable in a way that would be uh advantageous for you to get that job. 00:01:17.519 --> 00:01:20.079 But no one likes being misrepresented. 00:01:20.159 --> 00:01:25.120 And there are any number of reasons in this life why we would need a representative. 00:01:25.599 --> 00:01:53.359 Now, sometimes I think we get a little tripped up when it comes to representatives, maybe because of our current state of affairs in our governments, uh, the House of Representatives, our senators, uh, those who are supposed to represent us, that maybe uh oftentimes, not even maybe, uh, are just they're way off base of what would actually be fair and true and good and accurate of what we would hope for, what we would desire, or what morals that we would hold to. 00:01:53.439 --> 00:01:59.200 Uh representation in our context can often have kind of a negative connotation. 00:01:59.359 --> 00:02:12.080 But in the the scriptures, uh, specifically in Hebrews chapter five, a representative is needed, even as we talked about two weeks ago, in order for us to have a right relationship, a restored relationship with God. 00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:20.319 In fact, the scriptures tell us that Jesus Himself is our representative, he is our mediator, our great high priest. 00:02:20.479 --> 00:02:28.319 And even in the Old Testament, God designed specifically for the nation of Israel, a system, if you will, of priest. 00:02:28.639 --> 00:02:36.319 Uh, even the high priest, more specifically, stood as a representative on behalf of the people of Israel. 00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:54.240 In fact, the high priest, if you remember, if you've read through even with Lamp and Light, the book of Leviticus and Numbers, in particular, even Deuteronomy, if you remember the priestly garments, the ephah, the the breastplate, the breastplate that the high priest wears on the day of atonement when he enters into the holy of holies. 00:02:54.400 --> 00:02:57.120 Do you know what's on the breastplate of the priest? 00:02:57.280 --> 00:03:02.639 It's 12 precious stones that are engraved with the 12 tribes of Israel. 00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:11.520 And that was intentional, that was intentionally designed by God for the purpose of when Aaron entered into the holy place, the holiest, behind the behind the curtain. 00:03:11.759 --> 00:03:19.759 He bore the names of Israel's sons in the breastplate on his heart as a continuous memorial before the Lord. 00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:22.319 I mean, that's what it says in Exodus 28. 00:03:22.400 --> 00:03:29.680 And this made it so that Aaron was a living representation of the entire nation before God. 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:43.759 I mean, even all the way back in the Old Testament, the Levitical system, the Aaronic priesthood, there was always this need for a representative, a mediator, a mediator that stood between God and the nation as a whole. 00:03:43.919 --> 00:03:48.479 Now that begs the question for us today that I hope to answer from Hebrews chapter 5. 00:03:48.719 --> 00:03:51.680 Why did God appoint priests? 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:53.439 I mean the Ironic priest. 00:03:53.759 --> 00:03:58.560 You might, of course, affirm, hopefully you would affirm, that Jesus is your priest, he's your great high priest. 00:03:58.639 --> 00:03:59.680 But think about the Old Testament. 00:03:59.759 --> 00:04:01.039 Why were there priests? 00:04:01.199 --> 00:04:02.800 Why was there a high priest? 00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:04.080 Why was there a mediator? 00:04:04.159 --> 00:04:11.199 Why did he wear the 12 stones on his breastplate that represented the nation of Israel before the Lord? 00:04:11.360 --> 00:04:19.680 Why was there someone standing, if you will, between God and man, even all the way back in the times of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament? 00:04:19.839 --> 00:04:21.279 Why did God appoint priests? 00:04:21.439 --> 00:04:25.199 And what does that teach us about who Jesus is? 00:04:25.360 --> 00:04:30.639 Those are the two questions that I hope to answer for you this morning in Hebrews chapter five. 00:04:30.879 --> 00:04:33.360 But before we get there, I want to do just a quick review. 00:04:33.439 --> 00:04:39.120 Uh we were in a series called Mediator, and a mediator is someone who stands between two parties. 00:04:39.199 --> 00:04:42.480 And oftentimes the two parties tend to be at odds. 00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:46.000 And so the mediator stands as an in-between, as a go-between. 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:53.600 And Jesus' priestly role, as we're seeing it in Hebrews, is uniquely connected to his role as our mediator. 00:04:53.839 --> 00:05:03.839 In other places in scripture, Paul says in 1 Timothy 2, verse 5, that with there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:10.319 There is one that goes between, that stands in the place of, that is a representative, that is a mediator. 00:05:10.480 --> 00:05:13.279 And Paul says it is the man Christ Jesus. 00:05:13.360 --> 00:05:19.199 And that's what Hebrews is talking all about today in chapter 5, that he is our priest, he is our great high priest. 00:05:19.279 --> 00:05:21.040 He is ascended into the heavens. 00:05:21.199 --> 00:05:23.519 He is sitting now at the right hand of the Father. 00:05:23.600 --> 00:05:28.480 He lives to make intercession for us, is what Hebrews talks about. 00:05:28.639 --> 00:05:31.360 Now remember the three key aspects of a priest. 00:05:31.519 --> 00:05:42.240 I said that if you could remember these and kind of get your mind around them, even very simply, it's going to help you kind of understand some of the chapters, the dense chapters that we're going to wade through in Hebrews. 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:48.959 The three key aspects of a priest: who a priest is, what a priest does, and where a priest works. 00:05:49.120 --> 00:05:53.199 Now, who a priest is is chosen and appointed by God. 00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:55.279 No democracy, no voting. 00:05:55.439 --> 00:06:04.000 In fact, I even talked about two weeks ago that there was a time when that was threatened and questioned, and God put that to rest really quickly. 00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:07.360 Where people were like, hey, I mean, why is Aaron the priest? 00:06:07.439 --> 00:06:08.319 I want to be the priest. 00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:09.920 Why can't our families be the priest? 00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:12.639 And God said, No, Aaron is my priest. 00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:14.319 So God appointed Aaron. 00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:17.040 God appointed his sons after him to be the priest. 00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:18.959 They are of the tribe of Levi. 00:06:19.040 --> 00:06:21.360 So who a priest is, they are appointed by God. 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:22.800 They are chosen by God. 00:06:22.959 --> 00:06:31.279 They are placed in their office, and there's this whole ordination ceremony that is talked about in the book of Leviticus, and it's all designed and chosen by God. 00:06:31.439 --> 00:06:32.480 So that's who a priest is. 00:06:32.560 --> 00:06:38.240 What a priest does, even in our text, in verse one, it says he offers gifts and sacrifices for sins. 00:06:38.399 --> 00:06:39.279 That's what a priest does. 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:41.040 He mans the altar, so to speak. 00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:50.160 Remember, there's those two primary altars, the bronze altar outside, and then the golden altar inside the tent, the holy place, the right outside the holy of holies. 00:06:50.399 --> 00:06:53.199 And so we have these two altars, and the priest was to man the altar. 00:06:53.279 --> 00:06:54.959 He was to offer the sacrifices. 00:06:55.040 --> 00:07:00.959 And where a priest works, of course, the priest works in the tent, in the tabernacle, ultimately in the temple. 00:07:01.120 --> 00:07:06.959 But even more specifically, the great high priest works behind the curtain, one day a year on the Day of Atonement. 00:07:07.120 --> 00:07:09.920 Those are the three key aspects of a priest. 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:15.759 I'll just say that as a reminder, because when we get into the text, hopefully you see these categories very clearly. 00:07:15.920 --> 00:07:18.319 I want you to look out for them as we read it together. 00:07:18.399 --> 00:07:19.279 So let me read it for us. 00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:23.120 Hebrews chapter 5, verses 1 through 6. 00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:26.800 Now remember who a priest is, what a priest does, where a priest works. 00:07:27.040 --> 00:07:30.399 See if you can see those, at least in some sense here in Hebrews chapter 5. 00:07:30.480 --> 00:07:31.680 So it starts there in verse 1. 00:07:31.839 --> 00:07:39.439 For every high priest chosen from among men, is appointed to act on behalf of men. 00:07:39.519 --> 00:07:42.160 So already, who a priest is, they are chosen. 00:07:42.319 --> 00:07:47.839 They are appointed what a priest does to act on behalf of men in relation to God. 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:53.439 They are mediators to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 00:07:53.680 --> 00:08:04.480 Now, this priest, one of the qualifications that we're going to see here in verse 2, is that he can deal gently with the ignorant and the wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. 00:08:04.639 --> 00:08:06.959 He's a man just like the men that he represents. 00:08:07.120 --> 00:08:08.720 So he can deal gently. 00:08:08.959 --> 00:08:15.600 In a sense, he understands, he recognizes what it is to be human, what it is to be frail, and what it is to be weak. 00:08:15.680 --> 00:08:18.399 And that's even a qualification listed for a priest. 00:08:18.480 --> 00:08:23.759 He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:35.120 Because of this, this is kind of a reference to the Day of Atonement, he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins, which the high priest would have to do before he would offer a sacrifice for the whole nation. 00:08:35.279 --> 00:08:43.679 He would have to offer sacrifice for his own sins, just as he does for those of the people in the Holy of Holies, one day a year on the Day of Atonement. 00:08:43.759 --> 00:08:48.960 And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God. 00:08:49.120 --> 00:08:52.320 That's who a priest is, again, just as Aaron was. 00:08:52.879 --> 00:09:04.960 So also, in the same way, 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. 00:09:05.120 --> 00:09:12.559 And he says also, in another place, you are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek. 00:09:12.720 --> 00:09:41.519 Now, I want to give you today five reasons why God appointed priests, five reasons from this text that hopefully help you understand not just what Hebrews 5, 1 through 6 is saying, not even just the book of Hebrews as a whole, but I want to show you the whole storyline of the Bible and how it fits together and how what God did in the Old Testament isn't disconnected, isn't random, but in fact is the very building block that sets up and anticipates what Jesus would ultimately become. 00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:42.559 And that's what we're seeing here. 00:09:42.720 --> 00:09:43.440 Five reasons. 00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:50.399 Here's the first one God appointed priests to pursue sinful people. 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:57.279 God appointed priests for a very specific kind of purpose to pursue sinful people. 00:09:57.440 --> 00:10:05.279 Now I want to focus on the appointment aspect because this is stressed perhaps more than anything in this text. 00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:07.360 I mean, it's repeated over and over and over again. 00:10:07.519 --> 00:10:11.279 Verse 1, you see words like chosen and appointed. 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:14.000 Verse 4, they are called by God. 00:10:14.159 --> 00:10:20.240 Verse 5 is it transitions to Christ in the same way, just like Aaron, he was appointed by God. 00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:27.440 Verse 5 and 6 are proof of Jesus' appointment, scriptural proofs, two different quotations that we'll get to in a second. 00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:39.120 And even in verse 10, if you skip down in the same chapter, being talking about Christ, being designated, appointed by God, a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:43.279 So God appoints priest for a very specific purpose, and it makes it so clear. 00:10:47.360 --> 00:10:48.480 Again and again and again. 00:10:48.559 --> 00:10:50.000 This is God's design. 00:10:50.159 --> 00:10:51.440 This is God's intention. 00:10:51.600 --> 00:10:54.080 This is God's plan, and it's his purpose. 00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:55.360 And what's the purpose? 00:10:55.600 --> 00:10:57.919 To pursue sinful people. 00:10:58.080 --> 00:10:59.600 Now look at it with me in verse one. 00:11:00.080 --> 00:11:03.600 It says, Every high priest is chosen from among men. 00:11:03.759 --> 00:11:10.240 He is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God for what purpose? 00:11:10.639 --> 00:11:15.519 To offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 00:11:15.919 --> 00:11:26.240 To stand as a mediator, as an in-between, as a representative on behalf of men before God to offer gifts and sacrifices for sin. 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:37.840 God institutes, God appoints, God chooses, he designates priest for the purpose of dealing with sin, for pursuing people who are sinful. 00:11:38.159 --> 00:11:43.759 I mean, this reality, ends to end, is a divine act of grace. 00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:45.360 I hope you see it that way. 00:11:45.519 --> 00:12:12.240 That when God created and instituted Aaron and his sons as the priest of Israel, that in and of itself was an act of grace, because that was an intentional, purposeful design by God to pursue sinful people that otherwise had no way, no means to approach God in any way whatsoever, apart from God's intentional design of a mediation, a represent a representative. 00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:18.399 Because here's the question if God is holy, and if you read the book of Leviticus, and I hope that you do, right? 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:23.679 It's tough, there's weird stuff, there's you know, boils and white hairs, and it's kind of gross. 00:12:23.840 --> 00:12:38.960 But it's it's very, very important for you to recognize what's going on, not just in Leviticus, not just in the nation of Israel's time, not just for Aaron and his sons and and the priest there, but for who Jesus is? 00:12:39.440 --> 00:12:50.480 If you don't understand what the priests were for in the Old Testament, it's gonna cloud and confuse your understanding of what Jesus did for you as your priest, as your great high priest. 00:12:50.559 --> 00:12:56.960 So the question is if God is holy and people are sinful, how can he dwell with sinful people? 00:12:57.200 --> 00:13:03.120 How can holy, holy, holy God dwell with sinful, sinful, sinful people? 00:13:03.600 --> 00:13:05.200 How can that be the case? 00:13:05.440 --> 00:13:15.200 Well, the Bible tells us it's through mediation, through a representative that represents God to the community and the community to God. 00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:18.399 And in that sense, again, this is God's idea, this is God's design. 00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:19.600 Hopefully, you see that. 00:13:19.759 --> 00:13:25.519 Chosen, appointed to act in behalf of men in relation to God. 00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:28.320 They are called by God, ends to end. 00:13:28.399 --> 00:13:31.039 This is God's plan, it's his purpose, it's his design. 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:37.519 Israel, the elders of Israel with Moses, they didn't get together and say, How do we, you know, how do we get a little bit closer to God? 00:13:37.679 --> 00:13:38.879 How do we do this thing? 00:13:39.200 --> 00:13:40.000 They didn't do that. 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:51.840 God tells them, I'm going to pursue a honestly a sinful, highly sinful, of course, because the people, but even rebellious nation like Israel, we've been reading the book of Judges, it's a it's a disaster. 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:54.720 They completely uh continue to reject God. 00:13:54.799 --> 00:14:03.039 They they they I think about Micah, who who makes his son a false priest, which isn't a thing because God appoints priests, God calls them, God chooses them. 00:14:03.200 --> 00:14:06.159 This guy named Micah in Judges, he's like, My son, you're my priest. 00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:09.360 And oh, I'm gonna take 200 pieces of silver and I'm gonna make a carved image. 00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:11.039 And oh, there's a Levite over there. 00:14:11.120 --> 00:14:13.279 You're a Levite, even though you're not from the line of Aaron. 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:13.840 You're a Levite. 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:15.200 You want to be my priest, I'll pay you. 00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:27.600 I mean, he's just making stuff up, they're violating the law, they're they're shaking oftentimes their fists at God in very uh egregious ways, and yet God institutes a priesthood for the purpose of dwelling with his people. 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:36.240 Even his people that are sinful, that often are stiff-necked and rebellious, that he continues again and again to display his divine grace. 00:14:36.480 --> 00:14:44.159 And so the institution as a whole of the priesthood is just that it is a display of God's grace. 00:14:44.399 --> 00:14:48.879 It shows the reality that man could not make it to God. 00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:57.360 I think what Isaiah talks about, that your sin, my sin, creates a separation between you and your God. 00:14:57.840 --> 00:15:01.840 And so that separation is mediated, is bridged. 00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:07.840 There's a representative that can go between, that's instituted by God for the purpose of him dwelling with his people. 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:09.679 That was the tabernacle in the temple. 00:15:09.759 --> 00:15:11.679 It represented the dwelling place of God. 00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:21.440 That's where the pillar of cloud that would that would be on the holy of holies, when it would pick up and move, they would pack up the tabernacle and they would leave because it represented that God was among his people. 00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:26.320 That's why, by the way, the tabernacle and the temple were at the center of the nation of Israel. 00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:28.879 It was at the very center of everything that they did. 00:15:28.960 --> 00:15:36.159 Of course, it didn't work out that way in their actions and in their worship all the time, but physically, it was the center of everything that they did. 00:15:36.240 --> 00:15:39.039 It represented God's presence with his people. 00:15:39.279 --> 00:15:47.600 So whenever you think of priests from the Bible, however foreign they may feel, because we don't have priests today, at least in the sense that they did in the Old Testament. 00:15:47.679 --> 00:15:50.799 We don't have the temple, we don't have the sacrificial, thank goodness for that, by the way. 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:52.159 We don't have any of that. 00:15:52.399 --> 00:16:00.720 But nevertheless, when you think of priests from the Bible, you ought to think that was God's divine plan to lavish us with his grace. 00:16:01.039 --> 00:16:02.559 Because that's what Hebrew says. 00:16:02.799 --> 00:16:09.519 Jesus is a priest that goes before, that he is the mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. 00:16:09.679 --> 00:16:13.679 God appointed priests to pursue and dwell with sinful people. 00:16:13.840 --> 00:16:15.440 So yeah, Leviticus is weird. 00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:28.159 Yes, the tabernacle has got all this stuff, and there's there's things stitched, different colors, and different woods, acacia wood and gold and precious metals, and there's all these different kinds of sacrifices and the grain offerings and the burnt offerings. 00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:29.360 And what does all this mean? 00:16:29.440 --> 00:16:31.200 Uh yes, we need to wade through that. 00:16:31.279 --> 00:16:40.879 We need to be specific in those details, but you ought to think this is God pursuing sinful people, a holy God that is completely separated. 00:16:41.039 --> 00:16:44.720 We separate ourselves from God because of our sin and our rebellion. 00:16:44.960 --> 00:16:47.519 And we we we don't we don't climb the ladder back to Him. 00:16:47.600 --> 00:16:48.559 No, no, no, no. 00:16:48.720 --> 00:16:53.200 We are stuck, chained in the mud, and God makes a way to come down to us. 00:16:53.440 --> 00:16:55.600 And that's what priests are for. 00:16:56.159 --> 00:17:01.039 They are chosen and appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God. 00:17:01.200 --> 00:17:04.480 Think about that, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sin. 00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:09.039 So from the beginning, this is God showing his grace. 00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:13.839 Now, here's the second reason why God appointed priests in the Old Testament. 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:20.400 God intended priests to represent and identify with the people. 00:17:21.599 --> 00:17:24.400 Of course, that that's it's in the name, representative. 00:17:24.559 --> 00:17:28.880 There's a sense of which they stand in your place, they are speaking on your behalf. 00:17:29.039 --> 00:17:37.200 There's a not just a speaking, not relaying a message, they're not just a messenger, that they they also stand as someone who shares in the same reality. 00:17:37.359 --> 00:17:39.599 They are uh of the same kind, if you will. 00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:42.319 They're both human, they're both frail, they're both weak. 00:17:42.720 --> 00:17:46.960 God intends priests to be just that, to represent and identify with the people. 00:17:47.039 --> 00:17:48.640 Do you see that in there in verse two and three? 00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:49.839 Let me read it for you. 00:17:50.319 --> 00:18:01.599 This priest that is chosen and appointed, he can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward sense, because he himself is beset with weakness. 00:18:01.839 --> 00:18:02.319 Do you see that? 00:18:02.480 --> 00:18:04.000 Shared, there's a commonality. 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:20.480 The priest, the high priest, though he's chosen and appointed for a specific task, though only he once a year can go, or only he can go, nevertheless, he is still a frail, weak, sinful human that is able to identify with the frail weakness of every other sinful human. 00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:22.319 And that's part of God's design. 00:18:22.480 --> 00:18:35.279 In the Old Testament, the Levitical Iranic priesthood, that was God's purpose, so that he could deal gently, he could have a shared understanding, a commonality with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. 00:18:35.599 --> 00:18:44.000 Because of this, these priests in the Old Testament, he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins, just as he does for those of the people. 00:18:44.160 --> 00:18:45.920 Now, this is a reference to the Day of Atonement. 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:47.519 That's what the high priest would do. 00:18:47.839 --> 00:18:54.960 He would make a sacrifice for his own sins because he can't himself approach God, he's he's just as sinful as the nation of Israel. 00:18:55.039 --> 00:19:03.440 So he needs to offer a sacrifice, a blood sacrifice for himself, and then for the rest of the people, for the nation of Israel. 00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:09.920 So all this to say, priest above all people in Old Testament, in Israel, should have been gentle and patient. 00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:21.200 I mean, they had a daily reminder, not only of the sins of the people, but of their own sins, their own need for mercy, their own need for divine grace to be extended. 00:19:21.279 --> 00:19:24.799 They knew all too well what it was to be a sinner. 00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:36.240 And as obvious and as simple as it sounds, a priest had to be a man, not an angel, not some sort of weird, quasi-more than man. 00:19:36.319 --> 00:19:40.400 It just had to be a man to represent and identify with man. 00:19:40.799 --> 00:19:43.839 It's an essential function of being a priest. 00:19:43.920 --> 00:20:01.200 Now, hopefully, this sounds similar or familiar, because in the book of Hebrews, the author of Hebrews has gone to great lengths to show us already that Jesus had to become like his brothers in every respect, yet without sin, to become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God. 00:20:01.279 --> 00:20:02.400 That's what Hebrews tells us. 00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:04.079 He had to become like us in every respect. 00:20:04.240 --> 00:20:10.960 He had to share in our humanity, he had to understand and sympathize and endure our weaknesses, not our sin. 00:20:11.440 --> 00:20:12.799 Weakness is not necessarily sin. 00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:15.359 Sin is what happens when you give into your weaknesses. 00:20:15.519 --> 00:20:17.200 So he shares in our weaknesses. 00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:23.680 He is tempted in every way, like you and I are, Hebrews 4, 14 through 16, yet without sin. 00:20:23.920 --> 00:20:24.799 You get that? 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:28.799 So the priests in the Old Testament, they were chosen from among men. 00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:38.160 They were plucked out, chosen divinely, and appointed to a specific role, and they shared, they identified with those whom they represented. 00:20:38.319 --> 00:20:48.079 Now, Jesus, of course, the the magnificent news of the reality of Jesus being our priest, it wasn't that he was plucked from among men and appointed to a priest. 00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:55.839 It's that he, even as we saying, he condescended from his throne, if you will, and took on flesh, the eternal son of God. 00:20:55.920 --> 00:20:56.880 That's what we're talking about. 00:20:57.039 --> 00:21:16.720 That he intentionally, willingly, Paul talks about this in Philippians chapter 2, that he humbled himself, he did not count equality with God, a thing to be grasped, but he humbled himself, he emptied himself, taking on the form of a servant, becoming in the likeness of men, right, and sacrificing himself even to the point of death on a cross. 00:21:16.960 --> 00:21:25.119 So here, the author of Hebrews is talking about the Levitical priest, he's saying he can deal gently, he understands, he can sympathize with the nation of Israel. 00:21:25.200 --> 00:21:36.559 And we've already seen in Hebrews that that's exactly what is said of Jesus, because he takes on human humanity, he endures temptation, he endures suffering, and he does all of that yet without sin. 00:21:36.880 --> 00:21:38.240 This is part of the design. 00:21:38.960 --> 00:21:45.680 All right, which is why again it says he can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. 00:21:46.079 --> 00:21:57.680 So God intended priests to represent and identify with the people, and that carries over to what we see in Hebrews spoken of Jesus. 00:21:58.079 --> 00:21:59.200 Verse 15 of chapter 4. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:10.640 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. 00:22:11.279 --> 00:22:25.599 The author of Hebrews has already told us, even in chapter 2, since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, flesh and blood, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death. 00:22:25.680 --> 00:22:36.640 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 00:22:37.119 --> 00:22:51.119 I want you to see that what God did in the Old Testament, the way that he institutes and appoints priests, and even their shared being able to sympathize with those that they represent, always pointing forward to something that would find its fulfillment in Jesus. 00:22:51.279 --> 00:22:56.400 Just like Aaron could sympathize with the people of Israel, because Aaron's a sinner and Israel's a sinner. 00:22:56.480 --> 00:23:03.680 Of course, Jesus is not a sinner, but he shares in our humanity, he shares in our suffering, he shares in even our temptation, yet without sin. 00:23:03.839 --> 00:23:09.359 And there's a similarity there that we're seeing talked about and articulated in the book of Hebrews. 00:23:09.440 --> 00:23:11.440 So they were to represent and identify. 00:23:11.519 --> 00:23:13.119 And that's what we want, by the way. 00:23:13.359 --> 00:23:19.440 We want a representative that truly understands, that gets not just what we want. 00:23:19.599 --> 00:23:24.000 Of course, oftentimes a true representative would give us what we need, not necessarily what we want. 00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:35.599 And that's what Jesus is: someone who can sympathize, who understands, who recognizes our weakness and our suffering, and in fact entered willingly into those weaknesses and sufferings himself, yet without sin. 00:23:35.839 --> 00:23:40.480 That's the reality of Jesus being a priest, and that's the reality even of every priest. 00:23:40.559 --> 00:23:48.480 They could deal gently with the wayward, those who had gone off the path, even the ignorant, those who maybe should have known something but don't. 00:23:48.880 --> 00:23:54.079 Their knowledge of God, their knowledge of his word, their knowledge of his commands is imperfect, it's incomplete. 00:23:54.240 --> 00:23:58.160 Maybe it's intentional ignorance, maybe it's just forgetfulness, whatever it might be. 00:23:58.319 --> 00:23:59.920 The priest could deal gently with them. 00:24:00.079 --> 00:24:04.400 He could be patient because he recognized I'm a sinner as well, in need of grace. 00:24:04.480 --> 00:24:12.720 And so he offered a sacrifice for himself before he offered a sacrifice for those of the people. 00:24:13.039 --> 00:24:16.640 Here's the third reason God appointed priests according to Hebrews 5. 00:24:16.799 --> 00:24:22.799 God designed the Aranic priesthood to point forward to Christ's priesthood. 00:24:22.880 --> 00:24:26.960 Now we've already talked about some of the overlap, but God designs the Aaronic. 00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:29.519 That's just a fancy way of saying Aaron, right? 00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:30.640 Around, right? 00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:33.680 Aaron was the first great high priest and then his sons after him. 00:24:33.759 --> 00:24:38.319 But God designed the ironic priesthood to point forward to Christ's priesthood. 00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:46.880 And not just that, God designed it so that the Iranic priesthood would cease actually with the institution of Christ's priesthood. 00:24:46.960 --> 00:24:50.400 And he's of a different order and a different kind, and we'll get to that in a second. 00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:52.319 He's a Melchizedekian priest. 00:24:52.400 --> 00:24:55.839 He's not an Aaronic priest, he's not from the tribe of Levi, he's from the tribe of Judah. 00:24:55.920 --> 00:25:01.200 But nevertheless, God designed the Aaronic priesthood to point forward to Christ's priesthood. 00:25:01.440 --> 00:25:04.319 Now, this is the comparison that's being made, and I want you to see it. 00:25:04.400 --> 00:25:05.680 Look at verse 4. 00:25:05.920 --> 00:25:09.759 And there's a no one reiterating this, no one takes this honor for himself. 00:25:09.920 --> 00:25:14.400 The author of Hebrews wants you to know this was not man's idea. 00:25:14.559 --> 00:25:16.160 It says that again and again and again. 00:25:16.319 --> 00:25:17.759 No one takes this honor for himself. 00:25:17.920 --> 00:25:25.039 No, there's no man that came up with this idea, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. 00:25:25.279 --> 00:25:26.960 Now there's a comparison being made. 00:25:27.279 --> 00:25:32.559 The priests that are after the line of Aaron that are of the tribe of Levi. 00:25:32.640 --> 00:25:35.359 And now we're going to start talking about the priest that is Jesus Christ. 00:25:35.440 --> 00:25:39.200 That's the whole point of Hebrews, to tell us about his priestly ministry. 00:25:39.359 --> 00:25:40.640 Even that's how the book opens. 00:25:40.720 --> 00:25:44.960 After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. 00:25:45.039 --> 00:25:48.240 So verse 5 says, So also, here's a comparison. 00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:54.079 Aaron was chosen by God, so also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest. 00:25:54.240 --> 00:26:03.519 Even the eternal Son of God did not exalt himself, it says, to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, You are my son. 00:26:04.240 --> 00:26:06.960 Today I have begotten you. 00:26:07.200 --> 00:26:10.720 Now I want you to understand the shape of Hebrews as it continues to unfold. 00:26:10.880 --> 00:26:21.279 Here in Hebrews chapter 5, the emphasis and the focus is on the similarities between Jesus as priest and the Aaronic priest, the Levitical priest. 00:26:21.440 --> 00:26:34.240 Now, in chapter 7 of Hebrews, which we'll get to, Lord willing, at some point in the undisclosed future, but chapter 7 is about Jesus being a priest after the order of Melchizedek. 00:26:34.400 --> 00:26:39.119 And there's this strange figure, Melchizedek, that's really spoken of like twice in the Old Testament. 00:26:39.200 --> 00:26:41.519 Once in Genesis, when he just appears king of Salem. 00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:43.440 Abraham offers tithes to him. 00:26:43.519 --> 00:26:47.920 And then once in Psalm 110, where it says, You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. 00:26:48.079 --> 00:26:50.880 But nevertheless, chapter five is similar to Aaron. 00:26:51.039 --> 00:26:52.400 Jesus is similar to Aaron. 00:26:52.640 --> 00:27:00.799 He's showing and he's starting by saying, Okay, you have this whole understanding of the Levitical system, of the sacrificial system of the old covenant. 00:27:00.880 --> 00:27:02.960 Because remember, he's writing to Jewish Christians. 00:27:03.039 --> 00:27:05.759 They were very well acquainted with the sacrificial system. 00:27:05.839 --> 00:27:07.920 They were very well acquainted with priests. 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:10.400 They understood what mediators were. 00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:13.359 And so he's starting with this comparison. 00:27:13.680 --> 00:27:16.640 Jesus is similar to Aaron in chapter 5. 00:27:16.799 --> 00:27:22.640 Then there's kind of an excursus in chapter 6 where there's the warning about not falling away. 00:27:22.799 --> 00:27:28.960 And then in chapter 7, we have Jesus being said, being Hebrews tells us that he's better than Aaron. 00:27:29.200 --> 00:27:30.400 Chapter 5, he's similar. 00:27:30.720 --> 00:27:31.759 Chapter 7, he's better. 00:27:31.920 --> 00:27:32.640 He's way better. 00:27:32.720 --> 00:27:34.559 He's of a different kind, he's of a different order. 00:27:34.640 --> 00:27:37.039 He is his priesthood is unending. 00:27:37.119 --> 00:27:37.359 Right? 00:27:37.599 --> 00:27:42.720 The other priest in the Old Testament, their service ended because of their life being limited. 00:27:42.799 --> 00:27:48.400 Jesus' life is infinite, his his service is eternal, which we'll get to Lord willing soon. 00:27:48.559 --> 00:27:52.960 But chapter five, similar to Aaron, chapter seven, chapter seven, better than Aaron. 00:27:53.039 --> 00:27:53.920 And that's what we're seeing here. 00:27:54.319 --> 00:27:55.599 Because here's the irony. 00:27:55.759 --> 00:28:12.960 The Christians that the author of Hebrews is writing to, they are being tempted and drawn back because of persecution to go back to the sacrificial system, to go back to the Levitical priesthood, to desire the things of the old covenant, to desire the priest of old, if you will. 00:28:13.200 --> 00:28:17.359 And the irony of that is that they long for a priest. 00:28:17.599 --> 00:28:19.119 That's what they're longing for. 00:28:19.279 --> 00:28:20.640 They want a priest. 00:28:20.960 --> 00:28:28.319 And all the while the author of Hebrews is standing there pointing to the ultimate priest that they need and have been waiting for. 00:28:28.480 --> 00:28:29.680 So that's part of his logic. 00:28:29.759 --> 00:28:41.440 That's part of his design, is to say, hey, hey, the priest that you've come accustomed to, that you know that were instituted at this point, thousands of years ago, hey, Jesus is not just some random guy. 00:28:41.599 --> 00:28:44.880 Like, look, he's do you see the similarities between Jesus and Aaron? 00:28:44.960 --> 00:28:49.839 Do you see how Jesus is the fulfillment of Aaron and the priesthood there? 00:28:50.160 --> 00:28:56.559 Do you see that Jesus, he, the eternal Son of God, he takes on flesh, that he is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. 00:28:56.720 --> 00:29:00.559 He is our great high priest, he offers a sacrifice, he goes into the Holy of Holies. 00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:02.319 Heroes is going to go into all of that. 00:29:02.559 --> 00:29:09.759 But it starts here by making it clear that Aaron was pointing forward towards something greater. 00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:28.559 That the Levitical priesthood was not an end in of itself, but was intended to lay the groundwork for what Jesus would ultimately become, for what Jesus would be for for you and for me, if you if you trust in Christ through repentance and faith, through faith in Jesus' priesthood. 00:29:28.720 --> 00:29:32.960 God designed the Aaronic priesthood to point forward to Christ's priesthood. 00:29:33.119 --> 00:29:42.400 Now, biblically speaking, without the Old Testament, a lot of what Christ did really makes no sense. 00:29:43.200 --> 00:29:52.799 Without understanding the Iranic priesthood, without understanding the Day of Atonement, without understanding mediators and all these things that we're talking about here in Hebrews 5 about priest. 00:29:53.359 --> 00:29:55.119 Jesus doesn't really make sense. 00:29:55.359 --> 00:30:09.440 And so part of the design of the canon of scripture, the storyline of scripture is that God does something in the Old Testament to prepare us to see it fulfilled and culminate in the New Testament with Jesus Christ. 00:30:09.680 --> 00:30:11.599 That's the point of the Bible. 00:30:11.680 --> 00:30:14.319 That's the shape of the storyline of Scripture. 00:30:14.400 --> 00:30:22.720 So something is instituted, like the Levitical priesthood, the Iranic priesthood in the Old Testament, that of course points forward to. 00:30:22.799 --> 00:30:28.160 And the author of Hebrews is saying, Look, look, look, look, look at Jesus, where he steps into this role. 00:30:30.160 --> 00:30:33.119 It's not something random, arbitrary thing that he does. 00:30:33.279 --> 00:30:42.319 He's stepping into the exact role that you're familiar with, Jewish Christians, that you know well, but he's the great high priest, he's the perfect high priest, he's the unending high priest. 00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:56.000 He himself offers a once for all sacrifice so that you, people who want the Levitical system, can have a better perfect priest who not only sympathizes with you, but does it in a way that is perfect and without sin. 00:30:56.319 --> 00:30:57.279 That's the whole point. 00:30:57.440 --> 00:31:01.920 God designed the Iranic priesthood to point forward to Christ's priesthood. 00:31:02.079 --> 00:31:05.279 Here's the fourth reason why God appointed priest. 00:31:05.599 --> 00:31:09.680 This one's perhaps the most confusing, at least um it can be for us. 00:31:09.839 --> 00:31:16.960 God designed the Melchizedekian priesthood to be fulfilled by Christ's priesthood. 00:31:17.119 --> 00:31:30.000 Now, I use fulfilled intentionally because the Aaronic priesthood was intended to end and cease, so to speak, with Jesus stepping in because there's a new order, there's a similarity to him and Aaron. 00:31:30.079 --> 00:31:32.000 That's why he's being compared here to Aaron. 00:31:32.079 --> 00:31:34.160 But in chapter 7, there's an escalation. 00:31:34.400 --> 00:31:37.680 Jesus is better, he is of a better priestly order. 00:31:37.839 --> 00:31:39.839 He's not from the tribe of Levi, right? 00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:41.920 Jesus was born of the tribe of Judah. 00:31:42.079 --> 00:31:43.519 He's from the line of David. 00:31:43.680 --> 00:31:49.359 That's the whole point that we're seeing, even in the genealogy of Jesus, his birth narrative in Matthew chapter one. 00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:57.759 But God designed the Melchizedekian priesthood that we see appear somewhat mysteriously in the Old Testament to be fulfilled by Christ's priesthood. 00:31:57.839 --> 00:32:08.960 So the Iranic priesthood ends at the inauguration of Christ and his death on the cross, his purification for sins, he becomes the propitiation for our sins, as it says in Hebrews, right? 00:32:09.039 --> 00:32:14.720 But so that ends, and the Melchizedekian priesthood continues forever. 00:32:14.880 --> 00:32:16.480 That's what Hebrews says. 00:32:16.640 --> 00:32:19.519 He was a priest forever, and that's how God designed it. 00:32:19.599 --> 00:32:24.160 He designed the Melchizedekian priesthood to be fulfilled by Christ's priesthood. 00:32:24.319 --> 00:32:26.960 Say Melchizedekian three times fast, right? 00:32:28.480 --> 00:32:35.680 And again, we're not going to get too deep into Melchizedek today because uh the author of Hebrews devotes a lot of time to that in chapter seven. 00:32:35.920 --> 00:32:37.119 So we're gonna get to that. 00:32:37.279 --> 00:32:41.680 But hopefully you remember in in Genesis, again, he's he's referred to as the king of Salem. 00:32:41.839 --> 00:32:46.799 Uh he's said to have no beginning or no end of days, things like that. 00:32:46.880 --> 00:32:48.160 And he's compared to Jesus. 00:32:48.240 --> 00:32:53.119 And Psalm 110, of course, ascribes that reality to uh Jesus himself. 00:32:53.279 --> 00:33:09.119 So in our text, Hebrews 5, verse 6, quoting Psalm 110, as he says, also in another place, you are a priest forever, not one that ends because of a limited number of years on this earth. 00:33:09.359 --> 00:33:16.160 You are a priest forever, after the order, not of Levi, not of Aaron, but of Melchizedek. 00:33:16.559 --> 00:33:24.079 Even in verse 10, which we'll get to next week, it says being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. 00:33:24.319 --> 00:33:31.519 So God designed the Melchizedekian priesthood that we see in the Old Testament to be fulfilled by Christ's priesthood. 00:33:31.680 --> 00:33:35.279 And his priesthood is marked by it being forever. 00:33:35.440 --> 00:33:43.680 You are a priest forever, an eternal priesthood that secures and purchases an eternal salvation. 00:33:44.559 --> 00:33:46.640 That's even verse 9 of chapter 5. 00:33:46.799 --> 00:33:52.400 Being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation because his priesthood is forever. 00:33:52.640 --> 00:34:05.759 His Melchizedekian priesthood continues far beyond that of the Aaronic priesthood that ceases, and the Melchizedekian priesthood of Jesus is the priesthood that we're talking about here. 00:34:05.920 --> 00:34:06.960 So he's making the point, right? 00:34:07.039 --> 00:34:08.639 He's similar to Aaron. 00:34:08.880 --> 00:34:10.320 He is chosen, appointed by God. 00:34:10.480 --> 00:34:15.760 Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him. 00:34:15.920 --> 00:34:18.159 And he quotes from Scripture. 00:34:18.400 --> 00:34:22.880 Now, here's the to me, one of the most fascinating things that we see the author of Hebrews doing here. 00:34:23.039 --> 00:34:26.960 Here's the fifth reason why God appointed priests in the Old Testament. 00:34:27.119 --> 00:34:33.760 God planned for Christ to fulfill not only the office of priest, but also the office of king. 00:34:34.000 --> 00:34:44.639 And the author of Hebrews has already kind of shown us this, specifically in chapter one, but he does it here very masterfully, very subtly, but very masterfully, through the quotations that he provides. 00:34:44.880 --> 00:34:48.559 God planned for Christ to fulfill the offices of priest and king. 00:34:48.639 --> 00:34:53.840 In fact, if you know about the threefold office of Christ, it's not just priest, it's not just king, but it's also prophet. 00:34:54.000 --> 00:34:55.840 He's our prophet, priest, and king. 00:34:56.079 --> 00:34:56.960 Hebrews 1. 00:34:57.119 --> 00:35:00.079 In these last days, God has spoken to us through his son. 00:35:00.639 --> 00:35:02.159 Hebrews 3, verse 1. 00:35:02.320 --> 00:35:06.960 Jesus is our apostle and our prophet and our priest. 00:35:07.039 --> 00:35:14.079 All right, so he fulfills all three offices, but specifically in our text, the author of Hebrews is making it clear that he's fulfilling the office of king. 00:35:14.239 --> 00:35:16.239 He rules, he's the king of righteousness. 00:35:16.400 --> 00:35:21.679 We even talked about that in chapter one, but he's also the priest of the Melchizedekian order. 00:35:21.840 --> 00:35:24.639 He's the priest that his priesthood is forever. 00:35:24.800 --> 00:35:28.400 God planned for Christ to fulfill both of those offices. 00:35:28.480 --> 00:35:32.239 And I want you to see how that's referenced here in verses five and six. 00:35:32.880 --> 00:35:33.679 Verse five again. 00:35:33.840 --> 00:35:40.239 So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him. 00:35:40.400 --> 00:35:41.840 Now, two quotations. 00:35:42.400 --> 00:35:46.239 One is from Psalm 2, the other one is from Psalm 110. 00:35:46.480 --> 00:35:50.800