Sermon
#15[1] Hebrews
Notes
Title: Christ Our High
Priest
Text: Hebrews 2:17-18
Readings: Paul
Winderl – Bobbie Estes
Subject: The Priestly Office And Work
Of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Date: Tuesday Evening – March 14, 2000
Tape # V-74b – V-76a
Introduction:
Fallen
man, because of sin, has been banished from the presence of God. God will
neither speak to man, nor allow man to speak to him. God will neither approach
man, nor allow man to approach him. Sin has separated man from God. By reason
of sin, there is a great gulf fixed between God and man, which neither God nor
man can cross.
·
The holy Lord God, in and of himself, in his essential Being as God,
because he is righteous, just and true, can never span that great gulf and come
down to sinful man. Neither can he bring sinful man up to himself.
·
And sinful man, because of his sin, can never span that great gulf and
arise to God. Neither can we bring God down to us.
·
Depraved, helpless and condemned, all men and women by nature are
banished from God in this world, and must be banished from God forever in the
world to come, unless a holy man can be found who is equal to God himself and
able “able to make reconciliation for the
sins of the people.”
Unless there is a daysman
found who can stand between the holy God and sinful man, we are all without
hope. Unless there is a Mediator found, who can lay his hand upon the holy God
and upon guilty sinners to bring God and man together, we all must be forever
banished from the presence of God in hell. Unless there is a priest found who
can fully satisfy the justice of God by making an effectual atonement for sin,
sinful man must forever die. Blessed be God, such a Priest has been found! He
is Jesus Christ our Lord, the Son of God.
Tonight,
I want, by the grace of God, to show you some of the beauty and glory of the
office and work of Christ our High Priest, as he
is described in Hebrews 2:17-18.
“Wherefore in all things it behooved him
to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful
high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of
the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to
succour them that are tempted.”
Proposition: The
Lord Jesus Christ became a man so that he might be a merciful and faithful high
priest such as we need, to reconcile us to God and enable us to overcome
temptation.
Divisions: In
these two verses of Scripture, the Holy Spirit reveals five things about Christ
Our High Priest. May he be pleased to inscribe these five things
upon our hearts.
1.
The Lord Jesus Christ was appointed by God to be our great High Priest.
2.
In order to be our great High Priest, the Son of God had to be made
like unto his brethren.
3.
The principal work of Christ as our great High Priest was to make
reconciliation, or atonement, for sin.
4.
Christ our great High Priest in heaven is able to succour his tempted
people.
5.
It is the privilege and responsibility of those who are tempted to call
upon Christ for help and relief.
I. The first thing we are
taught here is that The Lord Jesus Christ was Appointed by God to
be our great High priest.
The word, “wherefore”, does not refer to what Paul has said, but to what he is
about to say. He has shown us how that Christ is superior to angels, and that
he came into the world, not to redeem fallen angels, but to redeem fallen men.
And now he is about to show us how that Christ is superior to Moses, Joshua,
and Aaron, as the almighty, effectual Savior of his people. He begins by telling us that it was
necessary for Christ to be made like those people whom he came to save, so that
he might be our great High Priest in things pertaining to God.
Christ
did not assume this office on his own. He was called, appointed and anointed to
it by God the Father in the covenant of grace before the world began (Heb. 5:1,
4-5). Christ was made a Priest by the oath of God himself (Psa. 110:4).
Hebrews 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:"
Hebrews 5:4-5 "And no man taketh this honour unto
himself, but he that is called of God, as was
Aaron. (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."
Psalms 110:4 "The LORD hath sworn, and will not
repent, Thou art a priest for ever
after the order of Melchizedek."
Yet, the Son of God
voluntarily agreed to become our Priest and to fulfil all that God required to
reconcile us unto himself. He said, “Sacrifice
and offering thou wouldest not.” The sacrifices of slain beasts offered by
sinful men cannot atone for human sin. “But
a body hast thou prepared me,” in the everlasting covenant of grace, which
I am ready, at the appointed time, to assume and to offer up as a sacrifice to
Divine justice for the sins of my people (Heb. 10:5).
“These eternal decrees and
mutual transactions, wrote John Gill,
are the basis and foundation of Christ’s priesthood, and made it sure and
certain.”
A. In the prophetic Scriptures of the Old Testament
Christ was spoken of as a priest.
The promised Messiah of the Old Testament was
to be One who would be a prophet like Moses, a King like David and a Priest
like Melchizedek.
·
In 1 Samuel 2:35, the Lord God says, “I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that
which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and
he shall walk before mine anointed forever.”
·
In Psalm 110:4, David says, “The
Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order
of Melchizedek.”
·
In Zechariah 6:12-13, the Lord of hosts says, “Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of
his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord; Even he shall build the
temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon
his throne; and he shall be a priest
upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”
In addition to the plain prophecies that
Christ should be a Priest, his priestly work is spoken of in many of the Old
Testament scriptures.
·
Isaiah tells us that God would “make his soul an offering for sin” and
that he would “make intercession for the
transgressors” (53:10, 12).
·
Ezekiel describes Christ as One
clothed in the garments of priesthood, “the
man clothed with linen” (9:3).
·
And Daniel describes him in
the same words, saying, “Behold a certain
Man clothed in linen” (10:5).
B. In addition to the
prophecies of the Old Testament, the
priesthood of Christ was foreshadowed by the typical priests of that
dispensation.
There never was but one Priest by whom
transactions might be made with God, and he is Christ. All others appointed to
the priestly office were called priests, because they represented, pointed to,
and foreshadowed Christ the true Priest. Only Christ could atone for sin, turn
away the wrath of God, and bring men to God in reconciliation. But all the
typical priests of the Old Testament, in their way, represented Christ our
great High Priest.
1.
The most eminent type of
Christ as our Priest in the Old Testament was “Melchizedek, king of Salem, and priest of the most high God” (Gen.
14:18).
The
Book of Hebrews tells us three times that Christ is a Priest, not after the
order of Aaron, but after the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 5:10; 6:20; 7:17).
This man, Melchizedek, met Abraham when he returned from the slaughter of the
kings, by whom Abraham was blessed and to whom gave tithes of all that he
possessed. And he was a remarkable type of Christ.
·
He was called the King of Salem, the King of Peace.
·
He was called the King of Righteousness.
·
He had neither father nor mother, beginning of days, nor end of life.
·
He was made a priest by the direct ordinance of God himself.
·
His priesthood is perpetual, unchanging and endless[2].
2.
Aaron, the high priest of
Israel, was also a clear type of Christ, our great High Priest.
When
Christ came, the Aaronic order was forever abolished. But Aaron served to
typify and represent Christ throughout the Mosaic age. Like Aaron…--
a.
Christ was chosen from among his brethren.
b.
He was separated by a holy anointing.
c.
The Lord Jesus offered a sacrifice of atonement to God.
d.
He entered into the holy place with the blood of atonement.
e.
The Lord Jesus Christ performed his work alone.
f.
He is our Spokesman.
g.
He carries the incense of his intercession with his blood into the holy
place.
h.
Christ blesses his people on the basis of the atonement he has made.
i.
The Lord Jesus Christ represents and performs his work for a specific,
chosen people -- The Israel of God, wearing our names upon his breastplate (1
John 2:1-2).
3.
All the common, Levitical
priests were also types of Christ.
Like
Christ, they were ordained from among men and for men, to offer gifts and
sacrifices to God on the behalf of the people. Of course, in many ways, the
typical priests were clearly inferior to Christ. The type is never perfect.
·
They were many; but Christ is One.
·
They offered many sacrifices; Christ offered one sacrifice.
·
They could never put away sin; Christ did.
4. In fact, all the sacrifices offered to God from the
beginning of the world were typical of and pointed to the one great sacrifice
of Christ our High Priest.
a.
The sacrifice of Abel was offered up in faith, anticipating the
sacrifice of Christ.
b.
The sacrifices of Noah, as pictures of Christ, offered by faith in him,
were sacrifices of a sweet-smelling savor to God.
c.
The sacrifice Abraham made upon the mount, in the stead of Isaac, was a
picture of Christ, our substitutionary victim.
d.
The passover lamb was a type of Christ our Passover sacrificed for us.
e.
The daily sacrifices, offered morning and evening, pointed to Christ,
whose one sacrifice for sin, being effectual, is of perpetual merit to God.
NOTE: Christ
is the only priest God will accept and the only sacrifice God will accept. And
when he came, he put an end to all the priests and sacrifices that pointed to
him. Those priests and sacrifices existed for no purpose, except to point to
and portray Christ.
This
is the first thing the Holy Spirit teaches us in our text: The Lord Jesus
Christ was appointed by God to be our great High Priest.
Hebrews
2:17-18 "Wherefore in all things it behooved him
to be made like unto his brethren,
that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make
reconciliation for the sins of the people.
(18) For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to
succour them that are tempted."
II. Secondly, In Order to be our great High Priest, the Son of God had to be made
like unto his brethren.
That is the meaning of these words: “In all things it behooved him to be made
like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in
things pertaining to God.”
Christ could
be our Prophet without becoming a man. And he could be our King without
becoming a man. But in order to be our Priest, in order to be a merciful and
faithful high priest, in order to make reconciliation for the sins of his
people, the Son of God had to become one of us!
If he had not become one of
us, he would have had nothing to offer God by which to make atonement for our
sins (Heb. 8:3).
Hebrews 8:1-3 "Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high
priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; (2) A minister of the sanctuary, and of
the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. (3) For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and
sacrifices: wherefore it is of
necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer."
A priest without a sacrifice
is like a king without a subject. Had God not prepared his Son a body, he would
have had no sacrifice for sin. He must have a body to sacrifice, or his
priesthood would be as vain, empty, and meaningless, as the priests of Baal, of
Buddha, or of Rome. Being called a priest would be a mockery of him, not a work
honoring to him, if he had no sacrifice to offer upon God’s altar. Christ our
God became a man so that he might be sacrificed to purge our sins.
NOTE: Christ
did not have to be our Priest. But if he would be our priest, he had to become
a man.
A. The Lord of glory was made like unto his brethren.
Those
words describe our Savior’s humiliation on our behalf. They speak not only of
his incarnation, but of his life of humiliation, suffering, pain, and sorrow on
our behalf. Not only did the Son of God become one of us, he became one with
us.
NOTE: We
are Christ’s brethren by Divine adoption. And everything the Son of God does,
he does for the glory of his Father and the good of his brethren.
1.
Christ was made like unto
his brethren in the essence of our human nature by his incarnation (1 Tim. 2:5).
1 Timothy 2:5 "For there
is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus;"
Our
Lord had a real human body, a real human soul, a real human heart, with real
human feelings, emotions, and needs. The only difference between Christ and his
people is that he had no sin. His body was not bigger, stronger, or more
impressive than any other man’s. The experiences of life touched him and moved
him, just as they do us. He was and is a real man.
2.
Christ was made like unto us
in the temptations he endured as a man (Heb. 4:15).
Hebrews 4:15 "For we have not an high priest which
cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points
tempted like as we are, yet without
sin."
He
was tempted in all points like as we are, only with this one glorious
exception, he had no sin. By-in-large our temptations arise from within, from
our inward unbelief and lusts. And even those temptations that arise from
without find a ready and willing companion within. But our Savior’s temptations
were like Adam’s temptation in the Garden. He had no inward inclination to do
evil. Yet, his temptations were real.
3.
Our Lord was made like unto
us in the things which he suffered, too (Heb. 5:7-9).
Hebrews 5:7-9 "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; (8) Though he were a Son, yet learned
he obedience by the things which he suffered; (9) And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal
salvation unto all them that obey him;"
What
do you suffer? Christ has suffered that. He knows what it is to be hungry,
thirsty, tormented with pain, slandered by his enemies, misunderstood by his
family, despised by his kin, deserted by his companions, betrayed by his
friend, denied by his disciple, put to public shame, scandalized and
reproached, and forsaken by his Father.
4.
And the Son of God was made
like unto us in the death that he died (1 Pet. 3:18).
1 Peter 3:18 "For Christ also hath once suffered for
sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to
death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:"
The
Son of God, the Lord of glory, died the death that we should have died,
deserved to die and must have died, had he not died in our place, the Just for
the unjust, that he might bring us to God.
B. It is this conformity to us that qualifies our Lord
to be the kind of Priest we need.
He was made a man that he might be our High
Priest. And he suffered, being tempted as a man, that he might be “a merciful and faithful High Priest.”
1.
Christ is moved to
compassion and pity by the things that we suffer, being touched with the
feeling of our infirmities, because he has also suffered those very things. He is merciful, not only
because it is his will as God to be merciful, but also because he has a fellow
feeling with those who need mercy.
2.
And our Lord faithfully
shows mercy to us, because the things he suffered, he suffered specifically and
distinctly for us.
He
exercises constant care for all the concerns of his brethren. He lovingly
condescends to the wants and sorrows of his suffering, tempted brethren (Isa.
40:11). Because his compassion does not fail, his faithfulness is great.
Isaiah 40:11 "He shall feed his flock like a
shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young."
C. Such is the unspeakable love of Christ for us that
he willingly endured all that was necessary for his to be our merciful and
faithful High Priest.
Like Jacob because of his love to Rachel, our
Lord was content to submit to any terms, to undergo any sorrow, to meet any
conditions, that he might save and enjoy his beloved bride (Eph. 5:25-26).
Ephesians
5:25-27 "Husbands, love your wives, even as
Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; (26) That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of
water by the word, (27) That he might
present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any
such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."
The
Lord Jesus Christ is our great High Priest, a Priest ordained, appointed, and
anointed of God the Father, a Priest worthy of Divine acceptance because he is
himself God, and a Priest made like unto his brethren, a Priest who is one of f
us, God in our flesh!
III. Now, look at the text again,
and I will show you, third, that The
principal, primary work of Christ as our great High Priest was to make
reconciliation, or atonement, for the sins of his people. He is “merciful and faithful in things pertaining
to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.”
The High Priest is one who reconciles God and
his sinful people by making an atonement for the sins of the people. This
reconciliation, or atonement for sin, is the primary work of Christ our great
High Priest (1 John 2:1-2). Christ’s atonement for sin is the foundation and
source of all his other works as our High Priest.
1 John 2:1-2 "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: (2) And
he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."
By
the sacrifice of himself at Calvary as our Substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ
has faithfully executed his office as our High Priest in things pertaining to
God and effectually reconciled us to God by the blood of his cross; for by that
precious blood he has put away our sins (Heb. 9:12, 28; Rom. 3:24-26).
Romans 3:24-26 "Being justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: (25) Whom God hath set forth to
be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness
for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; (26) To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and
the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."
Hebrews 9:12 "Neither by the blood of goats and
calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having
obtained eternal redemption for us."
Hebrews 9:28 "So Christ was once offered to bear the
sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time
without sin unto salvation."
Atonement
has been made, reconciliation has been accomplished by the sacrifice of Christ
at Calvary. But, if we are to understand the nature of Christ’s sacrifice and
the efficacy of his atonement, certain questions must be answered.
A. Who was the Sacrificer?
Christ is the Priest. Christ is the Altar.
And Christ is the Sacrifice. Christ offered himself to God. He gave himself an
offering and a sacrifice of sweet smelling savor (Heb. 9:14; Eph. 5:2).
Ephesians 5:2 "Christ also hath loved us, and hath
given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling
savoir."
Hebrews 9:14 "How much more shall the blood of
Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God,
purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"
It is
true, the sword of justice slew our Savior. But he is the One in whose hand the
sword of justice is, for he is God. Our Lord was not made to die by any hand
but his own. He gave up the ghost. He laid down his life by his own will.
B. What was the sacrifice by which atonement was made?
Christ gave himself, body and soul, into the
hands of justice, to die as a man for our sins. He laid down his life for us
(John 10:17-18; 1 John 3:16).
John 10:17-18 "Therefore doth my Father love me,
because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. (18) No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have
power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have
I received of my Father."
1 John 3:16 "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life
for us: and we ought to lay down our lives
for the brethren."
His
human nature was the sacrifice. His divine nature was the altar which
sanctified the gift and gave it virtue and efficacy to atone for sin.
C. To whom was the sacrifice for sin offered?
Our Lord did not offer himself to Satan. And
he does not offer himself to man. He by the eternal Spirit offered himself to
God as a sacrifice for sin (Heb. 9:14).
1.
Sin is committed against God, therefore the sacrifice must be made to
God.
2.
It is God whose justice must be satisfied.
D. For whom was the sacrifice offered?
It was offered for “the people”, Christ’s brethren, his elect, “the seed of Abraham.” Aaron was not a high priest for all men in
general, but for all of Israel in particular. And Christ is not a Priest for
all men in general, but for the people of God, the Israel of God in particular.
1.
Christ offered sacrifice for those for whom he makes intercession (John
17:9, 20).
2.
And he offered sacrifice for those whose sins are purged, for whom
atonement has been made, and who are reconciled to God.
3.
The sacrifice was offered for those who by faith receive the atonement
(Rom. 5:11).
Romans 5:1-11
1.
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ:
2.
By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand,
and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3.
And not only so, but we glory
in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
4.
And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
5.
And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in
our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
6.
For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the
ungodly.
7.
For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a
good man some would even dare to die.
8.
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us.
9.
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved
from wrath through him.
10. For if, when we were enemies, we were
reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we
shall be saved by his life.
11. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom
we have now received the atonement.
E. What is the result of Christ’s sin atoning sacrifice?
Christ is a High Priest of good things to come
(Heb. 9:11). So what good things come to his people as the result of his
priesthood and his sacrifice?
1.
The full pardon of sin (Eph. 1:7).
2.
Eternal redemption (Tit. 2:14).
3.
Complete justification (Rom. 3:24).
4.
Perfect sanctification (Heb. 10:10-14).
5.
Peace and reconciliation with God (Rom. 5:10).
6.
Eternal salvation (Heb. 5:9-10).
Hebrews 5:9-10 "And being made perfect, he became the
author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; (10) Called of God an high priest after the order of
Melchisedec."
NOTE: Those
who weaken, oppose, or deny the efficacy of Christ’s sacrifice and the
reconciliation he has made are enemies to the souls of men, enemies to the
honor of Christ, and enemies to the glory of God. Either the Son of God
accomplished redemption for his people and effectually reconciled them to God,
or he is no Savior.
IV. Fourthly, the Holy Spirit tells us, in Hebrews 2:16-17, that Christ,
our great High Priest in heaven, is able to succour his tempted people.
Look at verse 18. -- I hope you can get hold of
this, and learn to cast all your care upon him who cares for you. “For in that he himself hath suffered being
tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.” Because Christ is
such a great High Priest, he is able to help us. And he helps us principally in
three ways:
A. Christ ever lives to make effectual intercession for
us (Heb. 7:24-25).
Hebrews
7:24-25 "But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. (25) Wherefore he is able also to save
them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make
intercession for them."
Our
Lord’s presence in heaven is a perpetual and just intercession for the people
he represents. His plea before God is his blood. And his plea is effectual. On
the basis of his one sacrifice for sin, our great High Priest perpetually asks
three things for his people:
1.
The Salvation Of Those Sinners For Whom His Blood Was Shed.
2.
The Non-Imputation Of Sin To His Weak, Helpless, Sinful People.
3.
The Glorification Of His Believing Brethren.
B. Christ also helps us by meeting our needs in time of
trial and temptation (Isa. 43:1-5; 1 Cor. 10:13).
Isaiah 43:1-5 "But now thus saith the LORD that
created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have
redeemed thee, I have called thee by
thy name; thou art mine. (2) When thou passest through the
waters, I will be with thee; and
through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. (3) For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave
Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and
Seba for thee. (4) Since thou wast
precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee:
therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. (5) Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from
the east, and gather thee from the west;"
1 Corinthians
10:13 "There hath no temptation taken you but
such as is common to man: but God is faithful,
who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the
temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."
1.
He gives us strength to withstand the tempter’s power.
2.
He gives us consolation in the midst of trial.
3.
He gives us deliverance at the time appointed.
C. And Christ helps us by effectually conferring upon
us and communicating to us the blessings of his grace, based upon his sacrifice
for sin (Num. 6:24-26).
Numbers
6:24-27 "The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: (25) The LORD make his face shine upon
thee, and be gracious unto thee: (26) The
LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. (27) And they shall put my name upon
the children of Israel; and I will bless them."
Aaron
pointed to the blood upon the mercy-seat; but Christ points us to his own blood
and to himself (The True Passover And True Mercy-Seat) and speaks words of
comfort to our hearts, assuring us of his acceptance as our Priest and our
acceptance with God in him.
V. In the last place, our text shows
us that It is the privilege and responsibility of those who are tempted to
call upon Christ for help and relief.
The word “succour”
implies a call for help. It is help for those who call. Do you need help? Does
it seem that Satan has you in his grasp? Are you tempted and tried? Are you
weak and helpless? Christ is a great High Priest for men and women like you. He
bids you to call upon him in time of need. And he promises help to all who do
(Heb. 4:15-16).
Hebrews
4:15-16 "For we have not an high priest which
cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points
tempted like as we are, yet without
sin. (16) Let us therefore come
boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to
help in time of need."
Application: This
is Christ our High Priest. There is no priest like him.
1.
Christ alone is a Priest ordained of God.
2.
Christ alone has something to offer God.
3.
Christ alone has made atonement for sin.
4.
Christ alone never changes.
5.
Christ alone can help needy sinners.
AMEN.
[1] Misc. Sermon #764 preached at Danville 01/17/88, St. Lucia 02/10/88
[2] It seems to me that there is good reason to believe that Melchizedek was more than a type of Christ, like Aaron. Rather, This man, Melchizedek, was none other than the Lord Jesus Christ himself (Heb. 7:1-4, 8).
Hebrews 7:1-8 "For this Melchisedec, king of Salem,
priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of
the kings, and blessed him; (2) To
whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King
of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; (3) Without father, without mother,
without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made
like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. (4) Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the
spoils." --- (8) "And here men that die receive tithes;
but there he receiveth them, of whom
it is witnessed that he liveth."