Jesus Christ is presented as a superior High Priest, surpassing Old Testament figures like prophets, angels, Moses, and Joshua. Unlike human high priests who are flawed and appointed from among men, Christ was divinely called and perfectly qualified through his obedience learned through suffering. His priesthood is superior because it is eternal, established by God's oath, and leads to salvation. The sermon emphasizes Christ's compassion, his ability to sympathize with human infirmity, and his role as the author of eternal salvation, urging believers to approach God's throne with boldness through him.
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Let's turn to Hebrews chapter five, shall we? Hebrews chapter five. Now there are thirteen chapters in the epistle to the Hebrews and we just at chapter five and verse one. Now the practical parts of our studies have been in the mornings when we've been studying the insertions that occur in between some of these these areas that we are dealing with. By the time we get to chapter five, we have read three of those insertions. Now the third we haven't yet studied, we'll be looking at it tomorrow.
Therefore, let us labor or be diligent. Now these are very, very practical sections. There is, as you know, a practical section to the epistle as a whole, but we don't seem to be arriving at it very fast. Can I just remind you that we have divided the epistle into two parts, and chapter nine and verse eighteen is the dividing line. This brings to an end the first long section in which the subject is the person of Christ.
From verse nineteen of chapter ten to the end of chapter thirteen the subject is the practice of Christianity. In the first long section the Lord Jesus is presented to us in the first two chapters as a revelation of God. And he's better, so much better than the prophets, says the writer in that section. And we all know how wonderful the prophets were. We like to read their history. We like to see how God worked through them. We like to realize what a vitally important part they played in God's program.
But he's better than the prophets. And we've all read so many things that have thrilled us and sometimes mysticized us, sometimes caused us to stop and read over again about the angels. Things that have startled us, things that have challenged us, things that have encouraged us. If the prophets were wonderful, No less so were the angels. And yet the Lord Jesus is so much better than the angels. That's the theme of the writer in the first two chapters as he presents the Lord Jesus as a revelation of God.
In the next two chapters, chapters three and four, where the Lord Jesus is presented as a savior from God, he is seen to be... so much better than Moses. And what can we say about Moses? God pays him the highest compliment. He was the friend of God. So many wonderful things we read about Moses. So many, many things. So much of the Old Testament is taken up with the story of Moses. And yet he's so much better than Moses. And then in our chapter there, There's a mention of Joshua.
It's not a very long one. But we know something of the exploits of Joshua. And we read them. And we read them again. Because they become a personal challenge to us. We see how Joshua took his stand. Made his choice. Challenged the people. And stood for God. Wonderful man was Joshua. But the Lord Jesus is so much better than Joshua. Now we come to chapter five. We've been introduced to the topic at the end of chapter four, you'll remember. The one who has been presented to us as a revelation of God and as a Savior from God, he's now brought before us as a high priest before God.
I hope you were thinking about those words in those lovely hymns as we sang them, presenting to us in hymnology our great high priest. You'll remember in verse fourteen of chapter four, we noted a statement that was very clear and definite and threefold. We have a great high priest. He is passed into the heavens, that is, the heavenly holiest of all. And he is Jesus, the Son of God.
And then in verse fifteen we saw how his was an experience that qualified him to be our great high priest. He was tested and he can be touched. And the word Sumpathio reminds us of what a sympathetic Lord Jesus we have as our Saviour. When we come to verse sixteen, we see how logically God having provided so much for us in the Lord Jesus expects us to make use of it.
So he says, come boldly to the throne of grace, because there we'll find grace to help in the nick of time. Now in those three verses we have the introduction of Christ as high priest. And our topic from here through to the end of chapter seven is the better priesthood. As we go on into eight and nine, and part of ten, we have in chapter eight, the better covenant. In chapter nine, the better sanctuary. And in chapter nine, again, the end of the chapter, the better sacrifice.
All of the time, better. Because these are the things that pertain to the person of the Lord Jesus as the great high priest. The priesthood is better, the covenant is better, the sanctuary is better, and the sacrifice is better. Constantly that bell is rung, and the thought of his superiority is underscored and emphasized. So we've had the introduction of Christ as high priest at the end of chapter four. Now I want you to notice three other things.
The last one we shall probably only be able to mention, and we'll deal with that tomorrow night if the Lord will. Following the introduction of Christ as high priest, we have the supremacy of Christ as high priest. That takes us through to verse ten. And then we have the function of Christ as high priest. In chapter six, After the insertion that begins in chapter six, therefore go on. And then finally in chapter seven, we have the illustration of Christ as high priest. And you remember the name of that priest, that high priest.
His name was Melchizedek, and we'll come to him, God willing, tomorrow night. Maybe we'll be able to talk about him just a little tonight if we don't linger too long today. in these other areas. Let's take a look then at the supremacy of the Lord Jesus as High Priest. Chapter five, verses one through ten. I'm going to read them to you. 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. who can have compassion.
The margin says, can reasonably bear with the ignorant, and on them who are out of the way, for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. And by reason hereof, he ought as for the people, so also for himself to offer for sin. Now it's very, very obvious in reading this about the human high priest how far short he comes of our high priest. We're going to go back to that. Let's read on.
And no man taketh his honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. So also Christ. glorified not himself to be made in high priest. But he that saith unto him, Thou art my son, today have I begotten thee, as he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek, who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears under him that was able to save him from death and was heard in that he feared, though he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.
Don't for an instant imagine there was ever a moment when the Lord Jesus was not obedient. But the thought is that he, having become a man, he learned the cost of obedience by the things which he suffered. And being made perfect, that is, in that fashion, complete, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him, called of God an high priest after the order of Melchizedek. of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing."
Now in the verses one through four here in chapter five, we have the high priesthood explained. And in the verses five to ten, we have the great high priest presented. Look at the first four verses. It is obvious right at the very beginning that these high priests were human, for every high priest taken from among men. Also they were appointed. That word ordained means they were appointed, and you will notice They were appointed for men and not by men to God for the business of offering gifts and sacrifices.
They were human, they were appointed, and they were very responsible. They had to offer up sacrifices. and gifts. Now I don't know whether you realize it, but the high priest in the old order, under the old economy, also functioned as a priest. He was a very busy man. Sometimes when we hear the expression the high priest, we think immediately, of his entry once a year into the holiest of all on the day of atonement, and we talked about that, and that was his most solemn responsibility and obligation and duty.
But he did not just work one day in the year. In the early books of the Old Testament we find, in the ceremony of the scapegoat, the high priest was expected to take part. When the regular meal offering was offered, again the high priest had a part. He had also a share in tending the lamp of perpetual burning that we read about in Exodus or Leviticus, and it was his job to arrange the showbread.
He was a mediator for the tribes. And you remember reading in the Old Testament about the breastplate and about Urim and Thomin? My those mysterious things, only the priest wore the breastplate, the high priest wore the breastplate and consulted Urim and Thomin. and consequently his decisions were binding upon the children of Israel. He was a very busy man. So the high priest or the high priesthood is explained to us.
But the Spirit of God adds this, this man has to be the kind of man who can have compassion. He needs to be a patient man who can reasonably bear with it. Not all the high priests were patient men, and if they weren't, they failed in their obligation to God. It says who can have compassion on the ignorant and on them that are out of the way. What a wonderful thing it is. For those of us who as responsible priests can have compassion upon those who have erred and strayed, it's very easy to be critical of those who seem to be a little off-center.
It's very, very easy to be harsh when we are talking about, thinking about, Those that are ignorant, as the word of God says, don't seem to have quite the light that we have. The high priest had to be a very patient man. Why not? His God was a very patient God. And you know, you and I are not going to accomplish anything. In touching the lives of others, in bringing blessing into the lives of others, in seeking their restoration for God, if we are not first and foremost compassionate and patient.
Oh, how often I have to pull myself up short. This man was expected to have compassion. he was also to be mindful. Very significantly, it says, he better have compassion, he better be patient, for he himself is compassed with infirmity. You know, it's very sad when we meet believers who look down their noses at us and say, You haven't yet arrived.
You haven't had this experience, or you haven't had that experience. That's an indication to me that there's a spiritual problem somewhere. Because the spiritually mature man or woman does not look down upon another person. And imagine that they've arrived, or the other person is a long way away. We're all compassed about with infirmity. And never can we point the finger at another. Dan Crawford was a missionary.
I don't know whether you've read his big, thick biography story of Africa called Thinking Black. How many of you have read that? Yes, there are seven or eight of us. How many of you have never seen it or even heard of it? It's out of print. You better get it from a secondhand bookstore. But among other things that intrigued me in that book was the picture of a hand pointing. And the story that Dan Crawford tells about trying to sort of pull the natives up short by pointing an accusing finger at them and telling them what God says about them that was bad.
And he couldn't understand why they chuckled. And when he was given the explanation, they said, you're pointing one finger at us and three at yourself, you must be three times as bad as we are. The high priest had to be mindful. He was compassed about with infirmity. and then he had to be faithful, offering up not only for the people, but also for his own sins. And says the word of God, no man taketh this honor unto himself, but is chosen of God. You know, the position of leadership in any sense in the church is something to which God must call an end.
If a man forces himself, into a place of leadership in the Church of God, that man is going to come to grief and he's going to bring many down with him. It's a solemn thing to be called of God, because to be called of God into a position of leadership in the Church is to become a servant of everybody in the Church. That's how then the High Priesthood is explained for us. Now look how the great high priest is presented. So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest, but he that saith unto him, thou art my son today, have I begotten thee, saith also in another place, thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
Didn't the Lord Jesus say, I do always the things that please the Father? And although he was God, and God the Son, as the Son, in order to bring about the purposes of the triune God, he willingly and joyously submitted to his Father, and never failed in any instant to do his perfect will. Now it says in this verse, God glorified him. He glorified him in making him an high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
He honored him when he said, thou art my son, today have I begotten thee. I think we've covered this before. There is a little verse, thirty-three in chapter thirteen of Acts, which explains that verse. It has nothing to do with the incarnation. It has to do with the resurrection. And if you'll read Acts thirteen and thirty-three, it'll clear up the matter once and for all for you. Never associate this verse. And this word begotten with the incarnation. It refers to the resurrection, part of God's honoring of the Son. If he had never risen from the dead, how could he be a great high priest and a priest after the order of Melchizedek?
It couldn't have happened, but God glorified him. And then you'll see that prayer fortified him. He 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. Prayer fortified him. You know that there are three occasions And this is one of them when the Lord Jesus, we are told, shed tears. I think he shed tears much more often than three times.
That's the kind of tender-hearted Lord Jesus that he was. I'm sure that when he saw the heartbreak of many of the people that were brought to him, he wept for them. It always touches me when I read the story of the leper, who, because he was a leper, had been separated from men, they wouldn't come near him. Before the Lord Jesus conceded to his request and cleansed him, it says, and to me it's very, very significant, the Lord Jesus put forth his hand and touched him.
Why? That didn't heal him. He spoke the word that healed him after that. That man had not been touched for many and many a day. And I believe it was the tender, compassionate heart of the Lord Jesus that bridged that gulf. And although he was a leper, he reached all his hand and he touched him. And it wouldn't surprise me if on that occasion the tears were running down his cheeks. But there are three occasions recorded of the tears of the Lord Jesus. One, of course, was at the grave of Lazarus. Jesus wept. The other was when he stood on the side of the Mount of Olives, looking over the city of Jerusalem.
He wept over it. And he cried, Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered your children as a hen gatherer her brood under her wings? But she would not. And he wept. And here in the Garden of Gethsemane, I believe, he wept. But don't imagine again for a moment it was because he was afraid of what was in front of him and sought to escape it. Never, not for a moment. The Lord Jesus, Dr. Stover, reminded us, was thinking about another couple.
when he said, Let this cup pass from me. If you look in Isaiah chapter fifty-three, some time at your leisure, you'll find that there are three mentions of grief. And if you'll think about them, you'll find that each of them fits in with one of these three occasions where the tears of the Lord Jesus are mentioned. And what did he do as he suffered? He prayed. and an angel came and strengthened him. But it was his communion with God that fortified him. Where else are you going to go to get courage and strength, especially in those times of crisis and emergency?
I just hope that we don't only go to God in times of emergence. like that man in the hospital, to whom a certain preacher was sent, and neither knew the other. But when the preacher went into his room and said to him, Your friend, Mr. So-and-so, asked me to come in and pray with you. A look of horror came across his face, and he said, What, has it come to that? You know, some of us, well, I've said it before and I say it because it speaks to my heart. We wait too long to pray.
I've told some of you the story. I keep repeating myself, don't I? About a man who became my brother Noel, courted one of my sisters and eventually married her. He was saved in Hong Kong while he was in the British Army. He came home on a furlough and he came to stay with us. And my sister was working, of course, and so he had to while away his days, while away the hours of the day waiting for her to return from her work. But however, I tried to while them away with him sometimes.
One day he said to me, let's go downtown. So we went downtown. And it was a warm day. Summer came on a Thursday that year. And I think that must have been a Thursday. Warm day. And as we went into that crowded store, Woolworths, he spotted a little dairy counter where they sold what we used to call ice cream wafers. I think you're much more sophisticated. You call them sandwiches. And so he said, would you like an ice cream? I said, I really would. And so he turned and I turned and he got the first sandwich and passed it to me and then he got the second sandwich and while he was paying for it, I had already turned, I was plunging into the crowd and he didn't follow me.
When I retraced my steps, he was standing beside that counter with his hat in his hand, one hand, and his ice cream wafer in the other one and his eyes closed in a crowded store. I learned to know that man and I found that because he knew how to pray about little things, emergencies never bowled him over. You know, that's what it means when it says to pray constantly, to pray incessant. It's a lesson we all need to learn.
I need to learn it particularly. God glorified him. Prayer, we are told here, fortified him. And then finally here, suffering magnified him. And that means made him magnificent. The Lord Jesus... was always wonderful. We were hearing that at the nursing home this afternoon. His name shall be called Wonderful. I used to try to teach the choir. In fact, they learned it. That word wonderful is a wonderful word because you can give it such expression. It's wonderful. You can sing it that way. And the Lord Jesus was always wonderful.
But there were some occasions in which he seemed to be even more magnificent than others. and during the period of his sufferings that was certainly so. That's the reason why we sing sometimes around the table, Jesus, Lord, I'm never weary, looking on my cross and shame, gazing there I seem so near thee, dear to me each drop of pain, ever near thee, lingering here would I remain. Why? because the Lord Jesus is never more magnificent to our hearts than we by faith see him on the cross.
The superiority or supremacy of Christ as high priest. So we've had the introduction of him and we've had the supremacy of him as high priest. Now thirdly, here is the function of Christ as high priest. Our insertion comes in, so we must turn over the page and look at verse thirteen. When God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he swear by himself, saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee, and so, after he had, that is, Abraham, had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
for men verily swear by the greater. And an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Now those four verses have to do with Abraham and God's promise to Abraham and the confirmation of that promise with an oath. Now look at the next four verses. Where in God's promise? willing abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability, that is the changelessness of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath. That by two immutable or changeless unchanging things, that is the promise and the oath, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope said before us.
Now that strong consolation is really a great encouragement. I always love these portions of the Word of God that speak about encouragement. Because as I was reminding some of you this morning, the devil has a tremendous tool. in discouragement because he can get it into places to start the door opening where gross sin would never be successful, where vile things would never be successful, where real doubts would never be successful but discouragement. That's another thing because we are all of us so prone to become discouraged.
But why? When God has made us a promise, and confirmed it with an oath, and as we know cannot lie, intends these things to be a great and constant and continual encouragement. What an honored and fortunate people we are. But then it speaks of laying hold upon the hope set before us. laying hold upon the hope which is set before us, which hope we have as an anchor of the soul both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.
Now we are moored to an immovable object, which is more than Mr. Gilbert's boat was today, for it either slipped its anchor or broke its rope and wandered away And I saw him making the trek to find it and bring it back. Never going to happen to us. We are moored to an immovable object. And that object is the throne of God. No wonder this is spoken of as a hope, like an anchor both sure and steadfast.
Again, what's the hope? It's the promise. combined with the oath of God who cannot lie. Why then do we sometimes, in our times of distress or depression or temptation, begin to doubt? It isn't honoring to God, you know. He has made us a promise. He's confirmed it with an oath. And he sustains it by his intercession. Look at verse twenty. That veil, inside the veil that is into the place of the divine and perfect, holiest of all, heaven itself, the forerunner is for us entered.
The earthly temple, as you know, lost its separation between the holy place, and the holiest of all. We made comment about that this morning, because when the veil of the temple was rent in twain, there was no longer separation and it was all one place. It's very interesting because there is an expression used here, which is translated holiest, which is really the holy place, because both became one. Now then, as far as heaven is concerned, There is, of course, the holiest of all, an hour forerunner.
Even Jesus, made an high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, has entered as a guarantee that one day we're going to be there. Here we have them. The introduction of Christ as high priest, the supremacy of Christ as high priest, The function of Christ as High Priest. And when we come to chapter seven, we'll have the illustration of Christ as High Priest. Just look at that chapter. Let me point something out to you, and you can be reading the chapter sometime tomorrow if you choose.
A little expression in verse one of chapter seven. This Melchizedek. Now you can read about him in the early part of the Old Testament. We'll make reference to it. He's mentioned several times in this epistle. But here we have brought face to face with him this Melchizedek. Go a little further down the chapter and notice another expression, verse twenty-four. This man. And that, of course, is a reference to the Lord Jesus.
So we have the type in this Melchizedek. And we have the fulfillment of the type in this man. More about it, God willing, tomorrow. Shall we pray? Our Heavenly Father, again we want to thank you from our hearts for the measure in which we understand and we appreciate and worship the one who is called so much better. We commend ourselves to the Our Father, and we pray that our intimacy with the one about whom we are thinking and studying, might grow until he fills all of our vision and we are living wholly and entirely for him.