Written ~ 11-15-2024
Read Hebrews Chapter Five
Hebrews 5
In both the third and fourth chapters of Hebrews we had brief mentioning that Jesus is the ultimate High Priest. In chapter five we will go into a little more detail about the role of the high priest and hopefully we can learn something new through these details that can be applied to our lives today.
We will also hear the mention about the order of Melchizedek, for that explanation we will need to go back into the Old Testament to find out a little more about what that order is and who Melchizedek was… as a head’s up, in chapter seven we will learn a great deal more about this order of Melchizedek, so for today we will only touch on that subject briefly.
The Jewish people had an appointed high priest, it was his role within the community to bring sacrifices to the Lord on behalf of the people and also for himself.
Hebrews 5:1-4…
1 “Every high priest is a man chosen to represent other people in their dealings with God. He presents their gifts to God and offers sacrifices for their sins. 2 And he is able to deal gently with ignorant and wayward people because he himself is subject to the same weaknesses. 3 That is why he must offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as theirs. 4 And no one can become a high priest simply because he wants such an honor. He must be called by God for this work, just as Aaron was.”
So, let’s think about the man who is chosen to be high priest. He was the one who would have had a specific calling on his life from the Lord. This wasn’t a position any man could obtain. No, God was the one who appointed the high priest. Aaron, the brother of Moses was the first selected by God to be high priest. From Aaron, who was a descendant in the tribe of Levi, then through his sons and each generation thereafter, the high priest was chosen from this lineage. In Numbers 17:1-13 you can read how God confirmed Aaron as high priest. Then in Numbers 18:1-32 you can read about all the duties assigned to Aaron, his sons and the tribe of Levi. In Exodus 28:1, while Moses was speaking with the Lord on Mount Sinai, we see Aaron and his sons being called and set apart as God’s chosen priests.
The problem with a man being chosen for this position, was his own shortcomings, he too could fall into sin. That’s what happened to Aaron, the people of Israel were able to lead him astray which caused him to make an almost life ending mistake by sculpting a golden calf for the people to worship. This was not a good day for Aaron. You can read the whole story in Exodus chapter 32.
What’s the point of all of this? To establish fact…man is fallible. When the high priest presented the sacrifices for the people and for himself, it was not a one and done occasion. Presenting sacrifices to God was done on a continual basis. There would never be a sacrifice good enough to cleanse the people of their sin once and for all, even though God appointed the high priest Himself.
Until…Christ Jesus, through the appointing of the Almighty God, He became the final High Priest.
Hebrews 5:5-6…
5 “That is why Christ did not honor Himself by assuming He could become High Priest. No, He was chosen by God, who said to Him,
“You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.”
6 And in another passage God said to Him,
“You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
Here is the first mention of the order of Melchizedek, in a brief explanation, Melchizedek was the High Priest appointed by God during the time of Abraham, he also happened to be king of Salem during this time (put a sticky note here, we will revisit the order of Melchizedek in chapter seven).
In verse 5:6, God said of His Son, “You are a priest forever…”
Hebrews 5:7-10…
7 “While Jesus was here on earth, He offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the One who could rescue Him from death. And God heard His prayers because of His deep reverence for God. 8 Even though Jesus was God’s Son, He learned obedience from the things He suffered. 9 In this way, God qualified Him as a perfect High Priest, and He became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey Him. 10 And God designated Him to be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.”
Where the sacrifices of men fell short, Jesus was found perfect, so God appointed Him as High Priest, forever. That means the sanctification which was trying to be achieved through burned offerings was no longer necessary. Jesus bore the sins of the world on His body, and He died to give us victory over sin and death, forever. Wouldn’t you agree this is an awesome thing to be grateful for! I cannot imagine having to bring a bloody sacrifice to the Lord each time I messed up. But… let’s not downplay this…Christ’s sacrifice is something we need to understand and think about. He changed the entire course of history when He died on the cross. Where command, tradition, ritual all pooled together in the sacrifices given by the high priest, we now have who Christ paid the price for all sin and did it willingly so we would be free of the old covenant, with that knowledge we should rejoice! If He hadn’t done that, the only way sin could be dealt with even today, would be through a sacrifice presented to the Lord. Again, we need to be grateful for the suffering Christ went through in order to bring us freedom from sin and death. Let’s live in that victory.
So when we know these truths… what are we supposed to do with this knowledge? Will we just go about our busy day and not think twice about the sacrifice Jesus made? Will we go about our day without even a hint of praise on our lips or on our hearts? The last section of chapter five should really give each of us something to think about…
Hebrews 5:11-14…
11 “There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. 12 You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. 13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. 14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.”
When we first come to the Lord and accept Him as our Savior, we have a joy that sometimes cannot be explained. Our yearning to know everything about Jesus and the Father burns brightly, deeply. We want to learn, soak up the words in the pages of the Bible like a sponge. The hole in our spirit, in our very soul has been filled with something we had longed for, searched for and now we feel complete. The piece has been found. The center piece of the puzzle has been put into place. Now the border, the surrounding pieces need to remain firm or the whole puzzle will fall apart.
Over time, it is quite possible that the burning in our spirit has been left unattended and is slowly going out. Things in life start stealing away the pieces of our puzzle that the Father had perfectly assembled. The centerpiece has always remained and will never be taken away, but life starts chipping away at the rest.
The author of Hebrews is telling us that some of us during the course of our lives, have become spiritually dull, we no longer listen to the Word of God as we did in the beginning. The author of Hebrews almost sounds a little disheartened to me. It’s like he just can’t believe that the growth in the Lord, the learning of the Holy Scriptures had been stunted. He was finding it difficult to explain the exciting wonders of the Bible to a people who had become dull and lacked knowledge; because of that he had to go back to teaching basic truths.
Now, I don’t think there is anything wrong with revisiting the basic truths of the Bible, it helps to refresh our spirit, remind us why we came to the saving power of Jesus Christ in the first place. But when we need to remind ourselves constantly because the light within us keeps burning out or we no longer want to absorb understanding from Scripture, that’s the evidence that shows we have become dull in our walk with the Lord and the knowledge of Scripture.
Verse 5:12 says, “You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word…” This verse should be convicting to all of us! Are we spiritual babies or can we handle the meat, the solid truths found in God’s Word! The author of Hebrews has been very clear in this passage. We need to examine ourselves… Are you hungry, famished… do you have that deep longing to devour the Word of God? Or do you only sample the “easy” verses (milk) but never dive into the entire Word (meat). There should be a level of progression in our learning of the Scriptures. I know for me… I want the meat, the solid food of the Word of God. I want to teach others what I have learned and place a hunger inside of them. I get excited when I read a Scripture and the Holy Spirit pours into me, like a shower from heaven! I feel refreshed, my day feels renewed! My eyes are open, my senses have been revived.
So, here’s the challenge for each of us…
Are you content with being a spiritual baby? Only able to consume a sweet smoothie?
Or are you ready to have an entire meal? With all the fixings? Meat, potatoes, all your favorite sides, spicy and flavorful!
Well, each of us have a choice. We cannot be on a spiritual “yo-yo diet” plan. This is one time in our lives where we can devour everything! To be full, stuffed with the Word of God! Satisfied, but still longing for more! For ME? I want to be spiritually obese! LOL… I want to know and learn all I can from every page of God’s Word!
I will not be content, stagnated, dull, consuming only milk. I do not want to remain as a “skin and bones” believer! It’s time to consume, go grow, to recognize the power of the entire Word of God!
Father in Heaven, Thank You for constantly placing within my heart the desire to feast on Your Words. I pray that I can help those in need of nourishment, to point them to the Scriptures so they can be fed. Thank You Holy Spirit for refreshing my life with Your Wisdom and Knowledge. And thank You Jesus, You paid an incredible price for my Salvation and I Praise You and I Thank You! Continue to guide me LORD, give me understanding as I pour over Your Scriptures, Your Inspired Word.
I love You Yeshua…
~AMEN~