Understanding the New and Living Way - Part 5

 

Understanding the New And Living Way 

Hebrews Chapter 5 v 1 -10

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. 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.”

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.

Aaron was Moses' brother, he was 3 years older.  The Jews held Moses and the Levitical Priesthood, given to the descendants of Aaron, to the highest honour.  God had called Aaron as the first High Priest to the Children of Israel and his descendants were set apart for the Priesthood.  You can read how God called Aaron and his descendants in Exodus 29. v 9

Wrap the sashes around the waists of Aaron and his sons, and put their special head coverings on them. Then the right to the priesthood will be theirs by law forever. In this way, you will ordain Aaron and his sons.

There were many regulations given, how they were to live, where they were to live, how they were to dress, how they were to be purified and cleansed and what they were to do and how to do their work in the Temple.

These Priests stood between God and the people.  They made the atonement sacrifices which kept the people right with God.

They had to make sacrifices for their own sins and then for the sins of the people continually.  

This Priesthood required complete holiness and obedience, which few where able to keep.

Jesus was NOT a descendant of the Levitical tribe, BUT of the Tribe of Judah.  

We often think of Jesus as the Lamb of God, which speaks of the sacrifice.  But we must also realise the importance of His title "The Lion of Judah".

Revelation 5 v 5 But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

This was God's plan and was first mentioned or prophesied in Genesis 49 v 8-12  

“Judah, your brothers will praise you.
    You will grasp your enemies by the neck.
    All your relatives will bow before you.
9 Judah, my son, is a young lion
    that has finished eating its prey.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down;
    like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,
    nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants,
until the coming of the one to whom it belongs,
    the one whom all nations will honor.
11 He ties his foal to a grapevine,
    the colt of his donkey to a choice vine.
He washes his clothes in wine,
    his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine,
    and his teeth are whiter than milk.

Let's compare this scripture with New Testament Scriptures about Jesus the Conquering, Victorious King, God in human form, the Lion of Judah.

1.  Your brothers will praise you - We see in Philippians 2 v 9 - 11 

 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor

    and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

2.  Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies - 1 Corinthians 15 v 24-26 - we see that even satan knows his time is coming 

After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power. For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet. And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.

3.  The scepter will not depart from Judah - Revelation 11 v 15 reveals Jesus' Eternal Reign

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven: “The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.”

4.  He will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes - speaks about Jesus shed Blood for the forgiveness of our sins - 1 Peter 1 v 18-19

 For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. 

We need to understand Jesus is the Great High Priest, The Lion of Judah and the Lamb of God.  

What does this mean to us today?

We must realise and understand that Jesus is our Eternal King - The Lion of Judah, and our Great High Priest - who not only made the sacrifice for our sins, BUT HE WAS THE SACRIFICE - the Lamb of God.  He was the fulfilment of the entire Old Testament.

Philippians 2 v 5-11

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

6 Though he was God,
    he did not think of equality with God
    as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
    he took the humble position of a slave
    and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
8     he humbled himself in obedience to God
    and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
    and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

We will never truly understand his position as the Lion of Judah, the Eternal King and Lord, until we understand Jesus as the Lamb who had to be slain.  If we misunderstand his purpose in becoming the Lamb, then we will misunderstand his position in being the Lion.  It is the suffering Jesus that paved the way for the conquering Jesus. It is His suffering that paved the way for us to be adopted and reconciled back to God, and to be filled with His Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 5 v 8

 Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. 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.  And God designated him to be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

The Priesthood given to Aaron was a pattern of what was to come.  They were given the position to make the sacrifice - BUT they where never THE sacrifice.  But we see that Jesus not only was THE sacrifice - The Lamb - He also made the sacrifice as the Great High Priest.

The ORDER (pattern) of Melchizedek was quite simply the first reference to the Priest of the Most High God - He was also a King.  He was before Abraham, so therefore before Moses and the Law and Aaron's Priesthood.

Things we must remember.  Aaron's Priesthood was temporary - a pattern - they were men who needed to be cleansed continually.  The Priesthood of Jesus is Eternal, He did not have to make a sacrifice for his own sins - He became the sacrifice for ALL sin - ONCE FOR ALL - once for ALL men and once for ALL time.

We are NOW made Kings and Priests in the Sonship of Jesus according to God's original plan.

Rev. 1 v 5-6

All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us.  He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

Rev. 5 v 10

And they sang a new song with these words:

“You are worthy to take the scroll
    and break its seals and open it.
For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God
    from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10 And you have caused them to become
    a Kingdom of priests for our God.
    And they will reign on the earth.”

1 Peter 2 v 5

And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God

1 Peter 2 v 9

But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

When we understand that Jesus stands between God the Father and us - we will be able to experience the freedom and forgiveness of sins, and enter into His Rest, His Life and Love.  Knowing that Jesus is our Lord, our King of Peace and Righteousness, our Great High Priest and the Lamb of God that was slain for our sins,  we will understand that we have atonement through Jesus.  We will know that we have adoption as sons of God through Jesus, and know that we have a Great High Priest who makes intercession for us.  We are no longer slaves to the Law or Religion.  Just like the Jews that Hebrews was written to - we also can no longer rely on any man, priest or religious system to make us right with God.  We are totally depending on Jesus Christ, His birth, His Life, His Death, His Resurrection and His Ascension.  We must lay aside every work of the flesh and put our trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and King, our Great High Priest and the Lamb of God who took away our sin.