CHAPTER 5

INTRODUCTION:
This chapter deals with the high priest of Israel and Jesus being the REAL HIGH PRIEST!
((This is not the kind of priests we have in churches of today.
Confessor: I have stolen a geese from a poultry yard!
Priest: That is VERY wrong!
Confessor: Would you like to accept it from me father?
Priest: Certainly not! Return it to the man from whom you have stolen it!
Confessor: But, I have already offered it, and he would accept it.
Priest: In that case, you may keep it for yourself.
Confessor: Thank you father.
When the priest went home that evening, he found one of his geese had been STOLEN!))

VSS 1-2
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:
2 Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he
himself also is compassed with infirmity.

Again, let me say, we must keep in mind, this letter is written to Hebrews.
They would understand the example of the high priest.

The first high priest was Aaron, because God named him for that post.
God told Moses to ordain Aaron.

And every high priest after that had to be a descendant of Aaron.
Es. 29:9 says God told Moses about this.
"And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets
on them: and the priest's office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and
thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons."

Later, this regulation was disregarded because the Hebrew nation was being ruled
by other nations.
Sometimes, the ruling nation decided who would be the high priest.

Notice in verse 1 above, that the high priest was to offer gifts and sacrifices to GOD
for the sins of the people.
That was BECAUSE (verse 2), God is the ONLY One Who can have "compassion
on the ignorant, and them that are OUT of the WAY."

And, the high priest himself was "compassed with infirmity."

VS 3
3 And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.

The high priest entered the Holy of Holies ONLY once per year to offer sacrifice for the people.
And BEFORE he could enter there offer sacrifice for himself!
THEN, he had to wash, put on clean clothes, and offer the sacrifice for the people!

The essence of this pertains to Jesus, the REAL High Priest!
In order to offer an acceptable sacrifice for the people, He had to be CLEAN!

Aaron and ALL the priests after him were UNCLEAN!
They had to offer sacrifices for themselves before they could offer a sacrifice for the people.

Jesus did NOT have to do that, because Jesus was God incarnate and had NO sin!!

VS 4
4 And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.

According to God's Word in Ex. 29:9, NO MAN could take that office properly without being
CALLED by GOD!
Therefore, ALL who took that office and were not Aaron's descendants were UNQUALIFIED!

WHOAH!!
Jesus was from the tribe of JUDAH, not LEVI!
But, the Bible PROVIDED for that in PROPHESY!!
Micah 5:2 says, "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands
of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings
forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

((SOME people are NOT qualified to pray for others!
For instance, Mom had invited several people to dinner.
At the table, Mom said to her daughter, "Honey, would you ask the Lord's blessings?"
Daughter, "But Mom, I don't know what to say!"
Mom, "Just say what you've heard me say."
Daughter, "O Lord, WHY did I invite all these people to dinner!?"))

VSS 5-6
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.
6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

Jesus did not have to CLAIM the Priesthood.
He had ALREADY been proclaimed in that position by GOD!
Ps. 110 is about God speaking of David's LORD.
And, in verse 4 of that psalm, it says, "the LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, THOU
art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek."

Jesus is the HIGH PRIEST FOREVER!
Not only to the Jews, but to ALL mankind!!

In Abraham's day, Jerusalem wasn't even a city.

Let's go back to Genesis 14:18-20.
18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of
the most high God. 19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God,
possessor of heaven and earth: 20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered
thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

The former is the only mention of Mechizedec's actual existence.
He is mentioned in other places (see particularly Hebrews 7:1-4).
However, as for his LIFE we know nothing.

I must pause for a moment and briefly discuss this person.
There have been many who have purported that he was nothing more than a king living in
that time. However, Hebrews 7 specifically states that there is no record of his existence in history!

It is as if he briefly, for only THIS moment in time, appears and then disappears!
What does the Bible say?
First we are told he is "king of Salem," which means King of Peace.
Second, he is the "priest of the most high God."
Now? At this time? So far the Bible has not designated a "priest of the most high God."
Later, out of Levi's tribe, great-grandson of Abram, would be designated high priest for Israel
through Aaron and his sons.
So far as we know, Biblically, Aaron was the FIRST one
to receive that designation.
Third, we are told that Melchizedek "blessed" Abram, and that Abram paid "tithes"
to him.
No one, at this time in Biblical history, has been given the authority to receive "tithes!"

Who IS this guy?
Truly, we do not know.
But one thing is sure, Psalm 110:2-5 speaks of the Son of God which would come out of "ZION"
which refers to the "city of David," Jerusalem, or to the PEOPLE of ISRAEL (Is. 60:14).

This SON of GOD would be like Melchizedek: no beginning and no end!

Jesus is the SON of GOD, and the son (descendant) of David, and a child of Israel.
However, He is God Himself, come in flesh to deliver sinful man.
He is the "Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending" (Rev. 1:8).

He was, He IS, and He is TO COME!

Perhaps the whole purpose of this appearance of Melchizedek is to very EARLY in the Bible,
shed light on the fact that one day God will indeed come in flesh!

THINK about THAT!!

And, yes, I believe this appearance of Melchizedek could have been an appearance of the
pre-incarnate Christ, Jesus.

There are many OTHER places where He appears to Abraham and to others in the Old Testament.
((See: Gen. 3:8, Gen. 18:1, Joshua 5:13-14, Judges 6:12, Judges 13:3-20, Isaiah 6:1-6
just for starters.))

NOW!
There is no history of Melchisedec reigning in Salem!
Therefore, in the reference made in Gen. 14, it must be a prophetic reference to Jesus Who
would come later.

(((Mebe this will help.
The ONLY losing basketball coach in the University of Kansas history is James Naismith.
He was the man who invented basketball in 1891. This hilarious example of irony proves
that just because you THOUGHT of the idea, doesn't mean you are the best one to
EXECUTE it!)))

VSS 7-10
7 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;
10 Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.

As a background for grasping the content and context of vss 7-10, one might want to go
read John 17...The Lord Jesus' High Priestly prayer!

Jesus prayed for His disciples.
He prayed for those who would come to Him BY His disciples!
He prayed for all those who would come to Him by THOSE disciples!
He prayed that He would be glorified, as He glorified God in His crucifixion.
He prayed in tears because physically, He was under a greater stress than mankind
would ever know!
He was going to die for ALL sins, of ALL people, for ALL time!

He was God in flesh, but he "learned obedience" that WE should learn:
"To obey is better than sacrifice!" (1Sam. 15:22)
And, actually, obedience LEADS to sacrifice!

On this subject, of obedience to God in living our lives, let me quote Pres. James Garfield.
"Now, more than ever before, the PEOPLE are responsible for the character of their
congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is BECAUSE the people
TOLERATE ignorance, recklessness, and corruption! If it (Congress) be intelligent,
brave, and pure; it is because the PEOPLE DEMAND these high qualities to represent
them in the national legislature!"

Obedience to Christ RESULTS in higher character!!
High character demands the same in our political leadership!

Take not that Jesus became High Priest FOREVER because of His obedience.
He had decided to HAVE that obedience BEFORE the foundation of the world.
(See Rev. 13:8)

VSS 11-13
11 Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which
be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and
not of strong meat.
13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

It seems the Scripture here (to me) speaks a little chastisement to the readers.
The UNconverted Hebrews are "dull of hearing," or slothful in listening to the TRUTH
about Jesus!
The things the Scripture says were "hard to be uttered," or difficult to explain.

Those to whom the Scripture is directed should have been WELL ACQUAINTED with
the Word of God!
Yet, they refused to apply it appropriately!

(Some people only listen when it is CONVENIENT for them!)

((A pastor, known for his lengty sermons, noticed Ralp get up and leave during the sermon.
But, Ralph returned just as the sermon ended.
Later, the pastor inquired as to WHY Ralph left.
Ralph replied, "I went to get a haircut."
Pastor, "Why didn't you do that BEFORE the service?"
Ralph, "Because, I didn't NEED one then!"))

SOME of those to whom the letter was written SHOULD have been TEACHERS by now!
However, they were only BABES in Biblical education!

For instance, they did NOT believe God would become a man to save them!
(See: Is. 43:11, Hos. 1:7, Hos. 13:4)
For instance, they still believed that Messiah would come riding a big white horse; and,
he would conquer the world and give it over to them.
THAT was popular UNSCRIPTURAL teaching back then.
Just as we have some UNSCRIPTURAL teaching today!

They didn't believe that God would come SUFFERING, even though it was clearly
written in Is. 53.

VS 14
14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use
have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

This verse seems to be a conclusion to the former thoughts in verses 11-13.

If they were truly grown up in Biblical wisdom, they would have been able
to tell the difference between TRUTH and FAIRY TALES!!

THIS is the greatest problem with the world today!
MOST people would rather believe someone ELSE'S idea of God than to do the
REASEARCH in the BIBLE!
The RESULT is believing fiction, fantasies and fairy tales!

STUDY the WORD of God!
Get the CONTEXT of the Scripture: To WHOM was it written, on WHAT occasion, and
HOW does that apply NOW!!

VS 14