Hi, my name is Brian Cardenas. I'm a senior here at Bob Jones University studying ministry and leadership. And today I wanted us to go to Hebrews chapter 5. Hebrews chapter 5, we're going to be looking at verses 1 to 10. And this passage has It's been a real encouragement to me, especially coming into this Easter weekend and thinking about what Christ has done for us and how significant that is. It's really convicted me and just conversations I've had with friends. to look back and Hebrews is just filled with so much richness of Christ. Um, I could probably go on and on about it, but we're going to focus here, uh, and particularly about how Christ is our great high priest. And so follow me starting verse one for every high priest chosen from among men. is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this, he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins, as he does for those of the people And he and no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. And so Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, you are my son. Today, I have begotten you. Let's pause right there. Starting in verse one, we see just a great uh, pointing or pointing to what a high priest is. And essentially we're seeing that the high priest is a man who represents, uh, everyone else before God. And as in verse one, we see his, the point of is to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. So every year someone's coming and giving, uh, sacrifices, animal sacrifices over and over and over again for the forgiveness of sins. And so there's a need there. But just as we see that there's a need for a high priest, there's also a weakness because the high priest can't do that work forever. For there's a weakness, a weakness that we all have, which is the time when we're, when we face death. And every high priest has at one point died. So you come in and bring in another high priest. And someone would take on the sacrificing for sins, giving the gifts, and the cycle would keep going and going and going. We see that all throughout the Old Testament. But if someone keeps dying, then at some point, like we need someone, someone who can perfectly do this task. And in verse five and going forward, we're going to see that Christ is who, he's the one who fulfills this role because we can't depend on just a man, someone else who can just do this task. We need someone greater. So also, verse five, so also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest. We see here that God is, God is the one who's exalting Christ here. It is not Christ placed it on himself, or the past high priest was like, all right, Christ, you're going to be that guy. Here, God is the one placing the high priesthood onto Christ, but was anointed by him who said to him, you are my son. Today I've begotten you. He says also in another place, you are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek. In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death and was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. So right here, we're seeing that Christ is. the one who is designated by God himself, be our high priest. Wow, what does this mean for us? It entails a lot. If we even go back chapter four, verse 15, we learn that Jesus understands. Jesus, when he, in his days of his flesh, He went through struggles. He faced temptations. He understands the struggles we face even right now. At times, the lie I tell myself is that I'm going through something that I don't think, God, you can help me with. Or I don't know how I'm going to overcome this one. But yet, I come to verse 15 of chapter four, and I learn that I'll read it, for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. And just even going a verse further, let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Right there, those verses have in so many ways encouraged me. When sin struggles too tough, when I think that I've messed up too much, I know that Christ is able to come and comfort me. The truth here is able to help any of us through any struggle we face. It's not that our high priest is limited in what he does. He surpasses what he's able to do. He understands, he can comfort us. He's given this role by God because God knows that Christ is the perfect one. We go back to chapter five, verse nine, and being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him. Christ is our source. He's the reason we can grow. He's the one working in us. And he does this forever. His priesthood doesn't end. He is doing, as a high priest, we're doing giving gifts and sacrifice for our sins. Christ is doing that work now and forever, every day. And there's so much encouragement we can find in that. And that we aren't alone. I don't have to do it alone. Christ is who I can go to. because we come before a throne of grace with confidence, not because of what we've done, not because of how often we read our Bible or pray or we went into good acts throughout the week. That is not why we come with confidence. We come with confidence because, and we go to verse seven, to him who was able to save him from death. And he was heard because of his reverence. What Christ did during his earthly ministry is the reason why we're able to come with confidence. We have this great high priest who enables us to come before God and ask for grace and time of need. I'm sure we're all in need in some way today. And in light of this weekend and celebrating that Christ defeated death and that he rised again, or he rose, we are able to celebrate that. And that has so much impact on us now. So much that we can praise him about and celebrate together. It's so important for us to recognize our high priest, because he's working. Even when we're unfaithful, he is working. And so I want us to turn to chapter 11, verse 1. And it says, now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the convictions of things not seen. Right here, we get the definition of what faith is. And this faith is who, if we have this faith, this is who Christ represents. This is who he is representing before his father. And so I encourage this encouragement to me as well. I encourage you. How can we be thankful for how Christ is working right now? How can we celebrate or encourage each other about our great high priest? He is mighty. He is great. There's grace available, no limit. And we can celebrate that. One of my favorite things about Hebrews, and you see it over and over and over again, I've been reading my devotions, is that the author of Hebrews keeps saying again and again, that we can hold fast to our confession. We can hold fast to that. We can do that because once again, going back, we see what Christ has done. He died on the cross. He didn't stay dead. He defeated death. So now we can hold to our faith. It's a confidence that comes because of what He has done, not my own, not what others have done, because of what Christ has done. And so this is just, I hope, an encouragement to you. I know it's been encouragement to me, the study. I'm gonna close this in prayer and then pass it back. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for your word that provides so much comfort, especially in times when, Father, we're lost. We're distracted. The world we live in has so many things that it throws at us. But yeah, we know that we aren't alone. You sent your son to hide on the cross for us, to feed to death. And now who is reigning right on your right hand, who's interceding for us. Father, thank you for the grace that we are able to come, that we're able to receive because of what your son has done. Father, we're weak. We can't do anything on our own. And even when we try, we can't, we have a limit. We can't keep going on our own, but we praise you for what your son has done. Thank you for your son, who is our high priest and how he's working on our behalf, the sins that we commit. Father, I don't know what's going on in each of our lives here today, but may you help us come before your throne of grace and to ask, to even praise you for how Christ has worked in our lives. Thank you, Father, for how you've given us a way through Christ to come before you, not on our own work, not depend on anyone else, that we can come before you because of what your son has done. Thank you for your son. Thank you for how he continues to work now and forever on our behalf. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.