Please turn with me now to Hebrews 5, the book of Hebrews, chapter 5. And we are going to hear verses 1 to 10, verses 1 to 10 of Hebrews 5. And let us ask for God's help before we read. Lord, you know this glorious chapter before us way better than we ever could imagine. But Lord, we pray that you would, by your grace, show us glorious things in it. so that we might love you more, and yes, indeed, be able and willing to worship you even more. Amen. Let us hear the word of God. For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray since he himself is also subject to weakness. Because of this, he is required as for the people, so also for himself to offer sacrifices for sins. And no man takes this honor to himself. but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not glorify himself to become high priest, but it was he who said to him, you are my son. Today I have begotten you. As he also says in another place, you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek, who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications of vehement cries and tears to him, who was able to save him from death, and was heard because of his godly fear, or was heard from fear. Though he was a son, yet he learned obedience by the things which he suffered. And having been perfected, he became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him, called by God as high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. What was the problem of these believers who received this lecture, or rather maybe even heard this sermon, as it seems to be a sermon, the whole book of Hebrews? What was the problem of these believers And we have to know that these believers were most certainly believers who have converted out of Judaism to Christianity, so to say. Of course, in the beginning, Christianity wasn't something really separate. It was something, a natural outflow out of the Jewish faith, because everything what we see in the Old Testament is very Jewish, and that is what they believed. They pointed all to the Messiah, to the Lord Jesus Christ. But what was their particular problem of these people? Well, they had a temptation, the temptation to forsake Christianity. So the author says in Hebrews 3.12 to them, beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. So they were tempted to draw back. And why is that? Why is that? Well, we have to know they first walked well. That is said in chapter 10. He was saying to them, or says to them, but recall the former days in which after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings. So when they heard that the Lord Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament, they accepted it. They believed it. And they were even ready in the beginning to endure great suffering for the name of Christ. But then as in the times of Ezra, also in these New Testament times, struggle and persecution continued. And we have to understand for such people who came out of Israel, out of the Jews, it must have been even more difficult because the temple worship continued. And there was a priest who would go yearly into the most holy place. There were priests who would sacrifice for the sins. And then, of course, doubts come into the minds. Well, the Lord Jesus Christ said that one day people in the whole world will worship him in truth and spirit, and not on Zion on this mountain. Well, the temple is still standing. It's still there. It was only destroyed 70 after Christ. And doubts come into their mind. Was this Christ really the true Messiah? Is he really the one who could deliver us? And also, well, do we still have a high priest? I mean, in Israel, we had a high priest, and he would go into the most holy places. He would stand between God and man. Do we still have that? If we don't have that, well, how can we stand before God? If we don't have the sacrifices anymore, how can we stand before God? the sacrifices which were meant to take away sin, or a picture to take away sin. And then it seems that some of these people were tempted to go back into the ceremonial law of the Old Testament, just to take the edge of their doubts away, and probably also the edge of persecution. Because along it went on, we know, we see that in acts, that certainly they were persecuted. And not only from the Jews themselves, which was probably the toughest part of it, from their own families, from their own friends, from their own neighbors, but also from the Roman authorities at some point. And persecution continued. And the author gives, in the book, gives basically two main emphasis. to the question of them, well, we want to go back into the Old Testament ceremonial law. Again and again, we see warnings, very strong warnings in this book that they should not go back. If they go back, all the promises of the Old Testament are not for them anymore. But then also, he says that Christ is the fulfillment, and that Christ is better than anything else. Yes, indeed, that the Old Testament was pointing forward to Christ. And one of these warnings we see in chapter three and four, just the chapters before chapter five, and they're very strong warnings, because he says, basically, if you are drawing back, if you're going back into the Old Testament ceremonial law, you are like those who died in the wilderness in the 40 years. You're not better than them. They went, yes, they went out of Egypt. So to say Egypt, the picture for the world, they went out of the world, but they never made it to the rest in Jerusalem, in Judah, or the promised land. They died somewhere in between. Why? It is a very striking picture, isn't it? They, yes, physically went out of Egypt, but their heart's desire was always in Egypt. Continually it is said in Exodus, why Moses have you brought us out? Now we could have bread, we could have so many good things in Egypt, enjoy them. And this is the warning he gives. He's basically saying, well, if you go back to the Old Testament ceremonial law, you're like those who died in the wilderness and always wanted to go back into the world. This is the warning he gives them. And then he also says to them, well, and don't, or previously he says in verse 11 in chapter 4, he gives them this exhortation and says, let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, the eternal rest, through Jesus Christ, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience, like those who fell in the wilderness. And then he says, and don't make the mistake that your heart of unbelief would not be detected. Why? Well, he says it fits very well to this morning as well. For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. And we can imagine now that some of these Hebrew believers hearing that or reading that would have suddenly doubts and think, well, I am sometimes tempted to go back. I am tempted to draw back. Yes, indeed, I even fall daily in these things. And I look back and would sometimes wish I would again be in the Old Testament ceremonial law. Am I now lost? Am I now like one of those who would fall in the wilderness, that corpses lie in the wilderness? Well, to those who struggle but would have the desire to be with Christ, He's giving great comfort. And just after this strong statement that everything is visible before God, and do not make the mistake that your sin of unbelief would not be detected, He gives comfort and says, seeing then that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. But then immediately, for these Hebrew believers, comes into mind, wait a moment, how can Christ be a high priest? Is the high priest the office not given to Aaron and to his seed very clearly in the Old Testament? And Moses, God spoke to Moses and Moses commanded that. How can it be that Christ could be a high priest? And the second question maybe as well, and how could it be in chapter one and two, you just showed us that Christ is the eternal son of God. He is God, truly God. How could he ever sympathize with us as the eternal son of God? And these are questions the author gives an answer to. Can he really truly be a better high priest in calling and in sympathy and in intercession? Yes, and particularly in these three ways I just said. The first point, he can be a better high priest because he has a better calling and appointment. Secondly, because there's greater sympathy. And thirdly, better intercession. And let's look at the first point, better calling appointment. And the author is saying that instead of this high priest, he's still, at that point probably, going yearly into the most holy of holy places, that this is now Jesus Christ, this high priest, who is in the most holy of all places. And we know, and again, just to repeat that and remind ourselves of it, what a high priest does. He is between God and man, and he stands between God and man. But what the author is saying that Christ has a better appointment, a better calling than Aaron ever had. But how could he prove that, or how is he proving that? Well, he's saying that the most important qualification of a high priest is not that he comes from Aaron, or is a seed from Aaron, but that he's called by God to be a high priest. So it was also with Aaron himself, wasn't it? It wasn't that Aaron decided himself to be high priest one day and said, oh, I'm going to be high priest now, or that he was just called because he was out of the tribe of Levi. No, God called him to be a high priest. And this is clearly said in verse 4 of chapter 5. And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was called. But Christ has even a better calling, you see. And he's quoting Psalm 27. So also Christ did not glorify himself to become high priest, but it was he who said to him, you are my son, today I have begotten you. And he's thinking here, we remember Psalm 2. speaks of the rebellion of people, of humankind, and then of God's answer. And then of a decree, which is said, you are my son, today I have forgotten, or a decree as well to have a king. And this decree certainly was earlier than the decree that Aaron should be a high priest, wouldn't it? Therefore, Christ, we see here, has an appointment even earlier than Aaron had it. Now you scratch your mind or scratch your head and think, well, but we know Psalm 2 speaks more about Christ's kingship and his sonship. But what about his high priestly office? That is not really speaking about his high priestly office, isn't it, Psalm 2? Well, interestingly, just afterwards when we read Psalm 2, the first following to verse 7, I will declare the decree. The Lord has said to me, you are my son. Today I have forgotten you. And then ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance. This is interceding for the nations. He's asking for the nations. And this is a high priestly function, so to say, what Christ has here, even in Psalm 2. And yes, we understand that, of course, Psalm 2 was written after Aaron, but we also understand that this psalm shows to some extent the whole world history and the decree, and we know that the decrees of God are eternal, aren't they? So Christ was appointed to be a high priest even before Aaron was. Aaron was only temporary, only type for Christ, to fill in the space until the real high priest would come. But then one of the Hebrews could maybe also say, well, this is not clear enough for me. Psalm 2 speaks kingship, and it doesn't mean that if Christ should ask for the nations that this is really a high priestly office or function. I don't accept that there is a good and necessary consequence out of it. I want to have a proof text that Christ truly should be a high priest. Well, the author says, well, I give it to you. Verse 6 here. And he's quoting out of Psalm 110. You are a priest forever, not for 10 years, 100 years, 1,000 years, but forever, according to the order of Melchizedek, an eternal calling. And in that regard, the calling of Jesus Christ is better than the one from Aaron. He was called from eternity to be a high priest and to eternity to be a high priest. Aaron was only temporary. And therefore, his calling is much better than the calling Aaron could have ever had. And this calling is not only a calling to be a high priest, but also to be a king and to be a son. And then, of course, we know that Christ is also a prophet. All these things united in Christ. And this leads us to, I believe, the core of the author's argument to the next point, that Christ is a greater sympathy. Because in chapter 4, he says, verse 15, for we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are. And then in chapter 5, he says in verse 2, he can, referring to The human high priest, merely human high priest, he can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness. So he wants to show, and this is, of course, one of the greatest questions in some sense, and sometimes difficult for us. How can Christ have sympathy with us and understand us? How can he? How can he have even a greater sympathy than any other human high priest? And he's trying to make this case. And that's the second point, that Christ has a greater sympathy, greater understanding than any other high priest ever could have. In what way can Christ have this sympathy? Well, in one sense, in everything. But the particular point the author wants to point out is in temptation. Because he's saying here in verse 15, chapter 4, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin." And then you ask yourself, well, but what temptation? Well, all points tempted as we are, so in everything. But then again, what is the purpose for the author writing to these Hebrew believers? They were struggling to persevere. They were tempted to draw back. They were tempted. not to fulfill their mission in this world. Therefore, the author is now saying Christ was tempted in the exactly same way. He was tempted not to fulfill his mission. He was tempted not to persevere. He was tempted to draw back and not do whatever the Father has commanded him to do. But Christ was tempted in these things. And what evidence does he give the author that Christ was tempted in such a way? Well, one thing, and it is amazing, when we read verse 5 and 6, we see how Christ is glorified, his majesty is underlined and emphasized. For he is the eternal Son of God, you are my Son, today I have begotten you." Or then again, you are a priest forever. This eternal calling, this special calling he has and Aaron has. And then in verse 7, we're immediately brought down to a weak and needy Christ. Verse seven, who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with vehement cries and tears to him, was able to save him from death and was hurt because of his godly fear. From a king to a beggar. From beauty and majesty to someone from whom we would hide our faces. When did he pray like this, when we see that? Well, it says here in verse seven, who in the days of his flesh, in the days of his flesh. And this is not only meaning just before the cross, but in all his days of his flesh, he was praying in such a way. And we know that the life of Christ itself was a continual struggle as well. He had struggles in his family, in his family. We know that they thought when he did the first miracles, the family thought he's out of his mind. They resisted him. His brothers didn't believe him. They even mocked him. And they said, oh, you only want to be seen by others. Therefore, go, come on, go up to Jerusalem. Show yourself to the world. They resisted him. Well, then the Pharisees continually mocked him, even probably referring to his birth, because they didn't believe that Mary was a virgin. They said, we were not born of fornication. We have one Father. Mocking Christ. But then we also know that Christ had struggles in poverty, for he himself says that foxes have and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. And he was truly constantly resisted. When he performed miracles, the demons resisted him. When he taught, the Pharisees resisted him. When he taught, even his own disciples, they resisted him, and they were ignorant. struggles in the days of his flesh. Don't you think that Christ would have sometimes be tempted in this not to persevere, or to draw back, and not to fulfill his mission? And not only resistance, but outright hatred, and that from the very beginning. They wanted to kill him. After healing on a Sabbath in Mark 3, Exodus said, then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against him how they might destroy him. Don't we think that Christ sometimes in the days of his flesh would have felt like Jeremiah in his days? When he said, I am in derision, everyone mocks me. Or is Jeremiah not also a picture for Christ? The temptation Jeremiah had in some regards when he was saying, then I said I will not make mention of him nor speak anymore his name. But he couldn't. And we know that Christ couldn't. He never sinned in that. But certainly he was tempted in these things. Because the Old Testament is a picture for Christ. And the experiences of the saints in the Old Testament. Don't you think that Christ knows what it means to persevere, to continue, to go on and on and on, even though everyone is resisting him? But we know that, of course, and this is, and in verse seven said, in the days of his flesh, we know that there was a peak then at the end of his ministry where he was mostly tempted to withdraw and to draw back. He was praying when he had offered up prayers and supplications with vehement cries and tears to him. He was able to save him from death. It was just before death. And he was praying to the Father, the one who would be able to save him from death. And you ask yourself, well, he had to go through death, and he had to experience death. Yes, but he was still saved out of it. Death wasn't able to control him and to defeat him and have the victory over him. But he was saved out of death. We know how Christ in some, how the Bible describes it, how he felt before that. He's saying to his disciples, my soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. He was troubled and deeply distressed. Don't you think he was there as well, tempted? not to go to the cross, as he says, not my will, but your will be done. The one who would, and we heard this morning, would say, I'd like to do your will, oh my God, oh my Lord, had to say, well, not my will, but your will might be done. He was tempted to withdraw. And there's a really striking picture in the Old Testament about the punishment Christ received at the cross. And we see three passages in the Psalms, and it is truly amazing. We see in Psalm 97 how the Lord Jesus Christ returns. And it is said there that fire goes before him and burns up his enemies round about, his lightnings light the world, the earth sees and trembles. And then it says there, the mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord. Melt like wax. This power of God, the fierce wrath of God is melting away like we have a candle which is melting away before this small fire. But even more, it's the mountains melting away before the presence of God. But then in Psalm 68, we read, this is really a judgment upon the wicked. As wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of the Lord. And then we read something else in the Psalm, Psalm 22, which speaks of Christ's experience at the cross. My heart is like wax. It has melted within me. This is Christ's experience. He himself, he would judge one day, and the mountains would melt away before his presence. experienced exactly this wrath, and this curse, and this punishment, so that he was able to say, my heart is like wax. It has melted within me. Well, then Psalm 88, read it when you're at home. It's, I believe, the only Psalm which doesn't have a turnaround. To the better. It's only dark. Don't you think Christ was tempted not to persevere? He indeed was tempted not to persevere. Therefore, he can sympathize. He can sympathize even better than anyone else, because no one else had to go through such temptation to withdraw, not to fulfill his mission, not to persevere, than Christ had. He indeed has greater sympathy, much greater sympathy And he finished it, didn't he? It is said in verse 8, though he was a son, yet he learned obedience by the things which he suffered. By the things which he suffered. Yet to learn obedience, that does not mean that Christ ever was disobedient. But that means that as he grew from his childhood on, The Father was putting more and more things upon him, and he learned this obedience. And the second thing in reference to this lecture means, as well, that Christ, as eternal Son of God in heaven, there are no difficulties to obey the law of the Lord. But on earth, there are. There are consequences. There's persecution. There's suffering. So Christ came to experience the same thing, to learn obedience, to know what actually obedience means in this world. that it means suffering, that it means to persevere in it. Don't you think he has sympathy for us, for the Hebrew believers back then, and for us as well? But how can we be sure that this was really a struggle for Christ? We read some things in the Psalms, and we could quote many passages where we see it really is crying out from Christ. But let us read again in verse 7 here. And ask yourself, could that be spoken or said about someone who was not really truly tempted? When he had offered up prayers and supplications with vehement cries and tears to him, with vehement cries and tears, We pray in such a way when we are most dependent and most needy. And this is how Christ felt, that he would pray in such a way. When was the last time any high priest in the whole history of Israel would have prayed in such a way? But the Lord Jesus Christ did in the days of his flesh. And it wasn't that he had to offer sacrifices for sins or for the sins of the people in a sense of himself he offered up, but he is the one who actually offers up prayers for the people of God continually so that they might persevere like he persevered and would not draw back. He has greater sympathy. And there's another element. why he can have greater sympathy than any other high priest ever in the history of Israel. And this is what the Hebrews had to learn, of course. Yes, his experience is one, but also that he's the eternal son of God, truly God. Remember the story with Eli and Hannah. And Hannah going into the temple and praying, and she's struggling because she doesn't get a child. And she prays, she's in agony. And then Eli sees her, but she doesn't speak really out. She just moves her mouth. And he thinks, what does he think? She's drunk. This is a high priest according to the order of Aaron. He does not understand. Why? Because he does not see the heart. And Christ sees the heart. And he's the only one. absolutely the only one who truly understands what is going on in your heart and in the hearts of these Hebrew believers, and is truly the only one who can truly have sympathy with you. No one else can in such a way. Eli couldn't, a priest according to the order of Aaron, but one according to Melchizedek, called by God, he can, he truly can. And then briefly, the last point, which is then, of course, flowing very obviously out of these points, that he can also give better intercession. The priesthood, according to Aaron, had one massive flaw. You read about that in verse 3. Because of this, he is required, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifices for sins. And Christ did that, but once for all. the priests from Aaron, they had to offer again, and again, and again, and again. This is exactly the case he makes in also in chapter 10, in saying that they had to come again with bulls, and rams, and so on, and so on, and first cleanse themselves so in order that God might hear. And they really, truly couldn't really stand before God. They only could stand because of a sacrifice next to them, a righteousness they didn't have. But in Christ as the Son of God and truly man, he can stand before God and man and can truly intercede for us. And this is what then he also says. He says, and having been perfected, he became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him. And in verse 7, he was hurt because of his godly fear. Bit of a difficulty with translation, but literally he was hurt from fear. But the point is, he was hurt. He was hurt on his own merit. These priests, according to Aaron, weren't hurt on their own merit. No way. But Christ was. And therefore, he can intercede so much better for these Hebrew believers, but also for us today, but also for us. And therefore, we have in him this great hope, which is fixed behind the veil. And we see that then at the end of chapter 6, where when he gave them again some strong warnings about drawing back and not persevering and going back into the Old Testament ceremonial laws, he speaks about the promises of God and that they are hope they have. And he says in verse 19, chapter 6, this hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the presence behind the veil. Of course, behind the veil was the most holy place, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. He's there, a forerunner for us, interceding for us. And why then, he was saying to these Hebrew believers, would you ever want to go back? And if you go back, you do not have a high priest. You may have a high priest who's still going up in the temple physically, who's offering up some sacrifices, but they're for no use, because they were only signifying Christ's sacrifice. Therefore, follow Christ and obey him. That's exactly the point of what he is saying in verse 9. And having been perfected, he became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him. And perfected is, again, something amazing, because Christ had to become flesh to be perfected as a high priest. Otherwise, he wouldn't really truly be able to sympathize. But he was perfected. He was truly perfected. And therefore, he has a better calling than Aaron ever could have had. He has greater sympathy than Aaron or any other high priest ever could have had. And he has a better intercession on our behalf than any other high priest ever could have had. Let us pray. Lord, we thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ, whom you sent into this world to have been perfected as a son of God, to become a high priest, to intercede on our behalf. And Lord, we pray that we would read these things, particularly verse 7, and see how Christ prayed, and pray in the same way, but always relying on the merits of Christ and not our own. Lord, we also do pray that you would help us to persevere in this world. And we do know that you pray on our behalf so that we would persevere, that we would not draw back, but that one day we will stand before you and bow our heads before the eternal throne of the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.