Turn to Hebrews chapter 5. As we finished chapter 4 last week, we'll pick up on verse 1. Although we're going to look back at chapter 4 a little bit, because chapter 5 is a continuation of chapter 4. So let's pray. Dear Father in heaven, I pray. Please, Lord God, through this message, Lord God, that it would come forth through our hearts with power, God. Give us power. Give me power as I speak. Give us power as we hear, God, to have ears to hear what you are saying to us, God. To give us clearness in speech and thought, Lord God. that we would understand and obey your word. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Read the first ten verses of the fifth chapter of Hebrews. And chapter five, verse one says, 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. 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, and by reason hereof he ought as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. And no man takes this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified not himself to be made a high priest, but he that said unto him, Thou art my son, to-day have I begotten thee. And as he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, 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 Though he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation, and unto all them that obey him called of God an high priest after the order of Melchizedek." We see this high priest, it's called a great high priest, in chapter 4, verse 14, Jesus Christ, the great high priest. And Jesus Christ is this great high priest, and he is a high priest that goes on and on forever. His priesthood is forever. And the priesthood of Aaron, the Levitical priesthood, was temporary. But the priesthood of Jesus Christ goes on forever and ever. And we see that this was something that was obtained. Jesus obtained this. He did something to get it. And you see that in these verses. But you see also that it was appointed unto him. So every high priest up to this point in time was a picture or type of the priesthood of Christ. But this high priest, as we learned in the preceding chapter, is a great high priest. because he is a heavenly high priest. He is Jesus, the Son of God. In other words, his priestly kingdom will never, or his priestly ministry, will never end. It never ends. It goes on and on forever. It goes on and on forever. It's why, it's one reason which we'll get into in a few minutes, why Jesus or the Messiah or this high priest. He had to be God. He had to be God. Secondly, in verse 15 of chapter 4, he is a man who suffered all the effects of the fall, yet never sinned. You see the writer of Hebrews using this line of reasoning over and over again. And what I'm talking about is that he's proving the deity of Jesus. And at the same time, he's proving his humanity. And you see him doing this in these verses, too. We'll get into that. But he keeps doing that over and over again. I know we've been through that a couple months ago. We made that point specifically. But I want to make it again. Because this is of utmost importance. The nature of Jesus Christ. And many of the Hebrews struggled with that. They struggled with the fact that Jesus Christ, being a man, was God. That's a great dilemma in the Hebrew mind. And for a good reason in one sense. Because if God is holy and righteous and set apart, how can God become a man? But God can do whatever he wants. God can do whatever he wants. When people pose that question to me, I say, can you tell me how God had no beginning? Can you tell me how God created the whole universe in six days? God can do whatever he wants. Now, the people to whom he was writing this epistle did believe in the deity of Jesus Christ. They did believe in the deity of Jesus Christ as true believers, but there was a portion of them that were being drawn away, as we will see in chapter 6. And I'm sure that a portion of them were becoming apostate because of this very issue of the union of Christ's two natures. The theological term for it is called the hypostatic union of Christ. This doctrine states that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. He is fully God and fully man. The Council of Chalceon in 451 settled this matter. It's been settled in the scriptures long before that in Isaiah chapter 9. Actually, in Isaiah chapter 6-9, it says that this child would be born, or that God-man, you see that. One scholar describes it like this. More concisely, one may describe the person of Christ incarnate as being full deity. and perfect humanity united without mixture, change, division, or separation in one person forever. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith states the two natures of Christ like this, the Son of God, the second person in the Holy Trinity, being very and eternal God, the brightness of the Father's glory, of one substance and equal with him, who made the world, who upholds and governs all things he has made, when the fullness of time was complete, took upon him man's nature with all its essential properties and common infirmities, of it yet without sin, being conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the Holy Spirit coming down upon her, and the power of the Most High overshadowing her, and so was made of a woman of the tribe of Judah, of the seed of Abraham and David, according to the Scriptures, so that two whole, perfect and distinct natures were inseparably joined in one person, without conversion, composition or confusion, which person is very God and very man. Yet one Christ, the only mediator between God and man. And like I said, this is nothing new. Actually, in Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6, I'll quote the verse I have written out. For unto us a child is born, which is a man. If a child is born, he is what? He is a man. Unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. And the government shall be upon his shoulders. and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor." Look at this, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. We see here in Isaiah the two natures of Christ coming together in one person. This is not a doctrine that should be quickly passed by, but the reality and doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ, two natures being perfectly joined is something that we should meditate on and contemplate on through the Scriptures. For in the union of these two natures, He is qualified as our Great High Priest. He cannot be an angel. The Messiah cannot be an angel. He must be God. And He cannot be anything but God and man. God and man. to qualify. We're going to see that in these verses. Let's go back to our text in Hebrews 5. In this section, I see five qualifications of the great high priest. Five qualifications of the great high priest. In verse 1, he must be a man. In verse 4, he must be called by God. In verse 5, he is the son of God. At number 4, he must be of a priestly order in verse 6. And number five, in verses eight and nine, he must be proven. He must be proven or he must be put to the test. He must be proven or he must be put to the test. So let's start in verse one, it says, for every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men and the things pertaining to God that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. He must be taken from among men in order to stand as a representative of the human race. Jesus Christ as our great high priest and as our mediator must be a man in order for the human race to be redeemed. Only a man, says in verse 1, can offer gifts and sacrifices unto God for the sins of the people. First, he must be a man to stand as a human. But this man is different. For this man, Jesus, was born of a virgin. He was born sinless. The perfect man. He was a better man, as the writer of the Hebrews likes to use that word, better. He was a better man. He came into a sinful world. but he himself was not sinful he was without sin the perfect lamb of God yes fully man and fully without sin as a man therefore the gifts and sacrifices that he makes to atone for sins have an effect like no other high priest and just as every other high priest was only a picture of the Great High Priest, so it is with all the gifts and sacrifices of the Old Testament. They were all only types and pictures of the gifts and sacrifices that this High Priest, the Great High Priest, would offer. The Old Testament sacrifices did not forgive sin. They only pointed to what would be the forgiveness of sins. They were pointing, they were a picture of what would come and what would forgive sins. And Christ, being the perfect man, is able to offer the perfect sacrifice to God. And secondly, he is a man that he might have compassion on those he has represented. You see that, look in verse 2. who can have compassion on the ignorant, on them that are out of the way, for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. We went over that last week. But the Lord Jesus has great compassion on us, and identified with all of our weaknesses, and even to a greater degree, even to a greater degree, he was hungry, he was tired, He was bloody. He was sweaty. He was poor. He was rejected. He was misunderstood. He was falsely accused. He was physically abused. He was mentally tormented. He was emotionally distraught. He was falsely condemned and beaten and falsely murdered. And he was lonely. You see, all these things in Christ that He suffered, all of the common infirmities that we suffer, that we suffer, and He had great compassion. If you look in verse 2, He had compassion on the ignorant, this high priest, that he might be a man, that he might identify with us, that he might identify with us as we went over in chapter 4. Verse 3 says, Thirdly, look at verse three, and by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself to offer sins. Thirdly, the high priest would offer a sacrifice for his own sin and for the sin of the people. But this great high priest had no sin, so he did not offer sacrifice for his own sin, but instead he became sin. He took sin upon himself on the cross. He was the sacrifice. He had no need to have a sacrifice for himself, but he himself was the sacrifice. In Genesis chapter 22, if you want to turn there, it says, this is Abraham going up to the mountain with Isaac as he's ready to sacrifice his son as God had commanded him. And Isaac asks Abraham where the sacrifice is. And Abraham said, my son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. So they went both of them together. I remember when I was in Greek class or Hebrew, I mean, in Bible college, And our teacher explained to us that verse and what it actually means is that God himself would be the sacrifice. God himself would be the sacrifice. And it's the only way that our sins can be dealt with, that they can be taken away. And as we move forward, secondly, the high priest must be called by God The High Priest, first, must be called from among men. He must be a man. And secondly, in verse 4, he must be called by God. Look in Hebrews 5, 4. No man takes this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. As was Aaron. I'm going to turn to John chapter 5 and read you a few verses there. And this is the Lord speaking in John 5, 19. It says, Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do. For what things soever he does, these also does the Son likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all things that himself does, and he will show him greater works than these that ye may marvel. For as the Father raised up the dead and quickens them, even so the Son quickens whom He will. For the Father judges no man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son. That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honors not the Son honors not the Father, which has sent him. There it is, which has sent him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that hears my word and believes on him that sent me hath everlasting life. and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they shall hear and shall live." But there it is in verse 23. It says that he was sent by the Father. Jesus Christ was sent by the Father. No man can take honor unto himself. But honor is given by the one who is greater. I can't take honor of myself and promote myself. But you must be promoted by someone who is greater than you. Honor is given to whom it is deserving. Honor is not given to anyone. But Jesus Christ was blessed with the greatest honor. He was blessed with the greatest honor. And do you know what that honor was? It's amazing that if you think about it, we'll get into this in verses 8 and 9. The greatest honor was for Him to humble Himself. To humble Himself and come to earth and suffer and die. Jesus would talk about the cross as Him being glorified. You'll see that in the Gospels. He talks about the cross as Him being glorified. Like a bloody cross? How is that someone being glorified? Do you know why? Do you know why? Because He was obedient unto His Father. He was obedient unto His Father. And obedience is the greatest privilege. Obedience to God is the greatest privilege. It's the greatest honor. The greatest honor is to be obedient to God. And Jesus Christ was obedient to His Father in everything He had Him do. In everything He had Him do. Which brings us which we'll get into more in verses eight and nine, but this great high priest Jesus Christ is unique Number three and that he is the son of God He is the son of God look in verse 5 it says so also Christ Glorified not himself to be made a high priest, but he said unto him thou art my son Today have I begotten thee? He is the Son of God. This high priest is the sacrifice offered to God that was preordained by God. And this sacrifice is eternal. That's why Jesus Christ is the only one that can be the sacrifice or who qualifies as the sacrifice. It could not be an angel, because an angel is not eternal and infinite. It could not just be a man, but this one being, this one being, Jesus Christ, was the only one in the universe who qualified to take the sins of his people. Our great High Priest, the God-Man, Jesus Christ. And if you look in Hebrews chapter 9 verse 14, if you turn just a couple pages, it says, How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through his eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Jesus Christ, the Son of God, eternal, Eternal High Priest. And number four, he must be of a priestly order. Number four, he must be of a priestly order. The priesthood of Aaron was established to point the people to what was coming. To what was coming. Look in verse six, and as he says in another place, Thou art a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek. Matthew Henry says about this verse, God the Father appointed Christ a priest of a higher order than that of Aaron. The priesthood of Aaron was to be but temporary. The priesthood of Christ was to be perpetual. The priesthood of Aaron was to be successive, descending from fathers to the children. the priesthood of Christ after the order of Melchizedek was to be personal and the high priest immortal as to his office without descent having neither beginning of days nor end of life as it were largely describes it in Hebrews 7 so we'll get more into Melchizedek when we get into Hebrews 7 and who Melchizedek was and who was this priest that Christ, whose Christ was in the order, Christ was in His order, in Melchizedek. We'll get more into that in chapter 7, when Melchizedek is more spoken of. But the priesthood of Jesus Christ goes on today and will go on forever and ever. He will forever be our High Priest. If we are born again, if we are in Him, If we know Christ, He is a priest forever. In Hebrews 7.25 it says, He ever lives to make intercession for His people. He ever lives to stand between us and God. He ever lives to stand between us and God, us and the Father. And it's amazing that Christ is this everlasting High Priest. Number five. Now for some, This last point is troublesome, but if you look at it in its context, it fits perfectly. This great high priest had to be proven. Look in verses 8 and 9. You could look at verse 7, 8 and 9. Who in the days of his flesh, when he 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 in that he feared, though he were a son, yet he learned obedience by the things which he suffered, and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. This proved his sinlessness He did not need to learn obedience in order to correct his disobedience. In other words, we need to learn obedience for what reason? It corrects our disobedience. But with Christ, it was not so. Because Christ was never disobedient. But instead, his suffering proved his humanity. And proved his perfect obedience. he had to fulfill all the law therefore he humbled himself as a man and suffered and suffered tremendously and through that suffering learned the pain of obedience through that suffering he learned the pain of obedience obedience is not easy it takes much pain and agonizing because of the fall And Jesus was subject to the fall. He was subject to this earth that is cursed. And because of that, obedience is something that must be seen. It takes much pain. It takes suffering. It takes suffering. Jesus absolutely never sinned. He did suffer the effects of the fall. He never sinned, but he absolutely did suffer the effects of the fall, that we might know the fellowship of his sufferings. And verse 9, and by proving his perfection, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. He's the author of eternal salvation, or the originator of eternal salvation. The salvation that is found in Jesus Christ is eternal. Every other form of comfort or salvation is temporal, but the salvation that comes by Jesus Christ through our eternal High Priest is without end. It's without end. It's perpetual, as Matthew Henry said. It goes on and on and on, the priesthood of Jesus Christ. Therefore, the salvation that he offers is forever and ever. It is perpetual. It goes on forever and ever. And even on earth, my sin can never catch up to it. It's always ahead. It's always His sacrifice. His priesthood is always, always there. And its salvation is eternal. The salvation that is found in Jesus Christ is eternal. And everything else that we might find comfort in, like I already mentioned, is temporal. But what does it say at the end of this verse? It says, look at verse 9. It says, He's the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him. Unto all them that obey Him. That 5.9 is a popular verse for certain people who say that you have to obey and believe to be saved. But we obviously know that that's not what it's saying. But to believe and to obey are one and the same. You cannot believe without obeying. And you cannot obey without believing. They're inseparable. They're inseparable. It would never even... It doesn't even make sense if you think about it. It would be like saying to you, Like you say you're going to do something for me, and then I say I believe you, but really in my mind I don't, so don't act on what you told me. You see what I'm saying? Like if you tell me something and I trust you, then I'm going to act on what you tell me. Right? But if I don't act on what you tell me, and I say I believe you, I'm just playing word games. I'm just, I'm not really truthful. You can't have acting and believing separated. They're one and the same. To believe is to obey and to obey is to believe. You cannot have one without the other. To say I believe God and not act on his word is simply a lie. It's like saying, like I said, it's like you tell me something that you're going to do and then I don't act on that. I just don't believe you. That's why I'm not acting on it. If we believe, we will act. We will obey. They're one and the same. Jesus Christ is calling us into this same suffering. We are justified in a point of time. Then we are sanctified over our lifetime. We learn obedience also through the things that we suffer. There is no other way to learn obedience but through suffering. There is no other way, because of the curse, to learn obedience but through suffering. And as Christians, we are called to suffering. If our precious Lord, who is sinless, learned obedience through the things that He suffered, how ought we to learn through suffering? But when we see the suffering of our Lord, and the great reward in following Him, We will gladly do it. We will gladly suffer for Christ. I would say suffering for Christ, there's several aspects of it, but for our purpose today, I would just like to mention two. The first, I believe is the greatest, is mortification of sin. The mortification of sin is a great suffering for the believer. Because God is removing sin from our lives. It's like being torn out of our lives. And that is a part of suffering that the Christian must go through. The Christian must go through. Sin must be removed. And that process is suffering. And the second is rejection. Rejection. Identification with Christ means rejection. Jesus said, I was rejected, you will be rejected. And as we suffer with Christ, we learn obedience. We learn obedience. But praise be to Him, He suffered and learned obedience, that we might learn it through Him. He was the forerunner. He's the author of eternal salvation. He suffered and died at the cross, that we might die with Him, that we might suffer and lose sin in our life. So we're saved, we're justified, but now God is working through us a process of sanctification that is much suffering, that is much suffering. The Christian must suffer, and I think Christians should know that. Many today are told that Christians don't suffer, which is a great tragedy, because then when people who may be true Christians come into suffering, they get surprised and say, what is this? What is this? Or when they get rejected by their family or rejected by people in the community, they're surprised and they say, what is this? But if we teach people, no, this is how a Christian lives, this is what will happen. We could prepare and we could know that this is a part of knowing Christ. It is to suffer with Him. But I'll just close by saying this, that Jesus Christ, priesthood, is eternal. He is our eternal High Priest. So the priestly order has been done away with because Christ is our High Priest forever and ever. He is our high priest forever and ever. And all the priests that were on earth were only a representation of Christ and His eternal high priestly office. And now we, through Christ, have an eternal salvation. An eternal salvation because He qualifies. He qualifies as our great high priest. He qualifies as our sacrifice also. He is the one who offers the sacrifice and he is the sacrifice. It's amazing. And he qualifies. He was a man. He came from man. He was called and sent by God. He is God in his very nature, being the son of God. He came from the priestly order of Melchizedek and he was proven He was proven. He fulfilled the whole law. He fulfilled the whole law. And He was proven to be sinless. He was proven. And He is our great High Priest forever and ever. So, praise His holy name. Let's pray. Dear Father in heaven, I thank you. for your grace today. I thank you for these words in Hebrews that teach us of the great, our great High Priest, Jesus Christ. And Father, I pray for those here that may not realize or have never recognized who you are, Lord Jesus, that you offer eternal salvation because of who you are and what you have done. I pray, Father, please work in the hearts here that each person here would know you. And I pray for us as Christians, Lord, that we would meditate, meditate on the person of Christ and who He is and His qualifications for His work. I pray, God, work in our hearts in a deep way. I thank You For your grace, bless our time. Afterwards, I pray in Jesus' name, Amen.