Jesus, The Superior High Priest 10-26-25 PM

I.            Jesus is superior by virtue of His placement (Hebrews 7:20-21).

a.      The high priest under the Old Law was placed into his position because of his being a descendant of Aaron.

           i.      This is the way God devised it and set it into motion.

           ii.      Exodus 28 deals with this and chapter 40 deals with his installation as high priest.

b.      It all depended on the flesh as to who was to be the high priest, and in the days this letter was written it was a political appointment.

c.       This changed with Jesus being made our Great High Priest.

          i.      We noticed that Jesus came from a completely different tribe than Aaron.

          ii.      Jesus being from the tribe of Judah not Levi.

d.      Jesus was placed as our Great High Priest by an oath.

          i.      It was not an oath given by Himself.

          ii.      It was not an oath given by a man.

e.      This oath came from God and the writer pointed to Psalm 110:4 as the oath.

f.        One thing that is interesting to note is that the phrase “after the order of Melchizedec” is not found in the ASV or the ESV.

           i.      These version simply say, “Thou art a priest forever”.

           ii.      Jesus is the High Priest of the New Covenant.

g.      This was given by an oath from God - God the Father placed Jesus into the position of High Priest.

II.            Jesus is superior by virtue of His permanence (Hebrews 7:22-25).

a.      One of the problems of the Aaronic priesthood was the fact that they died.

          i.      There were numerous high priests under the Old Covenant.

          ii.      Each of them, starting with Aaron, lasted until they died.

          iii.      They each had to be replaced.

b.      It is not so with Jesus.

          i.      The idea is found in Psalm 110:4.

          ii.      The phrase “The Lord sware and will not repent” informs us of this fact.

          iii.      The phrase “will not repent” means God will never change His mind.

          iv.      Jesus is always going to be the High Priest.

          v.      This prophecy of God by the Psalmist is irrevocable.

          vi.      God was never going to change His mind and when it happened it was going to be forever.

c.       The oath that placed Jesus as High Priest allowed Jesus to be the guarantee of a superior testament.

          i.      The word “surety” is found only here in the New Testament.

          ii.      It literally means “bondsman” carrying the idea of bail.

          iii.      Barnes said it means “ It properly means, a bondsman; one who pledges his name, property, or influence, that a certain thing shall be done. When a contract is made, debt contracted, or a note given, a friend often becomes the “security” in the case, and is himself responsible if the terms of the contract are not complied with. In the case of the new covenant between God and man, Jesus is the “security” or the bondsman.”

          iv.      His life, death, and resurrection allow Him to be this guarantee.

          v.      We can believe the new testament will save us if it is obeyed because of the fact that Jesus is our permanent High Priest.

d.      The old high priest had to continually change because of death.

          i.      Even our favorite brands that we know to be better than other items die on us.

          ii.      Our Nike’s wear out, our Cadillacs break down, and we know this.

e.      Such will not be the case with Jesus.

           i.      He has an unchangeable priesthood because of His permanence.

           ii.      He is going nowhere and He will not die or wear out.

f.        In fact, because of His permanence He is able to completely save us.

            i.      There is no rolling forward of sin looking for something better to eventually come from God.

            ii.      In Christ, salvation is complete.

1.      We are entirely washed from our sins.

2.      They are not brought up against us ever again because they are washed away.

g.       The reason is He is always available to intercede for us with God.

          i.      Because of His permanence, Jesus is always there, in the presence of God, able to intercede for us.

          ii.      Jesus is always pleading our case, which is the meaning of intercession.

h.      Think of the great blessing this knowledge is.

          i.      There is always One who deeply loves us in the presence of God.

          ii.      In His presence, this One who loves us so much is always ready to plead our case to the Father.

          iii.      In our darkest hour or strongest storm, we can rest well knowing we have this great promise of a permanent presence before the Father acting on our behalf.

III.            Jesus is superior by virtue of His perfection (Hebrews 7:26-28).

a.      Another problem with the Levitical high priest is that he was a sinner like me and you.

           i.      Read about Aaron and it doesn’t take long to know he was a sinner.

           ii.      In fact, it was while Moses was getting the orders from God to install him as high priest that Aaron created the golden calves.

b.      Notice what verse 27 tells us.

           i.      The high priest had to offer up sacrifices for himself.

           ii.      Sacrifices had to be offered because of sin.

           iii.      Before he could ever offer sacrifices for any of the people, he had to offer them for himself.

c.       This is not a problem the Jesus has.

d.      Look at how the writer spoke of our Great High Priest, and was inspired to do so.

           i.      Jesus is holy - there is no pollution of the world in Him.

1.      He is our perfectly sinless High Priest.

2.      It is His blood that allows us to be holy.

           ii.      Jesus is harmless - there is no malice in Christ.

1.      The ASV says that Jesus is guileless.

2.      The ESV says that Jesus is innocent.

3.      Jesus wants harm to come to no one, He carries no grudges.

           iii.      Jesus is undefiled - there is no stain on Him.

           iv.      Jesus is separate from sinners - He is without sin.

1.      Before the Day of Atonement, the Levitical high priest would dwell apart from the people to avoid contamination.

2.      Being in heaven, Jesus cannot be defiled in any way.

           v.      Jesus is higher than the heavens.

1.      By being in the presence of God, Jesus can plead our cases before the Father.

2.      He does not dwell with us where He His judgment can be bought or where He can be influenced.

e.      Instead of being one who constantly needs sacrifices for Himself, Jesus offered His perfect self for our sins

           i.      His perfection allowed for the end of all sacrifices of a physical nature.

           ii.      It was a once for all offering for mankind.

f.        Under the Old Law, the priests were not perfect, nor could they be because of the Law under which they served as well as their mortality.

g.      But God, with His oath, made our Lord a High Priest that is perfect always and always will be.