Study in Hebrews: Jesus – High Priest and King :: By Sean Gooding

Published on: by RR10 Category:General Articles, Sean Gooding

Hebrews 5: 5-11

“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.’ 6 As He also says in another place: ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek’; 7 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, 8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. 9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, 10 called by God as High Priest ‘according to the order of Melchizedek,’ 11 of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing” (NKJV).

We will begin a very technical part of this journey in Hebrews from here and for a while. We will do our best to take small bites and make sure that we cover all of the doctrines as best we can. There are many that have Jesus only as a New Testament character, and they do not see Him very much in the Old Testament. But we are about to explore that Jesus was not only in the Old Testament but that He fulfills a role that was set up before the Law of Moses was ever written. And that puts Him in a unique position to execute both the office of our High Priest and be the King of Israel.

It is thus very important to establish that this is possible. The writer of Hebrews had to be able to do this because in the Law and even before that, the office of king was held in one tribe, that being Judah, and the office of High Priest was given to the tribe of Levi, and the two did not mix. We know for sure, according to both Luke and Matthew, that Jesus was born from the tribe of Judah. See Luke 3:33-34, which shows Jesus was born from the tribe of Judah, who was the son of Jacob. In Matthew 1:1-3, we again see that Jesus was born from Judah. Thus, as the oldest living male from the tribe of Judah, He has the legal right to be the King of the Jews. If you will recall, Jesus was executed as the King of the Jews.

Matthew 27:36-37, “And sitting down, they kept watching over Him there. Above His head they posted the written charge against Him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS” (Berean Study Bible).

Notice what Pilate had written; not he claimed to be the King of the Jews, but “This is Jesus, The King of the Jews.’ So, the Roman government recognized Him as the King of the Jews. This is witnessed in John 19:19 as well. It is clear then, from the Bible, that Jesus was born from the tribe of Judah, the king tribe. It is clear that He is the oldest living male of the tribe and falls from the lineage of Mary, not Joseph. This is important, but this will take another very long lesson; as such, His claim to the throne of Israel is legitimate. He was recognized by the Roman government as such.

But what about the office of High Priest? No one from the tribe of Judah has even been a High Priest. So, to show us that Jesus also has the right to be the High Priest, the author of Hebrews – really the Holy Spirit – takes us on a historical journey all the way back to Genesis 14, and there we meet a man called Melchizedek in verses 18-20.

“Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said: ‘Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.’ And he gave him a tithe of all” (NKJV).

Abraham paid tithes to a person called the King of Salem, King of Peace. Then we are told in Hebrews that Jesus is ‘priest’ after the order of Melchizedek. So, this Melchizedek was both the King of Salem, the King of Peace, and the High Priest. Now, Salem was a small city that would be conquered by a people called the Jebusites in about 1000 BC, and they were then conquered by King David.

2 Samuel 5:6-7, “And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke to David, saying, ‘You shall not come in here; but the blind and the lame will repel you,’ thinking, ‘David cannot come in here.’ Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion (that is, the City of David)” (NKJV).

The city that we know as Jerusalem was once ruled by a man, Melchizedek, who was the King of Peace (Salem) and the High Priest. The writer of Hebrews then is telling us Jesus is going to rule Jerusalem one day, the King of Salem (Peace), and He is our High Priest now, as we have established with His intercessory work over the past few weeks. Jesus then has the right to be both for us. God established this before the Law and had Abraham pay tithes to him. Notice as well that Melchizedek also shared ‘bread and wine’ with Abraham and that He blessed Abraham. The only other person to bless Abraham was God.

Genesis 12:1-3, “Now the Lord had said to Abram: ‘Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (NKJV).

Jesus is the King of Peace, and He is our High Priest in a spiritual sense, but He is also the legal heir to the throne of David. And one day soon, He will come to claim His rightful place. Will you be ready for His return?

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

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Beyond The Verbatim :: By Edwin Tan

Published on: by RR10 Category:General Articles

Ten years ago, and most probably five, things could have been closer to a humdrum routine. Church attendance, prayer meetings, Bible study sessions, and those large prophecy conferences like the one in Branson in Missouri, if not Colorado Springs! All against a backdrop of prophetic activity that seemingly chugs with the pace of a stack train.

A totally different scenario over the past couple of years, prophetic activity is at the very least registering hypersonic mode. It is quite a feat to keep up with everything that is happening. I have been blessed with a mind that does not have any time for that which is misleading; I continue with my pursuit of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding that is from the Lord. I still consider myself to be an unfinished product, still open to His teaching and instruction. But I have this burden for my brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ. Some have an issue handling swathes of raw data (a lot of it has question marks), and they become a target for the author of confusion.

With this in mind, I would like to voice my thoughts about that which all of us are facing on a daily, if not hourly, basis. For a start, there is need for a sweeping makeover in many mindsets. Those days are gone and never to return. Yes! We have to set our minds on eternity as the hour is indeed very late. Time to go beyond simply scratching the surface. Rote memory of specific verses from the Bible will not do!

The first step in that much-needed makeover involves a decoupling process – distancing oneself from the things of the planet. It can be a tough affair, but with the enabling and empowerment through the Holy Spirit – not really that difficult! You could have an arbitrary prioritization manifest; try to nudge some of your known preferences and pastimes a little lower while placing the things of His Kingdom upside. It will take some time and lots of prayer. If you let the Holy Spirit have a free hand in this makeover, the pain will be minimal. It could very well be a case of growing out of certain likes much in the manner kids do when they enter adolescence. A newfound thrill comes into being and stays with you, enough to keep you full of energy as you savor your new love.

“For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it, but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:16-17).

There is one important thing that helps us wean ourselves out of worldliness – meditation! This comes with prayer that is unceasing. Do not confuse this Godly practice with yoga and other heathen rituals. It simply means that you spend quality time with the Lord. For that, you need to pull yourself away from the hustle and bustle.

Find a quiet corner and allot yourself the minutes, if not hours, for a start. It is like two people having an up close and personal chat. Only this time, it is your Heavenly Father. It could even be a silent session; you say what you say to Him. It could be your doubts, fears, aspirations, desires, and hopes. Have patience, lots of it! You will be rewarded with insights into many things. In a matter of time, verses of Scripture could take on a powerful meaning when your mind is renewed by the Holy Spirit! What is even delightful is the manifold unfoldings in day-to-day living that demonstrate His infinite grace and mercy. It sure makes all that nirvana nonsense hogwash when you can walk and talk in the Living Word of God!

“Finally brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8).

When you arrive at the stage where you meditate on the things talked about in the above passage of Scripture, you will not only have the peace that surpasses all human understanding but also a joy that will confound many eyes and ears. They are looking at a spiritually mature man or woman of God!

As we progress in our journey of faith, the things of the world grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. It is this foundation that enables the genuine believer in Christ to be perfected through unabated learning, an educational process that is preparing the way for eternity with the Lord.

When things of the planet we once upon a time cherished get thrown in the wayside, the things from above truly take precedence. When we spend more of our time on the Living Word, we gain more truths. Truths that will give us teeth when we encounter falsehoods and deceptive blasting. At this juncture, face-to-face meetings are harder to come by, but there is no stopping where the consumption of solid spiritual food goes. Despite going physically solo, it is still possible to get nourishing material from cyberspace through interviews, presentations, and blogs – whether live-streamed or recorded.

“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you ought to need someone to teach you again the first principles on the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:12-14).

Time to grow up and shake off the mindset that goes all the way back to Sunday school. Time to take up the challenge, rising to whatever moment that will glorify His Blessed Name. For this to happen, we must be solid believers – solid believers partake of solid spiritual food! A solid believer indeed has a toe hold on eternity, a glorious one with the Lord.

Maranatha

Edwin

Contact me at edwinuk13@gmail.com