Appointed By God. So the author of Hebrews says     For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins; he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness; and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people, so also for himself. And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was. So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him, “THOU ART MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN THEE”; just as He says also in another passage, “THOU ART A PRIEST FOREVER ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK.” (NASB) Heb. 5:1-6   His first point is that a high priest is selected by God to minster for God. The ministry of the high priest was to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins, to help the misguided and the weak. A man did not select himself to be a high priest. It was God who selected the first high priest (Exodus 28:1-2). He was Aaron. So also Christ did not choose Himself - God did! It must have been a shock to these New Testament Christians to be reminded by an Old Testament passage that God had already chosen Jesus as a high priest, too! Melchizedek was not a Levite, yet he was recognized by God as a high priest. God had appointed Jesus just as He had recognized Melchizedek and appointed Aaron!       Spiritual leaders in the church need to have a sense of being called or appointed by God. This was true of the elders in the church at Ephesus (Acts 20:17, 28) who were selected by the Holy Spirit. They are directly accountable to God first and last. In response, a godly leader will then fulfill his responsibilities to the leadership and congregation.       Sinlessly Perfect. Jesus was sinlessly perfect. The Levitical high priests were sinners. This was proven by the struggle He endured before His death and His return to life.     In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. (NASB) Heb. 5:7-10   The Spirit is talking about Jesus’ loud, strong crying in the Garden of Gethsemane. The word Gethsemane means “oil press.” What a picture! Jesus was being pressed. He faced death and He was struggling. The Spirit tells us in Hebrews that He was heard because of His “piety.” He learned perfect obedience as a man. Jesus’ humanity is in view here. Scripture has focused in on the man Jesus Christ. He is also God, but it is His humanity that is in view here. As a man, Jesus was made perfect or “complete” (TELEIOO). The message is that He is our Savior and High Priest.       Conclusion. Jesus qualifies to be our Savior. He qualifies to be our High Priest. This was an important truth for the Hebrew readers, and it is an important truth for us today. We will discover later in Hebrews that our times of worship, our church life, and our spiritual walk would be very different today if Jesus were not our High Priest. We will learn more of the role our spiritual leaders have in our spiritual lives. I am thankful that Jesus is our high priest.           < Back
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