Hebrews 5

Order of Service

• Scripture Reading — Hebrews 5:1-10
• Sermon
• Prayer of Dismissal

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Sermon Title: The Priestly Qualifications of Christ

Scripture: Hebrews 5:1-10

I. Right Priestly Work Orders: What a Priest Does and How He Gets the Job

A. The function of a high priest (Hebrews 5:1)

1. Chosen from among men — a man among men, not an angel or outsider
2. Appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God
3. Offers gifts and sacrifices for sins

B. The priest as mediator — bringing men near to God

1. Unlike the prophet, who moves from God toward man, the priest moves from man toward God
2. The priest does not merely send men to God but brings them representatively through himself
3. Contact with God on the priest's part involves contact with God for the people

C. How the priest receives his office (Hebrews 5:4)

1. No one takes this honor for himself
2. He is called and appointed by God, just as Aaron was

II. How Christ's Priestly Ministry Conforms to the Priestly Order

A. Christ did not exalt himself but was appointed by the Father (Hebrews 5:5)

1. The Father glorifies and commissions the Son — John 8
2. The Father's declaration at Christ's baptism: 2 Peter 1 echoes Psalm 2:7 — "You are my Son, today I have begotten you"
3. The baptism is a commissioning event: the Father publicly designates the Son for his priestly mission

B. Christ comes on purpose for a purpose — sent by the Father

1. The sending of the Son is a major theme throughout John's Gospel — John 3:16-17
2. Christ's own words: "I have come to do your will, O God" — Hebrews 10
3. Gethsemane as the culmination: "Not my will, but yours be done"

C. Christ is prepared for priestly work through suffering (Hebrews 5:7-9)

1. He offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears
   • The High Priestly Prayer of John 17
   • His intercession for Peter — Luke 22
   • His prayer in Gethsemane as the culmination of his life of prayer
2. "He learned obedience through what he suffered" — not that anything was lacking in him, but that his perfect obedience was actively manifested throughout his earthly life
3. "Being made perfect" carries the sense of being made fit for office (Geerhardus Vos) — the Father publicly revealing the Son as fully qualified to serve as high priest
4. His sinlessness was always present in principle; his suffering brought that obedience into public, concrete, active expression
5. Result: he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him (Hebrews 5:9)

III. How Christ's Priestly Ministry Contrasts with the Aaronic Priesthood

A. The Aaronic priests must offer sacrifice for their own sins as well as the people's (Hebrews 5:3)

1. Christ has no sins of his own for which to offer sacrifice
2. He is both the perfect priest and the perfect sacrifice — to be developed further in Hebrews 7

B. Christ's priestly order is permanent — after the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 5:6, quoting Psalm 110:4)

1. Aaronic priests serve and die; their office passes to successors
2. Through the mysterious figure of Melchizedek, the author establishes that Christ holds a permanent, ongoing, eternal priesthood
3. The word "forever" fundamentally distinguishes Christ's priestly order — to be expounded in Hebrews 7