Christ Is A Better Priest

Hebrews 5

Theme: Remain Confident in Christ

A) Reasons
2) Because He is a better Priest (4:14 - 10:39)

a) He is a heavenly priest (14). Earthly priests minister on
earth, but Christ ministers in heaven as the Son of God.
Following chapters explain this facet of Christ's priesthood.

b) He is a sympathetic priest (15a). Since Christ was tested
in all areas we are (with the lust of the eyes, lust of the
flesh, and boastful pride of life (Mt. 4; cf. 1 John 2:16), He
is able to sympathize with our weaknesses.

c) He is a sinless priest (15b). It has been observed that only
a person who endures the complete scope of testing without sin
knows the full extent of its power. Since Christ bore the
full duration of testing without sinning, He understands more
than anyone else, the temptation we face. Being sinless also
qualified Christ to offer Himself as our substitute offering
for sin--something discussed in more detail later.

d) He is an appointed priest (5:1-6). Christ was appointed by
God Himself, and designated a priest forever "according to the
order of Melchizedek). Melchizedek was the king priest of
Salem in Genesis 14:17-24). How He typifies the nature of
Christ's priesthood is explained in following chapters of
Hebrews.

e) He is a perfect priest (7-9). Christ gained experiential
knowledge of the sufferings we face when He Himself suffered.
This included death and separation from God, and makes Him
complete as the source of our eternal salvation.

f) He is an eternal priest (10). Earthly priests die, but Christ
is an eternal priest, as typified by Melchizedek, whose
beginning or ending genealogies are unknown.

Maturity requires a deeper knowledge of Christ. In this case,
the readers needed to understand Christ's superiority as a
priest, so they would remain confident in Him. With practice,
a mature believer is able to use this wisdom to discern
between good and evil.

--
Have you heard Christ died for our sins, and God raised Him
from the dead? Did you know God saves you from hell and
gives you eternal life through faith in this finished work alone,
not your merits (Jn. 3:16; 1 Cor. 15:1-3; Eph. 2:8-10; 2 Thess.
1:8-9)? This is so man cannot boast, and God alone gets the
glory (Eph. 2:8-9).
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