Hebrews 4:14–5:10

Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions. Be comfortably alert, still, and at peace. Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.

1.              Aaron, the first high priest of Israel, followed by many through the centuries. All of these died and were replaced. These only entered in the Holy of Holies once a year.

2.              Jesus, our Great High Priest, has passed through the heavens, this referring to the resurrection. The author of Hebrews then goes on to speak of the qualifications for Jesus being the eternal High Priest.

3.              The 1st is the Son’s divine appointment; no higher authority could there be.

4.              The 2^nd qualification is that He is able to sympathize with our weaknesses and this due to the incarnation, the God-Man.

5.              The 3^rd qualification is that though fully man and God, He is without sin

6.              The 4^th qualification is that Jesus did not exalt Himself, but was appointed to be High Priest.

7.              The 5^th qualification is that Jesus is High Priest forever, “after the order of Melchizedek”, the priest of Salem (think Jerusalem), whom Abraham honored and paid tithes to. (Psalm 110:4) This priest, mysterious, had no priests before or after him.

8.              The 6^th qualification is that He “learned obedience” by way of suffering, and here the indication of the crucifixion.

9.              The 7^th qualification is that Jesus is made “perfect,” again referencing both the resurrection and ascension.

10.           The 8^th qualification is that now Jesus as High Priest, is “the sourced of eternal salvation.”

11.           The 9^th qualification is that God the Father has designated Jesus to be a high priest after the order of Melchizedek, and Melchizedek prior to the days of Aaron and Moses and the whole of the priestly establishment.

12.           Of significance is that the Levitical (priestly) law provided only temporary forgiveness, and this once a year, on the Day of Atonement, or in Hebrew, Yom Kippur. Jesus, the eternal high priest, His sacrifice, stands forever.