04-07-2019 – Keith Cozort – My Great High Priest (PM Sermon)

Certainly, I appreciate you being here and such a beautiful first day of the week. Certainly there are other places we know that you could be if you so chose, but we’re glad that you chose to be here in order to worship. Couple of announcements, I may have mentioned to you this morning that I had texted brother Ivy to see how he was doing.

He texted back about 15 minutes after we left the house and I don’t bring my cell phone with me normally to the building. So when we got home, we found that he said, he’s doing good, that the doctor has instructed him, that he is to speak slowly and he is to speak softly and Linda is loving it. So that’s really all the information I got concerning it,

but it sounds like things are progressing nicely. For those of you who don’t know, some of you’ve already made mention of it this morning, because you found out in other ways, but anyway, this week starting today, I think it was, or at least it starts tomorrow. There is a lectureship at the Crider congregation, which is outside of West Plains,

not far from where gospel Hill is. And they invited me to speak tomorrow night. So I’ll be speaking tomorrow night there at the Crider congregation. Also, if you noticed on the bulletin board out there, there is a gospel meeting that’s also going on next week at the highway one 60 congregation brother, Tim Kidwell is going to be in West Plains. Yes,

Same time started today. Hey, my wife needs me to clarify things for her. I’ll get in trouble for that one. But started today goes through Thursday of this week, Amber, the Tim Kidwell is doing the preaching there. And I know that if you are able to go there to visit, they will certainly appreciate that very much. Open your Bibles with me.

If you will, to Hebrews chapter five, Hebrews chapter five, I want us to notice, okay. Some things that this chapter says concerning our high priest, Hebrews chapter five, Hebrews writer says beginning in verse. One for every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God that he may both gifts and sacrifices for sins who can have compassion on the ignorant and on them that are out of the way for that.

He himself also is compass with infirmity and by reason here of he, he ought as for the people. So also for himself to offer for SIDS and no man take it this honor unto himself. But he, that is called of God as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified, not himself to be made and high priest, but he that said unto him,

thou art. My son today, have I be gotten the, as he have, as he say, if also in another place thou art, a priest forever after the order of milk is a debt who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him, that was able to save him from death and was heard in that he feared though he were a son yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered and being made perfect.

He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him called of God and Holy priest. After the order of Melchizedek of whom we have many things to say and hard to be uttered seen year dull of hearing for when, for the time he ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles of the Oracles of God and are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat for everyone that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness for he is a babe,

but strong meat belongs to them who are a full age. Even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil beginning in chapter five, the Hebrews writer, whoever that is, whether it’s Paul or Barnabas or whoever it may have been, we don’t know for sure, but he is going to begin a long dissertation, a long series of arguments in order to show that Christ is better,

that Christ is better than virtually while Christ is better than anything under the old law of Moses. And the old Testament Speaks to us concerning the fact that the high priest had to meet certain qualifications before he could occupy the office Of high priest. And so I want us to notice from here in chapter five, some of the qualifications that the Hebrews writer gives us concerning Christ.

So as to qualify him to be our high priest. And so I want us to think concerning the idea of my high priest is great because, and we’re going to give several becauses. Here are several answers to that from here in chapter five, my high priest is great because of his nature verses one through four. Notice again, what he says for every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins who could have compassion on the ignorant and on them that are out of the way for that.

He himself also is combust with infirmity and by reason here of he fought as for the people. So also for himself to offer for sins and no man take this on or under himself, but he, that is called of God as was Aaron. So here are the Hebrews writer speeds concerning the very nature and the nature of the high priest, but also showing this concerning the nature of Christ as being our high priest.

How that, first of all, he is taken from among men, the Hebrews writer says here in verse one, that is the reason he’s making that statement is so as to make the point that the high priest can’t be an angel, can’t be anything, but from among men. And of course our Lord qualified for that because he was among men, even though he is deity in the flesh,

he is still taken away from among men to be qualified, to be this high priest. He speaks concerning here in verse. One of him being ordained, being ordained. The word ordained here, carries with it. The idea of being appointed high priest was appointed and he was appointed to this office for the purpose of serving men. As far as somebody said,

now, wait a minute. I thought he was serving God. Well, he is serving God. He serving God, but on the, for the benefit of mankind. And certainly that is correct as far as the responsibilities of the high priest. And so this is speaking concerning the relating to two things that pertain to God for man. He fulfilled his office to the benefit of man that he made,

keep an offering, both of them, of gifts and sacrifices for sins. That’s what the high priest was responsible for doing. And, and by such as we mentioned a couple of weeks ago, he was also one who was responsible for inspecting the sacrifices to make sure that they met what God required as far as their purity was concerned. So he was taken from among men verse one verse two tells us that he was sympathetic.

The high priest is sympathetic, meaning that he was sympathetic to men. The Hebrews writer speaks concerning the fact that he has compassion has compassion on the ignorant. The compassion to, to bear gently is the idea here to treat with mildness or moderation. Gentleness is what is being spoken up. But he is one who has compassion on those who are ignorant. Those who are ignorant,

those who don’t know is the effect of what is being referred to here. The high priest was one who was also compassionate to those who weren’t out of the way, which means those who were in error. And he recognized, knew that they were in error, but we understand that if men will turn to God through open-ended repentance and obedience to the gospel on this side of the cross anyway,

Then Christ Will gently bear them Regardless Of the sins that they’re guilty of. Because if they have repented in there and thereby have obeyed the gospel, then they are going to receive forgiveness. For those things. The high priest under the mosaic law was a man with All the Weaknesses that were common to mankind. The high priest was not a spiritual giant or a super spiritual giant.

He was one who was man, like everybody else. He had the same weaknesses. He had the same desires, even though he has to work to overcome those. But the fact of the matter is he was just a man, like we yeah. Are. And that is certainly to be understood. But yeah, The Hebrews writer also speaks here in verse two,

that he himself also Is combust with Infirmity. The word compass there means something that’s lying around like a chain around your neck Back, all right, he is coming Just with infirmity or weaknesses, sinful, weak weaknesses. Therefore again, making the point that The high priest under the old Testament law was one who was just a regular Joe, as far as that was concerned,

though, he is one who is going to be taken from among men to serve God for mankind. Thirdly, In verse three, concerning his nature, we find that he offers sins or sacrifices for sins, offer sacrifices for sins by and by reason eruv he got as for the people also for himself to offer for sins. We’ve made mention at various times how that the high priest on that day of a toy atonement had to offer sins for himself.

And then he would be able to offer sins for his people, for the people of Israel. And that was extremely important because he had to be pure himself before he could be able to offer sacrifice for others. Since he was a man who was combust with infirmity as spoken of there in verse two, then he needed those sacrifices in order to be purified of his own sins.

And remembering of course, that he was not really purified just as the people were not really purified by the sacrifices they were, they offered, but they were doing such an obedience with the anticipation of that sinful ness being removed, being forgiven through the ultimate sacrifice, which is the sacrifice of Christ, the blood of Christ flowed backwards to all of those under the old Testament who were faithful in doing what God required them to do.

And it was at that point when they actually receive forgiveness of those sins, just as we receive forgiveness of our sins today, as a result of the blood that he shed that flows forward until such time as he comes the second time and everything on this earth is going to end, even though the high priests were those who were chosen of God and they performed an enormously profitable service to those who were men yet,

they were just men themselves. But we also see in verse four, that he is called of God. And no man take if this honor unto himself. But he, that is called of God as was Aaron called of God. And so with this, his argumentation is such that just as Aaron was called of God to serve as the first high priest,

all of those who would be high priests after him would also be those who are called of God. The high priest did not decide that he was going to run for the office of being high priest and thereby start working toward receiving the right number of votes in order to become high priest. No, not at all, but the priesthood belonged to God. And only those whom he chose whom he selected were those who could occupy this office.

There were men we learned from the old Testament. There were those who attempted to use SERP, the office of high priest to take it upon themselves to be high priest. And yet when they did that, they ended up paying for it with their own lives. God himself is the one who called Aaron to be the height, the first high priests and those priests and those high priests that would follow after him would be of his family.

So we have concerning the high priest is the Hebrews writer is beginning to show this, that he had to be one who was taken from among men. He had to be one who was sympathetic. He had to be one who was willing to offer sacrifices for men’s sins. And he had to be called by God in order to fill that purpose in verses five and six.

My high priest is great because of how he fulfills scripture. When you go back to the old Testament, go back to the book of Psalms for just a minute and notice the second Psalm And the second Psalm. And in verse seven, it says, I will declare the decree. The Lord has said unto me, thou art, my son this day,

have I forgotten the, and so it is that this is actually the scripture that the Hebrews writer quotes at the end of verse five, he’s quoting from Psalm two and in verse seven. And Jesus was one, of course, who did fulfill scripture, virtually every part of his life is fulfilling something that was prophesied about him in the old Testament, there are somewhere over 300 prophecies concerning the life of Jesus Christ here on this earth.

And Jesus fulfilled every single one of those, The duty of the priests And everyone else, including Christ was to glorify God, not to glorify himself, but to glorify God. And certainly that continues to be even today that we are to be those who attempt to live in such a way that we glorify God by our lives. But the priesthood of Christ was also as the Hebrews writer brings out,

it was not to end. It was not to cease. It is to be for forever. He says, and he’s going to use Mel Kizzy deck as an example of that in, in verse six, that he is after the order of bill Kidd’s Dick and with such, you know, we don’t have very much that’s recorded in scripture. Concerning milk is a Dick.

In fact, when you begin to look at it, you find out, he’s only mentioned in the old Testament, Genesis chapter 14, and in verse 18, where there we have the actual account where Abraham comes to milk is a deck who is the King of Salem, which will later become known as Jerusalem, the King of Salem, but he is also the priest of the most high God.

And how that Abraham, after having retrieved lot in his family from being taken is going to give sacrifices, or he’s going to give part of the bounty anyway, to milk his deck, to give unto God in doing such. And so he’s referred to there. The other time is in the 100 Psalm and in verse four, where the Psalmist speaks in verse four,

and he says, enter into his Gates with Thanksgiving and into his courts with praise, be thankful unto him. And that is not the right 110. I was in 100. Okay. I knew that wasn’t right, but I didn’t know where I was wrong. Psalm 110 verse four, the Lord has sworn and will not repent thou art a priest forever after the order of male kids,

a dead. Well, that is also the passage that the Hebrews writer quotes here in verse six. And so he’s quoting from both of those passages where milk is the Dick has made mention. Now the interesting part is that those are the only two mentions concerning meld tea. Milk is a deck outside of the book of Hebrews. The book of Hebrews itself nine times milk is a deck is going to be made mention of chapter five,

verse six, that we’ve just read as well as verse 10, chapter six, verse 20 chapter seven verses one 10, 11, 15, 17, and 21 nine times in the book of Hebrews, the Hebrews writer is going to make mention concerning this man who was the King of Salem and also priest of the most high God and how that he is the one that our Lord is compared to that our Lord is high priest.

Light milk is a deck, was high priest. One of the facts that you find when you look at all of these passages and look at the life of Melchizedek, what little bit we have recorded concerning him, but also the life of the Christ. One of the things that you find is that with both<inaudible> and with Christ, a neither Christ nor milk is a debt came from a priestly family.

There’s no indication at all that milk is a deck was of a priestly family. Well, Jesus was not of a priestly family. He was of the wrong tribe to be of a priestly family. He was of the, the family of Judah and no priests could come from Judah. It was to be of the tribe of Levi, but yet they are both going to serve as a priest to the most high God.

And our Lord of course is going to be high priest. So he falls Phil’s scripture there as is given to us here in verses five and six. My high priest is great also because of his tenure versus six and 10. Again, because we were told in verse six, that thou art a priest for forever after the order of milk, isn’t it forever without end,

Jesus is going to always be high priest for man. And therefore his priesthood will not nice, but also it’s spoken up concerning after the order of Melchizedek here in verse six and 10. And again, chapter six, verse 20 through chapters, seven verse 11 and spoken up concerning the fact that he is called, he is called and the word that’s translated called here,

carries with it, the idea of to salute or to address he is called and, and thereby interesting thing is this, this word that’s used here by the Hebrews writer is found in no other place in the new Testament. We have different words that are used to be called we’re called by the gospel and various other things. But this is only used here in this particular verse when he speaks concerning this in verse 10,

called of God and high priest after the order of mill kids a day. So my high priest is great because of his tenure in my house. Priest is great. Also as the Hebrews writer is going to bring up verses seven through nine because of what he chose to endure because of what he chose to endure. Notice what he says, who in the days of his flesh,

when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him, that was able to save him from death and was heard in that he feared though he were a son yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered and being made perfect. He became the author of eternal salvation and do all them that obey him, called him God and high priest after the order of male kids,

a debt. And so it is that when you read this and remember that he’s talking about Christ, one of the things that you see is that Jesus had intense emotion when he is viewing the cross. The indication seems to be that the reference here is to when Jesus is in the garden of guests, Semini just hours before he’s going to be betrayed hours before he’s going to be turned over to that mob of those Jews.

That’s going to come in order to arrest him. But one of the requirements for a high priest though, it’s not always specified yet. The indication is from the descriptions of the high priest, was that he was to be one who had an understanding of man had an understanding concerning his shortcomings and things, as it related toward that, and also having sympathy for others in their condition of being human.

Well, Jesus, of course, is one who express that kind of emotion, the emotion that man feels when he is here, living his life and faced with those things that he is going to have to deal with there before they happen in the garden of guests, eMoney, he is one who is up of such strong emotions, that he is one who offers a prayers and supplications.

The Hebrews writer says with strong crying and tears. And yet again, we remind ourselves that he has to do that because of us, because of our sins. He was going to have to go through all of those things. Hebrews writer makes it clear that Jesus was not only the son of God though. That certainly would have been just enough that we would think of anyway.

But he was also one who was man Than flesh and blood. Yeah. So we sometimes speak concerning the fact that he was 100% God and 100% man, 100% of the time. And that’s true. We offered up as the Hebrew writer brings out here, he offered up, which is a technical word for offering sacrifice to God, But he’s going to offer himself as that.

Perfect sacrifice Offered up to God, prayers, supplications with strong crying and tears. The phrase strong crying here Carries with it. The idea of having extreme anguish in his soul concerning what is going to coming about. And again, I’m not convinced in my own mind anyway, that Jesus is having this extreme anguish simply because he’s going to be put to death on the cross.

I think there was more that was involved in that anguish that he is going to feel in that as a result of that, he’s going to end up being separated from God, which he would never have, which he never experienced before. And it is going to weigh on him tremendously as it relates toward that. And so the Hebrews writer here speaks concerning That strong Crying in tears because the end of the verse In that he feared these things that were going to happen.

Okay. And this is spoken of as being godly fear and godly respect reverence, as we would say that because of his reverence toward the heavenly father, respect toward the heavenly father, he’s going to have to endure all of these things. But we also see that not only is there this intense emotion As he Views the cross, there is also as verse eight says suffer though.

He were a son yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered and notice how the Hebrews writer qualifies That though he were a son yet He is going to learn obedience by the things which he suffered. When you think concerning our Lord. The thing that we do need to remind ourselves is Jesus knew obedience long before he ever went to the cross. This verse is not telling us that it is at that point in time when Jesus is going to learn what obedience really Is there on The cross.

No, that’s not what he’s talking about. Or no, Jesus was one who was always, always lived his life in obedience To our Lord. That again, And of course his fulfillment of those old Testament passages, all those things that it said that he was going to do that he did. But it’s also such that he always lived in obese To the will of the father.

Even before he came to this earth, he knew it. Obedience was, he came to this earth in obese, Yes, to the father, but it is human life. He learned obedience by his suffering. Peter Will say in first Peter chapter two In verses 21 through 24, Or we’ll say that his sufferings We’re For us. And by his stripes,

we are healed. He says for even here in to where you called, because Christ also suffered for us leaving us an example that we should follow his steps, who did no sin. Neither was guile found in his mouth who, when he was reviled, reviled, not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously who his own self bear,

our sins in his own body, on the tree that we be dead to sins should live under righteousness. By whose stripes he were healed Such. It is that he was one who Was obedient even in his suffering, But he is a great high priest Because of what he chose to endure, which also is brought out concerning the fact that he was made perfect,

Thereby He was made perfect. Thereby verse nine, he made perfect. He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. Now the word perfect here. As we’ve mentioned at other times in other passages, the word perfect here does not mean sinless perfection. He was already sinlessly perfect. As far as that’s concerned, the word perfect here carries with it.

The idea of completion or maturity. And certainly he was completely mature. As far as that’s idea is spoken up, thereby he was perfect. And through his sufferings, Jesus became the perfect mediator between God and man. He knew both sides. That’s an important part for one who is a mediator. He is to know both sides and therefore be able to attempt to bring both sides together.

Well, that’s exactly what Jesus does between us and God. He is our mediator, our high priest, my high priest is great because of his nurture. We learn in verse nine, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him Author. Yeah. The idea of author here means that which causes something to come about, something to happen.

He is the originator. As far as providing salvation for mankind, he came into the world in order to make salvation available to mankind. Now he does it. He doesn’t force people to, to accept the gospel and to be obedient to the gospel. No, not at all. He offers it as an option. They have the responsibility of choosing to be faithful or not choosing to be obedient to the gospel or not it’s up to them.

But he is one who has also told what the consequences are going to be for those who do not choose to be obedient. Therefore only those who do obey him are those who are going to receive the benefits more than 20 years ago, brother Rubel, Shelly made this statement. He said it is a scandalous and outrageous lie to teach that salvation arises from human activity.

We do not contribute one wit to ourselves. How false can false would be. We don’t contribute one wit to our salvation. Why does the new Testament teach so much concerning the fact that we have to repent? Why does the new Testament teach so much concerning the fact that we have to be baptized? We have to submit ourselves to being baptized. Why is it the new Testament teaches that we must as being baptized believers through obedience,

to the gospel. We must also be faithful servants. God, yes, we contribute to our salvation. Do we earn our salvation? No. Paul brings that out in the book of Romans. We don’t earn our salvation at all, but we contribute to it through our OB. Yes, absolutely. We do because of his nature. He is my great high priest.

He’s my great high priest because of how he can help us mature verses 11 through 14 of whom we have, I have many things to say and hard to be uttered, senior dull of hearing for wind. For the time you ought to be teachers, you have need that. One teach you again, which be the first principles of the Oracles of God and every come such as have need of milk and not of strong meat for everyone that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness for he is a babe,

but strong meat belongs to them that are a full age though. Even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. The Hebrews writer here speaks concerning the immaturity of these Hebrew Christians that he is writing to. He says how that there are things that need to be uttered, but these Hebrew Christians are those who are dull of hearing.

And he says that they are hard to, or to those who are in this kind of a situation, this kind of a circumstance. And the idea here is more than just hard to speak, but it is the idea hard to speak so that they will understand hard to speak so that they will understand and can be properly interpreted to them because of the fact their senses are done.

And so the, the people could not receive the Hebrews writer is pointing up. They couldn’t receive the full truth due to that dullness of hearing, descriptive of them. We do know that there are other occasions where the disciples of Christ are ones who had trouble understanding or trouble accepting things that Jesus taught. John chapter six is a perfect example of that. At the end of that chapter,

where some of his disciples turned away and walked with him no more because of what he was teaching. They were dull of hearing and slow or sluggish in their mind. And it wasn’t that they didn’t have the intellectual capability to be to understand, but they were not using that intellectual capability. So as to try to understand, and to apply the teachings of Christ,

the way that they were needing to be applied. And we have no idea as to how, how long these Christians, these Jewish Christians have been members of the body of Christ. But the indication is from what is spoken of here, they have been members of the body of Christ for a long enough period of time to where they should now be able to teach others.

The fact of the matter is they need to be taught again, the first principles of the Oracles of God. They were ones who should be teaching others, but they are needing to be taught themselves. Again, those first principles, those beginning symbols of the word of God, we might classify it as the ABCs of the gospel, the ABC’s of the word of God,

the first print principles, the fundamental elements of the gospel. They weren’t even able to teach those. And they’re rebuked because why is it? Why is it that breath brothers and sisters do not teach, do not try to teach other well others while there’s probably various reasons as to why that’s the case. Some don’t try to teach others because of their own ignorance.

They don’t spend much time in studying the word of God and therefore they don’t know themselves. And yet they certainly ought to know enough as to show someone what they have to do in order to be saved, going to the Bible in order to show that. And yet so many do not others don’t teach because of indifference. They really are not concerned whether anybody else hears the gospel or not.

Others do not teach because of not preparing themselves adequately, to be able to be able to, to do that, to, to teach others. But he speaks, the Hebrews writer speaks to these Christians of they have a need to be taught the first principles of the Oracles of God. The word is translated need. There carries with it. The idea of duty.

They have an obligation to be taught again, the first principles, by the way, that’s the exact same word that is used in first Corinthians chapter seven. And in verse three, where Paul says that the husband is to give due diligence to his wife due diligence. That’s the idea of need here. And so he speaks concerning the fact that they have need of milk and not of strong meat.

They’ve not grown spiritually to the point where they can digest the meat of the word of God. They have to continue to be fed with the milk. They’ve not grown past the baby stage of Christianity. Now milk here is, is speaking just exactly that speaking concerning the baby stage of Christianity milk sometimes is used in a positive way, such as when Peter uses it,

that we are to desire the sincere milk of the word, but here he’s not using it here. He’s using it in such a way as to rebuke them because they should have grown past the baby stage, but they’re still there. Meaning they’ve not put forth the effort themselves in order to do this, but it is such as he brings out that strong meat belongs to those who are a full age.

He says full age, that means mature, fully grown, developed in being what God would have them to be. Doesn’t mean they can then sit back on their laurels. No, not at all, but they are then able to be those who are actively working in the Lord’s church, the way that God wants them to work and that their senses, they have exercised to discern both good and evil.

The census, those, those faculties that we have the including, as it stated by way of definition, those organs of perception, they have exercised having their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. So it is that my high priest is great. Excuse me, because of his nature, because of how he fulfills scripture because of his tenure, because of what he chose to endure because of his nurture.

And also because of how he can help us to mature to have one, to represent me before the face of the father, certainly ought to motivate me to keep going no matter what, to keep striving to advance no matter what. And certainly that is the very intention, very desire that we are to have when we read concerning Jesus, being our high priest,

being our mediator between God and man and the Hebrews writer again, is going to be for the next several chapters, continuing this argumentation that he’s going to use, because remember these Hebrew, Christians are those who are considering going back under Judaism. And so he’s going to show them, or at least attempt to show them, remember their Dole of hearing attempt to show them how that they,

they are ones who need to understand that everything about the law of Christ, everything about Jesus is greater than anything. Under the old law, the old law accomplished what God intended for it to accomplish, to bring them to Christ. But they’re considering to go back under that, which is inferior and thereby he is rebuking them for such. If you’re one is outside the body of Christ through obedience of the gospel,

you must become a child of God. If you’re going to have any hope of everlasting life in order to do that, you have to hear the word and you have to believe it. John six, verse 45, you have to be one who’s willing to repent acts two verse 38. You have to be one who’s willing to confess your faith in Christ that he truly is the son of God,

Matthew chapter 10, verse 32, and have to be willing to be immersed in water, to be baptized in order to receive the remission of your sins. Acts two verse 38, Mark 16, verse 16, and other, if you’re needing to do that, we plead with you to do it before it is eternally too late. If you’re one is already a member of the body of Christ,

you can get has gone back into the world. We plead with you to come back and repentance just as Simon Peter did with the Simon, the sourcer come back in repentance, pray to God for forgiveness. And to begin again, walking in the ways of righteousness, if we can help you, we encourage you to come as together. We stand. And as we see.