Hebrews; Chapter 5
UNDERSTANDING OUR HIGH PRIEST!
Part III
{Verses 12-14}
[8-15-10]
Review:
Hebrews 5:10-11) [GNB] and God declared him to be high priest, in the priestly order of Melchizedek.
11) [GNB] There is much we have to say about this matter, but it is hard to explain to you, because you are so slow to understand.
Who Was Melchizedek?
Genesis 14:18-20) [GNB] And Melchizedek, who was king of Salem and also a priest of the Most High God, brought bread and wine to Abram,
19) [GNB] blessed him, and said, “May the Most High God, who made heaven and earth, bless Abram!
20) [GNB] May the Most High God, who gave you victory over your enemies, be praised!” And Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the loot he had recovered.
Psalm 110:4) [GNB] The LORD made a solemn promise and will not take it back: “You will be a priest forever in the priestly order of Melchizedek.”
QUESTION: When we look at verses 8-10 of this chapter, what is uniquely strange?
ANSWER: Jesus started out as the sacrificial lamb being examined, through His sufferings, by the high priest; He ends of as the High Priest.
QUESTION: What important lesson can we learn here about how God judges?
ANSWER: God was the giver of the Law, yet He submitted to the very Law He gave. Sometimes police officers, lawyers and judges might think they have certain “perks” to their jobs that excuse them breaking the law. Our senators and representatives often break the very laws they pass. NOT JESUS! He kept every law of Moses, was examined by a perfect God and found faultless, and worthy to be our Savior.
12) [GNB] There has been enough time for you to be teachers—yet you still need someone to teach you the first lessons of God’s message. Instead of eating solid food, you still have to drink milk.
QUESTION: What are we being told here?
ANSWER: These, to who the author of Hebrews was writing, had been sitting under the instruction of the Word for enough time that they should have been able in instruct others, but they were “slow to understand” instead [vs. 11].
John 16:12) [GNB] I have much more to tell you, but now it would be too much for you to bear.
QUESTION: What can we learn from this concerning God’s will for our lives?
ANSWER: God doesn’t just want us to listen to His Word; He wants us to learn His Word. In fact, He wants us to learn His Word sufficiently enough to teach others.
13) [GNB] Anyone who has to drink milk is still a child, without any experience in the matter of right and wrong.
14) [GNB] Solid food, on the other hand, is for adults, who through practice are able to distinguish between good and evil.
QUESTION: What does toddlers drinking milk and adults eating solid food have to do with you and I as believers?
ANSWER: The author of Hebrews is telling us that if all we can understand of Christian doctrine, after having been taught it for an extended period of time, are the basic truths of it then we are “baby” Christians. If we have matured to “adult” status as believers, then we will have a greater understanding of His Word.
1 Corinthians 3:1-3) [GNB] As a matter of fact, my friends, I could not talk to you as I talk to people who have the Spirit; I had to talk to you as though you belonged to this world, as children in the Christian faith.
2) [GNB] I had to feed you milk, not solid food, because you were not ready for it. And even now you are not ready for it,
3) [GNB] because you still live as the people of this world live. When there is jealousy among you and you quarrel with one another, doesn’t this prove that you belong to this world, living by its standards?
QUESTION: What is the result of our only understanding basic truths of the Gospel?
ANSWER: We will act like “men” [KJV], “like the people of this world” [CEV], or we will be “living and acting like mere men of the world” [WNT].
QUESTION: What do mere men act like?
ANSWER: They are jealous of one another and quarrel with one another.
Philippians 2:1-16) [GNB] Your life in Christ makes you strong, and his love comforts you. You have fellowship with the Spirit, and you have kindness and compassion for one another.
2) [GNB] I urge you, then, to make me completely happy by having the same thoughts, sharing the same love, and being one in soul and mind.
3) [GNB] Don’t do anything from selfish ambition or from a cheap desire to boast, but be humble toward one another, always considering others better than yourselves.
4) [GNB] And look out for one another’s interests, not just for your own.
QUESTION: How should Christians act towards one another?
ANSWER: We should all get along and be looking out for one another.
Philippians 2:5-9) [GNB] The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had:
6) [GNB] He always had the nature of God, but he did not think that by force he should try to remain equal with God.
6) [MSG] He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what.
7) [GNB] Instead of this, of his own free will he gave up all he had, and took the nature of a servant. He became like a human being and appeared in human likeness.
8) [GNB] He was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death— his death on the cross.
9) [GNB] For this reason God raised him to the highest place above and gave him the name that is greater than any other name.
QUESTION: How should Christians judge their attitudes?
ANSWER: We should have the same attitude Jesus had.
QUESTION: What attitude of Christ is Philippians referring to in this passage?
ANSWER: We should put the needs of others above our own needs.
Philippians 2:10-13) [GNB] And so, in honor of the name of Jesus all beings in heaven, on earth, and in the world below will fall on their knees,
11) [GNB] and all will openly proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12) [GNB] So then, dear friends, as you always obeyed me when I was with you, it is even more important that you obey me now while I am away from you. Keep on working with fear and trembling to complete your salvation,
12b) [CEV] So work with fear and trembling to discover what it really means to be saved.
13) [GNB] because God is always at work in you to make you willing and able to obey his own purpose.
QUESTION: How can we Christians ever hope to be able to walk out the attitude of Christ?
ANSWER: We can do it because God is working in us, giving us both the desire and the ability to do His will.
1 Corinthians 3:3) [GNB] because you still live as the people of this world live. When there is jealousy among you and you quarrel with one another, doesn’t this prove that you belong to this world, living by its standards?
Philippians 2:14-16) [GNB] Do everything without complaining or arguing,
15) [GNB] so that you may be innocent and pure as God’s perfect children, who live in a world of corrupt and sinful people. You must shine among them like stars lighting up the sky,
16) [GNB] as you offer them the message of life. If you do so, I shall have reason to be proud of you on the Day of Christ, because it will show that all my effort and work have not been wasted.
QUESTION: Why is it so important to have Christ-like attitudes towards one another?
ANSWER: We want the unsaved to see something in us that is desirable to them.
NOTE: Next week we will discover what the basic principles of Christianity are.