Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP220006S
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00:01 Hello, friends, and welcome back
00:02 to our 3ABN Sabbath School Panel, 00:04 we are studying the Book of Hebrews. 00:06 We are in week number six 00:08 and the title for this week's lesson 00:10 is Jesus, the Faithful Priest. 00:12 If you'd like to get the quarterly, 00:14 get into the quarterly that we're studying 00:16 or catch up with the lessons 00:18 if you've missed any, 00:19 you can go to 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com 00:23 That's 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com 00:26 and you can access 00:27 the Sabbath school lessons there, 00:29 you can catch up with any of the lessons 00:30 you may have missed. 00:32 We are looking forward to continuing to study 00:35 in the Book of Hebrews 00:36 so don't go away, we'll be right back. 01:08 We are so glad you're joining us. 01:10 We are in lesson number six. 01:12 Jesus, the Faithful Priest, 01:14 and I am surrounded with an illustrious group 01:18 of Bible students starting with my immediate left 01:20 with Shelley Quinn. 01:23 Shelley, I'm glad you're here. 01:24 I'm very excited to be here 01:26 and I get to speak about the mysterious Melchizedek. 01:32 And to your left is John Lomacang. 01:35 Yes, and I get to speak about an effective priests. 01:39 We'll find out what that is. 01:40 Don't go away. 01:42 And to your left is Jill Morikone. 01:45 I'm talking about an eternal priest. 01:47 Amen. 01:48 And to your left at the very end of the table, 01:51 we have Ryan Day. 01:52 Amen. 01:53 And I'm talking about a sinless priest. 01:55 Amen. 01:56 So we have it all wrapped around Jesus Christ 01:59 as the faithful priest. 02:02 That is the lesson study for, number six for today. 02:04 That's the title for today. 02:05 And we're looking at Sabbath afternoon, 02:07 we're going to be looking at a number of verses. 02:08 But before we do that, 02:10 we want to start with a word of prayer. 02:12 And I'm going to ask Shelley to pray for us. 02:15 Absolutely. Thank you, Shelley. 02:17 Our glorious and righteous Heavenly Father, 02:19 how we praise You and thank You for the Book of Hebrews, 02:24 for the Adult Bible Study Guide, 02:28 Lord, that studying this 02:30 and, Lord, for the message of Hebrews. 02:32 How we praise you. 02:33 Please now, anoint our mouths, our ears, 02:37 send Your Holy Spirit to be our teacher in Jesus' name. 02:40 Amen. Amen. 02:41 Amen. Amen. 02:43 So Sabbath afternoon, 02:45 it's the first part of the lesson 02:48 is calling us to read verses, 02:50 Hebrews 5:1-10, Genesis 14:18-20, 02:54 1 Peter 2:9, Hebrews 7:1-3 02:57 and Hebrews 7:11-16, 22 and 26. 03:01 Our memory verse is, 03:04 "For such a High Priest was fitting for us, 03:07 who is holy, harmless, undefiled, 03:10 separate from sinners, 03:12 and has become higher than the heavens." 03:14 Hebrews 7:26. 03:18 What a powerful picture we have here of Jesus Christ. 03:21 And it's all through the Book of Hebrews. 03:23 Christ saturates the Book of Hebrews, 03:26 bringing us this amazing picture 03:28 of God's love. 03:29 Well, the lesson quarterly goes on to describe 03:31 the gulf that existed between God and us 03:34 that was caused by sin. 03:36 It says the problem was compounded 03:38 because sin also implied the corruption of our nature. 03:42 God is holy 03:44 and sin cannot exist in His presence. 03:46 So our own corrupted nature separated us from God, 03:51 just as two magnets in the wrong orientation 03:54 repel each other. 03:55 Yes. 03:56 In addition, our corrupted nature 03:58 made it impossible for human beings 04:01 in and of themselves, 04:02 to obey God's law. 04:04 Sin also involves misunderstanding. 04:07 Human beings lost sight of the love of God, 04:10 of the justice and mercy of God, 04:12 and came to see Him as wrathful and demanding 04:16 with no mercy and no grace. 04:19 This week, we're going to be studying the amazing things 04:22 that the Father and the Son have done to bridge that gulf. 04:25 Hebrews 5 through 7 provides a careful analysis 04:29 of Jesus' priesthood. 04:31 The author, Paul, analyzes its origin and purpose, 04:34 Hebrews 5:1-10. 04:37 And then exhorts readers not to disregard it, 04:40 Hebrews 5:11, 6, 8. 04:44 Hebrews 5:11-6, 8. 04:46 But rather to hold fast to the assurance 04:48 of hope it provides, 04:50 Hebrews 6:9-20. 04:53 The author also explains characteristics 04:56 of his priesthood, 04:57 Hebrews 7:1-10, 04:58 and implications for God's relationship 05:02 to believers, 05:03 Hebrews 7:11-28. 05:06 This week, we're going to focus specifically 05:09 on Hebrews 5:1-10 05:11 and Hebrews 7:1-28. 05:15 So let's begin with Sunday's lesson, 05:17 it's entitled, A Priest on Behalf of Human Beings. 05:21 We're going to read Hebrews 5:1:10. 05:24 We're not going to read those verses 05:25 but if you read Hebrews 5:1-10, 05:27 and you're going to ask yourself the question, 05:29 what is the role of the priesthood 05:32 according to this passage 05:34 and how does Jesus fulfill that role? 05:37 Now, the reason we're not going to read all those verses is 05:39 because we're a little pressed for time 05:40 and I want to cover everything 05:42 that this author has laid out for us 05:43 because it is so good. 05:45 Amen. Today's lesson is so good. 05:47 I know you all have good lessons today. 05:49 I'm very impressed with this lesson. 05:51 The author goes on to say, 05:52 "The basic purpose of the Levitical priesthood," 05:55 according to the verses we just read in Hebrews 5:1-10, 05:58 was to mediate between sinful people and God. 06:02 Priests were appointed by God 06:05 in order to minister in behalf of human beings, 06:08 therefore they needed to be merciful 06:11 and understanding of human weaknesses." 06:15 Have you ever wondered why it is 06:16 that sometimes your frailties, your weaknesses, 06:19 your failures are so exposed? 06:21 Well, they are opportunities for you to become merciful 06:26 and gracious toward others. 06:29 When we think that we're perfect, 06:30 when we think that we're just fine 06:32 and there's nothing wrong with us, 06:33 man, the standard we're going to hold others to, 06:35 it's going to be impossible for them to even breathe. 06:38 But when we realize that we stumble that we fail, 06:41 that we're imperfected, imperfect, 06:44 then it is that we can be gracious toward others. 06:46 Kind of like Peter, you know, before the fall, 06:49 "Oh, Lord, I'm not going to forsake you." 06:51 Jesus said, "You're going to." "No, I'm, not me. 06:53 I get up earlier than everyone else. 06:54 I pray longer than everyone else. 06:56 You even told me 06:57 that I was being led by the Holy Spirit. 06:58 Remember that?" 07:00 "Yeah, but I also told you, 07:01 you know, that get behind me Satan." 07:02 And then Jesus says, 07:05 "You're all going to betray Me." 07:07 And Peter says, "No, not I." 07:09 But after he actually betrayed Christ 07:11 before the cock crew, 07:12 then Peter had a humble attitude of himself. 07:15 "Do you still love me more than everyone else?" 07:17 "You know, Lord, you know." 07:19 "Do you still love Me?" 07:20 "Yeah, Lord, You know." 07:22 And that needs to be our attitude ever. 07:24 And sometimes God has to allow us 07:26 to go through some humbling experiences 07:28 in order for us to understand 07:30 that relationship that we have. 07:32 Hebrews 5:5-10. 07:34 Paul shows that Jesus perfectly fulfills 07:37 these purposes. 07:38 God appointed Him, Hebrews 5:5-6. 07:41 And also, Jesus understands us because He has also suffered, 07:46 Hebrews 5:7-8. 07:48 There are some important differences however, 07:51 Jesus was not, for example, chosen among men, Hebrews 5:1. 07:55 Instead, Jesus adopted human nature 07:59 in order among other things 08:01 to serve as a priest in our behalf. 08:04 Jesus did not offer sacrifices for His own sins, 08:08 Hebrews 5:3, 08:09 but only for our sins because He was sinless. 08:13 Hebrews 4:15. 08:14 Hebrews 7:26-28. 08:16 So Hebrew says that Jesus prayed to Him 08:19 that was able to save Him from death 08:21 and was heard, Hebrews 5:7. 08:23 Hebrews was referring to the second death 08:27 from which God saved Jesus when He resurrected Him. 08:30 Jesus experienced the second death 08:33 and was saved from that 08:34 when God resurrected Him, Hebrews 13:20. 08:37 Hebrews also says that Jesus learned obedience 08:40 through what He suffered, 08:41 Hebrews 5:8. 08:43 The author goes on to say here, obedience was new to Jesus. 08:47 Now, we talked about this in an earlier program 08:49 but the author emphasizes it again 08:51 and I can see why. 08:52 It's such a powerful thought. 08:54 Obedience was new to Jesus, not because He was disobedient, 08:58 but because He was God. 09:00 As sovereign over the universe, 09:02 Jesus did not need to obey anyone, 09:05 instead everyone obeyed Him. 09:08 Jesus suffering and death on the cross 09:10 are an essential part of His priestly man ministry. 09:12 So you imagine, the one who obeyed, 09:15 excuse me, the one who was obeyed 09:16 became the one who learned to obey. 09:19 Jesus suffering to death on the cross are essential, 09:21 essential part of His ministry. 09:22 Sufferings did not perfect Jesus in the sense 09:25 that He improved morally or ethically. 09:29 Suffering did not make Him merciful, 09:32 to the contrary Jesus came to this earth 09:34 because He always was merciful. 09:37 Praise God. 09:38 Which is why He had compassion on us, 09:40 Hebrews 2:17. 09:42 What Hebrews means is, is that through sufferings, 09:45 the reality of Jesus' brotherly love, 09:48 the authenticity of His human nature, 09:50 the depth of His submission as a representative of humanity 09:54 to the will of the Father 09:55 were truly expressed and revealed, 09:58 and we talked about that a little bit 10:00 in an earlier program. 10:01 I want to really encourage you go back and look, 10:04 if you've missed any programs, 10:05 go back and catch those programs 10:07 and catch up because every program is vital 10:09 and each one connects with the next. 10:11 Author is just has a theme running through this quarterly 10:14 and he connects it all together. 10:16 Each one builds on the other, beautiful. 10:19 Going on here, he says, "It is Christ life, His life." 10:25 I'll go, let me go back. 10:26 He was perfected in the sense 10:27 that His sufferings qualified Him 10:29 to be our High Priest. 10:30 I love that. 10:32 "It was His life of perfect obedience 10:34 and then His death on the cross 10:36 which constitutes the sacrificial offering 10:39 that Jesus presented 10:40 before the Father as our priest." 10:42 I'm going to repeat that. 10:44 And I just want you to think about this. 10:46 Just contemplate it because this is the gospel. 10:49 This is righteousness by faith. 10:51 The author says, 10:53 "It was His life of perfect obedience 10:56 and then His death on the cross 10:58 which constitutes the sacrificial offering 11:01 that Jesus presented 11:03 before the Father as our priest." 11:05 When Jesus mediates for us, 11:06 He doesn't just mediate a sacrifice 11:09 that forgives our sins. 11:10 He also mediates a sacrifice of perfect obedience 11:16 that covers our disobedience. 11:18 And this is vital. 11:19 We are not only saved by His death 11:21 but we're also saved by His life 11:22 and death of Jesus Christ. 11:24 1 Peter 2:9 says that we are royal priesthood. 11:29 So what does that mean? 11:31 What does Jesus life tell you 11:33 concerning that in relationship to other human beings? 11:37 And what is the sacred role in relationship 11:40 to how we relate to other human beings? 11:43 Okay, so we've looked at Jesus, 11:45 we're going to look at Him more as a priest. 11:47 And we now are seeing that we're called a holy priesthood 11:51 or a royal priesthood. 11:53 So when we look at Jesus, we look at His life, 11:56 we look at His mediation, we look at His sacrifice. 11:59 What does that mean to us 12:00 who accept Jesus Christ as our Savior? 12:02 How does that relate to us? 12:03 Well, we know for example 12:05 that we are called to be intercessors. 12:07 And I don't know if you've ever considered this, 12:09 but God is calling us 12:10 not just to intercede on our own behalf 12:12 but intercede on the behalf of others. 12:14 Daniel, for example, in Daniel Chapter 9, 12:17 he prayed and confess not just his sins 12:20 but the sins of others. 12:21 And he actually put himself in the place of others 12:25 as though he was the one 12:26 that was guilty of their very sins. 12:29 We call that corporate repentance. 12:31 It's not a, not corporate in the sense 12:33 that you're a part of a corporation, 12:35 corporate in the sense that you're seeing yourself 12:38 as incorporated with the body of Christ, 12:40 you're seeing yourselves as part of everyone else. 12:43 And you don't have this them in us spirit 12:45 but you have an inclusive spirit. 12:47 And because you have that spirit, 12:49 their sins are something that you need to repent of 12:52 because you're part of that body, 12:54 you're part of that group. 12:55 That was the attitude that Daniel had. 12:57 And we're called to do the same thing. 12:59 God wants us to place ourselves 13:02 in relationship to others with such an attitude 13:04 and such a spirit that Daniel had, that Ezra had. 13:07 Ezra had the same spirit, 13:09 you know, when he found out about the intermarriage 13:11 and the idolatry that was going on in Israel 13:14 after they had returned from exile. 13:16 You know what he did? 13:17 Oh, man, he was upset. 13:19 He ripped the hair out of his beard, 13:21 ripped the hair off his head, 13:23 ripped his clothes off and sat in sackcloth and ashes. 13:26 And he said, "Lord, we have sinned." 13:29 Well, he hadn't intermarried. 13:30 He hadn't been doing anything adulterous. 13:32 He hadn't been doing anything wrong. 13:33 And yet he implored God as though 13:35 he himself were guilty. 13:37 That is this attitude of corporate repentance. 13:39 Well, guess what? 13:40 That attitude, that spirit comes from Jesus Christ. 13:42 Amen. 13:43 Jesus Christ came to this earth. 13:45 And we had sinned, He hadn't sinned 13:47 and He incorporated Himself with us. 13:49 He went to the River Jordan and was baptized. 13:52 He incorporated Himself in human nature, 13:55 with the human family, 13:57 He became one with us 13:58 and He took upon Himself the responsibility 14:00 that we only should have borne 14:02 because, of course, if we would have borne that responsibility, 14:05 we wouldn't be here right now. 14:06 That's right. 14:07 Praise God for Jesus Christ, 14:09 and praise God for the wonderful message 14:10 in the Book of Hebrews. 14:12 Amen and amen. 14:13 Thank you for that wonderful foundation, 14:15 Jesus as our High Priest. 14:18 How fascinating. 14:20 In Hebrews 5:6, 14:25 it's quoting, God saying to Christ, 14:31 "You are a priest forever, 14:34 according to the order of Melchizedek." 14:37 Who is this mysterious Melchizedek? 14:41 He's only mentioned twice in the Old Testament. 14:45 And he is then again in Hebrews 5-7 14:49 mentioned several times 14:51 because the Levitical priesthood 14:55 of the Old Covenant 14:56 was based on the order of Aaron. 15:01 But Christ's priesthood 15:04 is based on the order of Melchizedek. 15:08 So Melchizedek was a Canaanite king 15:13 and priest. 15:15 Now, you know, he served as a type of Christ. 15:18 He was not Christ. 15:21 Some people have said Melchizedek was Christ. 15:24 No, he served as a representative 15:26 of God's voice in the world. 15:29 When Abraham was returning from the Valley of Sodom, 15:33 he just rescued Lot, 15:35 he'd overcome a band of raiding kings, 15:38 boy, he's loaded with booty and all this, 15:41 you know, in the war, 15:42 he'd gotten all of this good stuff. 15:44 He has a meet and greet with this king-priest, 15:49 Melchizedek. 15:50 Genesis 14, let's look at that. 15:53 Genesis 14:18 is where we'll begin. 15:58 This is what the Bible says, Genesis 14:18, 16:02 "Then Melchizedek king of Salem 16:05 brought out bread and wine, 16:09 he was the priest of God Most High." 16:14 So we know this Canaanite priest 16:16 was a worshipper of the one true God. 16:20 "He blessed Abraham, and said: 16:25 'Blessed be Abram of God Most High, 16:28 Possessor of heaven and earth.'" 16:30 That's God Most High, 16:31 who's the possessor of heaven and earth. 16:33 And verse 20, "Blessed be God Most High, 16:39 Who has delivered your enemies into your hand." 16:44 It's a beautiful blessing. 16:46 But then it says, "Abraham gave Melchizedek, 16:50 a tenth of all, all of his booty." 16:54 So Melchizedek means 16:56 king of righteousness. 16:59 He was the king of Salem, 17:01 which is another word for Jerusalem, 17:04 which means king of peace. 17:06 He was a king of righteousness, 17:10 a king of peace, 17:12 and he held two offices as king and priest. 17:16 You know, that's the only time in Israel 17:20 that a king was a priest. 17:22 No priest was ever a king, vice versa, until Christ. 17:27 So Abraham recognized how important this man was. 17:31 And he gave him a tenth of everything. 17:34 In Psalm 110:4, if you want to turn there, 17:38 Psalm 110:4, this is a Messianic Psalm. 17:43 And it refers to one 17:46 who would be a priest forever 17:50 in the order of Melchizedek. 17:53 That means he's going to be both a king and a priest. 17:56 Psalm 110:4 said, 17:59 "The Lord has sworn and He will not relent," 18:03 and He's speaking to the Messiah, 18:05 "you are a priest forever 18:09 according to the order of Melchizedek." 18:12 The order of Melchizedek was king and priest, 18:16 Jesus is both our king and priest. 18:20 So what we see is that the order of Melchizedek 18:25 presents a picture to us 18:28 of the order of Christ's priesthood. 18:30 Now, it's interesting because we know that 18:36 the kingly High Priest of Christ was superior 18:39 to the Levitical priesthood 18:41 that was established under the Law of Moses. 18:44 But let's read further. 18:45 Hebrews, if you want to turn to Hebrews 7:1. 18:50 Hebrews 7:1, 18:53 "For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, 18:56 priest to the Most High God, 18:59 who met Abraham returning from the slaughter 19:01 of the kings and blessed him, 19:03 to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all." 19:06 First being translated, 19:08 and you know, it's interesting that the senate structure here 19:12 it's a little confusing. 19:14 What it's talking about first being translated 19:17 is the name of Melchizedek. 19:19 So it's first being translated king of righteousness 19:23 and then also king of Salem, 19:25 meaning king of peace. 19:29 Without father, without mother, 19:32 without genealogy and people go, 19:35 "It's going to be Jesus." 19:37 You know, that's what people do but let's go on. 19:41 It says, "Having neither beginning of days 19:44 nor end of life." 19:46 "That's got to be Jesus." 19:47 Nope. 19:49 And he said, "But made like 19:54 the Son of God 19:56 remains priest continuously." 19:58 See, Melchizedek did have a mother and a father. 20:03 He was a human being but the order of Melchizedek, 20:09 his parentage is not recorded. 20:11 The order of Melchizedek didn't matter 20:15 who his parents were. 20:16 Boy, in the Levitical priesthood, 20:19 in the order of Aaron, 20:20 it mattered a whole lot 20:22 because you had to follow all that genealogy. 20:25 But it's interesting, 20:27 the ancient Syriac Peshitta 20:31 gives a more accurate translation 20:35 of this term whose mother and father 20:38 are not written in the genealogies is an and that's 20:42 what the phrase, 20:44 who was without days, without mother, 20:47 without father is whose mother and father 20:51 are not written in the genealogies. 20:56 We just don't know who his parents were. 20:58 They weren't important. 21:00 So no record existed 21:04 of Melchizedek's birth or death. 21:07 It wasn't recorded because his ancestry, 21:10 his origin were irrelevant to his priesthood, 21:16 unlike the Levitical priesthood. 21:19 So the inspired writer of Hebrews 21:23 references Jesus priesthood 21:26 as being in the order of Melchizedek. 21:31 So in Hebrews 7:5, 21:33 it explains that Jesus was priest 21:37 in the likeness of Melchizedek. 21:41 And Hebrews 5:6, we already read in the order 21:44 according to the order of Melchizedek. 21:47 So Melchizedek resembled Christ. 21:52 But it shows us here 21:55 that he was different than Christ. 21:58 He was not a heavenly being. 22:00 If he was without parentage, 22:03 if he was without a beginning and end, 22:06 he would be God himself. 22:07 That's right. He wasn't. 22:09 There would have been no... 22:11 And if he was God himself, 22:13 there would have been no other need 22:14 for a priest to rise up at all. 22:17 So Jesus was not a successor 22:22 of Melchizedek. 22:24 I want to make that perfectly clear 22:27 but His priesthood was similar 22:29 because Jesus is King and Jesus is High Priest. 22:34 If you look at the parallels between Melchizedek and Jesus, 22:39 Jesus is the ultimate King of Righteousness, 22:44 the ultimate King of Peace 22:47 but unlike Melchizedek, 22:50 Jesus was sinless. 22:52 So that's why He became the substitute. 22:56 He was the ideal priest 22:59 who offered up the ultimate sacrifice. 23:03 That was it sufficed for all the sins 23:07 of the whole world. 23:09 So Jesus, 23:13 His priesthood is universal, 23:15 it's royal, it's righteous, it's peaceful, 23:20 it's unending, 23:23 Jesus is the final High Priest 23:27 in the history of Israel 23:30 according to the Davidic Covenant, 23:34 the seed of David who's on the throne forever. 23:38 Just want to leave you with this thought. 23:40 Our God came from heaven took on flesh 23:44 and became the person of Jesus Christ, 23:47 for the specific reason of dying for our sins, 23:52 being resurrected in the flesh 23:54 and being the new representative 23:56 at the throne of God for manhood. 23:58 That blows my mind. 24:00 It is, it to me is a bigger sacrifice 24:04 than dying on the cross 24:06 was that He took on our flesh forever. 24:09 That's right. Amen. 24:10 Yeah, that was crystal clear. 24:13 I think that is the clearest I've ever seen these verses. 24:15 Praise God. 24:17 The lights are just going on. 24:19 Praise God. Praise the Lord. 24:20 Well, we are not done. 24:22 We are going to be continuing our study as Jesus, 24:25 the Faithful Priest, so don't go away. 24:26 We'll be right back. 24:32 Ever wish you could watch a 3ABN 24:34 Sabbath School Panel again, 24:35 or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 24:39 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com 24:44 A clean design makes it easy to find the program 24:47 you're looking for. 24:48 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 24:52 so you can follow along. 24:53 Sharing is easy. 24:55 Just click share and choose your favorite social media. 24:58 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 25:02 So glad you're back with us, 25:03 we're going to continue our study as Jesus, 25:05 the Faithful Priest with Pastor John Lomacang. 25:08 Yes, I'm covering An Effective Priest, 25:11 and when we're looking at this story, 25:14 one of our lessons we look at the man, Christ Jesus, 25:17 now we're looking at His priestly function. 25:20 The Book of Hebrews covers 25:22 from the creation of the worlds 25:25 all the way to the restoration of humanity. 25:27 I love it. 25:28 And so it's a book that I think covers a broader span 25:32 than many of the books in the Bible 25:33 and many of them are covering 25:35 the chronological history of the Israelites, 25:37 but this one is now taken it from the man who created, 25:41 the God who created the worlds, the universes, 25:45 to the one who came down here 25:47 to get us to those universes. 25:49 So let's look at the effective priest. 25:51 One of the things about priests, 25:52 when you study the Bible, 25:53 you cannot ignore the first five books 25:56 of the Bible. 25:57 You know, you have Numbers, Deuteronomy, Leviticus, Exodus, 26:00 starts to dive into more of the functions 26:02 of the priesthood. 26:03 Genesis introduces us to humanity, its fall, 26:07 God's attempt to restore man, 26:11 or the promise to restore man, 26:12 then you have the flood, 26:14 then you have the Tower of Babel, 26:17 then you have the generations 26:18 or lineage of humanity being separated. 26:20 The nations are all over the place 26:22 because God is seeking ways 26:25 to divide them from one another, 26:27 to keep them from polluting the world as badly 26:33 as the Antediluvians did 26:35 prior to the flood. 26:36 And rebellion is now increasing significantly. 26:39 And when you look at the call of Abraham, 26:42 one of the Bible writers said that 26:44 Abraham was called by God 26:46 at one of the darkest times in human history, 26:49 when the name of God was almost obliterated 26:51 from the earth. 26:53 But so you have through that lineage, 26:55 Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, of the sons of Jacob, 26:57 you have the seed that was promised 26:59 in the Book of Genesis 27:00 and that seed led to the priesthood of Christ, 27:03 which now as Shelley laid the foundation, 27:06 you compare that to Melchizedek, 27:07 not the Levitical priesthood, 27:09 which was temporary. 27:10 But there were so many things about 27:11 the priesthood of earthly human beings, 27:13 who lived short lives, 27:15 who had to provide sacrifices for themselves, 27:18 who were frail in every particular, 27:20 then you compare it to the priesthood of Jesus. 27:23 So let's look at Hebrews 7:11. 27:26 Let's look at why the priesthood of humanity 27:31 could not compare to the priesthood of Jesus. 27:34 Hebrews 7:11, "Therefore, 27:36 if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood 27:40 for under it the people receive the law, 27:43 what further need was there that another priest should rise 27:48 according to the order of Melchizedek?" 27:50 And Shelley, I don't have to spend time on that, 27:52 because you did that. 27:54 And not be called according to the order of Aaron. 27:57 In the Levitical priesthood, 27:59 you find now only where the ceremonies 28:01 and the sacrifices outlined, 28:03 but because of the ceremonies and sacrifices 28:07 the priesthood had... 28:10 I'm just going to try to say, 28:11 try to find a nice way to say this, 28:13 the set, it was a bloody system 28:16 and none of these animals had the sufficiency 28:18 or the efficacy to really cleanse the person 28:23 who brought the sacrifices. 28:24 Can you imagine, 28:25 you stood there and you watch the priest, 28:27 you watch the throat of the lamb 28:29 being slit and the blood being drained 28:31 and all the sacrifice being burned 28:34 and the sprinkling of the blood. 28:35 It was quite a spectacular to watch 28:39 and this happened day in and day out 28:41 and day in and day out continuously. 28:44 So you look at that system, you say, 28:46 "That was faulty to a large degree." 28:48 These animals could not cleanse the conscience 28:51 even though it was an act of faith of forgiving the sin. 28:55 It just couldn't cleanse the conscience. 28:57 Look at Hebrews 10:1-3. 29:00 That's why it was just a temporary thing. 29:03 Hebrews 10:1-3. 29:04 It says, "For the law 29:06 having a shadow of the good things to come 29:08 and not the very image of the things 29:11 can never make these same sacrifices 29:14 which they offered," how? 29:16 "Continually, year by year, 29:21 make those who approach perfect. 29:24 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? 29:27 For the worshipers once purged 29:30 would have had no more consciousness 29:33 of sin." 29:34 But in those sacrifices, 29:36 there is a reminder of sin every year. 29:42 It's like how long. 29:44 Can you think back on how long they waited for the Redeemer? 29:47 Can we say thousands? 29:50 Can we say hundreds of thousands? 29:51 Can we possibly say maybe millions, 29:53 more than a million? 29:55 The blood was just... 29:57 I mean the cleansing of the sanctuary 29:59 wasn't necessary 30:00 because of just the thought of all the blood 30:02 that was being sprinkled for the remission of sin. 30:05 Then you have Hebrews 9:14, it now compares 30:09 what I just read to the sufficiency of Christ. 30:11 Amen. 30:13 "How much more shall the blood of Christ 30:16 who through the eternal Spirit 30:20 offered himself without spot to God, 30:24 cleanse your conscious from dead works 30:26 to serve the living God?" 30:29 When Jesus gave His life to save you and to save me, 30:33 it was not just to save us eternally, 30:35 but it was to purify us, 30:38 to sanctify us and to glorify us. 30:41 Let me say that again, to justify us, 30:44 to sanctify us and to ultimately glorify, 30:48 lead us to the position of glorification, 30:50 not to glorify us, 30:51 but lead us to that point 30:53 where we could experience the glorification 30:54 that comes in the eradication of sin. 30:57 That's something that the priesthood 30:59 on earth couldn't do. 31:00 Now there was this, 31:01 where there's no shedding of blood, 31:03 there's no remission of sin. 31:04 But every day, every day, 31:05 Abraham's sacrifice for his family, 31:07 you find Job, 31:09 you find all through the Bible the sacrificial system 31:12 in effect all through the scriptures. 31:14 And even after Jesus died, 31:17 some of the Jews tried to impose 31:19 that very same thing on the Gentiles. 31:21 Let's go to 1 Corinthians 7:19. 31:23 And then Paul had to make a very definitive statement 31:26 to the Corinthians 31:27 because the Jewish leaders 31:29 who rejected Jesus just couldn't see the efficacy 31:31 and the sufficiency of His blood. 31:33 And they were even trying to enforce circumcision 31:37 on the Gentile believers. 31:39 But notice what the Lord says, 1 Corinthians 7:19. 31:42 Okay, we find here. 31:47 Let's start with verse 18. 31:48 "Was anyone called while circumcised? 31:51 Let him not be uncircumcised. 31:54 Was anyone called while uncircumcised? 31:57 Let him not be circumcised." 31:59 Paul is saying, doesn't really matter 32:01 which one you're in, 32:02 because neither one is of any point right now. 32:05 Verse 19, "Circumcision is nothing 32:09 and uncircumcision is nothing, 32:11 but keeping the commandments of God is what matters." 32:15 And so, when you try to impose circumcision 32:17 for the necessity of being a part of a sacrificial system, 32:20 which had only a duration of time, 32:22 it was added because of sin, 32:24 till the Seed should come, Galatians 3:19. 32:27 It was added, meaning it was added because of sin. 32:31 Therefore, there was a law in place 32:33 before the law that included the sacrificial system 32:36 was added, 32:38 it was added. 32:39 This law was added because that law was violated. 32:41 Amen. 32:42 This law was added because that law was violated 32:44 but this law was added till the Seed should come. 32:47 It only had a duration. 32:48 When the Seed came, it was no longer necessary. 32:51 The unfortunate part is some Christian leaders 32:53 put both of them in the same category. 32:54 Right. 32:56 No, we still have sin today. 32:57 But the sin bearer, the sin partner, the justifier, 33:01 the sanctifier is the one who got rid of that law 33:05 that was added till He came here, till He got here, 33:08 till the Seed should come, Galatians 3:19. 33:12 And now we go to Hebrews 7:18-19. 33:15 The earthly priesthood was temporary 33:17 held by frail men. 33:19 "For on the one hand, 33:22 there is an annulling of the former commandment 33:25 because of its weakness and unprofitableness." 33:30 Verse 19, "For the law made nothing perfect, 33:33 on the other hand, 33:35 there is the bringing in of a better hope, 33:38 through which we draw near to God." 33:41 What was the writer saying? 33:43 There's only one mediator between man and God, 33:47 the man Christ Jesus. 33:49 The priests were symbols of the mediator, 33:52 but Jesus Himself is the mediator. 33:54 Is that a better priesthood? 33:56 Is that a better sacrifice? 33:57 Oh, yeah. Far greater. 33:58 Is that a more effective priesthood? 34:00 Far greater. 34:01 You could not get any more effective priesthood 34:03 than the priesthood of Jesus, 34:04 because there is no other name given among men 34:07 whereby we must be saved than the name of Jesus. 34:10 Now, let's see how effective it was. 34:12 Hebrews 7:25. 34:14 Let's look at this. 34:16 "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost." 34:21 In New York, we used to say 34:22 from the gutter most to the uttermost. 34:25 He saved from the gutter most to the uttermost. 34:27 Thank you. 34:28 Those who come to God through Him. 34:31 How effective was His priesthood 34:32 since He ever lives? 34:34 I love the way the King James says, 34:35 since He ever lives, 34:37 always lives to make intercession for them. 34:40 How were we redeemed? 34:42 What makes His redemption so beautiful? 34:45 1 Peter 1:18-19, 34:47 "Knowing that you are not redeemed 34:49 with corruptible things, 34:51 like silver or gold, 34:52 from your aimless conduct received 34:54 by tradition from your fathers, 34:56 but with the precious blood of Christ 35:00 as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." 35:04 Was He an effective priest? 35:07 That's an understatement. 35:08 But the answer is, yes. 35:09 Amen. Amen. 35:11 Thank you so much, Pastor John and Shelley and Pastor James, 35:14 what an incredible study because we're looking at Jesus, 35:17 we're looking at Jesus as our High Priest. 35:20 But what I liked the most 35:21 about this lesson just now 35:23 is you all are crystal clear. 35:25 If there's ever any doubt 35:28 as far as what, 35:30 who was Melchizedek? 35:32 And what does that even mean? 35:33 And how is Christ a priest after the order of Melchizedek? 35:37 The clarity, Shelley, I love that. 35:39 Melchizedek being the king and priest combined together 35:43 as we see in the man, Christ Jesus. 35:46 Pastor John, the efficacy of Jesus 35:49 as opposed to the Levitical system, 35:51 the sacrificial system, 35:53 which was put in place until the Seed should come. 35:56 I love that, such clarity. 35:58 Thank you very much. 36:00 So I'm going to actually share some of the same stuff. 36:02 We're looking at Wednesday's lesson, 36:05 which is An Eternal Priest. 36:08 And we're comparing the Levitical priesthood 36:12 which Pastor John did an incredible job of, 36:15 with Jesus as our high priest. 36:19 And I want to compare it in five different areas, 36:22 sin, mortality, sacrifice, 36:27 mediator and covenant. 36:29 And some of this will be some crossover 36:31 from what you shared. 36:32 Sin, mortality, sacrifice, mediator and covenant. 36:37 So let's look at sin. 36:38 The earthly priests, the Levitical system 36:40 that was set up as Pastor John already talked about, 36:44 they're sinful humans. 36:45 The priesthood themselves were sinful humans, 36:49 bringing the sacrifice before a holy God. 36:53 They were acting, you could say on behalf of God, 36:58 but still they were sinful in their humanity. 37:01 We see in Hebrews 5, turn to Hebrews Chapter 5. 37:05 We'll look at verses 2 and 3. 37:07 "He, this is every high priest can have compassion on those 37:12 who are ignorant and going astray, 37:15 since he himself is also subject to weakness. 37:18 Because of this, he is required is for the people, 37:21 so for himself to offer sacrifices for sins." 37:26 What's he saying? 37:28 That the priesthood, the Levitical priesthood 37:30 that was put in place, 37:32 they were sinful 37:33 because they were required to offer sacrifices, 37:35 not just for the people 37:36 and the people who came and confess their sins 37:39 over the head of the lamb or the goat. 37:42 They were required to offer sacrifices 37:45 for their own sins. 37:47 But Jesus as our High Priest, 37:50 as our effective High Priest and eternal High Priest 37:54 is the perfect High Priest. 37:56 He lived the perfect life. 37:59 He was the perfect substitute. 38:01 And He could make atonement once and for all. 38:04 Let's look at Hebrews 7: 26-27. 38:08 "For such a High Priest," this is referring to Jesus, 38:11 "was fitting for us, who is," what's that word? 38:14 "Holy, who is harmless, undefiled, 38:19 separate from sinners." 38:20 I just want to stop a second. 38:22 You think of the Levitical priesthood, 38:23 were they holy? 38:24 No. They were sinful. 38:26 Were they harmless? No. 38:28 Were they undefiled? Absolutely not. 38:30 They were defiled with sin. 38:32 Were they separate from sinners? 38:34 No, they were part of the sinful humanity. 38:38 Jesus has become higher than the heavens, 38:42 who does not need daily 38:43 as those high priests to offer sacrifices, 38:46 first for His own sins 38:47 and then for the people's. 38:48 For this He did once for all when He offered Himself. 38:52 Amen. 38:54 So that sacrificial system, 38:55 as Pastor John brought out so beautifully 38:56 was pointing forward to the Messiah, 39:00 pointing forward to Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God 39:04 who would take away the sins of the world. 39:05 So that's the comparison of sin. 39:07 Let's look at the comparison of mortality. 39:10 The earthly Levitical priests 39:12 certainly were mortal, were they not? 39:15 Hebrews 7: 23, "Also, there were many priests 39:21 because they were prevented by death from continuing." 39:25 Deuteronomy Chapter 18 talks about 39:27 the Levitical priesthood as Shelley brought out, 39:29 was hereditary. 39:30 Another words, that went down from father to son 39:33 and there was this very consistent 39:35 genealogy you could say, 39:37 of the, to be a priest, 39:38 you had to be of the tribe of Levi. 39:41 It followed that specific genealogy. 39:44 But yet they were mortal. 39:45 They only lived so many years and then they died. 39:49 But Jesus as our High Priest is eternal. 39:53 Amen. Paul doesn't stop there. 39:54 Verse 23, it goes on to verse 24. 39:57 I love that. 39:58 "But He," that's Jesus, "because He continues forever, 40:03 has an unchangeable priesthood." 40:07 Yes. He continues forever. 40:10 God alone, 1 Timothy 6:16, "God alone has immortality." 40:16 Amen. 40:17 Jesus the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. 40:22 Jesus, the pre-existent One 40:24 existing with the Father 40:25 from before the foundation of the world 40:28 became flesh for you and I. 40:30 The perfect life, the perfect Lamb of God, 40:33 the perfect sacrifice to put an end, 40:36 of course, to that sacrificial system 40:37 because Jesus came, 40:39 the eternal High Priest to forgive us 40:44 and to cleanse us and to intercede for us 40:47 or transitioning into sacrifice. 40:49 So let's go there. 40:50 The earthly Levitical priests, what did they offer? 40:53 They offered animal sacrifices, did they not? 40:56 They offered sheep and lambs and goats and bulls. 41:01 They offered those burnt offerings, 41:04 the grain offering, the peace offering, 41:06 the sin offering, the trespass offering, 41:09 all of those offerings, those animal sacrifices, 41:12 they weren't all animal, the grain, of course, was not. 41:15 But they all were symbols 41:17 or types pointing forward to Jesus, 41:21 who would be the Lamb of God 41:23 who takes away the sin of the world. 41:25 Hebrews 9:28, we see Christ was offered once 41:31 to bear the sins of many. 41:33 You see, He didn't have to offer His life many times, 41:36 it wasn't every time we sin, He has to be offered again. 41:39 He offered once because His perfect life 41:43 and His perfect death satisfied the claims of the law. 41:47 The wages of sin is death, yes, 41:50 but the gift of God is eternal life 41:52 through Christ Jesus, our Lord. 41:55 Pastor John referenced this Hebrews 9:12, 41:57 "Not with the blood of goats and calves, 42:00 but with His own blood 42:02 He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, 42:05 having obtained eternal redemption." 42:08 Jump down to verse 14, 42:10 "How much more shall the blood of Christ, 42:13 who through the eternal Spirit 42:14 offered Himself without spot to God, 42:17 cleanse your conscience from dead works 42:20 to serve the living Christ?" 42:21 You see the Israelites with the sacrificial system, 42:24 the Levitical system. 42:25 That offering, the slaying of the animal, 42:27 the offering of the animal, that didn't cleanse them. 42:30 It was by faith, 42:32 looking forward to the coming Messiah. 42:35 It was Jesus' blood that was sacrifice that 42:39 saved us all those sins from the past 42:41 and all those sins in the future. 42:43 If we confess our sins, 42:46 He's faithful and just to forgive us 42:48 our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 42:52 Hebrews 2:17 says, "Jesus is the one who came 42:55 and made propitiation for the sins of the people." 43:00 Now, let's look at point number four. 43:01 That's the mediator. 43:03 The earthly Levitical priests, 43:05 they mediated between God and the people. 43:08 Now, they really couldn't mediate 43:09 because Jesus is the only mediator. 43:11 But they stood in the place you could say, of God, 43:15 to bring that atonement between God and the people. 43:19 You can read Leviticus Chapter 16 43:21 and see that laid out very clearly. 43:23 Jesus, Hebrews 7:25, I want to read it again. 43:27 "Therefore, He Jesus, is also able to save to the uttermost," 43:32 He's able to save completely, forever, 43:35 perfectly through all time, 43:38 "those who come to God through Him, 43:41 since He always lives to make intercession for them." 43:44 I don't know about you. 43:46 Have you ever felt like God couldn't save you? 43:48 Have you ever felt like you've done too much? 43:51 You've gone too far. 43:53 You've traveled down the road 43:55 or maybe you know that He's forgiven you 43:57 and cleansed you and you messed up again. 44:01 Sometimes I say, God, seriously, 44:03 I thought I got victory over that, Pastor Ryan. 44:06 I thought, you know, 44:07 I was really walking in victory. 44:08 And all of a sudden, something happens. 44:10 And I think that old woman of sin 44:13 is trying to rise up again. 44:14 And I have to go back to my Savior 44:17 and know that He not only forgives and cleanses, 44:19 He's right now interceding 44:21 at the right hand of the Father and He can save completely, 44:25 utterly for all time. 44:28 Number five, the last comparison 44:30 is the covenant. 44:31 The first covenant we see 44:33 was dedicated with blood, was it not? 44:34 You can read that in Exodus 24. 44:37 But Paul references it in Hebrews 9:18. 44:39 "Therefore not even the first covenant 44:41 was dedicated without blood." 44:44 What about the New Covenant? 44:45 The New Covenant is dedicated 44:47 and ratified with Christ's blood? 44:50 Hebrews 9:15, "For this reason, 44:52 He, Jesus, is the mediator of the New Covenant 44:55 by means of death for the redemption 44:57 of the transgression under the first covenant 44:59 that those who are called 45:01 may receive the promise of eternal inheritance." 45:04 Jesus' death on behalf of the transgressors, 45:07 both attested to the validity of the Old Covenant 45:11 and redeemed us from death. 45:13 In addition, it inaugurated the New Covenant. 45:17 Wow! Flawless. 45:19 Thank you so much. That was very nice. 45:21 I'm Ryan Day and I have Thursday's lesson 45:23 entitled A Sinless Priest. 45:26 And we're going to dive right into this 45:28 because the premise on 45:29 which this whole section is built, 45:31 is built on the message that we find in Hebrews 7:26. 45:36 This verse has already been read, 45:37 I think a couple of times throughout this lesson 45:40 but we're going to go 45:41 and we're going to focus in and go a little deeper 45:44 into the details we find there in. 45:46 So Hebrews 7:26, describing Jesus Christ it says, 45:51 for such a High Priest, 45:53 was fitting for us, who is holy, 45:58 harmless, undefiled, 46:01 separate from sinners and has become higher 46:04 than the heavens. 46:06 And the lesson brings out that 46:07 these five characteristics or divine, 46:10 expressing the divine nature of Jesus Christ. 46:13 Of course, is what ultimately makes Him to be fitting 46:16 as our High Priest that He is holy, 46:18 He is harmless, He is undefiled, 46:20 He is separate from sinners 46:22 and, of course, has become higher than the heavens. 46:24 So let's take the first one here, 46:25 Jesus is holy, very clear. 46:29 Hebrews 4:15. 46:31 It says, "For we do not have a High Priest 46:33 who cannot sympathize with our weakness, 46:37 but was in all points tempted as we are," 46:39 here it is again, "yet without sin." 46:43 Jesus is holy, He has never sinned. 46:46 Sin did not overcome Him, 46:48 because He surrendered to the will of His Father. 46:51 He allowed the righteousness of His Father 46:53 to become His own and therefore, 46:55 He is righteous, He is holy, He is yet without sin. 46:58 Hebrews 5:7-9, let's go there. 47:01 Hebrews 5:7-9, 47:02 again, under this concept of Christ is holy. 47:05 "Who, in the last days of His flesh, 47:07 when He had offered up prayers and supplications, 47:10 with vehement cries and tears to Him 47:12 who was able to save Him from death, 47:14 and was heard because of His godly fear," 47:18 notice it says, "though He was a Son, 47:21 yet He learned obedience by the things 47:23 which He suffered. 47:25 And having been perfected, 47:27 He became the author of eternal salvation 47:30 to all who obey Him." 47:33 And so, my friends, we're talking about 47:34 Christ being holy, 47:36 He is perfected, He is perfect because He is sinless. 47:40 Luke 4:33-34. 47:43 Notice what the Bible says, 47:45 "Now in the synagogue, there was a man 47:47 who had a spirit of an unclean demon 47:49 and he cried out with a loud voice, 47:50 saying, 'Let us alone, what have we to do with You, 47:53 Jesus of Nazareth? 47:55 Did You come to destroy us? 47:57 I know who You are, the Holy One of God.'" 48:00 Even demons knew that Jesus was holy 48:03 and, of course, because He was sinless. 48:05 The lesson brings out Jesus was holy. 48:07 This means that Jesus was without fault 48:09 in relationship to God. 48:12 Of course, we see that in Hebrews 10:18, 48:14 Hebrews 4:15, as well as Hebrews 5:7-8. 48:18 The old Greek translation of the Old Testament 48:20 used the same Greek term 48:22 to designate those who maintain their covenant relationship 48:26 with God and with us. 48:29 You know what and I even like to just apply here, 48:31 just a lesson for us. 48:32 You know, we are also called as 1 Peter 1:16, tells us, 48:35 "We are also called to be holy as He is holy." 48:39 But, of course, Christ is the ultimate holy 48:42 because He is sinless 48:43 as this lesson is bringing out. 48:45 The second part of this scripture that Christ, 48:48 just thinking of the characteristics of Christ, 48:50 Christ is harmless. 48:52 Jesus is harmless. 48:53 What does it mean that He is harmless? 48:55 I looked at the original Greek word here, 48:57 it's the word akakos 48:58 which means simple and innocent. 49:03 In other words, you know, how many of you have ever ran 49:07 scared like a little school girl 49:08 for your life 49:10 from a little baby pet lamb, right? 49:11 Christ is often described as the Lamb of God, 49:14 a harmless, you look at a lamb and it's harmless, right? 49:16 It's innocent. 49:18 It's simple in this case and, of course, we see that 49:20 Christ is likened into the Lamb of God 49:22 all throughout the Book of Revelation. 49:23 And you heard me say, baby pet lamb 49:25 because the word arnion, 49:26 literally in the Greek, 49:28 which is how Christ is expressed 49:29 all throughout the Book of Revelation 49:31 is a little baby pet lamb, 49:32 a lamb of the first year, harmless, innocent. 49:36 And when we read that great love chapter, 49:38 1 Corinthians Chapter 13, 49:40 as I was preparing for this lesson, 49:41 this is what kept pouring through my mind 49:43 He is harmless because God is love 49:46 and as we have learned in this series so far, 49:49 God is love. 49:50 Christ is God which makes Him love. 49:52 And what is 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 tell us? 49:56 Love suffers long and is kind. 49:57 You can just insert Christ name right there 50:00 because He is love. 50:01 Christ suffers long and kind. 50:03 Christ does not envy. 50:04 Christ does not parade Himself. 50:07 He is not puffed up. He does not behave rudely. 50:09 He does not seek His own. 50:10 He does not, He is not provoked, 50:12 thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity 50:14 but rejoices in truth, 50:16 bears all things, believes all things, 50:19 hopes all things, 50:20 endures all things, He is harmless. 50:23 Christ also, as point number three here, 50:26 Jesus is undefiled. 50:29 This is crucial, 50:30 because He could not be our High Priest 50:32 if He was not sinless and undefiled. 50:34 Hebrews 2:18, alludes to this. 50:38 "For in that He Himself has suffered, been tempted, 50:42 He is able to aid those who are tempted." 50:45 Christ couldn't aid us who are tempted 50:48 unless He had first been tempted 50:49 and passed the test. 50:50 He was undefiled, He had no sin. 50:53 And, of course, even Leviticus 1:3-10, 50:57 alludes to the fact that Christ, 50:58 of course, being the anti-type, 51:00 that lamb every time it was slain 51:02 in the sacrificial scene there, 51:04 we see that it had to be not 51:06 just any old kind of lamb or goat, 51:08 but it had to be a lamb or goat 51:09 that was without spot without blemish, 51:12 of course, pointing forward to Jesus Christ 51:14 who as the Lamb of God, 51:16 who would be led to the slaughter 51:17 would be without spot and blemish. 51:18 We read this in Leviticus 1:3 and 10. 51:22 And it says, "If his offering 51:23 is a burnt sacrifice of the Lord, 51:25 let him offer a male without blemish. 51:28 He shall offer it of his own free will, 51:30 at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord." 51:33 And then verse 10, 51:34 "If his offering is of the flocks, 51:36 of the sheep or of the goats as a burnt sacrifice, 51:38 he shall bring a male without blemish." 51:41 Jesus, of course, His, Jesus' perfect obedience 51:45 during His earthly life made it possible 51:48 for Him to offer Himself 51:50 as an acceptable sacrifice to God 51:52 without spot and without blemish indeed. 51:55 Hebrews Chapter 9, 51:56 of course, verses 14 and 15 51:58 also alludes to this because it says, 51:59 "How much more shall the blood of Christ..." 52:02 We read this earlier. 52:03 "How much more shall the blood of Christ 52:04 who through the eternal Spirit 52:06 offered Himself without spot to God, 52:09 cleanse your conscience from the dead works 52:11 to serve the living God?" 52:13 We'll just stop there right now, 52:15 you can read verse 15, 52:16 because I'm running out of time here, 52:17 I have a lot to talk about. 52:19 Let's go to our fourth point here, which is crucial. 52:20 Christ was separate from sinners. 52:24 He was separate from sinners. 52:26 The lesson brings out 52:27 that Jesus was separated from sinners 52:31 when He ascended to heaven. 52:33 The Greek verb tense suggests that 52:34 this is a present state for Jesus 52:36 which began at a specific point in time. 52:39 Jesus endured hostility from the sinners 52:42 during His earthly life, 52:43 but He was victorious. 52:45 And when then He seated, 52:46 when He was seated at the right hand of God, 52:48 of course, being separated from sinners. 52:50 But then it goes on to say, 52:51 Jesus is also and this is a little different, 52:54 separate from sinners 52:56 and that He was perfectly sinless. 53:00 Perfectly sinless. 53:01 So He was separated from sinners in the sense 53:03 that He's now at the right hand of God, 53:05 but yet we also know that He was separate from sinners. 53:08 Aren't we called to be that as well? 53:09 While we are sinners, we are to separate ourselves 53:12 from the sinful world, 53:13 as also did Christ Jesus our Lord. 53:16 The fifth point, very important here, 53:18 Jesus is higher than the heavens. 53:21 This is an identity, of course, of His divine character, 53:24 of who He is, His divine identity 53:26 in the Godhead. 53:27 In fact, Jesus is one with God the Father. 53:30 And we see this message coming from Psalm 57:5-11. 53:34 There's some other texts as well. 53:36 But Psalm 57:5-11, it says, "Be exalted, O God, 53:40 above the heavens, 53:41 let Your glory be above all the earth. 53:44 Jesus is higher than the heavens. 53:47 Of course, He would not be able to be our High Priest 53:49 if He was not, right? 53:50 Because He is one with God, He is sinless. 53:52 I think that this last quotation here 53:54 from Desire of Ages, 53:56 page 25 and 26 would really sum all of this up really great. 53:59 In fact, it would probably sum up the entire lesson. 54:01 It says, "It was Satan's purpose to bring about 54:03 an eternal separation between God and man. 54:07 But in Christ, we become more closely united to God 54:10 than if we had never fallen. 54:12 And taken our nature, 54:14 the Savior had bound Himself to humanity 54:16 by a tie that is never to be broken. 54:19 This is the pledge that God will fulfill His Word. 54:23 "Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given 54:26 and the government shall be upon His shoulder." 54:29 God has adopted human nature in the person of His Son 54:33 and has carried the same into the highest heaven. 54:36 It is the Son of man who shares the throne of the universe. 54:38 "It is the Son of man whose name 54:40 shall be called Wonderful, 54:42 Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, 54:45 The Prince of Peace," as we see in Isaiah 9:6. 54:48 The I Am is the Daysman between God and humanity, 54:51 laying His hand upon both He who is holy, 54:55 harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, 54:57 is not ashamed to call us brethren. 55:00 In Christ the family of earth and the family of heaven 55:03 are bound together. 55:04 Christ glorified is our brother. 55:07 Heaven is enshrined in humanity and humanity is enfolded 55:11 in the bosom of infinite love." 55:14 Isn't that wonderful? Amen. 55:15 Yeah. Isn't that wonderful? 55:16 We look unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. 55:19 He is our High Priest. 55:21 He is perfect. He is sinless. 55:24 And, my friends, Spirit of Prophecy 55:25 makes it even clearer 55:27 that we also because of what Christ has done 55:28 can live without sin, 55:30 but that's only possible because of the perfect One, 55:33 Jesus Christ. 55:34 Amen. Thank you, Ryan. 55:36 Thank you, Jill. Thank you, John. 55:37 Thank you, Shelley. Everything just clicks. 55:39 You know what I mean? 55:41 We've got a few minutes left 55:42 and we're just going to have some closing thoughts. 55:44 Shelley? 55:45 Hebrews 7:22 just keeps screaming at me 55:49 because Hebrews 7:22, 55:51 Jesus is not just our Redeemer, 55:53 our Savior, our High Priest and our brother. 55:56 Hebrews 7:22 says, He is the guarantor, 56:00 the surety of the New Covenant. 56:03 He's God's assurance from God to us, 56:07 that all of His promises are yes 56:09 and amen in Christ Jesus. 56:10 He's assurance from us to God that He's working 56:13 and it's to will and to do God's good pleasure. 56:15 Yes and, Shelley, I wanna build off of that, 56:17 He's working so effectively and as an effective priest, 56:20 that while we are being sanctified, 56:22 listen to what Hebrews says 56:24 about while we're being sanctified, 56:27 Hebrews 10:14, "For by one offering, 56:30 He has perfected forever." 56:32 Hallelujah. 56:34 Those who are being sanctified, fear not your walk with Christ, 56:37 His perfection can cover any sin you bring to Him. 56:41 Hallelujah. 56:42 And as He's building you 56:44 and getting you ready for eternity, 56:45 His efficacy, His righteousness has perfected us forever, 56:49 while we are being sanctified. 56:52 Amen. Amen. 56:53 I'm just amazed as I think of the depths 56:56 that Jesus went to, to save us. 56:59 Just as we sitting on the panel here, 57:00 I just remind it again, 57:02 that plan of salvation is incredible. 57:04 And God put it in place 57:06 from the foundation of the world 57:08 because He loves us, 57:09 because He wants you in the kingdom. 57:11 Amen. 57:12 I referenced this earlier, the Upward Look, page 303. 57:15 It says, "Christ took humanity 57:17 and bore the hatred of the world, 57:19 that He might show men and women 57:20 that they too could live without sin." 57:23 You know, Philippians 4:13, 57:25 "I can do all things through Christ 57:27 who strengthens me." 57:29 My friends, we have a perfect sinless Savior, 57:30 who is our High Priest. 57:32 Look unto Him today for salvation. 57:34 Amen. 57:36 The message in these last days 57:38 is the message in the Book of Hebrews. 57:42 And if you have been blessed, 57:43 we want to encourage you to continue to join us 57:47 for this Sabbath School quarter. 57:48 You are vital to God's heart. 57:51 He loves you, He's given everything for you 57:53 and He wants you to be in His kingdom. 57:55 So please take this opportunity to get to know Jesus 57:59 as your faithful High Priest. 58:00 Amen. 58:02 Our next week's lesson is Jesus, the Anchor of the Soul. |
Revised 2022-01-27