ONCE more let us be reminded that Paul was writing to people familiar with God and religion. They were Hebrews who had accepted Jesus as their Saviour. But, in our study, we find that they were doubtful as to whether they had done the right thing. So, over and over and in many different settings, Paul referred to the Old Testament pattern of religion and the practices with which they were familiar.
As we pointed out in the study of chapter 3, the high priest of
Israel was really the most important figure. He
was
the go between for all men before God. Jesus was
presented
to the brethren as the “merciful and faithful high priest” (2:17); “Apostle and High Priest” (3:1); and “a great high priest” (4:14). Through Him, the “great high priest, that is passed into the heavens,” we have one who can “be touched with the feeling of our infirmities” (4:15), even “Jesus, the Son of God” (4:14). By Him the Hebrews were bidden to “come boldly unto the throne of Grace.” It was important to them to have one who could intercede. The high priest had
always done this for Israel on a mass basis when he went into the holy
of holies once each year.
Jesus was now shown to be a high priest taken from “among men” (vS. 1). As in the
past, so now, the high priest
was a man. Paul had already written that Jesus was of “the seed of Abraham” (2:16). Each high priest was “ordained for men in things pertaining to God” to offer both gifts and sacrifices. (vs.1.)
Aaron was the first high
priest chosen, and every Israelite was acquainted with his ordination. The person had to have
special
qualities. He had to be able to understand
people and to love them in
whatever condition they might be found. He looked at them through himself. (See vs. 2.) Also, it was his duty to offer
sacrifices
for sin both for the people and for himself. (vs. 3.) We
will be studying more about this in chapter 9.
In verse 4, Paul firmly pointed out that no man took this office of high priest upon himself
because he wanted it, but because he was “called of God.” Jesus had all
the characteristics previously mentioned. He had
compassion for the weak, the unfortunate, and the ignorant. He was willing to offer a sacrifice – a sin-offering sacrifice, even
himself, for
sin. The sacrifice he
offered was His
own life, which was sinless.
To show that Jesus was called of God, Paul again went to the
Old Testament. These are writings that should
have
been known by the Hebrew people. The reference to Jesus being the Son of God was taken from Psalm 2. This being true, other records were established as true. There was a prophecy of a coming change in the priesthood found in Psalm 110. Aaron is not mentioned, and Jesus did not claim to
be of Aaron, since Aaron
was of the tribe of Levi and Jesus from the
tribe of Judah.
Hebrews 2:7-10 relates several of the traits of Jesus.
Jesus could offer prayers, and did. This was
part of the work of the high priest. When Jesus raised Lazarus
from the dead, He
prayed
to God. He gave thanks to God for the
bread and the cup when the Communion
service was instituted. He prayed for His own in the Garden of Gethsemane; even for those yet to believe. Jesus shed tears on behalf of others. He wept at the tomb of Lazarus.
He wept over Jerusalem and, we believe, had a
compassion equal to tears many times for those He
loved. Though He was the Son of God, He had to be obedient. This greatness did not allow Him to escape such training. In this, He was “made perfect” (v. 9) and became “the author [originator, beginner] of eternal salvation” for all “that obey him.” Reference is also made to Jesus being the “author” of our faith in chapter 12. Again, Paul wrote, “called of God a high
priest after the
order
of Melchizedek” (v. 10).
In the closing verses of this chapter, Paul reproved the Hebrew brethren for failing to believe. He
wrote, “You are
dull of hearing.” It seems that Paul was
suggesting that they were deliberately refusing to hear God who was speaking “in these last days ... by His son” (vs.1:2). The
Prophet Ezekiel wrote of Israel,
“They have ears to hear, and hear not” [Ezekiel 12:2] It was
time for these people to grow up. Paul
wrote, “When I became a man, I put
away childish things” [Corinthians 13:11] These Hebrew
brethren had evidently known the gospel long enough
that they should have been teaching others, but
they could not because they had not informed themselves. They still needed to be taught the simple things’ “have need of milk” (v. 12).
A similar condition exists in many congregations. Professing Christians, followers of Jesus,
are unwilling to “study to shew [themselves] approved unto God.” In plain language, they are lazy. One who is going to teach should take advantage of every opportunity to study, learn, and become familiar with God’s word. But one
must
learn to be a follower and to do the will
of God before he can expect to be of “full age”
(v. 14).
The called-out
Assembly of God, in our opinion, has
many
today who are like the Hebrew
brethren to whom Paul wrote, they are
babes
in the Messiah and
are willing to stay that way. It is the duty of the called-out Assembly of God to
teach. One cannot teach without knowledge. Neither can one rely alone on knowledge; he must live by the word of
God. That is the thought which
we will consider in Chapter
Six.
Written by Francis E. Burnett and
edited and added to by Bruce Lyon
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