Letter to the Hebrews Volume 40

 Jesus Christ our High Priest Forever Part 1

Hebrews 5:5-6 So also Christ glorified not Himself to be made an High Priest; but He that said unto Him, Thou art My Son, to day have I begotten Thee. As He saith also in another place, Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. KJV

In like manner as the earthly Jewish high priest, our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ who is from everlasting to everlasting did not make Himself High Priest forever to the Jewish Nation and to all of us in His Mystical Body the Church here and now on the earth, as it is written here in verse 5, "So also Christ glorified not Himself to be made an High Priest; but He that said unto Him, Thou art My Son, to day have I begotten Thee." (Hebrews 5:5) (KJV). But just as the earthly high priest was appointed by God the Father, so did our Lord Jesus Christ (even though being God, that is, the second member of the Trinity) humbled and submitted Himself to God the Father's will to make Him or ordain Him as High Priest to the Jewish Nation then and to the Church forever, as it is written here by this same writer of Hebrews in Chapter 10, "Wherefore when He (God the Son, Christ) cometh into the world, He saith, Sacrifice and offering Thou (God the Father) wouldest not, but a body hast Thou (God the Father) prepared Me (God the Son, Christ): In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of Me,) to do Thy will, O God. Above when He said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin Thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said He, Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that He may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the Right hand of God the Father; (Hebrews 10:5-12) (KJV). Here is what Adam Clarke had to say of this verse, "The man Jesus Christ, was also appointed by God to this most awful yet glorious office, of being the High Priest of the whole human race. The Jewish high priest represented this by the sacrifices of beasts which he offered; the Christian High Priest must offer His own life: Jesus Christ did so; and, rising from the dead, He ascended to heaven, and there ever appeareth in the presence of God for us. Thus He has reassumed the sacerdotal, that is, Priestly office; and because He never dies, He can never have a successor. He can have no vicars, either in heaven or upon earth; those who pretend to be such are impostors, and are worthy neither of respect nor credit. And thus it appears that God can have no high priest but His Son; and to that office none can now pretend without blasphemy, for the Son of God is still the High Priest in His temple."

So as to have no misunderstanding or twisting of his words here, the writer of Hebrews goes on to offer up the reality that our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to the Patriarch of the Hebrew Nation Abram (latter God changed his name to Abraham), as it is written here in verse 6, "As He saith also in another place, Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek." (Hebrews 5:6) (KJV). It was written in the Book of Genesis of this Man Melchizedek (who appeared to Abram after his victorious battle to free Lot from captivity) these words, "And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the Priest of the Most High God." (Genesis 14:18) (KJV). Also it was King David who wrote prophetically of our Lord Jesus Christ being God the Father's High Priest with these words, "The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit Thou at My Right Hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool. The LORD shall send the rod of Thy strength out of Zion: rule Thou in the midst of Thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: Thou hast the dew of Thy youth. The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. The Lord at Thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of His wrath. He shall judge among the heathen, He shall fill the places with the dead bodies; He shall wound the heads over many countries. He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall He lift up the head." (Psalms 110:1-7) (KJV). Here is what Matthew Henry had to say of this verse 6, "God the Father appointed Him a Priest of a higher order than that of Aaron. The priesthood of Aaron was to be but temporary; the priesthood of Christ was to be perpetual: the priesthood of Aaron was to be successive, descending from the fathers to the children; the Priesthood of Christ, after the order of Melchizedek, was to be personal, and the High Priest immortal as to His office, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, as it is more largely described in the seventh chapter, and will be opened there. Christ is here preferred to Aaron in the holiness of His person. Other priests were to offer up sacrifices, as for the sins of others, so for themselves, Hebrews 5:3. But Christ needed not to offer for sins for Himself, for He had done no violence, neither was there any deceit in His mouth, Isaiah 53:9. And such a high priest became us."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…