Hebrews 4:16-5:10 KJV

Jesus, Aaron, and Melchisedec: High Priests

WHAT IT SAYS:

16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
1 ¶  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:
2  Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.
3  And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.
4  And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.
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.
6  As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
7  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;
8  Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
9  And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
10 ¶  Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.

WHAT IT MEANS: 

16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace,"... Do you hear the call to come forward, yourself? This is a new thing that had never been available before. Always, before, believers had to approach a priest with a sacrifice in their hands in order to ask the priest to please represent them to God. 

The new believers needed encouragement to come forward, themselves, to the throne of grace. Let us not be timid, either. It is the "throne of grace" -- the throne of "good will toward men." There is no other place to "obtain mercy" but the throne of grace! That is the place where we can find grace to help us in our times of need. Christ became the temple so all can come to God. He paid the price for us and no more sacrifice is needed. "Jesus paid it all. All to him I owe. Though my sins were crimson red, he washed me white as snow"

5:1 ¶  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:

The old system had been set up by God for men. It was the system whereby a man or woman could reach out to God for forgiveness of their sins. The high priest was a mortal man just like they were, but he had been set apart by genealogy and appointment to help them with the things that pertained to God. He had to be of the family of Aaron, a Levite, born to be a priest. He offered their gifts and sacrifices for their sins to God for them. He was a servant of God, set apart to help the people of God.

2  Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.

The high priest was able to have compassion on the ignorant. Compassion is "sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it." (www.m-w.com) The high priest could feel the distress of the ignorant who were those who "lacked knowledge or comprehension of" the laws of God, and therefore, God, Himself. He or she had sinned because of ignorance. This ordinary man needed a "lawyer" of sorts, a representative who was trained and ordained, who could go to the court and represent him before God and seek forgiveness of his sins. 

The high priest was able to bring those who had wandered down the wrong path (those who are "out of the way") back to the right path or way. Because he was a man who was also surrounded by his own infirmity, and weakness, and sin, he could understand and have compassion on other people who were in the same boat as he was. He knew what it was like, first hand, to be a sinner.

3  And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.

When the high priest went to God, he sought relief, not only for the people but for himself also. He needed atonement, just as much as they did.

4  And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.

To be the high priest, the one who represented God, was a very high honour. It was a privilege that a man could not assume on his own. Only a man who had been called by God to do this job, just like Aaron had been in the Old Testament, could perform the special duties of a high priest.

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.

In exactly the same way, Christ did not assume the duty of the high priest on his own. God called him and said of him: "Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee." God is the one who called Him. He was the "only begotten of the Father." 

1John 4:9  In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

6  As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

It had been foretold in the OT that Jesus, being Christ, the Messiah, was called by God to be a priest for eternity, just like Melchisedec had been an "unknown" priest who served God and Abraham in the book of Genesis.

Genesis 14:18  And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.

Ps 110:4  The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

Melchizedek was a priest before Aaron had been born! He was a different kind of priest than Aaron. We have no information concerning this man. No one knows where he came from, or how he became a priest, except that, obviously, God had called him and ordained him, himself, with no need of the offices of man. Christ was called in this same way -- Ordained by God, himself, to be His Son. He came from God. He was God come to Earth -- for no man could remain sinless on his own. Only God was capable of such a wonderful and amazing thing!

Heb 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

7  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;

 

 "In the days of his flesh" means "when he was alive on Earth" living in a body just like ours... he offered up prayers and humble entreaties with fervent emotion (crying and tears) unto the only one who could save him from the death he knew he was about to suffer. Jesus did not go to the cross without fear, he just did not obey the fear. He went with obedience to God.

Luke 22:41-44  And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

8  Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

Learning always takes place either by study, by teaching, or by experience. The "school of hard knocks" has taught many a person the lessons of this world. The Father did not spare the Son; and being the Son, he learned obedience. We know that not everyone who goes to the school of hard knocks learns this particular lesson, but Christ had a different Spirit about Him and what He "learned" from his suffering was "obedience."  If fact, it was the obedience of Jesus that lead Him to face the cross.

Luke 9:51 ¶  And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,

It was why he came here. It was who he was. It was his reverence for the Father. It was his love for the Father's children. He received strength from on high, to do what he had to do. He ignored the fear and simply obeyed. He ignored the fear and simply loved. He ignored the fear and forgave. He ignored the fear and died on the cross for us all. 

 

9  And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

 "Being made perfect." Perfect means complete or whole. He was made perfect, sanctified, by the things which he suffered: death on the cross, resurrection, and ascension. Doing these things "made" Him -- his mission and purpose -- complete. When all this was done -- he became the author (creator) of salvation unto all them that obey him. When he had completed the sacrifice -- when he became the one obedient man for God -- he also became our redeemer. He did what no other man could do: He was obedient to God.

Philippians 2:8  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Hebrews 10:7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

 He came to do the will of God. He became obedient to death. He took the curse (death) upon himself, for all mankind. He suffered the ultimate curse for us. He had not sinned, yet he became sin for us. The death he died was different than the death we will die, because he changed everything for us. We will never truly know what he suffered because he took away the curse and gave us new life, in Himself.

10 ¶  Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.

Jesus Christ, truly was called by God to be our representative, our high priest, just like Melchisedec had been called. Not by genealogy, but by God.

 READ IT AGAIN WITH NEW UNDERSTANDING:

16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
1 ¶  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:
2  Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.
3  And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.
4  And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.
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.
6  As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
7  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;
8  Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
9  And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
10 ¶  Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.