OCTOBER 17 READING…HEBREWS 5
Once again, the writer of Hebrews wants believers to know that Jesus is superior, preeminent, and the fulfillment/replacement of everything and everyone who came before Him. This true when it comes to the High Priest of Israel. The Lord had established that the tribe of Levi would be the priestly tribe…and from that tribe only Aaron and his descendants would serve as High Priests. But Aaron and his descendants were guilty of sin themselves…they were not perfect. So, they were required to go through many ceremonial actions to cleanse themselves in order to perform the duties of High Priest. These cleansing did not last, and they would have to go through them over and over again. Their cleansing came from an act of God toward them…in other words, He prepared them to serve, otherwise they would not be qualified. Jesus needed no cleansing, but He did need to take on the flesh of humanity and show that He was both appointed and qualified to be our great High Priest. Jesus had no need to go through ceremonial preparation in order to be High Priest…He qualified because of who He is, and the fact that He remained pure from all sin. He did not do this from far off, but lived as a man, who went through all things that we go through…He learned and grew through the things He experienced as a man. He was proved perfect in all things, showing He is qualified to be our great High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek…both High Priest and King forever. The writer of Hebrews then calls us to maturity, to move past just receiving the milk of the Word and begin eating real meat. In other words, we need to be growing in our understanding of the meaning of the Word…we can only do that as we spend time with the Holy Spirit in the Scripture.
Please share your thoughts.
TOMORROW’S READING…HEBREWS 6
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