Verse 5: "So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him, You are my Son, today I have begotten you';"
What a joy is ours this morning to be considering the priesthood of Jesus Christ in the verses we are looking at together.
With the words "So also" we have a transition to Christ. The author is now going to use a reverse order in handling the 3 qualifications. He will deal with divine appointment in verse 5 for Christ, even as he also had done for Aaron in verse 4. Those 3 points were: (1) divine appointment; (2) compassion; and (3) humanity.
The question in the back of our minds ought to be, Does Jesus Christ meet the qualifications of priesthood? You don't fire one and hire the other when you have the best in the business.
His becoming a high priest was an appointment by the Father as a result of His resurrection.
"You are my Son." The Father authenticated the relationship often during the ministry of Christ. "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Then he says "Today I have begotten you" referring to this act of becoming a high priest.
The high priest of Christ could not begin until the sacrifice had been made on Calvary and He was raised from the dead. The writer is quoting from Psalm 2:7: "You are my Son; today I have begotten you" (NIV).
verse 6: "just as He is saying also in another passage, 'You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.'"
This is a quotation from Psalm 110:4. You will notice in verse 5 the quotation says "You are my Son." Then in verse 6 we have "You are a priest."
He is a priest, not of the order of Aaron. He could not qualify for He is of the tribe of Judah. But He is a priest of the "order of Melchizedek."
Warren Wiersbe said: "Melchizedek is mentioned in only two places in the entire Old Testament, Genesis 14:17 -24, and Psalm 110:4. His name means 'King of Righteousness,'... 'King of Salem [peace].' ...he was both a priest and a king!"
John MacArthur said: "He was a king-priest who lived in the time of Abraham, and whose ancestry is completely unknown. He was king of Salem (the ancient name of Jerusalem) and was a priest of the true God...He lived many centuries before the Aaronic priesthood was established and his priesthood was unending....
Our priest not only made a sacrifice of Himself which is adequate to cleanse us from our sin and to declare us righteous before a holy God, His priesthood continues as He intercedes on a daily basis to maintain that relationship. To God be the glory in the marvelous Priest He has provided for us to secure eternal salvation.
Everything is cared for in Jesus Christ! The only way you will win your day in court is to have Jesus Christ represent you!
