Hebrews 5:1-10

MCU: 31 billion in global revenue (across 35 films)

Q: What makes superhero movies, and comics for that matter, so appealing?

Stan Lee: “Let’s assume that somebody really could walk on walls like Spider-Man or turn green and become a monster like The Hulk. That’s a given; we’ll accept that. But, accepting that, what would that person be like in the real world if he really existed? Wouldn’t he still have to worry about making a living? Or having acne and dandruff? Or his girlfriend jilting him? What are the real problems people would have? I think that’s what made the books popular.”

Simply stated: They need to be relatable.

Sections in Hebrews

Section 1 (ch.1-2): Jesus is the Superior Word

Section 2 (ch.3-4): Jesus is the Superior Moses

Section 3: Jesus is the Superior High Priest

Qualifications for the High Priest

1a. The High Priest must be fully human

Heb. 5:1 – “For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.”

2a. The High Priest is obligated to have compassion on others

Heb. 5:2-3 – “He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. 3 Because of this, he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people.”

3a. The High Priest must be divinely appointed

Heb. 5:4 – “And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.”

The Priesthood

1. Tribe of Levi

2. Descendant of Aaron

1b. Like the other high priests, Jesus Christ is divinely appointed

Heb. 5:5-6 – “So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you,’ 6 as he says also in another place, ‘You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.’”

Ps. 2:7 – “You are my Son, today I have begotten you.”

Ps. 110:4 – “…as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”

Q: Who is Melchizedek?

Genesis 14:18-20 – “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”

Genesis 18:20b – “And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.”

2b. Like the other high priests, Jesus Christ is fully human

Heb. 5:7 – “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.”

Heb. 5:8 – “Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.”

Heb. 5:9-10 – “And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.”

3b. Jesus Christ is not obligated to have compassion on sinners, but He does so anyway

COMMUNION

1. This is a practice for believers

2. This is a practice that demands self-examination (1 Cor. 11:27-29)

a. The Bread

1 Cor. 11:23-24 – “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’”

b. The Cup

1 Cor. 11:25-26 – “In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’”