The fitness of Christ as Great High Priest — John Meekin

Hebrews 7, we'll just spend a few moments just looking just at the end of the chapter. Let's read together at verse number 22, and it says,. By so much more, or by so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament, a better covenant.

Christ as the Surety of a Better Covenant

Now frequently when we sing in our hymns, our concept of what a surety is, is determined by what we sing in the hymn. We sing, there is my surety. He firmly stood, paid for my ransom his precious blood, died for my sins to bring me to God.

Jesus died for me. And you would almost think through the hymn that a surety is one who dies. But in the scriptures, a surety, someone who's the guarantor is not someone who dies, it's someone who lives.

You remember in the life of Joseph, Judah says, thy servant became surety for the lad. And what he was really saying is this, my life has been given over for the lad, and I need to live to deliver the lad to my father.

So keep in mind that when we speak of the Lord Jesus as a surety, it's speaking about his resurrection. Jesus was made a surety of a better covenant, and they truly were many priests because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death.

But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable or untransferable priesthood, wherefore he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens, who needeth not daily as those high priests to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's.

For this he did once when he offered up himself. For the law maketh man high priests which have infirmity, but the word of the oath, that's Psalm 110, the word of the oath which was since the law maketh the son who is consecrated or perfected forevermore.

God bless to us those very precious words of the sacred scriptures. One of the things that we constantly and consistently face is this, that as we move amongst the Lord's people, we have to admit there are a multitude of needs.

Here as we are gathered in Mount Sterling this morning, I look around a company like this, and as we have gathered together, we have to admit that there is a multiplicity of needs amongst God's beloved people.

Needs that we can hardly understand, needs that certainly we can't meet. We think of health needs, we think of a multitude of needs when it comes to a corporate world, we think of social needs, and we could begin to expand many of the needs that are found represented in a company such as this.

One of the things that we have heard consistently is, and we believe it, that the Lord Jesus is able to meet the needs. Our high priest, the one before the face of God, we have to ask then if this is the case, if he is able to meet the need of God's beloved people, how is he fitted to meet the need?

Christ’s Fitness to Meet the Needs of God’s People

That's the question that I want to answer just for a few minutes, just in about 12 minutes, and I won't go into the singing, I try not to go into the singing time, that's almost a promise, and you hardly can make a promise like that, because you know what happens with preachers.

We frequently encroach into things which we have promised that we won't go, but we say that the Lord Jesus is able to meet the need. He is the high priest, and yet we have to ask ourselves, why is it that he's fitted to meet the need of God's people?

I want to suggest a number of things from this chapter of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 7, just to show us that Christ is uniquely fit to meet our needs as God's beloved people. The first reason I want to suggest is this, you will notice with me, it's found in verse number 23 and into verse number 24.

The Permanence of Christ’s Priesthood

The writer of the book of Hebrews has in mind the Aaronic priesthood, and he has before him the fact that those dear people, the children of Israel, they would become familiar with those priests of old, and the fact would be that they would approach a priest, and they knew that priest, you think of Aaron, and the years that Aaron would spend amongst God's beloved people.

There is Aaron in the wilderness for those 38 years, 40 years in total. If we take the journey from Egypt, there is Aaron, and they would be able to come to Aaron, and they would be able to speak to Aaron, and Aaron had sympathy for the people year after year.

They became familiar with Aaron, but there came a moment when they would come, and Aaron wasn't there anymore, and it wasn't Aaron now, but it was Aaron's son Eliezer, and eventually the moment would come where it wouldn't be Eliezer, but it would be Phineas, and right through the generations, so it would go.

You remember the day came, it's described to us in the book of Numbers, Numbers chapter 20, where Aaron and Moses and Eliezer, they went up into Mount Hor, and you will remember that Aaron was divested of those garments of glory and beauty, and those garments of glory and beauty, they were given, and they were transferred to Eliezer, and with it, there was a transfer of the priesthood.

The wonderful thing is this, that Hebrews chapter 7 says, this man, one of those great this man statements of the Lord Jesus, this man, because he continueth ever as an untransferable priesthood. Beloved saints, the priest that you and I have before the face of God, he will never give place to another.

You know eventually what they would say, you would get used to Aaron, if you were coming to Aaron day by day, and eventually you would have to come and stand in the presence of Eliezer, and you would typically know what happens, and what the Lord's people would say, they would say, oh he's a nice man, but he's not his father.

Invariably you say, would we not? We are creatures of habit, and we are those who are conditioned, and eventually they would say, well we do like Eliezer, but he's not Aaron, and he's just not able to sympathize the way Aaron sympathized, and we're just not, we don't have the same relationship with him, the way that we had a relationship before.

You know beloved saints, you and I have been brought into a relationship with one, and it will never change. That relationship that we have with him, and the relationship that he has with us, beloved saints, is he able to sympathize?

Why is it that he's able in this ministry? Why is it that this service, and this this this priesthood that he has, is able to reach our needs? It is because first of all, according to this, it's permanent.

It is an untransferable priesthood. Look with me at the next one. Verse number 25 doesn't only emphasize the permanence of this priest, but it emphasizes the power of this priest. It says, wherefore he is able also.

The Power of Christ to Save and Help

Now the power of Christ is one of the unique things which is actually taken up in the book of Hebrews. This word is is used a number of times right through the book of Hebrews. The first time it actually occurs is in chapter one in relation to the Lord Jesus.

Chapter one verse three it says, who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things, and listen to this, by the word of his power. You come to chapter two and just at the end of chapter two it says this, verse number 18, for in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able.

He has power. He is able to succor them that are tempted. We move into chapter four and we get another one because in chapter four it says this, verse number 15, it says, for we have not an high priest which cannot be touched.

That's the same word. He has the ability and power to be touched. We come into chapter seven. There's two of them in chapter seven. Look at verse number 16 of chapter seven. It says of the Lord Jesus, who is made not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.

And we come right down here to where I've read in verse number 25 and it says, wherefore he is able. Beloved saints, the reason why the Lord Jesus has the capacity to meet your need and the ability to meet my need is because he has the power.

There is no one else can do it. There is no one else that we can rest in. There is no one else that we can come to. But beloved saints, this morning, thank God that there is a unique high priest. He is called a priest.

He is called a high priest. In this epistle, he is called a great high priest over the house of God. And beloved, he is able to do this. He is unique in his permanence and he is unique in his power. Of course, there's another reason if I'm going to fulfill my own commitment here and that's going to be a challenge.

The Perfection and Holiness of Christ

Notice with me that the next thing we notice is in verse number 26. And it's not just now that we're reading about his permanence and it's not only that we're speaking about his power, but you see, when we get to verse number 26, we have what some of our brethren have highlighted for us.

We get his perfection. And you say, what about this one in whom we have trusted? What about this one that we are in a relationship with? Well, the writer to the Hebrew says, such an high priest became us.

And then it says, who is holy? Harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners. Beloved saints, I have appreciated and I do like it. It's not really strictly the context of Hebrew seven verse number 26.

I've heard our brethren work at it. He was holy in his birth. We see him harmless in his life. We notice him undefiled in his death and in his resurrection. And we see him separate from sinners at God's right hand.

We see him the separate one. That might be true, but don't forget that all of those are present. Who is beloved saints, this great high priest over the house of God. There's no infirmity with him. There's no sin that is linked with him.

The one that is for us, a great high priest this morning, he is holy and he is harmless and he is undefiled and he is separate from sinners. And as we have gathered here this morning, because of this, he is able to meet our need as God's beloved people, of course.

And again, perhaps I'll finish with this one. It's not so much his permanence, and it's not only his power, and it's not only his perfection or even what we have mentioned there in verse number 26. But notice with me his position.

Christ’s Exalted Position Above the Heavens

Where is he this morning? He's made higher than the heavens. Now, of course, as we make our way through the book of Hebrews, there's been a number of references, one before this to the heavens, at least.

There will be one to come in chapter nine. So in chapter four, we get a reference to the heavens in chapter nine. We will get a reference to heaven. You remember in chapter four, it says he has gone into heaven.

You will remember in chapter nine, it says into heaven itself here in this chapter, it says made higher than the heavens. Of course, we recognize that with the tabernacle of old. The background to the book of Hebrews is the tabernacle system.

And you will remember there were the three compartments, and the priests could go into the first compartment, the outer court. Then there was the second compartment. Then there was the third compartment, the holiest of all.

I judge, beloved saints, that we are learning and seeing in the book of Hebrews, a link to the Lord Jesus and the three compartments. Beloved saints, this morning, those three references to heaven in the life of Christ, this blessed priest, don't forget where he is this morning.

Here, he has been made higher than the heavens, higher than all, higher than all. Jesus, my savior, is higher than all. And this priest, this high priest, he's over the house of God. Let me just finish.

Christ’s Provision as the Once-for-All Sacrifice

We have his provision that's mentioned in verse number 27. He needeth not daily. There is a reference to the high priest daily offering that has often been a conundrum. I've got one minute left, so I better move from that.

The Person of the Son Consecrated Forever

You say, what's the last thing that you're going to mention? Look at verse number 28. In verse number 28, it's not as permanent. And it's not as position. And it's not as power. And it's not as perfection.

And it's not as provision. In verse number 28, it's actually linked to his person. And it says about this one, that the word of the oath, Psalm 110, thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, that has been made since the law.

And you say, why is it linked to this lovely person? Well, it tells us with regard to his person, the son, it says he is consecrated forevermore. You say, what does that mean? Our marginal reading could be, he is perfected forevermore.

You say, that's no more clear than he's consecrated forevermore. What does it essentially mean? It means this. He has reached the goal. God had a goal set out for him. He has reached the goal. And because he has reached the goal, he is able, beloved saints.

He is touched, beloved saints. He can meet your need, beloved saints. Whatever your need is this morning, none of us need fear. Whatever your need is represented in this company this morning. Thank God we have a great high priest.

May the Lord help us that we worship this one in the beauty of holiness and appreciate again the one who loved us so much and gave himself for us.