Book Study · Week 4 of 6

Better Than the Old Priesthood

Hebrews 5:1-7:28

Jesus as our eternal High Priest

Main Point

The old priests were many and imperfect and had to offer sacrifices repeatedly. Jesus is the one perfect Priest whose single sacrifice makes all others obsolete.

Application Ideas

We don't need a priest between us and God anymore. Jesus has made a way for us to approach God directly. This week, practice accessing God's throne directly through prayer. Bring your needs, fears, and thanksgiving straight to Jesus without intermediaries.

Discussion Questions

What qualifies someone to be a high priest? How was Jesus qualified differently? What is the significance of Jesus' priesthood being 'after the order of Melchizedek'? How does the concept of perpetual intercession change your understanding of Jesus?

Detailed Sermon Outline

Primary Text: Hebrews 5:1-7:28

Supporting Texts: Genesis 14:18-20; Psalm 110:4; Leviticus 16:29-34

Big Idea: The old priests were many and imperfect and had to sacrifice again and again — Jesus is the one perfect Priest whose single offering makes every other obsolete.

Target Length: 35-40 minutes

Introduction

Three chapters on priesthood can feel like the part of the letter to skim. Priests are not part of most of our week. But this is the heart of Hebrews, and it answers a question every honest person eventually asks: who will speak to God for me?

The old system had a clear answer. A man from the right family, in the right clothes, on the right day, carrying blood into a room nobody else could enter. It worked, and it never finished working.

The main point: Jesus is the one Priest whose single offering means you never again need someone else to get you to God.

I. What a Priest Was For (Hebrews 5:1-10; Leviticus 16:29-34)

The writer defines the job before he compares anyone to it. A high priest is 'selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God.' He stands between, facing both directions.

He must be able to 'deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray', because 'he himself is subject to weakness.' Sympathy was part of the job description.
He does not appoint himself. 'No one takes this honor on himself.' A priest who volunteers is no priest at all.
Jesus meets both conditions. He was appointed by God, and 'he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears' — this is a Priest who has prayed in anguish.

That last detail is easy to rush past. Our High Priest has prayed a prayer that was not answered the way He asked. He knows the inside of that experience, which is why He can deal gently with you when you are in it.

II. A Priesthood of a Different Order (Hebrews 6:13-7:19; Genesis 14:18-20; Psalm 110:4)

Then comes Melchizedek, the strangest figure in the letter — a priest-king who meets Abraham, blesses him, receives a tenth, and vanishes from the story. The writer uses him to make one point: there was always another kind of priesthood.

Melchizedek appears in Scripture 'without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life.' The record gives him no ancestry and no death, so he stands as a picture of a priesthood that does not pass on.
Abraham paid him a tenth, and Levi was still 'in the body of his ancestor' — so the older, greater priesthood was there before the Levitical one existed.
'You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.' God swore it with an oath, and 'the Lord has sworn and will not change his mind.'

The conclusion is bracing: 'the former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless' for the one thing it most needed to do, and 'a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.' The law was never the problem. It simply could not get anyone home.

III. A Priest Who Always Lives (Hebrews 7:20-28)

The final contrast is the simplest, and the writer saves it for last because it is the one that changes how you pray.

'There have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office.' Every one of them eventually stopped serving.
'But because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.' No succession, no vacancy, no interruption.
'He is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.' Right now, He is praying for you.

And the offering is done. Unlike the old priests, He does not need to sacrifice 'day after day'; 'he sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.' One offering, never repeated, never insufficient.

Conclusion & Appeal

There is a quiet form of unbelief that keeps looking for a go-between — a more spiritual person, a better ritual, a heavier penance — because we cannot believe access is really this open.

It is open. The veil is torn, the Priest is seated, and the intercession never pauses. You do not need an appointment, an intermediary, or a better week.

So this week, pray directly and plainly. Bring the need you would normally ask someone else to pray about, and bring it yourself, out loud. You have a High Priest who always lives. Use Him.