Begin in prayer asking God to speak to you in your study time. Then read

Transcription

1 1 Pictures of Christ - The High Priest lesson 6 Day 1: Begin in prayer asking God to speak to you in your study time. Then read Hebrews 4:14-5:10. A) If you want to understand the picture of the High Priest you must see Christ s office. 1) Hebrews identifies our next portrait of Jesus as our High Priest. Does it comfort you that Jesus can sympathize with our weaknesses? Why? 2) To be qualified to serve as a high priest under the Mosaic law one had to be a Levite, a male, and a descendent of Aaron, Moses brother. Another significant qualification one had to weep over the sins of Israel. How is weeping a form of prayer? 3) Jesus weeps for us. He weeps because of our ignorant and wayward ways. He weeps because he knows God s plans for our lives are vastly superior to the lives we are living. He weeps because he knows our suffering. Yet scripture records, when Christ was tempted in all ways that we are tempted, he did not sin. How could this knowledge increase our trust in Christ? Day 2: Begin in prayer asking God to speak to you through his word. Then read Genesis 14: ) This is a story of Abram before God changed his name to Abraham. Why did Abram

2 2 go to war in this passage? 2) Melchizedek stands out as the first and only High Priest and King combination in the Old Testament. After the defeat of his enemies Abram paid a tithe to Melchizedek of all the spoils he had earned in war. Why do you think he did this? 3) What did Melchizedek do for Abram? 4) Why was Abram unwilling to take any of the wealth the king of Sodom offered him? Day 3: Begin in prayer asking God to speak to you through his word. Then read Hebrews 7: ) Look specifically at Hebrews 7:1-10. What reasons does the author of Hebrews give for the superiority of Melchizedek s priesthood over the Levitical priesthood? 2) Why was the superiority of Melchizedek s priesthood such a difficult concept for Jewish Christians to understand? 3) Why does Jesus priesthood signify the end of the law? (7:11-19) 4) If the priesthood described in the book of Leviticus could achieve perfection there would not have been a need for a Savior. Why are the eternal aspects of Christ s

3 3 priesthood important? (7:20-28) _ Day 4: Pray for your reading time and begin reading Hebrews 9: Day 5: Pray for your study time and review Hebrews 9: B) If you want to understand the picture of the High Priest you must see Christ s work. 1) The Old Testament sacrificial system could not purify the conscience of the worshiper. Why is a pure conscience essential? 2) In what sanctuary does Christ approach God on our behalf? 3) The earthly sanctuary served by the Levitical priesthood was a replica of a heavenly sanctuary. What glimpse does this truth give to God s eternal plans? 4) Sacrifices were continually being offered and blood was constantly flowing at the altar in Jewish history. Jesus sacrifice was vastly different because it was offered once for all. How does this give us rest? Day 6: Pray for your study time and read Hebrews 10:1-25. C) If you want to understand the picture of the High Priest you must see the

4 4 meaning of Christ s death. 1) When an artist paints the natural world she has to know where the light source is to know where to paint the shadows. The writer to the Hebrews says the law was a shadow of the things to come. One of the things we know about shadows is they are distortions of the real thing. Shadows can be elongated or shortened depending on the placement of the backlighting. How did the Law distort Jesus priesthood? 2) In today s passage the superiority of the Christ sacrifice is clear, but so is the failure of the animal sacrifices. Look at Psalm 40:6-8. How does this passage reveal Christ s purpose? 3) The High Priest of Israel entered the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement with bells on his robe so the other priest could hear him moving about. He also had a rope tied to his ankle so he could be pulled out if he died in there. Two of Aaron s sons died because they went before the Lord God with unauthorized fire. (Leviticus 10:1) Jesus Christ was the sacrifice for sin as well as the High Priest who offered the sacrifice in the heavenly sanctuary. How are these two concepts united in Christ crucifixion? God seems to want to always remind us that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. (Hebrews 9:22). Andrew Murray said, All ministry or service of the priests in the tabernacle had its fulfillment in Him (Murray, The Holiest Of All, 204)

5 5 Day 7: Read Genesis 14:14-24 once again and ask God to speak to you. If you want to understand the picture of the High Priest you must see Christ s office, Christ s work, and the meaning of Christ s death.