TRINITY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH IHOP BIBLE STUDY # 5, Hebrews 4: 14 5:10, "Jesus the High Priest" with commentary. The purpose of the Letter to the Hebrews is to set The Christological Context." This is the 5th lesson of 14 sessions. According to our Study Chart 14 Sessions Setting the Christological Context: Described and Applied A Context Describing The Work of Christ Session 5 of 14 Jesus The High Pries 4: 14 5: 10 Jesus the High Priest Humans are an imperfect priesthood The Priesthood of Christ 4: 14 16 5: 1 3 5: 4-10 I. ABOUT THIS SCRIPTURE A. Use your commentary to get an overview of The High Priest as this phrase is used in the Letter to the Hebrews. Write a paragraph describing what you learn. WS: The High Priest He had to be a man and appointed by God. Paul presents us with the high priest because this was proof-text using an example with which the Hebrew community was very familiar. Paul s point is that Jesus is now the new High Priest. To run this through our gut (or our human experience) reveals that the High Priest was the one who was fully awake to be the representative who lives the AT-ONE-MENT; this was God s representative of God s Perfect At-One-Ment. King David Paul seeks to complete God s Ambassadorial order using Christ s symbolic presence on earth. So, who is this Jesus? Who is the one from Nazareth, of all places? Paul is the New Testament District Superintendent of the new church, and he reports this Jesus is up with the big boys of Aaron, Melchizedek, and King David. In fact, as we ll learn is a few later chapters, Jesus as the Christ Bearer is more than these guys. In fact, this Jesus the Anointed Christ has the same contacts as does Father Abram himself. Yet, don t despair, because the story gets better than this. However, we must wait until chapter 7 when the secret is revealed who this Jesus really is. Paul s summary of the spiritual journey of the Greek-Roman-Christian Jews Paul felt they were still spiritual infants. To this time, they only had the elementary truths of God s Word. They had grown a little in their faith, but now had stopped growing. They had fed on milk and very little meat. 1. Vs. 14A, Think for a moment on the difference between the Greek mindset regarding heaven, and the Jewish mindset. Then, transliterate the phrase, who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God.
WS: The Jewish and Greek mindsets were completely different. It can be said that the Greek mindset used dualism, and represents Head Trip Analysis. The Jewish mindset affirmed that God is as close as our breath and is the meaning and significance of things. Consequently, when Paul uses phrases familiar to the Greek way of thinking, it is necessary to transliterate back into the Jewish way of thinking to discover the meaning of the phrase. In this way, the phrase, who has gone through the heaven, Jesus the Son of God, can be treated in these two ways: The Greek Dualistic way The Greeks understood that our earthly experience is mean and ends in death. The escape from this mundane existence was to use an advocate who represented the Gnosis, or the knowledge of how to live eternally in the presence of God, or the meaningfulness of life itself. Paul claims that this gnosis is found in Jesus, and he is the representative of Perfect At-One-Ment: God. The Jewish Experiential way The Jewish/Christens understood that our earthly experience only makes sense when it is pulled through the presence of God who is closer to us that our breath. Christians affirm that this God is experienced as Love, or as Perfect At-One-Ment. Paul claims that this experience is best demonstrated in Jesus, and he is the demonstration of what Agape Love, or Perfect At-One-Ment looks like; when we see Jesus, we see God because Jesus acted like the Christ by choosing to die to the barriers preventing us from seeing the Perfect demonstration of Love. 2. Vs. 14B, Be able to describe, The faith we hold firmly. Use Gut Trip Analysis to describe your experience of faith. WS: Faith is the experience of surrender. When we get on an airplane we faith that the aircraft is obedient to the laws of physics, and that the pilot is trained in this process. Faith, understood, in this way is betting our life on the airplane and pilot. My experience of faith as surrender is my dependence of God. I surrender my life in obedience to God. I surrender my independence in exchange for dependence on God. 3. Vs. 15, From what you ve learned about the High Priest, relate this to the significance that Jesus is our High Priest. WS: The man, Jesus, is able to emphasize or identify with all of our human weaknesses. He is entirely human, even to be point of being born in a woman and wearing diapers. He identifies with us completely. In this way our High Priest is the Son of Man. Next, describe how our High Priest is able to sympathize with our weaknesses, and tempted in every way yet without sin? How can this be? WS: The man, Jesus, represents the one that is ENTIRELY AWAKE! He represents the perfection of what it means to fulfill our Human-Isness is to live the humane and gracious life working for Justice and Mercy. In this way our High Priest is the Son of God.
What it means to pull Jesus through the heavens is either that he represents the completely awake, or that he accurately demonstrates what it means to fulfill our humane nature. In either way, Jesus is THE CHRIST. If our High Priest has gone through the heavens, how is it possible for him/her to be tempted? WS: Jesus is no different from us than we are from Jesus. This is the surprise information about both of us. We already are Perfect in being created totally dependent on God. Jesus was no more dependent on God than we are. However, Jesus embraced his dependence on God by his obedience on God that is experience as Perfect At-One-Ment. We humans have the capacity to do likewise. However, what it means to be human is to slip back into living independently from God. If I was walking down the street and saw you receiving mercy and grace, what would I see you getting? WS: Actually, we receive grace and mercy all of the time, we just fail to name it as grace and mercy. The experience of grace and mercy is never being let off the hook of living the dependent life on God; we are created to live the humane and gracious life, just as the cow is created to fulfill its creation as a cow. For humans the issue is complicated because of our self-consciousness and free will. God, experienced as Perfect At-One-Ment, never lets us off the hook of being what we are created to be: humane and gracious. 4. Vs. 16, What is our experience of approaching, with confidence, the Throne of Grace? WS: The Throne of Grace is experienced as Perfect At-One-Ment achieved from living the humane and gracious life. Paul is using an image familiar to the Jewish Christians because the Jews understood that this throne was the Ark of the Covenant. The horns of the Ark represented God s grace which is our experience of not being let off the hook of fulfilling our intended creation. From the Jewish perspective, the Ark was located behind the Temple veil. At the crucifixion and death of Jesus, the image used is that the Temple Veil was torn in two revealing that Jesus is the new Ark. B. Vss. 1 3, What is going on here, and do you see any similarities to today s priesthood? In what way? WS: Today s priesthood that is, those representing the Awakened Life are no different from the ancient Priesthood who represented the same thing.
C. Vss. 5: 1 10, Read in your commentary to learn about Melchizedek. Write a paragraph on what you learn. WS: Melchizedek He was a priest of God long before Aaron s time and also the King of Salem (Jerusalem). He is a mysterious presence in the Hebrew Testament. Suddenly he appears, represents God (as the Perfect At-One-Ment), and then mysteriously disappears. The Jews understood this appearing/disappearing as evidence Melchizedek was God s Ambassador. This Ambassadorship is understood as the eternal presence of The Christ (in the Greek) the Anointed One (in the Hebrew). In this way, and for this purpose, Jesus bore the mantel of Melchizedek, or the Anointed Christ. 1. Vss. 4 6, the writer provides us with a historical reference. What s going on here? WS: The Aaronic Priesthood is in the lineage of Melchizedek. 2. Vss. 7 10, What s going on here? WS: Vs. 7 Jesus offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Reverent Submission is deciding to live totally dependent on God. Period. This sentence reflects the seriousness in which Jesus petitioned God to live the fully awakened life. Vs. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered, (Vs 9) and once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. The theme here is obedience. Don t be scared by the use of the Head Trip words, eternal salvation, which is experienced as Living the Fully Awakened Life. Note, however, that living this life demands of us the sacrifice of our independence in order to live wholly on God s dependence. Vs. 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him... Jesus is the demonstration that it is possible for all humanity to live our intended creation. There are no more excuses not to live in this fashion. One IHOPer added the information that in the Greek the word for perfection is telios, and this is descriptive of a young bull calf. Vs. 10 and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek. As Jesus was so designated, so too are we Little Christs (Luther) capable of fulfilling our intended creation of living totally depended on Love, or Perfect At-One-Ment, or what Christianity calls God. Being Little Christs is to live in the order of Melchizedek. 3. Vss. 8 and 9, The writer references the words obedience and obey. In light of this passage, what is the significance of this lesson? WS: The theme is surrender of our independence from God and the obedience to living the total dependence on God. These words represent maturity and completion.
II. Reflect on the following: (GETTING THE BIG PICTURE) ** Part 2 is an exercise in reflecting on the assigned reading through a method of identifying the "Deep Problem" faced by the early church. Sometimes this is known as identifying the underlying contradiction. This is usually hidden behind some particular manifestations. Paul usually addresses this hidden agenda in his "solution" that he offers. Consequently, it is necessary for us to examine his solutions, and then back up to reflect on what is the deeper problem actually being addressed. Usually, this reveals some new insights. A. What is the SURFACE PROBLEM that is manifested? At this point, use your intuition to identify the surface problem? WS: The IHOPers were of one-mind that the surface problem was the laziness of the people. Also, there was powerful pull of the Jewish people back to the practice of the Jewish sacrificial system. C. IDENTIFY THE DEEPER UNDERLYING CONTRADICTION facing the Cretan Church. What is the DEEPER, MORE HIDDEN, agenda that Paul seeks to address with his solution? Use your intuitions to identify the deeper problem. At this point, use your intuition to identify deeper, underlying, problem. Look at Vs. 5: 14 WS: The deeper problem was Paul s assessment that the Hebrew people were not ready for solid food. They were babes in the faith. They still lived as the Unawakened. WHICH OF THE FOUR MASTER PROBLEMS DOES THIS ISSUE REPRESENT? ** False Teachings XX Moral Decay The Corrupt World Church Division B. What is the SOLUTION Paul offers to address the Deep Problem? Speculate on what Paul is suggesting for the solution. At this point, use your intuition to identify Paul s solution. Look at Vss. 5: 4-10 WS: It is interesting that Paul uses the phrase, So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest... (Vs. 5). It is God who imposed glorification upon Jesus; that is, this glorification is the nature of The Christ represented so well by Jesus. Glorification, used in this way, represents TOTAL SURRENDER. My own personal witness is that all Awakened People embrace their glorification by dedicating their gifts and graces as well as their shameful things; God gets it all. When this decision is made, then we are choosing to live the glorified life. This is what makes Jesus The Christ. WHICH OF THE THREE MASTER SOLUTIONS DOES THIS ISSUE REPRESENT?* Create Authentic Ministry Use Spiritual Weapons XX Utilize Consciousness Raising Now, reread Paul's solution to see if it makes sense. Alright folks, talk to me! ** Use the "Problems and Solutions" chart previously sent to you. This chart is available in the archived materials at www.triumc.org/web1/biblestudy. Look for the Chart link. WES