Such an High Priest Part 1, Introduction
written by Melodee Kerr
Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
I am sure many of you are familiar with different sayings about Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow such as:
“The clock is running. Make the most of today, Time waits for no man. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it is called the present.” Babatunde Olatunji, a similar version is also attributed to Alice Morse Earle
“Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness”. James Thurber
“We crucify ourselves between two thieves: regret for yesterday and fear of tomorrow”. Fulton Oursler
“When I am anxious it is because I am living in the future. When I am depressed it is because I am living in the past. Author Unknown
“Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.” Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
Concerning our salvation the Scriptures likewise encourages us to take advantage of “today”:
“O Come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before YAHUAH our maker. For he is our Elohim; and we are the sheep of his hand. Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart, as in the provocation.” Psalms 95:6-8
“King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. And Paul said, I would to Elohim, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.” Acts 25:27-29
Focus of this Series is on the Messiah’s CURRENT Office work as High Priest of the heavenly sanctuary
The three offices of the only Begotten are Prophet, Priest, and King. His work in these different offices is successive rather than simultaneous. While each of the three offices or “office works” the Messiah has a right to performand are invaluable to the restoration of mankind, this series’ focus is on what the Messiah is doing at THIS TIME for mankind as the High Priest of the heavenly Sanctuary. Just as I began with little quotes on the importance of focusing on today rather than the past or the future, I want to emphasize the depths of what the Messiah is doing right now as our High Priest.
It is my hope that someone will be encouraged to follow the only Begotten’s words as Prophet and will place their hope in His future reign as Son of David on the throne of David and let Him be their King of kings and Master of masters while resting in the covering provided at this time by our heavenly High Priest.
In regards to the Messiah in the Office as Prophet the Scriptures declare:
“And YAHUAH spake unto me, …I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that, whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.” Deuteronomy 18:17-19
“Repent ye therefore, and turn again (to Him) that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Sovereign; And he shall send Yahushua the Messiah, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which Elohim hath spoken by the mouth of all this holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall YAHUAH your Elohim raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.” Acts 3:19-23
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Elohim, and the Word was Elohim.” John 1:14
“It is the spirit that maketh alive: the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” John 6:63
“I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him. They understood not that he spoke to them of the Father.” John 8:26
“In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” John 1:4, 5
Messiah in the office of King: It is true that the Messiah is a kingly priest after the order of Melchizedek as King of Salem (Peace) [Genesis 14:18; Psalms 110:4]. But the kingly office of the promise and prophecy is that the only Begotten shall be King upon the “throne of David”.
“Thus saith the Sovereign YAHUAH; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and base him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.” Ezekiel 21:25-27
The only one who has the right to the throne of David is the Messiah, the Son of David (Acts 2:30). Yahuah of Hosts proclaimed:
“Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of Yahuah of hosts will perform this.” Isaiah 9:7
“And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of Yahuah shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahuah. And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of Yahuah: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity or the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.” Isaiah 11:1-5
The only Begotten did not come as King at the incarnation; He came into the world as a “man of sorrows” (Isaiah 53:3). He will come to claim His Davidic throne at His Second Coming as King of kings and Master of masters (Revelation 19:16). Yes, He was born a king, but He has never taken His throne, diadem, and crown:
“He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and Yahuah Elohim shall give unto him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” Luke 1:32, 33
Messiah in the Office of High Priest: “YAHUAH hath sworn and will not repent, ‘Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” Psalms 110:4
“For if He [the Messiah] were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:” Hebrews 8:4
“Thus speaketh YAHUAH of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of YAHUAH: Even he shall build the temple of YAHUAH; and he shall bear the majesty, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” Zechariah 6:12, 13
“Such an High Priest”
The focus of the book of Hebrews is that the Messiah is a High Priest of a different order than the Levitical priesthood and what that means to humanity is that He IS different. Hebrews 8:1 says, “Now of these things we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Sovereign pitched, and not man.” From this statement we can see that a description of the only Begotten as High Priest has been laid out in the preceding chapters so as to proclaim with great confidence and encouragement to us that we have such an high priest with a “more excellent ministry” (Hebrews 8:6) than earthly priests to meet the needs of mankind. Why is He more excellent? Yahushua the Messiah is the only one who is both truly Elohim as well as truly flesh and blood. The Scriptures use the terms “Son of Elohim” and “Son of Man” to describe Yahushua. This is in comparison to pagan and/or Greek mythology that has many half human/half-divine creatures. Because the Scriptures show us the preeminent nature/substance of the Messiah our High Priest as Elohim and then His nature/substance as flesh and blood, it will give humanity hope that they are redeemable and have the power through the Vine/branch relationship to be victorious:
“But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that cometh unto Elohim 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 men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.” Hebrews 7:24-28
In this series on the Messiah as “Such an High Priest” we will look at how Hebrews, along with other Scripture verses, describes the only Begotten as humanity’s High Priest and how He comes to meet us at where we are—that He has gone to the depths of what humanity is to conquer your and my sins and our very nature itself.
Halleluyah!
