Tag: cohen gadol

Yeshua Is God’s Appointed High Cohen

On By Donald N. NorrisIn Messianic Jews1 Comment

Messianic Jews 5:1-10
Letter to the Messianic Jews

In my last post, we examined Messianic Jews 4:14-16 ~ Yeshua Is the Way to approach God. In this post, together we learn that Yeshua Is God’s Appointed High Cohen in Messianic Jews 5:1-10.

“1 For every cohen gadol taken from among men is appointed to act on people’s behalf with regard to things concerning God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He can deal gently with the ignorant and with those who go astray since he too is subject to weakness. 3 Also, because of this weakness, he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as those of the people. 4 And no one takes this honor upon himself, rather, he is called by God, just as Aharon was. 5 So neither did the Messiah glorify himself to become cohen gadol; rather, it was the One who said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.” 6 Also, as He says in another place, “You are a cohen forever, to be compared with Malki-Tzedek.” 7 During Yeshua’s life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions, crying aloud and shedding tears, to the One who had the power to deliver Him from death; and He was heard because of His godliness. 8 Even though He was the Son, He learned obedience through His sufferings. 9 And after He had been brought to the goal, He became the source of eternal deliverance to all who obey Him, 10 since He had been proclaimed by God as a cohen gadol to be compared with Malki-Tzedek.”  ~ Hebrews 5:1-10 (CJB)

The qualifications for the office of cohen gadol within the framework of the Levitical system of cohanim include the ability to sympathize with the people and divine appointment (verses 1-4). Yeshua meets these requirements (verses 5-10). The Levitical cohanim could empathize with those for whom they interceded because they shared the latter’s human weakness in that both intercessor and interceded-for sinned. Yeshua did not sin, but He can sympathize because He suffered temptation without giving in to it.

He is called by God, just as Aharon was.  See Exodus 28 and Leviticus 8 for a description of the Levitical cohanim. This passage sets out three essential qualifications of the cohanim in any age and any generation.

  1. A cohen is appointed on humanity’s behalf to deal with the things concerning God.
  2. The cohen must be one with humanity.
  3. The cohen does not appoint himself; his appointment is of God. [I use the masculine pronoun here as the Tanach did not allow for female cohanim.]

Today I have become your father. We saw this earlier when we studied Messianic Jews 1:5 and learned that it was quoting Psalm 2.

To be compared with, often rendered, “after the order of,” as if there were an order of cohanim of which Malki-Tzedek was the founder; but this is not the meaning.  Malki-Tzedek (Melchizedek; the Hebrew name means “my king is righteousness”) appears first at Genesis 14:18 as both cohen of El Elyon (“Most High God”) and king of Shalem, identified with Jerusalem. But in Judaism, kingship, and cohenhood were separated. Saul, the son of Kish, was the first king; after him came David and all kings of Judah since then have been from the House of David (including Yeshua). On the other hand, the cohenly line ran from Moshe’s brother Aharon. Thus at Zechariah 6:13 there is a reference to two persons; by context, these must be King Zerubabbel (of the House of David) and Joshua the cohen hagadol (a descendant of Aaron). Yeshua is to be compared with Malki-Tzedek because, in Yeshua, Jewish cohen and Jewish king are united in one person. So far as is known, the author makes a chiddush (“innovation”) in presenting the idea of king and cohen combined in one person. [1]

Verses 7-10 expands on Messianic Jews 2:17 and 4:15 espousing Yeshua’s sympathizing with human beings because He became one of us, but, unlike us, He was utterly obedient to God.

Compare Yeshua’s prayers and petitions, crying aloud and shedding tears in the Garden of Gat-Sh’manim, as reported at Matthew 26:36-46 and Luke 22:39-46. You might think that He was not heard because of his godliness since the One who had the power to deliver Him from death did not do so. But He prayed that God’s will be done, and according to the Tanakh, it was God’s will that Yeshua die, the righteous for the unrighteous (1 Kefa 3:18) so that he might become the source of eternal deliverance to all who obey Him.

After He had been brought to the goal. This is usually translated, “having been made perfect.”  But Yeshua was not imperfect; instead, it was God’s goal to have Yeshua made our perfect cohen gadol, fully representative of and empathetic with the human condition (as we learned Messianic Jews 4:15). Through His heavenly cohenhood He became the source of eternal deliverance to all who obey him, as explained further in Chapters 7-10.

In my next post, we’ll examine Messianic Jews 5:11-14 to learn to Lay Hold of Yeshua and His Redemption.

Click here for PDF version.

 

[1] Ibid.

Yeshua Is the Way

On By Donald N. NorrisIn Messianic Jews1 Comment

Messianic Jews 4:14-16
Letter to the Messianic Jews

In my last post, I concluded this topic of rest by examing Messianic Jews 4:11-13. We now begin a journey from Messianic Jews 4:14 thru 7:28 discovering how Yeshua is superior to the Aaronic Priesthood. The Aaronic Priesthood was well known to the readers of this letter. They were highly respected in the Jewish community.  In this post, we learn that Yeshua Is the Way to approach God.

“14 Therefore, since we have a great cohen gadol who has passed through to the highest heaven, Yeshua, the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we acknowledge as true. 15 For we do not have a cohen gadol unable to empathize with our weaknesses; since in every respect He was tempted just as we are, the only difference being that He did not sin. 16 Therefore, let us confidently approach the throne from which God gives grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace in our time of need.” ~ Hebrews 4:14-16 (CJB)

In my last post, we learned that the author of Messianic Jews left his readers terrified of God’s judgment. Now he reassures them that even though Yeshua will one day be our judge, now He is our intercessor and advocate (Messianic Jews 7:25, 1 Yochanan 2:1). Here we are to come to grips with the great characteristic conception of Hebrews that of Yeshua as the perfect cohen gadol. His task is to bring the voice of God to humanity and to usher humanity into the presence of God.

The subject of Yeshua as cohen gadol was introduced at Messianic Jews 2:17. Here the author recapitulates what he said in 2:5-18, namely, that Yeshua had a human nature exactly like ours, enabling him to empathize with our weaknesses, the only difference between Him and the rest of us being that He did not sin. His readers understood that their earthly cohen gadol was also a sinner just like themselves.  He had to atone for his own sins before he could offer the sacrifice for theirs.

In every respect, He was tempted just as we are. Yochanan calls the basic three kinds of temptations “the desires of the old nature, the desires of the eyes, and the pretensions of life” (1 Yochanan 2:15-17). Adam and Eve succumbed to them in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-6), whereas Yeshua resisted them when the Adversary tempted Him (Matthew 4:1-11).

Because we are His, united with Him, we can follow Him; and with Him, we can confidently approach the throne from which God gives grace. This may be an implied contrast with the mercy seat of the Tabernacle and Temple here on earth, which only the Levitical cohen gadol could approach.

Many Jewish people feel distant from God and His throne; this is often due to an overemphasis in some forms of Judaism on God’s perfection. New believers are frequently amazed to experience God’s warm and loving nearness. They find that God’s love is not merely an abstract phenomenon without relevance to their hearts’ needs. Like Moshe and Avraham before us, we can experience God’s mercy and grace.

As Yeshua, Himself said, “I AM the Resurrection and the Life! Whoever puts his trust in me will live, even if he dies; and everyone living and trusting in me will never die. Do you believe this?”  ~ Yochanan 11:25-26 (CJB). Therefore because He is our cohen gadol as well as our future judge, let us approach the throne to find grace in our time of need.

In my next post, we’ll examine Messianic Jews 5:1-10 to learn that Yeshua Is God’s Appointed High Priest.

Click here for PDF version.