Our scripture this morning is Hebrews 5:7-10.
During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Jesus the Son had a special relationship with God the Father but He was never “the boss’s son” in how He spoke or acted with us. He never used His connection for Himself, only for us! Instead “He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”
Because He was fully obedient to God, Jesus became our high priest “in the order of Melchizedek”, whom we meet in Genesis 14:18 and hear mentioned again in Psalm 110:4 – “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” This character is a “type” of Christ, meaning an example or pointer to Jesus.
God validated Christ’s qualification as our high priest and intercessor through the obedience He showed while He was here. No one stands between us and God (except us!), we can come to Him ourselves without any other human intervention. We can all be saved through Christ’s sacrifice for us and our acceptance of Him as our Savior.
Gracious God, we are sorry for the times we have gone our own way instead of following Your loving guidance. Forgive us and bless us to be bearers of the Good News to the world. Amen.
