Dr. Pothana's Teaching

1. Chapter-4:14-5:10

2. Christians Have A
Heavenly High Priest: 4:14
• Acts shows a picture of the coronation of Christ
from an earthly perspective
Daniel shows the same picture from a heavenly
perspective
•

3. “Now when He had spoken these
things, while they watched, He was
taken up, and a cloud received
Him out of their sight. And while they
looked steadfastly toward heaven as
He went up, behold, two men stood by
them in white apparel, who also said,
“Men of Galilee, why do you stand
gazing up into heaven? This same
Jesus, who was taken up from you into
heaven, will so come in like manner as
you saw Him go into
heaven.”
Acts 1:9-11
Christians Have A Heavenly High Priest: 4:14

4. Christians Have A Heavenly High Priest: 4:14
We have an advocate in God’s Court
Daniel 7:13, 14
13I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the
Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and
came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near
before him.
14And there was given him dominion, and glory,
and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and
languages, should serve him: his dominion is an
everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and
his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

5. Christians Have A High Priest Who is
Sympathetic, Seasoned and Sinless v. 15
• His sinless status makes him
trustworthy. If we do things his way we
are guaranteed the victory.

6. Christians have a High Priest who is
Rich in Mercy
• If there were no
Grace or Mercy
holding on would be
futile.

7. Supersedes Any Priesthood 5:1-10
• Nineteen times this writer would use
the Greek word that means “to bring
to” translated 7 times offer and 12
times offered.
The High Priest was ordained (8:3)
“to bring to” gifts and sacrifices
(5:1), frequently (9:25) for his sins
and sins of people (5:3; 7:27);
according to the law (8:4; 10:8)
which was a blood sacrifice (9:7)
brought into the holy place (9:25).
His offerings were imperfect (9:9)
and were merely a shadow of what
needed to be accomplished (10:1).
•

8. Superior Sacrifice
• Consider the contrast with that
done by Jesus’ offering without
the Judaic system:
• Jesus was not ordained by law
but by promise prior to giving of
law (5:4-7; Psa. 110:4); having
prepared his body (10:5) to
enter the heavenly holy place
(9:24) “to bring to” God a perfect
sacrifice on the behalf of others
(7:27), once and for all time
(10:2; 9:25). He did so joyfully,
willfully, yet emotionally (12:2;
7:27; 5:7) in order that one’s
conscience with God and God’s
conscience with man may be
completely set at ease (9:9, 14;
10:1, 2, 8-10).

9. • The Christians thought they had lost their means of
intercession. What they needed to understand is that
under Christ they had a more supreme mediator
than what they had lost.
The Hebrew Christians thought they had lost their
means of intercession. What they needed to understand
is that under Christ they had a more supreme mediator
than what they had lost.

10. Jesus, Superior Administrator
• The high priest was required to
offer sacrifices for his own sins,
as well as for the sins of the
people. This he this did not only
on special occasions and for
special offenses (Leviticus 4:3-
12), but also in all the regular
daily, weekly, monthly, and
yearly sacrifices that were
offered for the sins of the nation;
in all these there was an
acknowledgment of his own
guilt, as well as the guilt of the
brethren.

11. Jesus, Superior Name
• It is great arrogance to
think we can approach
God on our own, without
a high priest. What a
great blessing it is to use
what God has provided!
To use someone else to
approach God in our
behalf is sinful. So when
one asks, “Why do we
end our prayer, ‘in Jesus
name?’” we can give a
competent answer, “It’s
not just a formula, it’s
because Jesus is our
great High Priest.”
•

12. How Could Christ be David’s Son and David’s LORD?
• Matt. 22:41-45 While the Pharisees were gathered
together, Jesus asked them, Saying, “What think you of
Christ? whose son is he?” They say to him, “The son of
David.” He said to them, “How then does David in spirit
call him Lord, saying, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit you
on my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool?
If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?”
Jesus, Superior
Advocate (lawyer)

13. Gethsemane and the praying habit of Jesus:
• His first act after baptism was
prayer (Lk. 3:21)
• Before he was led in the wild-
erness for temptation (Matt. 4:1) Priest has Perfected
• During successful missions he
prayed (Lk. 5:15-16).
• Before making difficult decisions
he prayed (Lk. 6:12).
• During working of miracles he
prayed (Lk. 9:16).
• For his co-dependent workers in
the kingdom
(Lk. 9:18; 22:31).
Before he was glorified (Lk. 9:28).
After success of the seventy (Lk. 10:21).
Before his arrest (Lk. 22:41-44) While on the
cross (Lk. 23:34). After his resurrection (Lk.
24:30).
He is still praying today (1 Jn. 2:1; Heb. 7:25).
The Christian’s High
Godly Fear

14. The High Priest
Learned obedience
Suffering
w?
eakness – (2 Cor. 12:8-10).
• To appreciate the value of preparation
– (Phil. 2:12-18).
To offer the ability to serve (2 Cor. 1:4).
To understand dependency –
•
•
• To magnify the power of God in our
• To mature a sincere desire to go to
heaven.

15. The High Priest is
Perfected
• The fundamental idea is the bringing
of a person or thing to the goal fixed
by God; complete. The end which
was contemplated in his divinely-
appointed discipline for the
priesthood.
• One may be resentful for an early
death because he feels one has not
“finished” his purpose.

16. Because we have such a Great
High Priest one ought to obey
• When one objectively examines John
3:16 and John 3:36 the word believe
contains two meanings, one is to attain a
level of conviction (v. 16), the other the
conviction to act in obedience (v. 36).
• One may obey out of duty (child),
obligation (employee) or necessity
(taking medicine). But supreme
obedience originates from a love that
comes from the heart (Matt. 22:37).