The earthly system screamed both danger (God’s holiness and wrath) and desire (the longing for access). Hebrews 9:1–10 sets us up to see the contrast: in Christ, guilt is removed, wrath is satisfied, and access is opened once for all.

If Melchizedek is called the King of righteousness and peace, how much more must that be true of Jesus?

There are those who seem to be among us, but in the end, reveal that they are not. This is the heart of the third warning in Hebrews. 

Today, we look at Hebrews 5:1–10 to unpack what it really means for Jesus to be our High Priest. He is not just any priest. He is a priest in the order of Melchizedek. That is not a name you hear often, but it is essential for understanding Christ’s role in our lives.

The presence of God is the promise. True Sabbath is not tied to geography or the calendar. It is the presence of God through the person and work of Christ. And today’s passage takes that idea and opens the door even wider. We are invited not just to enter rest. We are invited to draw near to God Himself. Why? Because we have a great High Priest.

You can be delivered from Egypt and still die in the wilderness. You can strive your whole life trying to earn grace, and completely miss it. Salvation is by grace through faith. Not works. Not striving. Just Christ.

Let us not be content with leaving Egypt. Let us press on to the promised land. Let us exhort one another daily. Let us hold fast our confidence in Christ. Let us not harden our hearts. Do not miss the rest.

This is the first warning in the book of Hebrews. And it’s not a soft one. Hebrews 2:1–4 tells us plainly: if we have received a message greater than that of angels, a covenant confirmed by Christ, attested by eyewitnesses, and affirmed by the Spirit through signs and wonders—then we must pay very close attention to it. Otherwise, we will drift. And drifting is not a passive problem—it is the beginning of shipwrecked faith.

Hebrews 1:4 shifts to a new comparison—Jesus is greater than the angels. For many modern readers, this may seem unimportant. “Of course Jesus is better than angels,” we think. But for the first-century Jewish-Christian audience, angels were revered.

Throughout Hebrews, we’ll see a pattern. The author brings up a part of the Old Testament—be it the law, a prophet, or a priest—and then he shows us how Jesus surpasses it. Again and again, we’ll hear: “This was great… but Jesus is better.”