Jesus; Our High Priest
A Sermon on Acts 7:37-38
Originally preached May 7, 1967
Scripture
37¶ This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. 38This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which …
Sermon Description
Must a person be perfect to truly serve God? With the sermon “Jesus, Our High Priest” from Acts 7:37–38, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones shows the incredible life of Moses who was greatly used by God. As Scripture records, his internal battle with sin was also prevalent. It was this hero of the faith who God used to bring His people out of Egypt and deliver the law to the people of Israel. Nevertheless, Moses was still a man whose sin kept him from entering the promised land. But, as Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes, Moses prefigured the Great Mediator who would never die and who knew no sin. This mediator was Jesus Christ, God in the flesh. Jesus is not only the fulfillment of Moses and his role as mediator and leader, but Jesus also fulfills the whole law. He is the great high priest, king, and prophet. He is the perfect sacrifice that truly and finally removes the sins of His people, but many of the Jewish leaders in the time of the apostles did not understand this. This is seen in the trial and martyrdom of Stephen, who proclaimed the message of Jesus as the greater and better Moses. What the world needs to see is the hope in Christ who redeems life for His purposes.
Sermon Breakdown
- Stephen is on trial before the Sanhedrin for preaching about Jesus. The charges against him are blasphemy against Moses, God, the temple and the law.
- Stephen begins his defense by recounting the history of Israel to show the Sanhedrin misunderstood the meaning and purpose of the law and the temple.
- Stephen quotes Moses prophesying the coming of a prophet like him that the people must listen to. Stephen identifies this prophet as Jesus.
- Jesus is like Moses in that God raised him up, he is a Jew and stands between God and man. But Jesus is greater than Moses.
- Jesus has complete knowledge of God while Moses had partial knowledge. Jesus is prophet, priest and king while Moses was only a prophet and servant.
- The law and temple were only temporary measures pointing to Jesus. The sacrifices of animals could not truly atone for sin.
- Jesus is the perfect prophet, revealing complete knowledge of God. He is the perfect high priest, offering himself as the ultimate sacrifice and interceding for us. He is the perfect king, conquering our enemies of sin, death and Satan.
- The universe was created for Jesus. He will inherit all things and reign over the new heavens and new earth.
- The Sanhedrin rejected Jesus, clinging to Moses, the law and the temple. We must not be like them, trusting in our own goodness or religion. We must trust in Jesus alone as prophet, priest and king.
The Book of Acts
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.