Exalted by a Better Priesthood
Notes
Transcript
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April 2 - Seder Meal and Communion after Worship
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Reading: Genesis 14:18-20
18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.)
19 And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;
20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Reading 2: Psalm 110:1-4
1 The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”
2 The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies!
3 Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours.
4 The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
Pray
The writer of Hebrews has been dying to get to this point. Back in chapter 5, he teased the topic of Christ being a priest “in the order of Melchizedek.” After some necessary detours, we finally come to the discussion in chapter 7. Just what does it mean that Christ is a priest in the order of Melchizedek, and why do we even care?
Basics
Melchizedek (“righteous king”) is the city-state king of Salem (thus he is the “king of peace”)
He met Abraham and blessed him
Abraham gave Melchizedek a tithe of the spoils of war (see Gen. 14)
Melchizedek seems an unlikely prospect to point to Jesus Christ:
He is not a Jew, but a Canaanite
He is not part of any genealogy of Jesus (or anyone else in Scripture for that matter
But for four OT verses, we would have no knowledge of him whatsoever
In fact, Melchizedek seems to be completely irrelevant to the plan of God. But he’s not. In fact, he plays a crucial role.
1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
2 and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace.
3 He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.
Melchizedek shows us that Jesus Christ holds a better priesthood than the Levites.
The unknown author of Hebrews sees Melchizedek pointing the way to a better priesthood. Today, we’ll look at Melchizedek and follow his guidance. Along the way, we’ll seek an answer to the question, “How is Christ’s priesthood better?”
First, Christ’s Priesthood is better...
Because It Makes Us Righteous
Because It Makes Us Righteous
First, consider Melchizedek’s evidence. In Hebrews 7:2, we find the meaning of his name:
2 and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace.
Melchizedek points us toward a righteous king. We need a king who not only is righteous, but who as priest can make us righteous.
This is one of the major points at which the Levitical priesthood is woefully inadequate. Look at verse 11:
11 Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron?
He asks a rhetorical question: if you can be perfect by the Levites, why would another priest be needed? Of course, it would not be needed. If the Levitical system was capable of producing righteousness in the people of Israel, then they would have been righteous and would not need another kind of priest. But that’s not how it works:
18 For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness
19 (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.
The system of sacrifices and Levitical priests was not designed to make anyone righteous before God, but was simply designed to point toward one who will make God’s people righteous. You can’t be cleansed by the blood of bulls or goats, the waving of grain, the pouring of oil or wine, nor can you be cleansed by a Law that exposes sin but does not offer the grace of divine forgiveness. It was designed to reveal sin, not to forgive it. At least not directly. Rather, this commandment brings us to the True Priest who gives us hope that allows us to draw near to God. It breaks us, yes, but broken is the perfect way to come to Jesus.
Jesus Christ has a better priesthood because he can make us righteous. Paul says it so well in Romans 10:4
4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Second, Christ has a better priesthood
Because It Lasts Forever
Because It Lasts Forever
Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but nothing around here on earth lasts forever. That includes the Levitical priesthood:
23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office,
Priests come and go because people come and go. We live for a little while, and then we die. Nothing on this side of glory is permanent. Not even permanent markers are permanent when compared to eternity. The Levitical priests kept having to be replaced because people aren’t permanent - physically at least.
Melchizedek points us to a forever priesthood:
3 He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.
This isn’t, by the way, a literal argument. It’s a literary argument. Read through the early books of the Bible, and you’ll notice that almost every important character is given in light of his father (Joshua, the son of Nun; Balaam, the son of Beor; etc.). Those that aren’t are often spoken of in genealogies that show their lineages (Noah and others are introduced this way).
But Melchizedek isn’t talked about this way. He, as far as the biblical author is concerned, had no father or mother, no birth or death. That literary picture of one who is eternal points us toward a priest who is truly eternal.
15 This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek,
16 who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life.
The phrase “indestructible life” is another way of saying “what cannot be ended or ceased.” His eternal life makes Jesus an eternal priest.
17 For it is witnessed of him, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”
The older priests all kept dying. Not Jesus:
24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.
And that eternal life is what makes his priesthood more effective:
25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
What a promise from God!
Third, Christ has a better priesthood...
Because It Is Based on God’s Oath
Because It Is Based on God’s Oath
Last week we talked about God making an oath so that we could have confidence in his promises. That oath is the basis of Christ’s better priesthood:
20 And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath,
21 but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever.’ ”
22 This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.
Finally, Christ’s priesthood is better...
Because Christ Is Unique
Because Christ Is Unique
Melchizedek was unique in that he was a king-priest. And a Canaanite king at that! Yet he was a legitimate priest of the Most High God (El Elyon). He was unique in that Abraham paid him honor by tithing from the war spoils. He was unique in that his blessing of Abraham confirmed the blessing of God on the patriarch’s life.
Melchizedek’s uniqueness points us to a priest who is unlike any other. He points us toward a unique Christ.
Christ Is Unique in His Person
Christ Is Unique in His Person
26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.
Christ Is Unique in His Purity
Christ Is Unique in His Purity
27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.
Christ Is Unique in His Perfection
Christ Is Unique in His Perfection
28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.