Christ, The Conquering High Priest

As we look into Genesis 14 today we will find ourselves in the middle of an interesting episode in the drama of Abram’s life. In the preceeding chapters, God has called Abram out of the Ur of Chaldees and has established a covenant with him that promises that through him a multitude would come forth and out of them the Earth would be blessed. It is in the middle of this covenant’s unfolding, as it takes place in Genesis 12, 15, and 17, that we find ourselves landing in the middle of a massive military conflict consisting of four Mesopotamian Kings facing off against five Canaanite Kings. Apparently, these Canaanite Kings had been serving beneath the hand of the Mesopotamians for 12 years and decided that they’d had enough and a war emerged from the conflict.

Well, as things came to a head, the mighty kings of Sodom and Gomorrah decided to run away leaving all of their people, their kingdoms, and their goods open for spoil. Among the spoils sits a guy by the name of Lot. If you’re familiar with the book of Genesis, Lot is the nephew of Abram and in the chapter just before this we learn that these two were having so much success that they had to part ways because of the sheer size of their cattle and people.

Anyway, this man by the name of Lot is caught up in the looting of the victors and he is kidnapped . One of these citizens escapes and finds his way to Abram to tell him about all of this so Abram jumps up, calls together 318 of his men, and goes full rambo on these Mesopotamian kings as he chases them out of the land taking back all the goods and the captives. Among which is his nephew, Lot.

So, everything is all good in the world again. The cowardly king of Sodom comes out of hiding. Lot escapes to live another day, and Abram is on his merry way until he meets an interesting character by the name of Melchizedek in verse 18. Now there isn’t loads of information about this guy, but there are bits and pieces of information laced throughout the Bible to give us some insight as to who he is. In verse 18, we find three things. First, his name is Melchizedek which means “King of Righteousness.” Second, he is the King of Salem, which is another word used for “Peace.” And, I don’t believe we would have much of an idea as to where Salem was or what it was known for outside of one verse in the Psalms that tells us everything we need to know and it’s Psalm 76:2 which reads.“2 In Salem also is His tabernacle, And His dwelling place in Zion.” So what does this tell us? It tells us that Salem is another name for Jerusalem. And third, he is the priest of the Yahweh or God the Most High. So, this man is the King of Righteousness, the King of Peace, and he is a priest of the Most High God and what does this man do? He comes to Abram after this great victory with bread and wine. Another interesting bit of information is in verse 19 we find that the first word out of his mouth is, “Blessed” and we should compare that to the first word out of the mouth of the cowardly king of Sodom whose first words here are, “Give me” Melchizedek goes on to pray for blessings from God upon Abram and then continues to bless God for giving Abram the victory.

Now, if that’s all that we find here and we consider it no more then we will simply walk away having read a cool story about familial commitment and sacrifice no matter the risk and we leave with a happy ending knowing that there are cool mysterious kings who want to bless you with a full belly and a prayer, but that’s not all that there is here. What I want us to highlight tonight is, first, the kingly behavior of Abram. Second, the priesthood of Melchizedek,. And third, where Jesus is at in the midst of it all, and why you should care. So, first, let us consider

1. The Kingly Behavior of Abram

A. The Behavior of Abram

It is true that Abram is never called a king throughout his life to my knowledge. However, in Genesis 17:6 he is told, “6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.” And I believe that Moses is looking back and as he records this story, he joins together the kingly behavior of Abram in this passage with the promise that kings would come from him in Genesis 17. But how does he highlight this behavior? First, I want you to remember that God called Abram out from his father’s land and sent him on his own. That may not seem big today, but at this time, to leave your family would mean you lost your sense of community, your protection, and your wealth. However, God brings him out anyway and prospers him immensely. So much so that we read that he has 318 men ready to fight with him who, verse 14 tells us, were born of his own house. This doesn’t just mean that Abram only had 318 servants, but that these were just the fighting aged men who were born of his house. This doesn’t consider their aged parents, or their young children, or the women. So, first of all, he has kingly wealth to say the least.

Second, he engages in the conflict of kings as we have discussed earlier. Now, whats interesting to me is that he doesn’t go marching out like he has no sense. It seems to me that he has some sort of training or experience because verse 15 tells us that he has combat strategy as it says, “He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them.”

Lastly, he is approached by King Melchizedek and the King of Sodom, so he is man of high, almost kingly stature, especially in light of this victory.

B. The Correlation of Abram to David

Now, as we look at the life of David in 1 Samuel 30, we will find ourselves one step closer to seeing the significance of this passage. You see, in Genesis 14:7, we read of the Amalekites. In 1 Samuel 30:1, we find that the Amalekites invade David’s city Ziklag. In Genesis 14:7 and 1 Samuel 30:1, the same words for “attacked” are used, and in Gen 14:14 and 1 Samuel 30:2 the same words for taken captive are used to refer to the kidnapping of Lot and the kidnapping of the women of Ziklag. In Genesis 14, Abram is told of this event by a man who escaped. In 1 Samuel 30:11-16, David comes upon a man, nursed him to health, and he leads them to the enemy. In both stories, the heroes pursue the enemy, they both strike them, and they both recover what was lost.

Now, here is where it gets interesting. This same David, is the King of Israel where Jerusalem, the city of that ancient King Melchizedek used to reign, is. Now David was a skilled writer and musician. So, what I believe, and you can find more on this from men like Jim Hamilton, is that David looked back over his life and saw correlations between this event with Abram and his own life and that leads us to Psalm 110. It is here that I believe David is rehashing much of these similarities because in that passage we find a marrying of kingship and priesthood that references us that Melchizedek character. And ultimately this Psalm is a prophesy of Christ Jesus Himself.

Let’s go ahead and read over this passage together: Psalm 110 “A Psalm of David. 1 The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” 2 The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! 3 Your people shall be volunteers In the day of Your power; In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth. 4 The Lord has sworn And will not relent, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.” 5 The Lord is at Your right hand; He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath. 6 He shall judge among the nations, He shall fill the places with dead bodies, He shall execute the heads of many countries. 7 He shall drink of the brook by the wayside; Therefore He shall lift up the head.” Now, in verse four we see reference to the oaths or promises of God. This seems to be referencing the Abrahamic Covenant as God promises him a great nation, also God passes through the pieces in Genesis 15, and in Genesis 22:16 God gives an oath that He will not change His mind. But that isn’t all.

Notice, In Psalm 110:1 “1 The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”” This is the exact passage that Paul has in mind in Ephesians 1:20-22 “20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,”

So, to put this all together, I believe that what we have just seen here is the providential work of God in the lives of Abram and David to so align these things that he is moved to write a Psalm that not only mentions this correlation, but prophecies the coming Christ who would be exalted above all the Earth as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

In Genesis 14, Abram takes the spoils and tithes it to Melchizedek as an act of worship to God. In Ephesians 1, Jesus is the conquering king who takes the spoils of His holy war and builds His church. This is seen in Ephesians 1:22-23 where it speaks of Christ as the King who is the head of the Church and Who’s fullness fills all things.

So, Church, tonight we remember that we serve a King. And not just any King, but the King who rules over all, who sought us when we were in the Kingdom of Darkness and in His lovingkindness called us to Himself and made us His own. And if we belong to a King, and again this isn’t just any King, but the all powerful ruler of Heaven and Earth, then we have reason to rejoice tonight because we are safe, He is in control, and there is not one single ill that will befall us that He is not aware of and will not allow for our own good and His glory.

We belong to a King who is mighty, in control, and who cares for the well-being of His Kingdom citizens.

But wait, there’s more. Do you remember how I mentioned Melchizedek and how Psalm 110 connects the kingship and priesthood together? Well, this leads us to our second point for tonight.

2. The Priesthood of Melchizedek

A. As seen in Genesis 14 and correlated with Exodus 7-14

In Genesis 14:18 we read that Melchizedek brought out bread and wine after Abram’s conquest of his enemies. Well, this isn’t an isolated event. In Exodus, you might remember that the people of God were in bondage, but God heard their cries and sent Moses to tell Pharoah to let them go. However, Pharoah wouldn’t listen. So God sends plagues upon Egypt, each in such a way that it was a direct attack and insult towards the idols of Egypt.

For instance, the Egyptians worshipped Apis, the god of the Nile, Isis, the goddess of the Nile, and Khnum, guardian of the Nile. So God, in Exodus 7:17 turns the Nile to blood. They also served Heqet, the frog-headed goddess of birth, so God sends an invasion of frogs into Egypt in Exodus 8:13-14. and so on and so forth.

?But what happens in the midst of this, just on the eve of the final plague in Exodus 12? God institutes the Passover. Which was a command for the men of each house to slaughter a lamb, mark their doorposts with it’s blood and to feast on it as a family that evening and after this, God would send a death angel into Egypt to kill the firstborn of every household not marked by the blood. This is seen in Exodus 12:13, which reads, “13 Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”

So, this would be the final attack of God versus His enemies in Egypt and it would be the plague that would result in the victorious delivery of the Jews from Egyptian bondage.

What I am trying to highlight here is that just as Melchizedek provided a meal after Abram’s victory, God likewise provided a meal in the midst of His victory over His enemies.

And as interesting as this connection is, this isn’t all that we find, because as we look into the writings of David, we find that this is further seen:

B. As supported by David in Psalm 110:4

Now earlier I said that Psalm 110:4 prophecies that Jesus is a priest of the order of Melchizedek and serves as an insight into the eternal counsel of God as the Father swears to Christ that He will be a priest forever.

How can we be sure about that? Well, in Hebrews 7:20-23 the writer of Hebrews takes Psalm 110:4 and uses it in application to Christ, it reads,20 And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath 21 (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him: “The Lord has sworn And will not relent, ‘You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek’ ”), 22 by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant. 23 Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing.”

What the writer of Hebrews is arguing here, and we will explore this more later, is that Jesus is a greater priest than the former institution known as the Levitical Priesthood. As a matter of fact, Jesus isn’t from them at all, but is from the priesthood of Melchizedek. He goes on to tell us that these other priests weren’t given an oath, but that Jesus was given an oath by the Father Himself that He would be a priest forever.

Therefore, those struggling Hebrew Christians would have a strong assurance in Jesus that would serve to settle them from turning back to the Old Covenant system because Jesus is the ever living High Priest by the oath of God Himself. Now here’s the question I know you all have been dying to ask for the last few minutes: How does this tie to the whole victory and meal aspect that we’ve been discussing tonight?

Well, In Matthew 26:26-29, we read that before Jesus goes forward to be both the priest and the sacrifice on the cross, as He offers Himself up for us, He sets forth a meal for us, His people, which we call the Lord’s Supper today. And it is there, that Jesus tells us in Matthew 26:28 “28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

So, what we see, is that on the day of the observation of Passover, Jesus fulfills it with the institution of the Lord’s Supper. And, in the words, of Jim Hamilton, “We seem to have a pattern, then, of the heroic defeat of enemies whereby captives are liberated, followed by a priestly celebration of victory with bread and wine.”

Or to say it like this: Jesus is the greater Melchizedek, who, instead of bringing provisions to nurture Abram after his victory, He gives us nourishment from the act of His own victory for us.

And to pull together all these ingredients into one great nugget for us to feed on we can sum this up like this:

In the Lord’s Supper, we find our mighty conquering priest comforting and refreshing His weary pilgrims with a feast that reminds us of His victory for us.

Or, to put it simply: In the Lord’s Supper, Jesus encourages us with reminders of His victory on our behalf.

Christian, do you feel defeated tonight? Jesus has won for you. Do you feel like you’ve been unfaithful to the Lord? He has remained faithful to you. Do you feel like your eyes have gotten distracted by the things of this world and you feel overwhelmed? He gave us this meal to remind us that He has overcome the world. Jesus has claimed us as His own! He has delivered us from the damnation we deserved, He marked us with His name. Your King, Your High Priest, has done this for you and He wants you to find joy in that as He reaches out His arm and waves you in to find strength for your souls.

Now, seeing that this is a sermon on Melchizedek, I cannot ignore the remaining presentation of him in connection with Jesus which is found in Hebrews 7:20-28. So, as we look at it together, I will outline it in a way that applies it to us in light of what we’ve seen tonight.

3. Jesus in Hebrews 7:20-28

For context, the Hebrew Christians are stuck between a rock and hard place. They have professed Christ as Lord and Savior, however, hardships have led them to wonder whether it is worth it to remain in Christ or if life would be better if they simply returned to the Old Covenant way. Well, in Hebrews 7, the pastoral heart of the writer comes out as he fights tooth and nail to show them the supremacy of Christ over the Levitical Priesthood. These people are doubting in the midst of their current circumstances and find themselves struggling because although they originally believed that Christ was Savior in the first, they are wondering if is He able to save them in the hardships of their present time. Is that you tonight? Maybe you are tired and beaten down in your Christian walk and find yourself wondering if Christ still cares? Perhaps you feel so defeated that you aren’t even sure if there’s any help for you. If so, Hebrews 7:20-28 gives us two assurances, and a few subpoints of course. The first assurance is:

A. Hold on, God has promised.

In verse 20-21, the writer argues that Jesus is the greater priest because it was given by oath from God Himself whereas the Levitical priests were appointed by succession and were not given oaths.

Now, in the Hebrew mind, when God said something, it was as good as done. It wasn’t an empty promise, but they believed it to be so powerful that it had the power to initiate that event in mind. But lest these doubting Hebrews let themselves veer off into thinking He might have changed His mind, the writer points out, from Psalm 110:4, “The Lord has sworn, and will not relent...” In today’s terminology, we would says, “God has promised and He will not change His mind.” When Christ came and assumed the office of priesthood on our behalf, it was promised by God Himself that it would absolutely never end. So when you take the Lord’s table tonight, remind yourself that this is what is often called, “A visible sermon.” God is assuring us in this act of the sufficiency of Christ and our belonging to Him through that work. But the writer doesn’t end there. He continues on to assure them that no only has God promised it, but that we are to find assurance we:

B. Look Upon The Person of Christ

In verse 22, the writer uses the words, “surety,” “better,” and “covenant.” Now, the phrase better is going to appear a lot throughout this book, and the writer often always utilizes it to communicate the supremacy of Christ’s work for their security, their purity, their pardon and their access to God (Raymond Brown). That word “covenant” is also very common throughout the Scriptures and a covenant is a promise guarded with threats, but in the New Covenant, we find that Christ bears in Himself the fullness of the threats that would belong to us and has, instead, lavished us with the rich covenant inheritance that would otherwise only belong to Him. God has been happy to enter into covenant with you and me through the works of Jesus on our behalf.

How can we be so sure of this? Notice, he says, “Jesus has become a surety.” A surety is one who sets forth his own life as the guarantor for another. In the Greek, the name “Jesus” stands out emphatically here as though the writer intended to highlight the humanity of Christ. What this would communicate is the fact that Jesus, our surety, knows what we need, He can sympathize with us, He’s lived among us, suffered with us, and He knows what it’s like and because that’s the case, He is a sufficient guarantor to stand in for our faults in the midst of hardships.

Now from this point, the writer will lay out five aspects of the person of Christ for the assurance of these believers that He is their sufficient priest.

His Work is Permanent (23-24)

In verse 23, we see that in the Levitical Priesthood there were always priests rising and dying, so there was a continual change in who served as the Priest. However, he argues, because Jesus lives forever, His priesthood will never end. Raymond Brown writes, “For some, the persecution had intensified. Nobody doubted the earlier manifestations of Christ’s saving activity, but could he save people now? It is ‘for all time’, says the author. What he achieves for us is done for ever.”

His Power is Limitless (25a) and His Help is Present (25b)

In verse 25, the word for “save” is in the present tense which communicates, as Westcott puts it, “That support comes at each moment of trial.” In this text, the writer encourages these believers of the far-reach of the saving work of Jesus Christ and that because He is our Priest forevermore, He is able to save and support all who come to Him.

What he is wanting us to understand here is that Jesus has unending interest in the well-fare of His people and because of that, our faith and hope should be strengthened in the fact that not only is His work satisfactory, but it is unending.

The fact that Jesus “always lives to make intercession” for us shows us that Christ is for us, He is aware of us, and He is able to meet the present need of every one of His people.

His Character is Pure (26) and His Sacrifice was Perfect (27-28)

Now in verse 26, we will first be shown that Christ is the perfect High Priest in light of His demeanor for He was the only one truly holy, truly harmless, truly undefiled by sin. Yes, as first 27 shows us, the OT priests had to make initial sacrifices for their own sins, but Jesus is Himself the sacrifice and the priest offering it, therefore why would you want to go to any imperfect old system?

But not only is His demeanor perfect, but His destination is as well.

When I first approached this passage, I was convinced that we were being told that Jesus lived a life separate from sinners in that He never fell to temptation, however, while that is true, I am convinced that that’s not what’s being argued here. The reason is that when I look at the OT parallels to the word utilized here, I find that it is a term referring to locale and not moral separateness. Which would mean that Jesus wasn’t only separate in not sinning, which is clear from the fact that the was Holy, Harmless, Undefiled. But that He is presently apart from sinners as He has ascended to Heaven which goes along with the next phrase, “and has become higher than the Heavens.”

So, why is Jesus a qualified Priest? Because He is absolutely sinless and is seated in the Heavens for us. But not only this, but as we see in verse 27 and 28, His self sacrifice, referring to His death of the cross for us, was so wonderful that it forever satisfied the wrath of God. The Levitical Priest, verse 28 argues, had weaknesses, frailties, sinfulness, but this Christ, the One promised of God, is perfected forever.

Conclusion:

So, in conclusion, if you find yourself discouraged tonight or perhaps find yourself even doubting your faith, we are called to remember the overcoming, ever present Lord Jesus who is aware of our hardships and can sympathize with our weaknesses. And as we consider this, we find rejoicing in the fact that our salvation isn’t in ourselves, but rests in the finished work of this loving, victorious, High Priest.