Our Marvelous Priest

Call to Worship

Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice Leader-Led Calls to Worship

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

(Ps. 100:1–4)

Introduction

Read Hebrews 7:11-25

Hebrews 7:11–25 (ESV)

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? For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. For it is witnessed of him,

“You are a priest forever,

after the order of Melchizedek.”

For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, 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.’ ”

This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.

The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 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.

Plains Baptist Assembly - The Ropes Course

I had been there a few times already, but could not muster up the courage to get onto this ropes course that stood three stories high in the air.

But on one occasion, we went as a college group from our church. And this time was different because there was a girl there that I really liked and wanted to get her attention. So this time, I was able to muster up the courage to go up and complete the entire course, simply because I wanted to find a way to earn her attention and possibly her affections.

Needless to say, whether it was through that act or not, probably not, I did win her affections and she and I are in our 22nd year of marriage at this point.

We all try to find ways to earn our place in our social circles, to somehow believe that we deserve to have certain relationships and friendships or to have a certain kind of influence.

Last week, we saw how Jesus is our Marvelous Prophet as He came to reveal to us who God is and what He demands from us. This is good news, because without the revelation of this truth that comes from Christ, we would be forever hopeless and wandering around in the dark, never able to know what the truth is. But we have a God who came in flesh to reveal Himself to us so we can know Him and know how He expects us to live in this world.

This week, we are going to see how Jesus is our Marvelous Priest.

Why do we need a Priest?

Why can’t we just approach God on our own and offer the sacrifice for our own sin?

While God does love us, we cannot earn our position in His presence.

First, God is Holy and we are not.

Trying to go to God on our own is like seeing the President of the United States in public and trying to run up to him to meet him. You will not get close to him as he is heavily guarded. There is a division between one in such a high position and the rest of us. You can only approach him if you go through the right channels and find the right person who can give you access.

After the tabernacle was constructed towards the end of Exodus, we see that even Moses was unable to go near God’s presence.

Exodus 40:34–35 (ESV)

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

God’s glory and holiness is too much for our limited, sinful selves can take.

No matter how hard we try, we cannot do enough to make ourselves holy. There’s no ropes course or challenge that can earn you a place in the tabernacle.

So, God appointed one of the 12 tribes of Israel to serve as priests to enter the Holy Place on behalf of the congregation.

These priests would go through the purification and cleansing rituals.

They would need to offer a sacrifice for their own sin before they could go in to offer the sacrifice for the people.

Once they went through the rituals, they would finally be able to enter the tabernacle.

But even then, most priests never enter the center of the tabernacle, the Most Holy Place. That was reserved for the High Priest and only once a year.

God takes His holiness very seriously and it requires being in a right place spiritually before gaining access.

So, just as Jesus came to be the Prophet like Moses who would reveal God to us, so He is also the Great High Priest who would go into the presence of the Father on our behalf and make payment for sin so we can be made holy and also enter in God’s presence.

But there are some problems.

Jesus was Not a Levite

Hebrews 7:14 (ESV)

For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

God established the Tribe of the Levites to be the Priests. Jesus is not a Levite. He is from the Tribe of Judah, the tribe God established for the royal line of Israel.

Jesus came to be the King of the Jews as we see both at His birth narrative when the Wise Men come looking for Him and also at His crucifixion when they place the sign over his head, “The King of the Jews.”

And in the Old Testament, the King could not fulfill the role of Priest. King Saul tried to do so by offering a sacrifice that only the priest could offer and as a result God rejected him from being king.

The Levitical Priesthood Was Insufficient

Hebrews 7:11 (ESV)

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?

Hebrews 7:23 (ESV)

The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office,

Hebrews 7:27 (ESV)

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.

The Levitical priesthood could not really solve this problem of being able to approach God.

Yes, there was a sense in which through the temporal and physical tabernacle, they were able to approach God and offer the sacrifices, but the priests themselves could not live forever for they would die. So there always had to be a new priest to come after the last one. It was never enough.

Also, the priests had to offer a sacrifice for themselves because they too were sinners in need of atonement and payment. They could not just approach God without taking care of their own sin first, so even what they could do for the people was temporary and insufficient.

Melchizedek

So we are introduced to this royal priest named Melchizedek.

Genesis 14:17–20 (ESV)

After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) And he blessed him and said,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,

Possessor of heaven and earth;

and blessed be God Most High,

who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”

And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

The author of Hebrews spends quite a bit of time on this man that we only see this one time in all of Scripture, along with a reference in Psalm 110. But he draws out significant connection between Melchizedek and Jesus, because while Jesus is not from the line of the Levitical priesthood, the author of Hebrews says he is from the order of Melchizedek, and we are going to see why this is good news for us!

Jesus is Our Perfect Priest

Hebrews 7:1–2 (ESV)

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 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.

First, we see that this Melchizedek is both a king and a priest, something that the Jewish priests could not be.

A Priest Who Serves All the Nations of the Earth

Keep in mind, this Melchizedek is not Jewish. In fact, the Jewish people are descendants of Abraham. Abraham is actually submitting himself to Melchizedek and giving a tithe to him.

Melchizedek is a priest from a Gentile nation who is blessing the father of the Jewish nation. The Levitical priests served only those who were Jews or who were converted into the Jewish religion and culture.

A Priest Who is King of Righteousness and Peace

Next, we see that the author of Hebrews is playing upon Melchizedek’s name and city where he served.

Melech means King

Zedek means righteousness

Salem means peace

Now, we know only Jesus is perfectly righteous, but there is a theological purpose for why Melchizedek is mentioned in Genesis with such limited detail. This man who served as both King and Priest is serving as a type pointing forward to the One who would come to crush the head of the snake. We are not meant to know more about this man because we are meant to see how God is working, even early on in Abraham’s story, of how He is provided a Marvelous Savior who will be a perfectly righteous Priest and King of Peace!

So we see there is this Order of priest who is both King of Righteousness and King of Peace.

Jesus is not like the Levitical priests who had to pay for His own sins. He can pay for our sin because He was perfectly righteous in every way.

And Jesus can serve as the Perfect High Priest because He truly is the King of Peace. Isaiah mentions this name for Him in the famous Christmas passage we read,

Isaiah 9:6 (ESV)

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Through His ministry, Jesus is both perfectly righteous and will be able to perfectly mediate Peace between God and Man!

There is nothing you and I can do that can bring us peace between us and God. In fact, the more we try on our own, the more we actually make ourselves the enemies of God because trying to earn God’s favor is in essence us trying to be God ourselves.

Jesus is Our Eternal Priest

Hebrews 7:3 (ESV)

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.

Hebrews 7:15–17 (ESV)

This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. For it is witnessed of him,

“You are a priest forever,

after the order of Melchizedek.”

Next, we see the author of Hebrews drawing upon the fact that Melchizedek appears to have no beginning and no end.

This does not mean that Melchizedek himself was immortal. But the author of Hebrews is taking the mysterious appearance of this character in Genesis and his sudden disappearance as foreshadowing the eternal nature of who Jesus is.

Melchizedek is not listed in any of the Genealogies, so from all appearances, he has not lineage, no father or mother, no end of days.

And then he picks up what the psalmist says in Psalm 110:4

Psalm 110:4 (ESV)

The Lord has sworn

and will not change his mind,

“You are a priest forever

after the order of Melchizedek.”

No priest through Israel’s history has been a priest forever. At most, they serve for about 30 years, when they turn 20 and then retire around 50 years of age.

No earthly priest could mediate between sinful humanity and an infinitely holy God. But Jesus is a priest who serves forever, interceding for us always. He is able to do what the law was weak and unable to do. While the law reveals our sin, only through Jesus can we draw near to the God who has been revealed to us.

Christ is, even today, interceding for us before the throne of the Father. He is able to completely save and bring us into the presence of the Father is because of His permanence.

Hebrews 7:24–25 (ESV)

but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 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.

Jesus Offers the Better Sacrifice

One last thing we need to notice is that the order of Melchizedek offers a better sacrifice than that of the Levitical priests.

The Levitical priests offered the blood of bulls and goats for the forgiveness of sin. Remember, the wages of sin is death. The constant death and blood on the altar was a reminder to God’s people of the penalty of sin and rebellion against Him.

But the priests had to continually and constantly offer the blood of animals because they were unable to truly take away the penalty of sin.

As you continue through Hebrews, you will see how imperfect the sacrifices really were. They were like pointers and reminders that sin had to be dealt with. And they were a means of God’s grace for the people that even though the ultimate sacrifice had not yet come, He was reminding them through these sacrifices that He had not forgotten His promise.

So, instead of the blood of goats, what does Melchizedek bring out as an offering?

Genesis 14:18 (ESV)

And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.)

The author of Genesis ties in the fact that he brought out bread and wine with the fact that He was a Priest of God Most High.

Does this sound familiar? Even here, we see through Melchizedek, that there is a better offering than that of the blood of animals.

Luke 22:14–20 (ESV)

And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

Jesus, as a priest in the order of Melchizedek, brought to His disciples a blessing with an offering of bread and wine. And He explained to them what the true bread and wine is.

The bread is His body which is going to be broken for them. And the cup of wine is the blood of the New Covenant, the better covenant that will not simply cover our sins, but will allow us to draw near to God.

Jesus was, in essence, telling His disciples, you cannot ever be good enough or do enough good things to be brought into my Father’s presence, but because of His love for you, I have come, as Your Great High Priest, to give you my righteousness and to eternally intercede for you so you can live in the presence of God forever.

Romans 5:8 (ESV)

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

You and I cannot earn our place or position before God. There is no amount of righteous works we can do, there is no amount of success we can have, there is no other person or name in which we must trust or believe, it is Jesus alone through whom we must come before God.

Do you want to know this God who has Created you and loved you? Jesus has come, not only to reveal Him to us, but to bring us to Him!

Lord’s Supper

1 Corinthians 11:23–24 ESV

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

1 Corinthians 11:25 ESV

In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”