Hebrews Part 8
Notes
Transcript
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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.
Last week, we left off at the end of chapter 6
being reminded that Jesus is a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
Now, how do we know this?
Does the author of Hebrews just assert this claim?
What is the proof?
Well, the word of God is the proof.
He’s talking to Hebrews who know the word of God.
4 The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
This is not just a random line from a random song.
Ps 110 is a messianic prophecy.
Verse 2 says:
2 The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies!
The mighty scepter refers to the King of Judah
And yet, this King of Kings
is also called the eternal High Priest
just two verses later.
4 The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
Later in this same Psalm, the King and High Priest is called the Judge.
He is the one that will execute judgment and bring about the day of wrath
Which is, according to our recent study of Revelation
The day that Jesus returns to the Earth.
So, we are clearly talking about a single man
Who is the Messiah
Who is the King
Who is the Judge
Who is the High Priest
not from Levi, but from Judah
and after the order or Melchizedek.
Who can hold all those titles but Jesus?
No one… that is the point the author of Hebrews is making
and not only that Jesus is the one who holds those titles
but that those titles and posistions are greater than the ones they came from.
Meaning, the priesthood of Levi can’t hold a candle to the priesthood of Melchizedek.
So, why go back underneath the priest of Levi?
And here in Heb chapter 7, we will see why Melchizedek is greater than Levi.
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,
This happens in Gen chapter 14 if you want to read it.
But the writer of Hebrews tells the story exactly like it happened.
Abraham won a hugh battle
One that we don’t talk about enough
but it was a miracle
We’re talking about a nomad going against 4 kings and winning
These four kings had just got through whooping 5 great kings.
We’re talking about a major world war.
5 Kings against 4 Kings.
This was literally the original WW1
And the 4 kings won the war.
And they took all the gold and jewels and people as slaves
including Lot and his family
And when Abraham got word that Lot was captured
He got 318 men, and faced off against those 4 kings
and defeated them all.
And brought back all the good and people.
And he gave 10 percent of the income to the king of Salem
Which was Melchizedek.
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,
Melchizedek blessed Abraham first with bread and wine.
And this reminds me of the last supper
The bread represents the word of God
and the wine represents the Spirit of God
And after Abraham received the bread and wine
he turned around and gave 10 percent of everything to Melchizedek.
This is why giving tithes is not an OT law of Moses
Tithes existed long before the law of Moses
and continued to exist after the law of Moses
Now, Salem was the name of Jerusalem before David captured it hundreds of years later.
Salem means “Peace”.
So, it was the city of Peace.
The “Jeru” part of Jerusalem, just means “Jews”.
Which is moniker attached to the tribe of Judah
Which David was part of.
But before David, it was just called Salem.
and Melchizedek was the King of Salem when Abraham lived.
King of Salem, means King of Peace.
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.
And according to verse 2,
Melchizedek means King of Righteousness.
So, he was the King of Righteousness and the King of Peace?
Who does that sound like?
Is 9.6 says that the Messiah would be called “Prince of Peace”.
The word Prince there can also be translated as “Ruler”.
Jeremiah also said this about the Messiah:
5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’
So, there will be a King of Judah called “The Lord is our Righteousness”…
So, you see how the author of Hebrews is trying to connect the dots for his audience
He is showing them how obvious it is
that Jesus is that High Priest
The King of Righteousness
The Prince or Ruler of Peace.
The King of Judah
And if this is all true, and it is,
Then Jesus is a better High Priest than Levi’s sons were.
That’s the argument being made in chapter 7.
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.
It is as if Melchizedek is God himself
He is eternal according to the author
And is the priest forever
Abraham somehow knew to give tithes to him
and tithes belong only to God according to the Bible.
So, this Melchizedek, was perhaps a manifestation of God himself.
At the very least, he was a type and and a shadow of Jesus
since he “resembled the son of God” as verse 3 indicates.
4 See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils!
5 And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham.
6 But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.
7 It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.
8 In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives.
Here in these 5 verses, the author firms up his argument
and provides his conclusion
that the priesthood of Melchizedek is greater than the priesthood of Levi.
And the basis is on these premises:
Melchizedek is eternal according to Ps 110.
The messiah is a High Priest after Melchizedek
Levi is a brother of the other 11 tribes, and descendents of Abraham
Melchizedek is not a descendent of Abraham
If Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, then his descendents paid tithes to Melchizedek through him… including Levi.
9 One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham,
10 for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.
So, in other words, if you go back under the OT
and start paying tithes to the High Priest from the tribe of Levi
you are paying tithes to a priest that is lower than Melchizedek
but if you stay underneath the Messiah
You will be paying tithes to Melchizedek
who is greater than Abraham’s descendents
because they paid tithes to him.
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?
Here we see something the author has done before with Moses and his rest
and what he will do with every subject going forward
he will start to point out the flaws in it.
He has already shown how great the Melchizedek priesthood is
but will make it even more evident when he shows how bad the Levitical priesthood was.
Further solidifying the evidence that you need to hold fast to Jesus
and do not fall away.
Verse 11 tells us that perfection couldn’t be attained under the levitical priesthood
and if so, why would it need to be replaced
because Ps 110, again is not just a random song
it is a Messianic prophecy from King David
And if God gave that song to David
then it means God had always planned to replace the Levitical Priesthood
with one that was found in Judah.
If then, the Levitical Priesthood was prophesied to be replaced
then how could it have been perfect?
If it was perfect, God wouldn’t have replaced it,
or even prophesied that he would replace it.
The Law is Replaced
The Law is Replaced
Now, starting in verse 12, the author begins to transition
from talking about a greater priesthood
to talking about a greater law.
He is going to tie the OT law to the Levitical Priesthood
and the NT Law to Priesthood of Melchizedek.
and show how the former was meant to be temporary
and the latter was meant to be eternal.
12 For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.
You can see the logical flow of this author’s arguments
He is not just stating facts
he is building a case based on logic
logic that is grounded in the word of God
So, why would a change in priesthood constitute a change in the Law?
Well for one, the vast majority of the law is about the levites.
How they perform their duties
how the people bring their sacrifices to them
how the levites dress
how the levites act
and so forth
So, this law would be outdated if the levites were no longer priests
and therefore, it would need updating at the very least
and replacing at the most.
13 For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar.
Here is he talking about how Melchizedek is from Jerusalem
And the priest after his order would be King there also
and would be from the tribe of Judah
So, the OT law would be useless to this new Priest since he is not a levite.
and all the law is about the levites.
and the Messiah is Judah
14 For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.
He’s telling the audience of Hebrews
Who would be familiar with the Law of Moses
you go check the Law of Moses
read every commandment
Does Moses ever say anything about Priests from Judah?
The obvious answer is, no. no he doesn’t
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.
So, here in verse 15 and 16 the argument continues
That Jesus is not a Levitcal priest
One, because he was from the tribe of Judah
and two, because he is eternal.
The Levites became High Priest when their father died
It was on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent
It was essentially inherited
and could only be inherited once a High Priest died
and left the office to their son.
Jesus, on the other hand,
Is the Everlasting Father
He is never going to die
He is never going to hand his position over to another son
Therefore, his office of High Priest
is greater than Levi’s office of High Priest
Verse 17 repeats the quotation from ps 110 to remind them of the word “forever”
17 For it is witnessed of him, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”
So, Jesus isn’t a priest until he dies
He is a priest forever
So, remember this is not just pointing out the flaws of the levitical priesthood
but also the law that established the levitical priesthood.
18 For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness
Why was the OT Law weak?
It depended on humans, and on their flesh
It was passed down from one priest to another through death
It was not able to last forever
Why was the OT Law useless?
Because it contains hundreds of laws about the Levitical priests
either directly or indirectly
So, if the Levites are replaced
then the law because useless.
What good is a law about what the Levite priest has to wear during the atonement
if the Levite priests isn’t the priest anymore?
We are not talking about God’s moral laws by the way.
Murder is always going to be against God’s moral law
Before Moses and after Moses
Lying is against the Moral Law
We’re talking about the many hundreds of laws concerning levitical priesthood
Including all the laws about food
and touching things that are unclean
and leprosy
and so forth
Because those were all connected to some law that you had to go before a priest to be deemed clean again.
So, all the ceremonial laws
and dietary laws
all the ones connected to the Levites
those are useless if the Levites are no longer Priests
And the author is asking the readers
Why would you want to go under a useless law?
That is being governed by a powerless priesthood
Wouldn’t you rather have a better law
One that does what the old law could never really do
One that can draw you near to God
Not one man, once a year
but you
You yourself can draw near to God
19 (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.
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.’ ”
Here, the author is pointing out that the OT Law was made through and oath
But, the NT priesthood was also established by and oath
and then he proceeds to quote the line of ps 110
directly before the one that has already been quoted multiple times.
4 The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
so, just like he was preaching from Ps 45 earlier
Now, the author is preaching line by line from Ps 110.
He is doing what we are doing with Hebrews chapter 7 tonight
He’s going line by line and proving that Jesus is a priest forever
and that priesthood was based on an oath by God
because it says “The Lord has sworn”
And this time, there will be no change
So, the priesthood of Jesus will stand forever
We won’t go back to the Levitical priesthood
or be replaced by any other priesthood in the future
This is all there is
And it is eternal
Which makes it better that one that is limited by death.
Which is his next point
A point already made, but worth repeating.
22 This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.
23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office,
24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.
So, again, the Levites died and could not be priests forever
But Jesus is the High Priest forever
and that will never change according to Ps 110.
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.
Here the author is pointing out the superiority of the High Priesthood of Jesus.
Recall the sons of Aaron
They were not holy, innocent, unstained.
Recall Eli’s sons
How they sinned
And God had to kill them in battle
And then compare this to Jesus
He never sinned
He is holy
innocent…
Why would you trade Jesus for the sons of Aaron?
Who in their right mind would do that?
This is the attitude I imagine the author is speaking in.
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.
He, being Jesus, doesn’t need to offer sacrifices daily.
He is clean forever
So, he never has to sacrifice for himself
And his sacrifice was not daily
it was “Once and for all”
When Jesus died on that cross
His blood covered all our sins
Once and for all
he doesn’t have to keep dying
like the bulls and goats and sheep that the levites had to kill
Jesus died one time
and that was it
His sacrifice is more powerful than millions of bulls and goats
His death did what those levites could never do
He covered all our sins forever… once and for all.
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.
The Levites were appointed in weakness
Meaning after the death of their predecessor
But the oath, referring to Ps 110
Came later than the law of Moses
So, it overrules Moses’ law
and that oath in Ps110
Says that it was not to be temporary, but forever
Closing
Closing
So, in summary,
Jesus is a better High Priest
He replaced the Levites
And therefore, The Law of Moses is weak and useless
Because it is almost entirely filled with laws related to the Levites
And so, God is setting up a new and better covenant through Jesus
And the next two chapters is going to discuss that New and better covenant in more detail
And the author of Hebrews is going to preach from a new section of the OT
A large portion of Jermiah 31 will be quoted and exposited by the author of Hebrews
as he continues to preach about Holding Fast to our faith in Jesus
And not falling away
But continuing to trust in the blood Jesus shed for our sins
