Hebrews 7:23-28

Greeting

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Intro

Many have understood that the central theme of the book of Hebrews is simply this: Jesus is Better.

As I was reflecting on what I wanted to preach for Easter Sunday, I was quickly drawn to the book of Hebrews, because what better message is there to be reminded of on this day, than that Jesus is Better.

We can see this theme in ch. 7

V. 19

V. 22

Breakdown of Hebrews…:

Ch. 1-2: Jesus is better than the angels

Ch. 3-4: Jesus is better than Moses

Ch. 5-7: Jesus is better than the Priests

Ch. 8-10: Jesus is better than the old covenant, sacrifices and offerings

And so we find ourselves in ch. 7, within this context of the author showing us that Jesus is better than the priests. 

Understanding of a Priest…

Car story…

All kinds of examples around us…

Older people and technology…

You need a go between.  You need someone to stand in the gap of your deficiency. 

In a similar way, that’s how the priests were viewed.

“I have a problem…”

“I’ve broken a law…”

“I need the problem fixed…”

“My sin needs to be taken care of”

That’s where the priests come in

They offer the sacrifice on your behalf. They intercede for you.

These priests were set apart… 

They had to be from the tribe of Levi…

Genealogical proof…

They had to be cleansed (ritual baths)

They had to wear the right garments (ritual clothes)

And in doing these things, they were a depiction of purity and righteousness…

Or at least that’s what they were supposed to be….

And by them looking this way and doing these things, it meant that they could stand in the gap for the people.  They could stand in the gap of the people’s moral and spiritual deficiency. They could intercede for the people.

They could fix what was wrong. 

But there was a problem.

Hebrews 7:23 ESV

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

And that’s really at the heart of what was lacking in the entire old covenant. 

The priests would die…

The animal sacrifices were only good for one sacrifice…

But here in ch. 7 the author of Hebrews is going to show case how Jesus, and the interceding work of Jesus, are far superior to the priests of the old covenant.

So the title of the Sermon this morning is:

The Interceding Heart of Christ

Sermon

Now here in these verses the author is going to give us two reasons for why the intercession of Jesus is better than the intercession of the priests. Here’s the first reason:

1.) Jesus is Better because Jesus is a Permanent Priest V. 24

This is one of the main reasons why we celebrate Easter; why we celebrate the resurrection of Christ:

Jesus is our living sacrifice. 

Jesus, right now, is our living priest

Unlike all the other priests of the old covenant, Jesus is not dead.

And so this puts Jesus in a completely and uniquely different category.

Jesus is a priest, but he’s a different kind of priest. 

And in Hebrews we’re actually given an OT example of the kind of priest that Jesus is:

Hebrews 6:19–20 ESV

19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Now if you were at our Good Friday service, we talked about the significance of the curtain…

Jesus is the hope that is spoken of here…

And then we’re told something very interesting

Jesus = Melchizedek (I’m sure all of you came to church thinking about Melchizedek)

This is important…

Remember Jewish understanding of priests…

There’s certain requirements that they had to perform in order to do their work…

They had to be of the tribe of Levi

They had to be set apart… (they couldn’t touch what was unclean)

Remember what Jesus did…

Priestly work… Jesus cleansed people; Jesus gave people forgiveness; Jesus steps into the scene functioning like a priest

But in the Jewish understanding there was a pretty significant problem > conflict…

Jesus was from the tribe of Judah; Jesus was willing and even desired to touch things that were unclean and make them whole…

And so he’s a priest, but he wasn’t a priest after the Levitical order, he’s in a different category…

Order of Melchizedek…

Who is this guy?

Explain/Read from Gen. 14…

Genesis 14:17–20 ESV

17 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). 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.

We’re told some interesting things here.

We see this figure Melchizedek, who’s name means “King of Righteousness”

And he comes out of the city of Salem, which, by the way, is Jerusalem before it’s Jerusalem

And he brings bread and wine

And then we’re told this interesting fact… this guy was priest of God Most High

Here’s why that’s interesting: the priesthood of Israel had not yet been established…

And yet, here is a man, the king of righteousness, coming out of ancient Jerusalem, as a priest of God most high, and he’s offering bread and wine, to the people of God.

Does that not sound familier?

Melchizedek was a priest because God had made him a priest…  

And that is what we see of Jesus…

Hebrews 7:20–21 ESV

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.’ ”

Jesus has been promised to us to serve as an eternal and far superior high priest.

And look at what the result is in v. 25: 

Hebrews 7:25 ESV

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.

Uttermost – completely, perfectly, absolutely, totally, forever

Temporal understanding: > length of time; what’s the length of time? FOREVER!!

BUT ALSO comprehensive understanding: > Jesus accomplishes everything that a sinner needs; he COMPLETELY saves you! He makes you righteous in the sight of God

Radical statement: if you possess faith, right now in God’s sight you are as righteous as Jesus

If you are a genuine believer in Christ; if you possess genuine faith in the gospel, then you are forgiven: past, present, and future.

No matter how badly you mess up… Jesus saves you, and keeps you, to the uttermost. 

1 Peter 1:3–5 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

“’To the uttermost’ in Hebrews 7:25 means: God’s forgiving, redeeming, restoring touch reaches down into the darkest crevices of our souls, those places where we are most ashamed, most defeated.  More than this: those crevices of sin are themselves the places where Christ loves us the most. His heart willingly goes there.  His heart is most strongly drawn there.  He knows us to the uttermost, and he saves us to the uttermost, because his heart is drawn out to us to the uttermost.  We cannot sin our way out of his tender care.” - Dane Ortlund

And the reason he is able to do this is because of what it says in the last phrase of v. 25

Hebrews 7:25 ESV

25 … since he always lives to make intercession for them.

If you are a believer in Jesus, this has to be one of the most encouraging verses that you can read.

The salvation that Jesus offers was not merely a one-time act; Jesus saved you at the cross, but he continues to save you through his intercession right now.

What do I mean by that?

ILLUS: Banking illus. 

Sounds too good to be true!  But it’s not!

Spiritual need > than any physical need

Jesus wants us to come to him…

“Our sinning goes to the uttermost.  But his saving goes to the uttermost.  And his saving always outpaces and overwhelms our sinning, because he always lives to intercede for us.” - Dane Ortlund

24/7 Jesus is before the Father pleading your case.  And he wins every time! 

And why does he win?  Because he presents his own life and death as a substitute for yours. 

And he can do this… because of the second point

2.) Jesus is Better Because Jesus is Perfect v. 26-28

The problem with the priests, wasn’t merely because they died, or they only offered the blood of OTHER animals.

Even if they lived forever AND offered their own blood… it would not have solved the problem of mankind’s sinful hearts.

Their ultimate problem was that THEY TOO were sinners (in fact sometimes they were the worst of sinners).  They had to sacrifice sins on their own behalf.

They were weak! 

Doctor ILLUS: Prescribing Tylenol for a brain tumor

And so the whole sacrificial system was like taking Tylenol for a brain tumor.

It might have helped one small problem…

But it could do nothing for the fundamental, deep-seated problem of their hearts.

They ultimately didn’t need Tylenol.  What they needed was a transplant. 

And we are the same way. 

We need a perfect sacrifice. 

We need an alien righteousness…

And that’s exactly what this passage tells of Jesus…

Hebrews 7:26 ESV

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…

So when we put these two ideas together, that Jesus is permanent, and that Jesus is perfect.  We have exactly what we need. 

In Jesus we have an eternally holy sacrifice…

AND we have an eternally effective sacrifice…

He perfectly loves us, and he perfectly saves us

So what do we do now…?

We Draw Near To God Through Jesus

2x in this chapter

Hebrews 7:19 ESV

19 (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

Hebrews 7:25 ESV

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.

This is the only “requirement” for salvation.

What does it look like to draw near?

You change your course… (Repentance)…

Trust that Jesus is enough… (Belief)

Healings in the NT… “Your faith has made you well…”; they drew near to Christ. They recognized that they had a problem and the trusted Jesus to heal them.

This provides a picture of our spiritual healing…

This is what we need to be continually doing on a daily basis.

Draw near to God…

Understand your sin

Continue to trust Jesus

Prayer

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