Chasing Perfection

On a mountain high above the desert, in the country of Chile, in South America, a giant telescope is being built

They are calling it

The Giant Magellan Telescope

At a cost of over 2 Billion dollars , funded by 7 different countries, including the United States, it is projected to be finished around the year 2030, and it will be the most powerful telescope ever built.

10 times more powerful than the famous Hubble Telescope, and

4 times more powerful than the James Webb Space Telescope

Both of which circle the earth in orbit above us, scanning the farthest reaches of the universe

The Giant Magellan Telescope is expected to far surpass both of them in its abilities to scan the universe for galaxies and stars never seen by the human eye

If you know anything about telescopes, you know that they use convex mirrors to gather and focus light

The Giant Magellan Telescope will use

7 of the largest mirrors ever made

The engineering behind these mirrors is astonishing

Each mirror is around 27 feet across

Each mirror is made from around 20 tons of glass and takes approximately 4 years to construct

Casting—12-13 weeks

Cooling—6 months

And then years of polishing it.

Their goal? Perfection

If it is possible for a human being to achieve perfection, then the mirrors on the Giant Magellan Telescope have to be the peak of human perfection

The surface of each mirror has to be so smooth that an imperfection can be no higher than 1/1000 of a human hair!

Think about that for a moment!

Perfection is something that we chase after and are never quite able to attain

our character

our work

We want perfection. We are uncomfortable with imperfection, yet we never are able to attain perfection

But there is one who has.

There is One who is perfect, our Savior, Jesus

Our perfect High Priest

Last week, if you remember, we looked at Melchizedek

And we considered how he was a type or a foreshadowing of Someone greater to come

We looked at what Scripture says about him

King of Righteousness

King of Peace

Priest of the Most High God

And now, part 2 of this discussion

The preacher of Hebrews is going to expound on this idea of what he is thinking about when he says that Jesus is a High Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek

And he’s going to show us why Jesus is a perfect High Priest

And this morning, instead of reading the whole passage through, I’m going to be working through it verse by verse because it’s important that we follow his train of thought

First of all, I want to remind us of where this preacher is drawing his thoughts

It is from Psalm 110:4.

This Psalm is a Messianic Psalm

A Psalm in which it seems on one hand like it is talking about David the king of Israel, and on the other hand talking about Someone greater to come

We call these Psalms, Messianic psalms because they do indeed point us forward to Jesus, the Son of David, the Messiah

We see Melchizedek talked about in Genesis for just 3 verses

And then

The mystery of his identity begins to be opened to us in Psalm 110:4 “4 The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.””

Hebrews 7:11–28 “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 begins by pointing out the need for another priesthood

“if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood”

The “aaronic priesthood”

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So, here the point the preacher is making is that there seemed to be something wrong with the Levitical priesthood and a change needed to be made

But the problem with the Levitical priesthood was not a mistake that God made

Rather, it was a “problem” that was worked into His plan to bring Jesus into the world

12 For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.

The preacher of Hebrews is about to talk about a change in perception, a change in the understanding of where priests come from and how the priesthood is established

Now, we are not coming down on the Levitical priesthood. We are not saying that it was a bad thing.

It was established by God

It was established according to the Law that He gave

But again, there was imperfection in the priesthood. It needed to be changed

which meant that essentially the law had to be changed as well

Now, for us, the question of where the High Priest comes from and how he is established might not be a burning question

It’s not something that is that important to us

but for a first century Jewish Christian, this is a very important question

“How can you say that there needs to be a change in the priesthood? How can you say that there needs to be a change in the law?”

Our High Priest needs to be descended from Levi, from Aaron

And I know that Jesus comes from the line of Judah. How can you say that He is my High Priest?

Well, glad you asked. This High Priest that I am speaking of is a better High Priest, because He is from from a different order.

It is not the order of Levi, or the order of Aaron. But it is after the order of Melchizedek

Therefore, it is legitimate for Him to be from a different tribe

13 For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. 14 For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

Do you see what he is doing here?

As he goes through this discussion, what he is trying to do is sweep away the objections that these Christians might have and get the focus back on Jesus

He’s not trying to be dismissive of their objections

They are real concerns that they have

But the focus, again, is Jesus

For us, again, the question of where our High Priest comes from might not be a burning one for us. It might not be a legitimate cause of doubt and debate for us

But we certainly have other things that tend to pull our eyes off Jesus

there are all kinds of things that in our context can pull our eyes off of Jesus and get us distracted with controversy

People raise all kinds of objections to Jesus being who He says He is

The problem of pain and suffering in the world: “If Jesus loves us, if God is sovereign, how can there be so much pain and suffering in the world.”

What about the end times?

What about this, what about that?

It’s not that these are all bad questions. They are actually good questions

But you know, the Bible provides answers for us and gives us ways of understanding these things

Why don’t you research it, and put your mind to rest on these things so that you can come back to focusing on Jesus and who He is and what He has done

And that is the goal of this preacher in Hebrews

He says, yes, good question, but I want to show you that there is actually another order of priest that was to come

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. 17 For it is witnessed of him, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”

Here the preacher really starts to unpack his argument for us

because he is going to show us that, not only is the priesthood of Jesus legitimate because it’s of a different order,

But it is also better.

as you know, just because something is legal, or legitimate, doesn’t mean that it is necessarily better

but for the priesthood of Jesus, not only is it legitimate, it is also better

Why is it better?

Well for one thing, it is not based on a legal requirement to have the correct lineage, or be descended from the correct family

For the OT priests, there was a legal requirement for becoming a priest

According to the Law, you had to descend physically from Levi, from Aaron

That was the ONLY way that you could become a priest

You could be a great man, a good man, you could be the best at slaughtering animals, you could have a heart that sought after God

But those things would not make you a priest.

The ONLY way that you could become a priest was if you were of the correct tribe

it didn’t have to do with calling or character

it had to do with genetics. It was handed down first born son to first born son

It had to do with genetics. It had to do with ritual

And he says here that Jesus is a High Priest, not according to that requirement

But according to a better requirement

What is that requirement? An indestructible life (ESV)

Indestructible—means endless, something that has no end, cannot be ended

Jesus life cannot be ended

Think about the priests that came before Jesus

They died all the time. Generation upon generation

You would get a high priest, he would grow old and die. The next one would grow old and die

You didn’t know when you would get another high priest, how long he would last

There was a constant turnover

But Jesus has an endless life—He has eternal life

He has the power over death.

He was raised from the dead by the power of God

Interesting—And as He was going to the cross, the priesthood according to Melchizedek came into direct conflict with the priesthood according to Aaron

Matt. 27:1 When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death

Why was another priesthood necessary? Because the priesthood had become corrupted by power and hardness of heart

it was the priesthood of Aaron that was actually conspiring to put the Priest after the order of Melchizedek to death

but look who came out ahead! Jesus who rose from the dead

And demonstrated loud and clear that His priesthood was superior because His life is indestructible!

eternal, unchanging!

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.

In verse 12, he said that there needed to be a change in the law.

And here he says on one hand a former commandment needed to be set aside

Why?

Because it was ultimately weak and useless. Wow! What a thing to say about the Law given by God

But you know, he’s right! Why?

Because, vs. 19, the Law made nothing perfect. That’s why!

Remember, we are chasing perfection here! God demands perfection

but the Law could not make anything perfect

The law was like a doctor. The law was like an x-ray machine

This past year our son injured his wrist in basketball

It seemed that there was a problem, but we didn’t know what

So what did we do? We went and got an x-ray.

The x-ray (and the doctor) said, “Hmm, yep, it’s broken alright”

Now, did that fix the problem? Nope! The healing came in another way

That’s like the law. The law simply points out the problem: “You’re sinful and imperfect”.

What do I do about it?

Well, you can make some sacrifices but, you’re still sinful and imperfect

The law diagnoses the problem

If I have a problem telling the truth, the Law will point that out to me

If I have a problem with lust, the law will point that out to me

Well what can I do about it? Shrug sholders

make some sacrifices I guess

And try pretty hard not to do it again

But Jesus’ priesthood is better.

Why is His priesthood better? Because he has introduced a better hope

Because, vs. 19, He has introduced a better hope through which we draw near to God!

think about that for a moment

What was the OT priesthood like?

it was a religion of exclusion

a religion of walls and dividers

women and foreigners were kept out of the Temple area

The common people were kept out of the Holy place

the priests were kept out of the Holy of Holies

Only Levites could be priests

there was division and exclusion because of sinfulness

But now, we have a better hope through which we draw near to God

isn’t this great news? WE. We aren’t Levites.

but we have a better high priest who isn’t of that order and through him now 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.’ ”

Why is Jesus a better High Priest, a perfect High Priest? Because it comes with a declaration

Because He was decreed to be one with an oath

Priests in the OT came into the priesthood by being of the right family

it was just that way

But Jesus was declared to be so

By God, whose is perfectly loving, holy, righteous, and just

The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind

And if He declared it to be so, then it must be good

The result?

22 This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.

Why is His priesthood better? It comes with a guarantee

He is a gurantee

A downpayment, a deposit

A co-signer

You don’t have enough credit in your account to make a covenant with God

A lot of people try to make a deal with God

But they can’t

The only One who can is Jesus

We are going to talk more about this better covenant next week

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. 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.

Why is His priesthood better? It is an unchanging priesthood

Again, how many priests and high priests were there throughout the ages? No one knows. They were too many to count.

There was a constant turnover. You didn’t know if you were going to get a good priest or a bad priest

But Jesus is a priest forever.

you don’t have to worry about a bad priest replacing Him because He doesn’t need to be replaced

And because of this, He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him

Not “from” the uttermost. Not from anything and everything, although that is true

But the preacher is pointing out the eternity of Christ, our High Priest

TO the uttermost. To the very end.

He can and will be faithful to the uttermost, to the very end

That means, through your life, the encouragement is to endure. Don’t grow weary! Don’t grow weak and drift away

Who does He save to the uttermost? Those who draw near to Him

Jesus is able to save you TO the uttermost

And He always lives to make intercession for them

this is what Jesus is doing

Why is His priesthood better?

Because He is constantly making intercession for you and for me

What a comfort this is! I know that we try to intercede for one another

But sometimes we forget, don’t we? I do anyway

But Jesus is always living, and always making intercession for those who come to God through Him

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. 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.

Don’t you love this description of Jesus?

why is He a better High Priest?

Because He is

Holy, innocent (harmless), unstained, separated from sinners

Not only that, but exalted above the heavens

Why is He a better High Priest?

Because He offered up a sacrifice once and for all

He is not busy offering sacrifices.

I can hardly imagine that the OT priests had any time to talk to anyone throughout the day

because they were so busy offering up sacrifices

But not Jesus. Nope! He offered up one sacrifice. Himself

We are going to hear much more about that in chapter 10

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.”

Do you see the contrast that the preacher sets up here?

The high priests of old were imperfect and weak. And that was part of the problem with the law.

it appointed weak and imperfect men to intercede for the people

But the word of the oath, that is what God swore, appoints, not just a high priest, but His Son, who has been made perfect forever

Which makes God’s oath better than the law.

Why is He a better High Priest?

because He is perfect forever

And here we reach perfection

Again, this morning, I present to you Jesus,

Perfect man

Perfect High Priest

Perfect Savior

Do you want perfection? Look no farther than Jesus

Do you want purity? Look no farther than Jesus

Do you seek strength and stability? Jesus

Continue to endure. He is all that you need

Again, this morning, I present to you Jesus