11: Our Permanent High Priest (Heb 7)

There are some good things going on around here - all the new carpet, updated Student Room, new carpet coming soon in this Worship Center; and I don’t know if you noticed, but we have a new foundation of concrete that was poured at the front of the Children’s Building - a new classroom that has been fully funded by a donor who wishes to remain anonymous.

When the Renfroes poured the concrete I asked some questions so I could learn more about the process. I was surprised to find out that when the concrete truck shows up to pour, they always check it to make sure that NO DUCKS are in the mixer, and here’s why….when they pour, they want to make sure there aren’t any QUACKS in the concrete.

We needed to start off with a little light-hearted stuff, cause we are about to dive DEEP!

PRAY

Catch the Context

Last week we ended with this passage

Hebrews 6:19–20 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain. Jesus has entered there on our behalf as a forerunner, because He has become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

So…just WHO IS this man called Melchizedek?

Today we learn about Melchizedek, an ancient personage pointing to our Perfect, Permanent High Priest - the One who was foretold to establish a New Covenant that brings people into right relationship with God.

We learn a little from the author of Hebrews here in the beginning of chapter 7 and then we’ll do some digging in the Old Testament.

Hebrews 7:1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High, met Abraham and blessed him as he returned from defeating the kings,

First, Melchizedek was both a king and a priest. We’ll talk more about these terms in a moment.

Abraham met Melchizedek as he returned from defeating the kings. But what’s that all about? As we did last week we have the privilege of backing up into the Old Covenant writing we call Genesis (meaning “beginnings”).

Here’s the situation: Abraham’s nephew was Lot. I guess you could say Abraham loved him...a LOT.

Genesis 14:8-12 tells us about Lot and his family were in trouble because 4 kings came to fight against 5 kings - including the kings of Sodom & Gomorrah, where Lot lived (Sodom). The 4 kings conquered Sodom & Gomorrah, taking all the food & goods from there. They also took many people as slaves - including Lot and his family and all their goods.

Genesis 14:13-16 tells us when Abraham (known as Abram) heard about his family being kidnapped, it was on - and just like EVERY Liam Neeson movie script plays out - Abraham went to get his family back - taking his 318 trained men and chasing down the bad guys in a night attack. After defeating and pursuing them a long way, Abraham and his small army brought back all the goods and people they had taken, including his nephew, Lot.

If you didn’t know stories like that were in the Bible…go read the Old Testament writings!

Genesis 14:18–20 Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; he was a priest to God Most High. He blessed him and said:

Abram is blessed by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and blessed be God Most High who has handed over your enemies to you. And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

Abraham didn’t give the priest a tenth of everything because it was a requirement. The “tithe” or tenth wasn’t given to Moses until over 500 years later. Abraham gave to the priest of God Most High out of thankfulness for God’s blessing in conquering his enemies and restoring the people and goods that were taken.

And now we get to the point of this ancient story about Abraham.

Hebrews 7:2 and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name [Melchizedek] means king of righteousness, then also, king of Salem, meaning king of peace.

The author of Hebrews writes that Melchizedek’s name means “king of righteousness,” from the Hebrew melek (“king”) and sedeq (“righteousness”).

He was king of Salem from the Hebrew shālom, meaning “peace”. This place would later be called Jerusalem.

So this one who blessed Abraham was the king of righteousness and peace - a vivid word-picture of who Jesus is. And in case you haven’t figured this out yet, the author is showing the similarities between Melchizedek - this king and priest - and Jesus - our Perfect, Permanent, High Priest…who is also called the “King of kings” - the one to whom every person will one day bow before (Phil 2:9-10, Rev 17:14, 19:16).

The author continues:

Hebrews 7:3 Without father, mother, or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.

Since the Scriptures don’t tell us of Mel’s family tree, the writer seizes on this opportunity and mystery to point to the similarity with Jesus, as a priest forever.

And then the author displays the differences from the Levitical priests who came 500 plus years after Melchizedek.

Hebrews 7:4–5 Now consider how great this man was: even Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the plunder to him. The sons of Levi who receive the priestly office have a command according to the law to collect a tenth from the people—that is, from their brothers and sisters—though they have also descended from Abraham.

When God gave the Law to Moses over 500 years after this meeting between Abraham and Melchizedek, God commanded that those who served at the tabernacle had to come from...

the lineage of Levi [show Family Tree] and receive a tenth from their family members, all of which had been born through Father Abraham.

The People from tribe of Levi would serve as assistants to the priests, those in the family of Aaron (brother of Moses).

Hebrews 7:6–7 But one without this lineage [Melchizedek is not in Levi or Aaron’s family] collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises. Without a doubt, the inferior [Abraham] is blessed by the superior [Melchizedek].

Here’s the line of thought:

The family that followed Abraham, including the Levitical priests, were inferior to Abraham. After all, Abraham is the father of the nation.

But Abraham was blessed by Melchizedek, showing that Melchizedek was superior to Abraham.

Do you see the picture the author of Hebrews is drawing?

As great as Abraham was, Melchizedek is Better, and since Melchizedek resembles Jesus (Heb 7:3) who is the ultimate King of Righteousness & Peace, then Jesus is Better than Abraham!

Now the next chunk of Scripture dives pretty deep, but here’s the point that reminds me of a geometry formula:

If Jesus > Abraham and Abraham > Levites (they are inferior to Abraham), then Jesus > priestly tribe of Levi. Listen to the reasoning.

Hebrews 7:8–10 In the one case, men who will die receive a tenth [Levites], but in the other case, Scripture testifies that he lives [Melchizedek, who represents Jesus]. And in a sense Levi himself, who receives a tenth, has paid a tenth through Abraham, for he was still within his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

The Problem. But there is one problem - How could Jesus be the perfect high priest if He doesn’t come from the tribe of Levi and the family of Aaron? To counter that problem, the author asks a great question and then quotes a powerful Scripture.

Hebrews 7:11 Now if perfection came through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the law), what further need was there for another priest to appear, said to be according to the order of Melchizedek and not according to the order of Aaron?

The Question. Did perfection come through the Levitical priesthood? NOPE. That’s why priests died and had to be replaced, and why sacrifices had to be offered over and over again, year after year.

The Scripture. The author of Hebrews quotes Psalm 110 as he has several times before in this writing. You might remember this as being the #1 most quoted Old Testament passage of the early church, pointing to Jesus as the ONE who fulfills the Old Testament Scriptures. It starts off like this:

Psalm 110:1 This is the declaration of the Lord (YaHWeH) to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.”

A couple of verses later it says these words that the author of Hebrews is mentioning:

Psalm 110:4 The Lord (YaHWeH) has sworn an oath and will not take it back: “You are a priest forever according to the pattern of Melchizedek.”

So, the final high priest had to match the pattern of Melchizedek, but didn’t have to come from the tribe of Levi nor family of Aaron? Yep.

There was a priesthood that existed long before the tribe of Levi and the family of Aaron even existed - the priesthood of Melchizedek.

And the author continues to make his case, that Jesus - although coming from the tribe of Judah instead of the tribe of Levi - was the One who the Scriptures had prophesied - the One who fulfills Psalm 110:4 and fits the pattern “in the order of Melchizedek” (Heb 7:17).

Hebrews 7:12–14 For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must be a change of law as well. For the one these things are spoken about belonged to a different tribe. No one from it has served at the altar. Now it is evident that our Lord came from Judah, and Moses said nothing about that tribe concerning priests.

Hebrews 7:15-17 And this becomes clearer if another priest like Melchizedek appears, who did not become a priest based on a legal regulation about physical descent but based on the power of an indestructible life. For it has been testified: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

If only there was SOMONE who could be our HIGH PRIEST - who could rightly mediate between sinful people and the Most Holy God!

Oh, if only there was SOMEONE who would be our PERMANENT HIGH PRIEST rather than a revolving door of priests who pass away.- SOMEONE who had no beginning and no ending.

If only there was SOMEONE who could be our PERFECT, PERMANENT HIGH PRIEST who experienced human life, but unlike the other priests - had lived without committing any sin.

If only there was ONE who could fulfill all this imagery…and of course, there is!

JESUS is our perfect, permanent, high priest, who fits the pattern of Melchizedek. Jesus is the King of Righteousness & Peace - the Eternal One who truly has no beginning and no ending, the One who has conquered sin.

And because of that…The New Covenant > the Old Covenant

Hebrews 7:18–19 So the previous command [Old Covenant] is annulled because it was weak and unprofitable (for the law perfected nothing), but a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

Hebrews 7:20-22 None of this happened without an oath. For others became priests without an oath, but he became a priest with an oath made by the one who said to him: The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever.” Because of this oath, Jesus has also become the guarantee of a better covenant.

Jesus is a better hope and is the guarantee of a better covenant - a better promise and more complete way to draw near to God.

Jeremiah, the Old Covenant prophet, foretold of the superiority of the New Covenant that was to come.

Jeremiah 31:31–32 “Look, the days are coming”—this is the LORD’S declaration—“when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—My covenant that they broke even though I am their master”—the LORD’S declaration.

Jeremiah 31:33-34 “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the LORD’S declaration. “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them”—this is the LORD’S declaration. “For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin.

You see, while the Old Covenant invited people to come near to God, there was always a curtain/veil & an imperfect priest that stood between God and people. Sacrifices had to take place again and again, year after year.

The New Covenant was a better covenant that removed the veiled separation between people and God - because of the work of our Perfect, Permanent High Priest! Check out the phrase used by the synoptics (Matthew, Mark, & Luke) regarding what happened when Jesus died on the cross:

Mark 15:37–38 Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed his last. Then the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

The separation between God and man was removed because the SIN that separated man from God was removed!

This becomes clear in what the author of Hebrews writes next.

Hebrews 7:23–25 Now many have become Levitical priests, since they are prevented by death from remaining in office. But because He [Jesus] remains forever, He holds his priesthood permanently. Therefore, He is able to save completely those who come to God through him, since He always lives to intercede for them.

What kind of GOOD NEWS this is! Jesus doesn’t save us half way and expect us to get the rest of the way there ourselves.

Imagine a man who has trouble walking asks you for a ride to Valdosta. You’re king enough to help him out. You take him down Valdosta Highway and just over the bridge into Georgia…and then you pull over, saying “There ya go. You can make it the rest of the way yourself.” But he can’t.

Jesus didn’t take us part of the way and expect us to make it the rest of the way by ourselves. He is able and offering to save completely those who come to God through Him. This is why Jesus came to earth - to intercede for people in a way none other has ever done - including Melchizedek - to save us completely!

Listen to the weighty description of WHO Jesus is and WHAT Jesus has done for us, in the last words from Hebrews we read today.

Hebrews 7:26-28 For this is the kind of high priest we need: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He doesn’t need to offer sacrifices every day, as high priests do—first for their own sins, then for those of the people. He did this once for all time when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak, but the promise of the oath, which came after the law, appoints a Son, who has been perfected forever.

Of all the priests from Melchizedek to the men serving in Jesus’ day, NONE compared to Jesus. Let’s end with an ancient story with contemporary impact.

Abrahams grandson (Jacob - aka “Israel”) had a dream where he saw angels coming down to earth and going up to heaven on a ladder/stairway. He believed that God had met him in that place and he called Bethel, meaning “house (beth) of God (El)”. 1500 years later when Jesus is talking with Nathanael, He uses this same imagery to show who He is.

John 1:51 Then He said, “Truly I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

That’s Jesus! Our Perfect, Permanent High Priest…our King of Righteousness & Peace - who makes the way for people to be in right relationship with God! The One who makes a New Covenant with those who turn from sin and trust Him!

Where does this find YOU today?

Do you KNOW Jesus and does He KNOW you? Have you turned from your sin and do you trust Him? If so, STOP wallowing in your sin and start livin’ forgiven!

Do you say you BELIEVE in Jesus, but just refuse to DO what He tells you to do? Jesus once said, “Why do you call me Lord and don’t DO the things I say?” (Lk 6:46)

Or do you have questions and need some answers? Maybe you have a need and want some help.

CALL OUR STAFF

CALL OUR DEACONS

TALK WITH ANOTHER BELIEVER.

This week - Thank & Seek Our Perfect, Permanent High Priest who gave His life for you!

PRAY