Sermon Tone Analysis

Hebrews 7:11-28

Introduction

Good morning.

Go ahead and open your bibles or devices to Hebrews 7:11-28.

When I say the word "perfect", what comes to mind?

What is the definition of that word when you think about using it in a sentence?

What are the thoughts that come to mind when you hear me say that word out loud?

I remember in seminary we would have to write all sorts of papers.

There were some that I even got an A on.

Now, getting an A+ is pretty good.

But from the teacher's perspective, is the paper perfect?

No, it's not perfect.

The fall of man and the introduction of sin into the world has stained everything.

Because of this, there is nothing here that is perfect.

I asked you about that word, "perfect" because it is key to our understanding of today's passage from Hebrews.

Specifically we need to understand the word in the way that the writer of the book makes use of it.

There are many words that we use these days in sloppy ways.

For example: love.

I love that book or I love Cheetos.

We have likewise used "perfect" in imperfect ways.

Did you see what I did there?

Maybe you saw the newest Top Gun movie and someone asks, "How was the movie man?"

We might give the response, "it was great.

It's a perfect movie."

We toss that word around.

Do we mean that there was nothing at all wrong with it?

That's where we need to gain understanding about how the author of Hebrews uses the word "perfect" in describing Jesus.

It's not that Jesus is JUST better than previous high priests.

It's not just a category of superlative like we might see in a yearbook.

I.E.

best hair or most likely to succeed.

No, when the author writes about the perfect of Jesus, he's talking about an intrinsic attribute.

True perfection.

He can't help but be perfect.

It's who He is.

It's also a defining characteristic of His priestly ministry.

And the reason His ministry is perfect is because Jesus Christ is objectively perfect.

Not like a perfect grade from a fallen human professor but truly, objectively, perfect.

He is the only one who can fulfill this perfect ministry because He is the only one who can claim being fully divine and fully human.

He is the perfect God-man.

Now, I need to set up some context for how our passage fits in the context of where we have been and where we are going.

This is the the book of Hebrews.

A group of Hebrew Christians who are being pressed hard by the culture around them.

They stand out because they believe and worship differently than the preponderance of the culture around them.

They are facing pressure to give in to the culture and religious leaders around them and to return to their old Jewish ways of worshipping.

The stakes are high.

A writer pens a divinely inspired letter to them to encourage them to stand firm in their faith.

He tells them to persevere and to encourage this and spends a great deal of time on how Jesus is better than anything or anyone else, even those in their religious tradition because Jesus was in fact, the point of their religious tradition.

The author had been making the point that Jesus is a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek and he continues to explain the comparison of Jesus and Melchizedek.

Let's pick it up in verses 11 through 28.

Read Hebrews 7:11-28

This is the Word of the Lord.

Let's pray and ask Him to give us understanding and obedience.

**PRAY**

I read that the reason this passage doesn't seem as shocking to us as it should is because we in 2022 America are so far removed from the original cultural context.

Therefore, we need to take a look at that context.

When we understand this context you will hopefully see the legal problem that requires a better priest than the Levitical priests.

I.

The Legal Problem (v.11-14)

The Levitical priesthood was the backbone of Jewish society and one of the major components of God's covenant with Israel.

The shock of this passage for the original audience is that the author is proclaiming that Jesus Christ brings an END to the Levitical priesthood.

This thing that had marked their culture in so many ways and signified their connection to God and favor with Him was being proclaimed as ended because something better and perfect had come along.

For us today we see that and think, "well, yeah."

But this was scandalous to Jewish people.

Al Mohler writes,

>The priesthood defined the Jewish people.

God established it through the male heirs of the tribe of Levi.

These descendants of Jacob had certain priestly duties to perform.

Due to the weighty responsibility entrusted to the Levites, other tribes actually took up contributions to feed and care for them.

The particularity and preservation of the line of Levi was paramount to Israelite society.

As the mediators between Israel and God, the Levitical priests represented the people of Israel before Yahweh.

They were the people’s proxy.

They also represented God back to the people through the fulfillment of their priestly duties.

The writer of Hebrews declares that a greater priesthood exists than the one covenanted through the Levitical tribe.

The priesthood of Jesus Christ is truly superior because Levi’s priesthood did not achieve perfection.

As right and righteous as Levi’s priesthood was, it was imperfect.

Thus, the Levitical priesthood could not accomplish the salvation of God’s people.

(R. Albert Mohler Jr., Exalting Jesus in Hebrews (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2017), Heb 7:11–12.)

So what are the issues with the Levitical priesthood?

A. Levitical problems

They weren't truly capable of being the true mediator between God and man for eternity.

If they were sufficient then what would have been the need for Israel to wait around for a great high priest to come.

If this priesthood could get to perfection then there would not have been a need for any need for another greater priest to come.

If that was the case, the whole mention of Melchizedek would have been devoid of meaning.

There would not have been a need for the Messiah to come to serve as mediator between God and His followers.

Here are some problems that are presented in the passage to which Jesus and His priestly ministry was a direct solution.

1. Priests died (v.

23)

There were many of the Levitical priests over the years because death prevented them from continuing to serve.

They grew old and died.

They were not able to serve as an eternal mediator because they were finite themselves.

But Jesus, 100 percent God and 100 percent man died in the place of sinners on the cross and rose again and will never die again.

He exists eternally as our high priest and go between with the Father.

2. Levite priests had sin of their own (v.

27)

The insufficiency of the priests comes to the forefront when we realize that they had to offer sacrifices for their own sin before they could offer sacrifices for the sins of the people.

They represented the people before God and were to represent God before the people but they could only do so as an imperfect representation.

There needed to be a mediator who could offer a once and for all sacrifice who had no sin of His own.

Only this type of person could stand between God and man as perfect high priest and mediator.

When we get to verse 19, it tells us that the law made nothing perfect.

But the writer of Hebrews says there was a better hope introduced.

This better hope was the solution to the problems with the Levitical priesthood.