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Hebrews 7- Your better High Priest

I hope you have your Bibles with you today, lets open them to Hebrews chapter 7 and I will read the first 10 verses.

Hebrews 7:1-10 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 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. 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. See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! 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. But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. 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. One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

My goal in bringing Hebrews 7 is twofold: First, I would like you to increase in the knowledge of the God who has redeemed you from your sin, and secondly that in doing so your heart would be inclined to love and cherish Him and his work more greatly.

Pray

To start with, let me summarize what the book of Hebrews is all about. If we had more time, we could work our way through Hebrews slowly and carefully. By the time we made it to Hebrews 7 the point of the chapter would be more clear. Unfortunately, we dont have time for that, so instead youll have to take my word for it. Tonight, go home and read the first six chapters and see if what I summarize is true.

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The book of Hebrews was written by an unknown author, though without a doubt its true author is God. The focus of the book is to encourage second generation believers that Christ and His promises are greater than the Old Covenant. In fact, the entire first chapter is about why Jesus Himself is greater than absolutely everything. The second focus the author of Hebrews has in mind is to encourage his readers/listeners (I would suggest that this is a recorded sermon) to continue in the faith. There was a serious temptation for many of the Jews who were now converted to Christianity to move back to a Judaism because they had not seen the risen Christ. We see the temptation to revert back to Judaism in other places of the Bible, primarily the book of Galatians and Colossians. After the description in the first chapter of Jesus being greater than angels, Moses or anything else; we are told in chapter two that we would be foolish if we were to neglect such a great salvation (2:3). Because the founder of our faith is so great, that means the salvation He has attained is that much more worthy of our attention. Chapter three reminds us that although Moses was, in a sense, the mediator between God and men in the Old Covenant, Christ is the fulfillment of his type. Chapter four calls us to turn and enter the rest God offers in Christ while it is still today. The reason why we can have rest in Christ is directly related to the High Priest we serve. Chapter 5 alludes to what we will soon look at todaythe priesthood of Jesus. However, the author of Hebrews warns his audience that the difficult doctrine of Christs priesthood, which is of great value and importance, is very difficult for them because they have been disobedient in their spiritual growth (5:11-14). They have continually had to lay the same foundation: they forgot the same simple truths over and over again. The call, then, is to continue in spiritual growth and knowledge if the Lord permits (6:3). It is at this point then, that the author introduces us to the more sure promise (6:17) a covenant with Christ as a mediator and forerunner into the Heavenly temple. Jesus is not, however, from the Aaronic priesthood of the Old Testament. Instead Hebrews six ends by saying that Jesus has become a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

This brings us to Hebrews 7. Though Melechizedek is mysterious and only mentioned in Genesis 14 and Psalm 110, the author of Hebrews assures us that we need to know about him to understand Christs priesthood. There are many things we should know about this Melchizedekian priesthood, but lets first go to the short and brief mention of him (Melchizedek) in Genesis 14:17-24.

Genesis 14:17-24

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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). And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) And he blessed him and said, Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand! And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. And the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself. But Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, I have made Abram rich. I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.

The reason the author of Hebrews mentions the priesthood of Melchizedek is of great importance. He wants us to understand why and how Jesus is able to be our High Priest. For those who know their genealogies of the Bible, they know that the Messiah was to come from the line of David, the tribe of Judah and the author of Hebrews knows that because he mentions it in 7:14. Conversely, High Priests came from the line of Aaron, the Levites. So we have a dilemma, how can Jesus be our High Priest? The answer came back in 5:6, and 6:20. There was this Old Testament figure, Melchizedek, who is described by one person as a shadowy chap. Melchizedek appeared once in Genesis and is mentioned once in Psalm 110, and he too has a priestly line. Not only that, but we are told in 7:3 that Melchizedek resembled the son of God. Thats important. You guys know that the Old Testament is filled with types and shadows of Jesus. You might say that types are object lessons that show a picture of a New Testament reality. Its supposed to point us to Jesus. He isnt actually Jesus (notice in Hebrews 7:3 that he resembles the Son of God), but he helps give Old Testament saints a picture of what the Messiah would be like. There are, depending on who is counting, at least 7 important similarities between this mysterious Melchizedek (the type) and Jesus (the fulfillment of the type).

1. Melchizedek was a king of Righteousness. His name literally means my king is righteous
which the author of Hebrews kindly translates for us in verse 2. He is first, by translation of his

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name, king of righteousness. If youre doing the translating on your own it would be: Melek means King, Zedek means righteousness. Now, dont forget what were looking for; this should be a picture of a New Testament reality, mainly Jesus. To be righteous is to follow the law perfectly. Psalm 119:172 says all of Gods commandments are righteous. However, no person is able to ultimately meet that qualification. Jesus says in Matthew 19:17 that There is no one good but God. Christ came in order to fulfill the law, listen to Matthew 5:17 Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. More astounding still is that He not only fulfills it but He is Lord over it! In Mark 2:28 Jesus says that He is Lord over the Sabbath. So first, Jesus is the king of righteousness as Melchizedek prefigured.

2. Melchizedek was also a king of Peace. Look again in 7:2 and Genesis 14:18. He is also king of
Salem, that is, king of peace. He was king of Salem-from the Hebrew root word Shalom meaning peace. Jesus is our king of Peace as well; look at the prediction of the Messiah in Isaiah 9:6, For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Jesus Christ is the one who provides peace between God and man. I John 4:10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation [the removal of Gods wrath] for our sins. Believers are able to have peace with God because of the atoning work of Jesus Christ. Therefore, Jesus is the King of Peace. Not only is Jesus King (Rev. 19:16), but he is also:

3. A priest of God. Look back to Hebrews 7:1, priest of the Most High God or Genesis 14:18 He
was a priest of God Most High. This is interesting because in the Old Covenant to be a priest you needed to come from the tribe of Levi. You needed to have your descent from Aaron. Lineage was so important that if you turn to Ezra chapter two, you will notice the long list of names. If your name wasnt under the list of Aaron, you werent going to become a priest no matter how smart you were, how hard you worked or who you knew. You had to be from the line of Aaron. Yet here is someone who holds the office of priest (Melchizedek), who cannot be from the line of Aaron because Aaron hasnt even been born! In fact, he precedes the Aaronic priesthood by 700 years. But remember, he isnt just a priest; weve already looked at how he is king as well.

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Now this was strictly forbidden according to the Aaronic Priesthood. There were kings, and there were priests, but you were not able to be both. In fact, if you look at Isaiah 6:1 it says, In the year King Uzziah diedWhy did King Uzziah die? II Chr. 26:15-23 tells us that the Lord struck down King Uzziah with leprosy because as king he had entered the temple of the Lord desiring to be a priest! But with Melchizedek we have something completely different, dont we? He is King and yet he is also a priest. Of course Hebrews is all about Jesus as our priest, feel free to check out Chapters 8-10 on how He fulfills all of the priestly functions. So we see that Jesus is both King and Priest as well.

4. Fourth, Melchizedek is the bestower of blessings. As Abraham returns from victory in Genesis 14,
it is Melchizedek who comes out and blesses him. The Jews, remember, loved that they came from Abraham and were assured that they were of God because of it. Think back to John chapter 8. Jesus has just declared that if they knew Him they would also know his father (Jn. 8:19). And the Jews responded We are of the offspring of Abraham, we have never been enslaved to anyone (Jn. 8:33). And they continued in this way, trying to vindicate their legalistic way of living by pointing to Abraham as their father. Finally, Jesus told them that their father was the devil (Jn. 8:44) and that before Abraham was, I am (Jn. 8:58). Abraham was a monumental figure to the Jews, probably second only to Moses and yet look at verses 6-7 in our text, but this manreceived tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior Its almost self-explanatory, right? Melchizedek is better, therefore he does the blessing over Abraham. Jesus is greater than any Old Testament figure or person. In short, Jesus is our bestower of blessings in that all of the promises of God find their Yes and amen in Him (II Cor. 1:20).

5. Fifth, Melchizedek was a receiver of tithes/offerings. After Melchizedek had blessed Abraham in
Gen 14:19-20 (7:4), Abraham (or then Abram) gave him a tenth of all his spoils. Part of the position of the Levitical Priesthood is that they would collect tithes from the people (7:5). The Israelites supported their priests by giving ten percent to them. What is interesting here is that Abraham is the one giving his tithes to someone else, Melchizedek. Now look back to verses 8-10 of Hebrews 7. In the Old Covenant you would tithe to Levitical priests until they died. Then a new priest would take over, and you would tithe to the new priest. The difference between the two priesthoods is that the priest who would come from Melchizedek would live forever (which

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we will see in a minute). In the priesthood of Melchizedek you only have to tithe to one person, Jesus. Thats what is going on in verse 8. In verses 9 and 10, it gets even more interesting. Levi comes from Jacob who comes from Isaac who comes from Abraham. Levi was the greatgrandson of Abraham, not to be born for another 100 years. This is the idea of federal headship. You remember how Adam represented humanity in the Garden of Eden according to Romans 5. Sometimes this seems foreign to us, but it really shouldnt be. One example where you see representatives acting on behalf of others is in the sport of football: In football if one player jumps offside, the whole team is penalized. One player holds, everyone gets punished. Adam, on the team of humanity, if you will, jumped off side and we all got penalized. What is happening in verse 9 and 10 then is this: Abraham, being the grandfather of Levi was acting on behalf of Levi. It might as well have been Levi paying that tithe. Therefore, he pays the tithe through Abraham. We experience this in Christ when we serve and offer up our gifts to the Lord. As one theologian says, Our tithing is a declaration of the lordship of Jesus Christ and His superiority over us. When we give our time, money and effort, we are giving it to Jesus because He is greater than us. We give our tithes to Jesus because he is the only high priest that we serve.

6. The sixth and seventh similarities are very interconnected. Melchizedek, like Jesus, is a priest
without beginning or end. Now dont mistake this, Im not saying the Melchizedek doesnt have a father and mother or that he never died. Instead, we should simply notice the Genesis text is silent to the issue of where he came from or where he went after. Look at verse 3. He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life Moses chose not to write a genealogy or a death date to give us a particular picture of the Messiah. The point, and I hope this becomes clear; that Jesus, as the Son of God, has had no beginning or end. He has always existed and will always exist. He is the Alpha and Omega (Rev. 22:13). Melchizedek is only a picture of the one who really does not have a beginning or end. Therefore, just as the picture of Melchizedek is without beginning or end, Jesus really is without beginning or end.

7. And the final similarity is a picture of a priesthood that did not end. Psalm 110:4, The Lord has
sworn, and will not change his mind, You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. This might be the most important of the pictures that comes from the life of Melchizedek. I

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dont know if you know this, but there were restrictions on the Levitical Priesthood. The length of time that you could serve was from the age of 25 to 50 years old. After the 25 year period, you were done being the High Priest and could no longer sacrifice for your people. If and I say thankfully that it is an if, Christ had come from the line of Aaron, you would only have a High Priest who could forgive your sins for 25 years. Can you imagine that? Year 25 of being a Christian comes around Well I better get real serious now, because if I mess up its no longer forgiven. What a scary thought. Instead, and this is the best of news, Jesus comes from the line of Melchizedek. Verse three reminds us that He continues a priest forever. He never dies, His priesthood never ends. Thats why later on in chapter 7 the author can genuinely say that He is able to save to the uttermostsince he always lives to make intercession for them (v.25). Christ priestly work is continuous and uninterrupted. As long as Christ continues to serve, you have no need for anyone else to represent you before God! Furthermore, His sacrifice was far greater than that of the Aaronic Priesthood because his was only offered once yet it fully secured eternal redemption (9:17).

Now hopefully you have a deeper understanding of the comparison between Melchizedek and Christ. Like Melchizedek, Jesus is the king of righteousness, the king of peace, a High Priest, the bestower of blessings, the receiver of tithes, and eternal in His being and priesthood; yet we should always keep in mind that Christ is far superior and greater than just this small picture that we see in the person of Melchizedek. Let me try to give you four quick applications of why this matters to you. A So what?, if you will.

1. Praise God for how wonderful a Savior He has provided. God, in His infinite kindness has sent
His Son in order to provide peace between sinful man and God. There is now complete forgiveness of sins through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12). Christ is your only means to have peace with God for whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (John 3:36). Not only that, but He has already accomplished salvation by his own person and work. You can now cease striving and live in the free grace of God. John Owen says of this, Those who come to Christ on account of his priestly office and the benefits thereof [those who come for forgiveness of sins], shall receive the blessings of his kingly power, in abundant supplies of mercy and gracewhen they come to him

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in a way of believing, they find that he is ready, able and powerful to relieve them [He will bring you true spiritual rest]. To sum up: Christians have real forgiveness of sins that results in an authentic peace of mind knowing that they can rest in the work of Christ.

2. Trust the Word of God and all it has to say. I find it amazing that Melchizedek is mentioned so
briefly; yet the Bible shows itself to be consistent and true. There are three different authors separated by hundreds of years. Yet here in Hebrews we see its amazing truth unfolded in the life of Christ, that there is truly one author of scripture, God. The Bible is the Word of God; it is powerful, transforming, and true. Here at Heritage we are surrounded by the Word of God, and my question to all of us would be: do we act like it? Francis Chan recently said, Be careful, when you hear something, when you read something [in the Bible], you better do it; when youre convicted about something you better do something about it, because if you dont the next time it will be easier to study the Word of God be convicted and do nothing about it. Then pretty soon it becomes a habit to hear the Word, study the Word of God be convicted by something and do nothing about it. Its a very, very, very dangerous habit to get into. Lets strive to be transformed by the Word of God.

3. Dont be like the people in Hebrews 5:11. What youve heard today was the difficult doctrine the
audience of Hebrews could not understand because they had ceased to grow spiritually. Ask yourself if you are continually laying the same foundation or if you are increasing in knowledge through diligence in the Word.

4. Pray and seek the Lord with boldness. These are similar and so Ive combined them into my last
exhortation for you. If you are in Christ, you have a High Priest who does not do his priestly work on earth, but instead He is in heaven on your behalf. This means that you can boldly approach the throne of God because Christ has provided a way. Pray with boldness since He has gone before you on your behalf (6:20). Furthermore, you are no longer confined to meet with God in temples, tents or sanctuaries. You are now living temples, able to access God wherever you are. Live in a way that you are continually seeking to glorify the Lord in all you do.