It's not unusual for us to find our spiritual growth halted because of some intellectual argument or spiritual quandary we perceive? Our ability to walk and abide in Him is affected when we struggle to grasp some part of your faith? We find our self saying, "Lord, I trust you and believe in you but I don't see how you really did this whole creation thing?" Or maybe it's a long held moral position that doesn't jibe with your faith. These things are okay and part of our growth. It's important to see them for what they are and work them out. Don't let these inconsistencies linger on, they become a wedge to separate you from your faith. The enemy will keep driving that wedge deeper if its left alone until it sabotages your faith.
If we work these things out, we'll continue to grow and become more separated from the world, its idols and those things we tend to trust as a substitute for Jesus. We must refine our faith to trust in Christ alone, all the time. That's what the writer of Hebrews is dealing with in these Hebrews. These Jews had become Christians. We know from what we've read that there was ministry and what appears to be fruit from their life. Yet, they had not reconciled all their beliefs with the Lord. Now that they find themselves in a place of pain and affliction they were tempted to trust in some other thing and not Jesus. They were considering going back to what they once trusted in. They had never come to the understanding that Jesus was their High Priest. And now they found it difficult.
They knew this truth of the new covenant but couldn't reconcile it with the truth of the foundation of the Old Covenant. This was keeping them from growing. They were spiritually unhealthy. The truth of Jesus Christ and the word of God can and should be completely reconciled in the entire scope of our beliefs and understandings of all things spiritual and physical. There isn't anything we face in the world where Jesus would say, oops, I didn't address that. All things can be brought to new understanding by viewing them in light of Jesus Christ. The writer is trying to bring Jesus to the center of everything for these Jewish Christians. They knew all about having a priest and offering sacrifices. But having a priest that wasn't of the tribe of Levi didn't make sense to them. The writer is going to help them deal with it.
These next few chapters really tie the Old Testament and New Testament together. And first, in chapter 7, we'll see the Old Testament priests of the law in light of Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 7:1-3
If you remember, we began to talk about the High Priest Jesus clear back in chapter 2. Then in chapter 5 the writer paused saying He had more to say on the subject but they were too spiritually immature to hear it. He said this talk of the High Priest is meat and potatoes and they were still on the baby's milk. Now, with the scolding of chapter 6 behind them, the writer feels the Hebrews would be jolted away and willing to listen and learn. The writer returns to an Old Testament bible lesson to show the superiority of Jesus Christ.
Back in Genesis 14 you can read the story of the kings going to war. The kings of Sodom were defeated and Abraham's nephew Lot was carried away with the spoils of that war. Abraham took some men and chased these kings and their armies down and defeated them and recovered Lot and the possessions of Sodom. When Abraham returned, he received a hero's welcome. All the kings came out to meet him. Here was Abraham the man who defeated the oppressor of their people; the one who brought back their earthly possessions. He had single handedly done what they could not do in a combined effort.
Many kings offered a reward to Abraham of riches and rewards but Abraham refused these offers. Then Melchizedek came to Abraham. He was a different King. He offered no reward. He came out and offered a blessing for Abraham. Abraham received the blessing and offered a tenth of all he had to this king.
Melchizedek is a mystery and a mysterious king. His name means King of Righteousness. And He was the king of Salem, later to be known as Jerusalem. Salem means peace. Melchizedek was the king of Peace. His name meant King of righteousness and He was the King of Peace and He was also priest of the Most High God, El Elyon.
In the Law of Moses God established those who would be priests and then those who would be kings. And the two could never of the same person. But Melchizedek wasn't established by the law. He was king long before the law was ever given. Melchizedek is the only other king and priest we see besides Jesus. There was clearly something special and significant about this Priest and King.
Verse 3 says he is without father and mother, not having any genealogy. This is a picture of a divine nature and consistent with the thought of the day. A priest associated with divinity was thought to be more qualified for the priesthood. A Levite had to prove his lineage making him a lower priesthood. Melchizedek was pictured as having no predecessor and no successor. This shows he wasn't a king and priest because of his family name or tribe. Not because of any politics or earthly rules. By appearance, it's as if he has always been king and always will be. That points us right to Jesus, the eternal king and High priest.
Some believe this passage means Melchizedek was eternal and thereby must have been an appearance of Jesus in the Old Testament. Whether this was really Jesus or not can be argued about but the picture is the same. His priesthood was different. His kingship was different, it appeared eternal, like the Son of God.
Hebrews 7:4
In Abraham was the promise of a great nation. When Abraham gave a tithe to Melchizedek it was as if the entire nation to come was paying honor to Him. All of Israel was bowing before Melchizedek and giving a tithe.
Hebrews 7:5-6
The writer established that Jesus and Melchizedek are of the same order and then began to contrast this order to the Aaronic order of Levitical priests. The Levitical priests to come by the Law of Moses would receive tithes from the people. And those tithes were given by commandment. God commanded the people to give a tithe to the Levitical priests. That was their means of support. But when Abraham tithed willingly to a Melchizedek, not from some requirement of the law; and Abraham gave a tithe to a priest and king whose Genealogy was not from Abraham; it shows how much greater Melchizedek was than Abraham or any priest that would come from Abraham. Melchizedek was greater than all of Israel.
Hebrews 7:7
For Abraham to receive this blessing was his acknowledgement of Melchizedek being someone greater. The blessing Abraham received wasn't just a few words of encouragement. It means this man Melchizedek operated under the authority of God and he spoke to Abraham of God's intention to shower him with blessings.
Hebrews 7:8-10
Even the mortal Levitical Priests bowed and voluntarily paid a tithe to Melchizedek through Abraham. When Abraham voluntarily did this all the priest to come from Abraham honored Melchizedek also. Not out of compulsion by commandment but voluntarily giving a tenth to this king that he just met. Since Levi was from Abraham (and still in his loins) the Aaronic priesthood is now established to be a lesser Priesthood than the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 7:11
These Jewish Christians were still holding onto the authority of the law and the priests that were in their roots. And remember, they were considering turning away from Jesus and returning to those priests. That's the entire purpose of this letter, to talk some sense into these guys. If that priesthood were perfect to complete salvation and the forgiveness of sins then there would be no need for another priest and king in the order of Melchizedek. If a human priest could get the work done, the son of God would not be needed? If human priest could pull this off why would Abraham honor a king/priest of the God most High that wasn't of his bloodline? Think about that. There were no Jews yet. There was only Abraham, a single man that would become a nation.
Hebrews 7:12
There was the order of Aaronic priests that served according to the law. So, in this greater priesthood they knew by necessity that a change of the law had occurred. There would be no reason to believe this greater priesthood served under the same law as the lesser priesthood. With the Order of Melchizedek came the promise of something greater.
Hebrews 7:13-17
This was the biggest hang-up of these Jewish Christians. They had trouble accepting Jesus as the great high priest because he wasn't from the tribe of Levi. He wasn't from the line of Aaron. Intellectually, that made no sense to them. They could say, I hear what your saying but that goes against what I know from my past. It doesn't add up.
Jesus is from the tribe of Judah. But this doesn't prove He can't be a priest. It proves He is not a priest of the Aaronic order. It proves He can't be a priest under the constraints of the Law given to Moses. That means He must be a Priest of another Order, operating under another set of principles. Jesus the Great High Priest doesn't operate under the fleshly commandment but He operates in the power of endless life. That means the priesthood of Aaron was temporary. It was a priesthood preparing the way, pointing to a greater priesthood.
The Holy Spirit says in Psalm 110, You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Jesus is not a priest because of his ancestry as the priests of Aaron were but on the basis of his power of an indestructible life. The priesthood of the law was temporary and would be superseded by Jesus.
Hebrews 7:18-19
What a contrast!! First, we see on the one hand, the weak and unprofitable that made nothing perfect.
Romans 3
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
The law made nothing perfect it only brought knowledge of sin. In it there was no eternal payment for sin. Yet the law was perfect in its purpose. That purpose was to show us our guilt before a holy God. The law was perfect in pointing to the need for a savior and preparing for His arrival. The weak and unprofitable law was unable to offer hope but there was a better hope; a way for us to draw near to God, to be forgiven, washed clean, redeemed and glorified, for all eternity. That's quite a contrast.
This was just more proof to these Jewish Christians that they couldn't return to their roots. And the case just keeps growing stronger for the superiority of Christ. And if these people were taking all this in, at some point they had to be rocked back on their heels and asking themselves," What were we thinking?" Their roots in Judaism had led to Christianity. There was nothing to go back to. Those old ways, the law, the priests and the animal sacrifices all became fulfilled in Jesus. There was no going back. Going back would be like trying to unhatch an egg. The Aaronic priesthood was an empty shell that had fulfilled its purpose. It served no further use.
Hebrews 7:20-22
The Aaronic priests became priests without an oath. An oath is unchangeable. God swore this oath in respect to Jesus in Psalm 110:4. "By so much more" indicates the writer sees there is no comparison. The two priesthoods are more different than alike. On one hand the inferior, imperfect works of the priest in the law. On the other hand the perfect eternal work of Jesus Christ. By so much more, Jesus became surety.
Surety is a sure thing. Surety is confidence of a promise to deliver something. In this context, surety is the person of Jesus Christ. Surety in a person is one who agrees to be responsible for the debt or obligation of another. Jesus became the surety of the better or new covenant taking responsibility for the debt all men owed. He became the surety to deliver on that promise.
Hebrews 7:23
The contrast continues. On one hand the priests who kept dying and needing replaced. On the other hand, the High priest who overcame death and continues forever as an unchangeable priest.
Hebrews 7:25
Because Jesus continues forever he is able to save completely. He always lives as opposed to the inferior priesthood who lived and then died. Jesus lives eternally to intercede for us. Right now, He is sitting at the right hand of the Father interceding on our behalf. No man is saved through the priesthood of Aaron. Yet, still today, as you read this, men continue to be saved by the Priesthood of Jesus Christ. Because, eternally, He continues to intercede for mankind.
Hebrews 7:26-28
The Aaronic priests were imperfect men who had to atone for their sin and get themselves cleaned up before offering sacrifices for others. Every day they had to do it again because nothing was ever resolved. No sin was paid for, nothing was complete. The priest died and another stepped into his place and it continued on, year after year, until the word of oath came. God made the oath. Jesus came as surety to that oath; Jesus, the Great High Priest came.
Jesus fit our needs in that he is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. Jesus made the offering once for all and is perfect forever. No other priest could make that claim. The Aaronic priests were appointed by God. They were set apart for His service. They were separated from sinners but they were sinners themselves. They couldn't be perfect. The best they could hope for was blameless, above reproach.
Jesus is perfect to fulfill the needs of men. He not only was perfect in his priesthood but He was also perfect in that as the Great High Priest He offered Himself a perfect sacrifice. God's law demanded payment for sin. In Jesus all sin was paid in full. The law was satisfied, every sin, past present and future was paid for on the cross. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever should believe in Him shall never perish but have everlasting life. Those that don't believe, those that won't believe, will pay for their sins on their own. Those who reject the righteousness of Christ will leave this world with only their own righteousness on account. They believe in their righteousness and goodness. But the bible says all men have sinned against a high and eternal God. The most righteous of men will still be found puny, inadequate and defiled in front of a holy God. Unbelief is a rejecting the offer Jesus made to take your sin on Him and give you His righteousness.
Belief is embracing that free gift and responding to it. It's dying to your self and being born again in Jesus Christ; where our life is lived in Him, through Him, with Him and for Him. Because of the amazing offer, He is placed at the center of all we do. This is why these Jewish Christians couldn't abandon Jesus and go back their old ways. There was nothing to go back to. Jesus was the fulfillment of all they had previously followed. Any semblance of their old religion was dead.
Picture a courtroom. The priests served the law. They were appointed by the Judge to this. The law found everyone guilty. The priest could only make offerings to pacify the judge, to only hold off the pronouncement of the penalty but no penalty was every paid. All the time these priest operated God through His prophets promised that one was coming soon. At just the right time, the Judge sent His son and paid the penalty due for all who were guilty. Court was adjourned; the law served its purpose. That courtroom is empty. Any priest still serving was no longer serving the Judge. Anyone going to back to those priests didn't understand what had happened in that courtroom. Anyone not trusting in Jesus either doesn't understand that there will be a final judgment; or they don't understand the severity of their sin; or they have failed to recognize that they are eternal creatures who will face judgment after this life.
And once again, we find ourselves at the same place the book of Hebrews continually brings us to. It's a low view of men because we tend to elevate ourselves. It's a high view of God because we tend to lower Him to our level. And it's the superiority of Jesus Christ to intercede between a high and holy God and low and sinful men.
The courtroom is empty. In the New Covenant the law is written on your heart. The Holy Spirit convicts you of sin, righteousness and judgment. In each person a decision must be made. If you truly understand how sinful you are and the debt you owe God then there is only one answer. That is to receive the work of The Great High Priest Jesus Christ.
Amen.
© 2011 Doug Ford
Updated and revised 2019
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