Let's turn to the book of Hebrews
chapter 7. Hebrews chapter 7. We're going
to look at verses 20 to 24. But before we do, let's ask our
Lord's blessing. Our Father, we come this evening as needy,
needy people. Lord, never been a time that
we needed you more than this evening. We ask you, would you
help us, help us to worship, help us to hear, help us to pray,
help us to see. We plead only our Lord and Savior's
blood. Teach us again of the atonement. Put away our guilt. And we ask
these things for Christ's sake. Amen. The Apostle Paul, under the inspiration
of God's Spirit, has faithfully set forth the glory and the superiority
of the Lord Jesus Christ and His priesthood over the order
of Aaron. You see, the Scripture sets forth
that Aaron was just a man. But in verse 3, the Lord Jesus
Christ is the Son of God. Aaron was from the tribe of Levi. But the Lord Jesus Christ, according
to verse 14, sprang out of Judah. the kingly tribe. So the Lord
Jesus Christ was the king priest. Aaron, like all before him and
after him, just as being born in Adam, Scripture says, forth
died. But verse 16, the Scripture says
that the Lord Jesus Christ was made after the power of an endless
life. Aaron didn't make anything perfect. The blood of bulls and goats
never put away sin. But you know that the blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all iniquity. Aaron was not inducted. And we're
going to look at this tonight. Aaron was not inducted. Verse
21 says, we'll look at it in a minute, he was not inducted
into the ministry, into the priestly office ministry by divine oath. And the Lord Jesus Christ was.
We're going to talk about what that was. Aaron had successors
that came after him. He wasn't the only one. The Lord
Jesus Christ. The only one. One great high
priest. Aaron was a sinner. just like
us. The Lord Jesus Christ, Scripture
says, was separate from sinners. Aaron was a priest of people
that were just of the earth. Verse 26 of this chapter says
that Christ has been made higher than the heavens. Aaron had to offer sacrifices
daily. over and over and over and over.
The Lord Jesus Christ offered Himself one time. Just think
about that. One time. Oh, what a great high
priest we have. Our precious Lord and Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the Apostle Paul, having
been setting forth no more need of the types anymore. This is
what he's telling the Hebrews. That's what he's been telling
the Hebrews. The order of Aaron was an order of types and pictures
and shadows. He didn't make anything perfect. The order, the system of Judaism
has been set aside. And that's what these Hebrews
struggled with. Because you know, we talked about
how they realized that God had set forth, God had ordained,
God had established the order of Aaron, the Aaronic priesthood. And now, it's no more. It's over. So we're going to pick up with
that thought right here in verse 20. It says, "...and inasmuch
as not without an oath, He was made priest. Now we're talking
about the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ was eternally ordained
and appointed to the priesthood, that everlasting priesthood. And the Lord Jesus Christ, who
was eternally appointed to that office, came into that high character
of that office when he actually came into union, divine human
union. Remember this. The high priest
had to be taken from among men. He had to be a man. He had to
be a man to represent men. There had to be one that could
touch both parties. He had to be made in the likeness
of His brethren, likeness of sinful flesh. He was always appointed. The Father always saw Him. He
who would absolutely be the Great High Priest. And in time, He
came into actual union with humanity. Never to leave that union. He's the Eternal. Great High
Priest. So He was not made without an
oath. Jehovah jealous for His blessed
Son. And He sware, Scripture says,
because He could sware by no greater. He sware by Himself.
There was an oath. Now that oath, the oath was a
manner in which a promise was guaranteed. This was the oath. And whenever
two parties entered into an agreement, they'd swear usually toward heaven,
believing that Almighty God would inflict punishment upon each
or every or either party that broke that promise. So a covenant had an oath, a
guarantee that this is going to happen. Well, the Scripture
sets forth, Hebrews 6.13, God had made a promise, made a promise
to Abraham. For when God made promise to
Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself,
saying, Surely, blessing I will bless thee, multiplying I will
multiply thee." Now, the significance of the Lord Jesus Christ being
made with an oath, that's what verse 20 says, inasmuch as not
without an oath He was made a priest. Now, that oath that's spoken
of right there, God swear, because He could swear by no greater
That oath guaranteed that the high priesthood of Christ would
never be altered. Now look at verse 21, and now
we're going to be looking at the Order of Aaron. It says,
for those priests were made without an oath, but this with an oath
by him that said unto him, The Lord swear and will not repent,
thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." The
order of Melchizedek of which the Lord came after that order.
No beginning of days, no end of days, no father, no mother,
no death, no beginning. That was made with an oath. The
order of Aaron, verse 21 says, those priests were made without
an oath, you say, well, when did God make that oath? When did God swear? We have answered
in that eternal covenant of grace that according to Psalm 27, the
Lord Jesus Christ said, I will declare the decree. He has come
in the flesh by that eternal oath. And the Lord, the Scripture
says, swear and He will not repent. He will not change. We know this. Malachi 3, 6, I
am the Lord, I change not, therefore your sons of Jacob are not consumed. Well, what about those Scriptures
that are set forth in which it appears or it makes a reference
to the Lord repenting. Let me read you this from Genesis
6. And it repented the Lord that He made man on the earth and
it grieved Him at His heart. Now, so far we've looked at this.
We know this, that the Lord Jesus Christ was made a priest but
not without an oath. I'm going to show you in just
a second. I'm working up to this so you understand. His order
was made by an oath. I guarantee it. And here's what
Almighty God says. I guarantee it according to My
Word. His order will never change. Now, Aaron's order was not made
with an oath. And it's not here anymore. after the order of Melchizedek,
that one was made. But what about where it appears
as though, how does it mean that it repented the Lord, that He
made man on earth and it grieved Him? Does that mean that God
changed His mind? How can God change His mind when
God doesn't change? How can one who changes not,
how can he be said to repent? Well, here's the one thing we
do know. If God Almighty says that he does not change, then
he doesn't change. Now, that settles that. Man may
say, well, yeah, but you know what? The Bible is just a book
of contradictions. No, it's not. We know this, God
doesn't change. The scripture says, those priests
were made without an oath, but this with an oath that said unto
him, the Lord swear and he will not repent. Well, I know this,
God's not going to repent on the order of the priesthood of
the Lord Jesus Christ. But when somebody says, well,
it says that God did repent that he made man, what does that mean? It means that God Almighty, who
does not change, who made a decree according to
His eternal purpose and providence, has caused things to be altered
in our eyes when His eternal decree never
changed. You cannot say that God changed
when God does not change. But the significance of God Almighty
making the Lord Jesus Christ a priest forever with an oath,
Psalm 110, for the Lord has sworn He will not repent. He will never
make things change in His purpose, His will, or in our eyes. He has sworn thou art a priest
forever after the order of Melchizedek. There shall never be an altering
of his priesthood. The order of Aaron changed in
our eyes, not the purpose of God. God did not change in his
purpose as far as Aaron's priesthood. It changed as far as the way
we saw it. We saw the unalterable, unchanging
will of Almighty God set forth when Aaron's priesthood was put
away. Did God change? No. Did God manifest
His will? Yes. God doesn't change. That order is gone and no more
do we see that order anymore. As I said a week or so ago, it
doesn't matter. That men are still saying we're
celebrating the Passover, we're celebrating Hanukkah, Rosh Hashanah,
or anything. It doesn't matter. It's gone.
It's gone. It's been put away. Aaron's order
according to verse 21 was made without an oath. That order ended
and that's evident. But verse 22 says, By so much
was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. Being made a priest
by God's oath made Him, set forth Him to be the surety of a better
covenant. A better covenant than that which
was set forth by the Levitical priesthood. or that covenant
of works that was broken by man in the garden. This better testament
was one that had a surety. Aaron couldn't do anything. Aaron
could not put away sin. Aaron could take the blood and
he could slay a bull or a goat and he could take that blood
and he could walk in there and once a year on the Day of Atonement,
he could go behind the veil and he could sprinkle that blood
upon that mercy seat. But he couldn't put away sin.
We needed one that was a surety of a better testament. That Old Covenant. That old law,
it was good. It was a product of God's wisdom
and righteousness. Paul said in Romans 7, 12, Wherefore,
the law is holy, the commandment is holy, it's just and good. But what was the problem? Was
the problem with the law? The problem wasn't with the law. God's law is good. Christ fulfilled
it. Every jot and every tittle of
that law was fulfilled. Christ alone obeyed God's law. But what was the problem? The
problem was the weakness of this flesh. There was the setting
forth. What did God demand? Absolute
holiness. Aaron could have still been sacrificing
animals to this day and not one sin would have ever been put
away. Not one. No hope. We need a surety. We need a bondsman. We need somebody
that can get the job done. We need one that can actually
put away sin. The Scripture says, By so much
was Jesus made, brought into being, set forth and shown a
surety of a better covenant. He undertook for His people to
accomplish for them what they could not accomplish for themselves
because of the weakness of their flesh. as our surety, he agreed to accept
the penalty that was due the ones for whom he stands. That lamb that Aaron slit the
throat, that was a picture, a beautiful picture, a wonderful picture
But I need Him who is the reality. I need the obedient one. I need
Christ Himself. I need one that can come into
this world and be made like I am in my flesh, made like unto His
brethren, and one who as a man could walk before God Almighty
and God Almighty looking at Him would consider me in Him obedient. Can you imagine? Now, there's
a surety of a better testament, a better covenant. The old hall said, do and live. And I couldn't because of the
weakness of my flesh. I cannot obey God. But the surety
of the Better Testament says, look. Look by faith and live. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. It's a miracle of God's grace
if a man believes and looks to Him. That Better Testament, that
is an eternal testament, covenant, Fulfilled by Christ who is God's
priest eternally according to God's oath. He don't change. He'll never change. Aaron changed.
The order of Aaron changed. But they truly, verse 23, were
many priests because they were not suffered, not allowed to
continue by reason of death. As I've said before, you know,
don't you hate change? Don't you hate change? Really,
I mean, really, don't you? I mean, I like to know consistency. Consistent. Things that I'm used
to seeing. Things that are reliable. Things
that are faithful. Faithful, consistent. They don't
change. Here is the one who doesn't change. These weren't allowed. They weren't
allowed to continue. They died. They died. I want
you to turn to Numbers. I'm going to show you something.
Numbers. Numbers 20. Verse 25 to 29, Numbers 20, 25,
29. This sets forth and shows the temporary order of Aaron. If something's temporary, I need
that which is permanent. I want an everlasting and eternal.
peace with Almighty God. I want to know that there's One
who does not change before God. I want to know that there's One
that Almighty God looks to and He says, this is My beloved Son. I'm well pleased with Him. You
hear Him. And if God Almighty has set forth
that He's pleased with the Lord Jesus Christ and He never changes,
God swore by an oath He's not going to change. Aaron didn't
have that. I want him. Numbers 20, 25, 29. Take Aaron and Eleazar his son. Bring him up onto Mount Har and
strip Aaron of his garments and put him upon Eleazar's son. And Aaron shall be gathered unto
his people. And she'll die there. Now, I'm going to read the rest
of it in just a minute, but just stop for just a second and think.
Man, think about, I mean, the impact of that. There's some folks here that
had, maybe from their youth, they could sit there and they
would watch. I don't know. I don't know exactly how many
years Aaron exactly was a priest. But they would see Him. There
would be that high priest. He had that plate, holiness to
the Lord. And there's those stones. And
there's that breastplate and the twelve stones and the names
of those twelve tribes of Israel and the girdle. And there was
the high priest. There's the high priest. Oh,
the reverence. And God said, I want you to take
those garments off of him. Can you imagine? Here's some
change. What's it going to be like? I
wonder how Eliezer is going to be. I wonder how faithful he's
going to be. I wonder if he's going to do
it just exactly like his daddy. Change. There's always that element
of uncertainty. Think about it, just humanly
speaking, just for a moment, just allow me just this privilege
to say this right here. Think about how it was when Brother
Scott had been here for years and years and years. And there's
going to have to be a change. Who's going to come? Who's it
going to be? Some piece of dirt comes up. I wonder what his attitude is
going to be. How is he going to do things?
You see there's that uncertainty and you just look and you wonder. You know, I wonder if things
are going to be the same. I wonder what Brother Scott's
going to say. I wonder what we're going to think. Strip Aaron of his garments.
Put him upon Eliezer his son. And Aaron shall be gathered unto
his people and shall die. And Moses did as the Lord commanded.
And they went up into Mount Hor. in the sight of all the congregation.
And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them upon Eleazar's
son. And Aaron died there on the top
of the mount. And Moses and Eleazar came down
from the mountain, but all the congregation saw that Aaron was
dead. They mourned for Aaron 30 days,
even after the house of history. The Scripture sets forth, verse
23, back in Hebrews 7. They truly were many priests
because they were not suffered. They weren't allowed to continue
by reason of death. Oh, the peace that we have right
now of knowing that we don't have a great high priest that's
going to be stripped of His garments. This is My beloved Son in whom
I'm well pleased. And He ever liveth. He ever liveth
to make intercession. He never changes. He's never
altered. We have One who cares for His
own, who calls His own, and He tells them, I will never leave
you. I'll never forsake you. This
priesthood established by an oath. Look at verse 24. because he continueth ever."
Half an unchangeable priesthood. Oh, there's coming a day when
the one that we look upon tonight by faith, we'll see Him face
to face. We're actually going to look
upon Him. We'll actually behold Him. The
One who has eternally loved us. The One that was made sin for
us. The One who was raised from the
dead. Let me tell you in closing, I
thought about this concerning that resurrection. You know,
when you stop and consider the resurrection of our Lord Jesus
Christ, do you know what the resurrection actually signifies? Do you know what it actually
signifies? That Almighty God is pleased and has accepted what
the Lord Jesus Christ did for us. Being made sin, He put away our
guilt, cleansed us, washed us in His own blood. We were crucified
with Him. And God Almighty, satisfied,
raised Him from the dead and said, You sit at My right hand
until I make all Your enemies your footstool. That is our great
High Priest, the one who right now pleads Himself on our behalf. Just like I said last Sunday,
here He is pleading with absolute efficacy, getting the job done. Accept Marvin Steinecker. Gary. Accept them. As you accept me. Receive them, Father. As you've
received me. Look upon them. as you look upon
Me." And the Scripture sets forth
that the Father looks upon the Son and all in Him except it,
except it in the Beloved. We don't need desire. We don't
want a priest that changes. I don't want I don't want anything
that I can do. I don't want to plead my merit.
I don't want to plead my works. I'm so embarrassed. I'm so ashamed
of the best that I've ever tried to do. It's just filthy rags. That's what Scripture says. All
of our righteousness is filthy rags. Oh, to Him who changes
not. Oh, Thou who changes not, abide
with me. May the Lord add His blessing.
Gary, can we sing that? Abide with me tonight. May the
Lord add His blessing upon the preaching of His glorious High
Priest, the High Priest made with an oath, and God who never
changed. He could swear by no greater
than He swore by Himself, Thou art a priest forever, after the
order of Melchizedek. May the Lord bless these words
to our heart, for Christ's sake. Amen.