We continue in the book of Hebrews,
if you'd like to turn there. In our last study of this epistle
to the Hebrews, we covered in chapter 5, verses 1 through 7,
some things in God's Word, folks, are just difficult for some of
us to understand. I will never stand before you
and try to preach or teach you something that I don't understand
fully enough to do so. I hope and pray the Lord will
enlighten me and give me something to say about those words that
we're about to skip by. And I encourage you to read the remaining verses of chapter
5 and all of the verses of chapter 6. I don't want to hide God's
word from any of you. But we're going to skip to get
forward in our studies to chapter 7. I need to do some more looking
into God's Word and more studying before I can bring something
from the rest of chapter 5 and chapter 6. So we're going to
go through to chapter 7 beginning at verse 1 and I think we'll
be able to cover just about all of this chapter today. We can
see the importance of this Melchizedek that Paul is speaking of here
to the Hebrews. We can see how important he is
as a type of Christ's priesthood. And the reason we can see that
is because Paul mentions five times in the book of Hebrews
about Melchizedek. He mentions him once here in
chapter 5, verse 6. You can look at that with me
if you'd like. as he saith also in another place, thou art a
priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. And then he mentions
it again in verse 10, called a man of God, called of God and
high priest after the order of Melchizedek, again, speaking
of Christ. Over in chapter six, verse 20, we read these words,
whether the forerunner is for us entered even Jesus, made a
high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. And then
we'll see it twice more here as we go through this chapter
seven. So we can see the importance
of who this Melchizedek is. Who is he? You'll recall at the
beginning of this study, I pointed out that the book of Hebrews
declares the greatness and the glory of the Lord Jesus over
all of his types and figures. above all the prophets, above
all the angels, above Moses even. You'll recall the people of God,
Israel, they held Moses with the utmost highest respect. I
mean, you're talking about Moses, that's almost talking about Jesus
in the eyes of Israel, in the eyes of God's people. The book
of Hebrews, once you and I, Paul, the writer of the book of Hebrews,
Christ, the inspiration of Paul, wants us to understand that Christ
is above all that. Those were just pictures. Now
remember, pictures can only be so much. They can only give you
so much. They can't give you the totality of everything. You
see a flat picture like that picture in the wall in the foyer
of the church. You see the front of the church,
right? But you don't see the totality of it from the buildings
that are behind, or the creek that runs out behind it. All
of those were nothing but pictures. of the totality of Christ. Aaron, the priesthood of Aaron and his
sons was a priesthood of ceremonies, of types, pictures. Melchizedek
was a better type of Christ's priesthood than Aaron and his
sons. Well, who is this Melchizedek?
First off, look with me at verses 1 and 2 of Hebrews chapter 7. For this Melchizedek, King of
Salem, and that means king of peace. That's what Salem is.
That's what the word Salem means, peace. Priest of the Most High
God. Now, I want to stop there for
just a moment. He was a king and a priest. And we know that
the Old Testament priests, they couldn't be kings. King of Zion. You'll recall that as king of
Israel, he attempted to go in to the temple and do the job
of the high priest, because the high priest wasn't there. He
was gone on some mission. And the Lord struck him, struck
him with leprosy, and killed him, killed him for trying. You can't be a priest and a king.
There's only one who can do that. But Melchizedek, now, Melchizedek,
as you see here, is king of Salem. Priest of what? of the Most High,
this is important as we go through today's study, who met with Abraham,
who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and
blessed him. To whom also Abraham gave a tenth
part of all, first being by the interpretation King of Righteousness,
and after that also the King of Salem, which is the King of
Peace. So we see here Melchizedek is a King of Righteousness and
a King of Peace. And he's also a high priest.
That can't be any of Adam's children. That just cannot be. Folks, there's
only one righteousness, and that's in the Lord Jesus Christ. He's
the only one who has ever walked this earth, which leads a lot
of commentators to think that that was Christ himself. And
it wouldn't be surprising because it's not the first time the Lord
Jesus portrayed himself in something in this world before he became
flesh. Who is this Melchizedek? Hold your marker spot there in
Hebrews and turn over to Genesis 14. Let's look at where it is
mentioned elsewhere in scripture. In Genesis 14, we read again
of this Melchizedek. And it's only a couple of verses,
but it's very, very important for us to understand because
this is a description of who our Lord and Savior is. Genesis
14. Look over at verses 18-20. And Melchizedek, king of Salem,
brought forth bread and wine. Did you notice that? He brought
forth bread and wine. He was priest of the Most High
God. And he blessed him, speaking
of Abraham, and said, blessed be Abram, of the most high God,
possessor of heaven and earth, and blessed be the most high
God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thine hands. And
he gave him tithes of all. So we see here some more very
important things here. First off, he came with bread.
What did the priests of Aaron come with? Remember what they
came with? They would come into the holiest
of holies with what? with blood. Here we see this
high priest comes with wine, with bread and wine. Does that
remind you of anything? What do you think of when you
see that? Do you think of this right here
that we come? This table of remembrance that
we come? What does our Lord come to us with, with his body and
with his blood? Isn't that a beautiful picture
the Lord gives us here? It says he was a priest of the Most High,
King of Salem, once again, coming with bread and wine. Go back
into our text now. What we just read along with
what Paul has written in this chapter is all that we know of
this Melchizedek, but that's all we need to know, isn't it? What the Lord tells us right
here in His Word is all we need to know. He came with bread and
wine. He was a king and He was a high
priest. One who would go before God,
make intercession for the people. Look at Hebrews chapter 7, speaking
again in Melchizedek without father. I know there are some folks in
our world who would love you to think that they can have children
without man and woman, That just ain't so. There's only one who
has ever had a child without a man. And that is the Virgin
Mary, am I correct? Is there any other record of
that? No, there's not at all. This one Melchizedek is without
father. But he's also without mother.
Without descent. Without a genealogy having neither
beginning of days nor end of life. But made like unto the
Son of God, abideth, he remains a priest continually. Wow. I just happened to, reading these
words, I have to agree with what the commentators say. This sounds
like the Lord Jesus to me. And it sounds like something
way better than Aaron, way better than the high priest that the
Lord assigned to be those who would go in as types of him.
with the blood of bulls and goats that never saved anybody, into
the highest of the holiest of holies and spread the sprinkle
of blood on the mercy seat, another picture of the Lord Jesus. We have no record of this man's
father or his mother or his ancestry. We have no record of when he
was born or when he died, only that he is like the Lord Jesus
within a continual priesthood, without interruption, And as
I mentioned a moment ago, some say this is the appearance of
Christ, and I would agree with that. Christ who has come with
the bread and wine to the Lord's table. But the main point of
this priesthood, the priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ, like
Melchizedek, not like Aaron's, is that it's eternal. It's continually. Remember, the priests in Aaron's
day, they would grow old and die. That's why they had so many
different ones. That's why it had to be in a
certain family, the family of Levi. We'll see something in
referencing that in just a moment too. Our Lord's was not, or his
priesthood is continually, hold your place there again, turn
over to Hebrews 10. Go to the right a couple of pages to Hebrews
10 and look at verses 11 and 12 with me. And every priesthood standeth
daily, speaking of Aaron's priestly ministry, and every priest standing
daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices,
which can never take away sins, but this man, the Lord Jesus,
after he had offered one sacrifice for sins, forever sat down on
the right hand of God. He forever sat down eternally. Now back in our text, read with
me if you would, verses 4 through 10. Now consider how great this
man was, this man Melchizedek, was unto whom even the patriarch
Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. And verily they that are of the
sons of Levi who received the office of priesthood have a command
to take tithes with people according to the law, that is, of their
brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham. But
he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of
Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. And without
all contradiction, the less is blessed with the better. And
here men that die receive tithes, but there he receiveth them of
whom it is witnessed that he liveth. And as I may so say,
Levi also, who receiveth tithes, paid tithes in Abraham. Did you
catch that? Levi paid tithes even in his
father Abraham. Levi came long after Abraham
did. Let's go on, verse 10. For he
was yet in the loins, as it says, of his father when Melchizedek
met with him. So we see here, Paul is showing
the greatness of Melchizedek and the key is verse 7 which
states that the lesser person is always blessed by the greater
person. The sons of Levi were appointed
priests and received tithes and gifts from the descendants of
Abraham. They also represented Israel
as priests before God and blessed Israel, but Levi and his sons
paid tithes as well and they were blessed by Melchizedek.
And not only they, but Abraham himself was blessed by Melchizedek
and paid tithes and honored him. Christ has no rival. He has no
equal. So the Levitical priesthood cannot
accurately portray the Lord's priesthood. God sent forth Melchizedek
to give us a more accurate type of our Lord's eternal priesthood. And that's who Melchizedek is
and why he's in the scripture. Now look at verse 11. Hebrews
7 verse 11. If therefore, perfection by the
Levitical priesthood, for under it the people received the law,
what further need was there that another priest should rise after
the order of Melchizedek and not be called after the order
of Aaron? Why? If a perfect fellowship
with God and justification from sin had been attained, under
the Levitical priesthood, if it was perfect the first time,
with its ceremonial law and sacrifices, why was it necessary to bring
in another and a different kind of priest after the order of
Melchizedek rather than one after the tribe or the order of Aaron?
Why? Again, look at Hebrews 10, and
I pray the Lord will answer that question here in verse 10, showing
us in verse one through four, for the law having a shadow of
good things to come. Now remember Aaron is the Levitical
priest of the law. For the law having a shadow of
good things to come and not the very image of the things can
never with those sacrifices which they offer year by year continually
make the comers thereunto perfect. Verse two, for then would they
not have ceased to be offered. Are you getting the picture here?
Because that the worshipers once purged, once cleansed, once washed,
should have had no more conscience. But in those sacrifices, there
is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not
possible, verse four, that the blood of bulls and goats should
take away sins, for it is not possible. For the blood of bulls
and goats, and of goats, should take away sins. Back in our text
in verse 12, we read this, for the priesthood being changed,
there is made a necessity of change also of the law. If there
is change in the priesthood, there must also be a change of
the law. Wouldn't that make sense? Concerning the priesthood? This
is a clear indication that the ceremonial law was abolished
when Christ came as our High Priest. When He came as our High
Priest after Melchizedek, all those old priestly responsibilities
of the worldly priests were all put away. They were no longer
needed to picture the One who was here. And that's the Lord
Jesus. Look at verse 9 of Hebrews 10. Then he said, lo, I come to do
thy will, O God. He taketh away the first. That's
the Levitical law, the Levitical priesthood. He taketh away the
first that he may establish. Establish the second. Again,
look at our text 13 and 14 this time. For he of whom these things
are spoken pertaineth to another tribe of which no man gave attendance
at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord
sprang out of Judah, of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning
the priesthood. He never spoke of the Lord Jesus
coming from Judah. Where were that priest supposed
to come from? Levi. But that's the law. That's the
law of works. The law that points you and I
to the law of grace. Do you understand that's what
the law of Moses is all about? You and I can't keep those laws.
I don't care how hard you try. I know I can't either. None of God's people can. That's
what we need Christ for. That's why we need an intercessor.
That's why we need one who will stand between us and God, a perfect
holy God, and present us holy in himself. That law of Moses
points us to the law of grace, the law of love in Christ Jesus. Folks, it's because of His love
that He is gracious to us at all. Look at verses 15 through
17. And it is yet far more evident,
it says, for that after the similitude of Melchizedek there ariseth
another priest who is made not after the law of a carnal commandment,
but after the power of an endless life. For he testifies, verse
17, that thou art a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek. It's evident from scriptures,
from the fact that the Levitical priesthood was not effectual
to put away sin, and from the presence of another priest arising
who bears the likeness of Melchizedek, not Aaron, but one who is power
and authority, everything is based on. It is not a carnal
ordinance, but on the deity of his person, the eternality of
his life, and the effectualness of his one sacrifice that there
is decided change in the law regarding to priesthood. Look
at verses 18 and 19 in our text. For there is verily disannulling
the commandment going before, the weakness of the unprofitableness
thereof. For the law made nothing perfect,
but the bringing in of a better hope did, by the which we draw
nigh unto God. Oh, what wonderful hope we have
in Him. The old law of ceremonies and
sacrifices and earthly priesthood is canceled. It made nothing
and it made no one perfect, but our Savior did. Look again at Hebrews 10, this
time verse 12 and 14. For by one offering he hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified. Oh, I'm sorry, I'm supposed to
start at verse 12. But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice
for sins, forever sat down on the right hand of God, from henceforth
expecting till his enemies be made his footstool, for by one
offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. Back
in our text again, we read verses 20-25, insomuch was not without an oath
he was made a priest. For those priests were made without
an oath, but this with the oath by him that said unto him, The
Lord swear and will not repent. Thou art a priest forever after
the order of Melchizedek. By so much was Jesus made a surety
of a better testament. Remember what we said a moment
ago, what was the whole theme of the book of Hebrews? that God used as a picture in
the Old Testament of Himself. But so much was Jesus made a
surety of a better Testament, and they truly were many priests
because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death.
But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore, he is able also..."
Oh, and here's some good words. Here's some really good words
to sinners. I look out and I see smiles coming
up on everybody's faces. Because this pertains to us,
doesn't it? Wherefore He is able also to
save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing
He ever liveth to make intercession for them. In these verses, the
superiority, the excellence, excellency of Christ's priesthood
to the Levitical law is shown in several particulars. First,
the priests were ordained without an oath, taken by God. Second,
God will not change His purpose toward us in Christ. Secondly,
the old covenant under which Israel was represented by Aaron
had no power to say, but Christ, our surety, the word signifies
one who draws near, draws nearer to God with an effectual sacrifice
of righteousness. Third, there were many priests,
but he was one. And fourth, they could not put
away sin because their priesthood was only a representative and
it was ineffectual, but he, is able to save us to the uttermost
that come to God by him, seeing is always now and always will
be our great high priest interceding for us. Amen.