for this Melchizedek, king of
Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning
from the slaughter of the kings and blessing, to whom Abraham
gave a tenth part of all, being first by interpretation king
of righteousness and after that also king of Salem, which is
king apiece, without father, without mother, without descent,
having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like
unto the Son of God, abides a priest continually." Now consider how
great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave
the tenth of the spoils. Verily, they that are of the
sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have
a commandment to take tithes of the 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 of the better." And here men that die receive tithes,
but there of whom it is witnessed that he lives ever. As I may
so say, Levi also who received tithes paid tithes in Abraham,
for he was yet in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met
him. If therefore perfection were
by the Levitical priesthood, for under it a people received
the law, what further need was there that another priest should
arise after the order of Melchizedek and not be after the order of
Aaron?" Now, we'd be looking principally around verse 2 and
verse 3, what it has to say about Melchizedek, who was a type of
our Lord. You know, thinking about this
passage of the Scripture, it would seem that one could spend
their lifetime studying and restudying this great passage of the Scripture
and all that Christ and Melchizedek have in common, and yet could
not exhaust the fullness of the truth that is in this place. This very, very rich text of
the Scripture is found in that section of Hebrews that deals
with the priesthood of Christ our Lord. And we know that the
Hebrew epistle which is in our New Testament, more than any
other, set the proper relationship of Judaism and Christianity one
unto the other. And it was written principally
and foremost for those first century Jews to guide them into
seeing how that Judaism was intended by God to give way unto Christianity
and Moses to give way unto Christ. And the apostle will tell them,
as seen in our text, that Jesus is the great high priest of the
Christian profession and religion. Furthermore, he will tell them
that Christ, or Jesus, is a priest not after the order of Aaron,
but after the order of Melchizedek. And what an implication there
is in this wonderful prophecy, one of the most impressive aspects
of the Old Testament economy. One thing that impressed the
Jews, that stood out in their manner and their order of worship,
was the great High Priest of Israel. Oh, we can imagine this
morning what Israel saw as that man Aaron I cladded in those
special garments those garments of glory and of great color and
of beauty, standing at the altar making or offering a sacrifice
on the day of atonement, and then in that garment entering
in to the Holy of Holy with the blood of the sacrifice which
he then sprinkles upon the mercy seat. I'm saying that the high
priest And the Jews knew it was indispensable to that order of
worship, and performed an indispensable function for them, making a sacrifice
for their sin, entering into intercede in the presence of
God. Now, this might prove, and did
prove, a great stumbling block unto the Jews in that day, that
Jesus Christ could be a high priest. For remember, he was
not a descendant of Aaron. He did not descend out of the
tribe of Levi, and sprung, on the other hand, out of the tribe
of Judah. And it is true, as in Hebrew
7, verses 13 and verse 14, that the one who is the object of
the prophecy, found in Psalms 110 and verse 4, belongs to another
tribe, and listen to what we read, of whom no man gave attendance
at the altar. And also look at the 14th verse
of that chapter. He was from a tribe, the Judah,
of which Moses said not one single word about priesthood. or making a sacrifice at the
altar, neither a high priest or the lower ministering priest. Moses was absolutely and completely
silent about any priesthood outside of the tribe of Levi or the Levitical
priesthood. So, in the Jewish mind, they
might ask the question, how then say these Christians that Jesus
of Nazareth is the great high priest of the people of God and
of the worship of God? Well, this is very easy to account
for. His priesthood is of a much,
much higher order than that of Aaron and the Levi. Secondly,
his father, even God, has declared him to be a high priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek, and that upon two accounts when
we look at the prophecy a, his priesthood is after a different
order, that of Melchizedek, and b, because of that, he, unlike
Aaron, is a priest forever and forever and forever. Now, the
Hebrew author hangs the Melchizedekian priesthood of Christ upon that
great prophecy found in Psalms and 10 and verse 4. And it says three great things
about the priesthood of Christ. Hear them. The Lord has sworn
and will not repent. You are a priest forever according
to the order of Melchizedek. Now the three things that are
said here are A. The Lord has sworn. It was by swearing. that our
God put Jesus in the priesthood. Christ was made a priest with
an oath from God, Hebrews 7 verse 20 and verse 21 declares it. Then B, we notice something else.
His priesthood was to be everlasting. In other words, his priesthood
was to be unending. It was to be forever. It was
to go on and on. It was a perpetual priesthood
that God bestowed upon us. And then see, we notice that
this is important all the way through. His priesthood that
he received from God that was to be forever was after the order
of Melchizedek. Now, let's do something. Let's
count the times in this passage in the book of Hebrews that Psalms
110 and verse 4 is referenced here in this discussion about
the priesthood of Christ. First mention of Christ's priesthood
is back in chapter 4, but the first mention of it after the
order of Melchizedek is in Hebrews chapter 5 and verse 6. Subsequent mentions are in chapter
5 and verse 10. Calls of God and high priests
after the order of Melchizedek. Chapter 6 and verse 20, made
a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Chapter
7 and verse 11, that another priest should arise after the
order of Melchizedek. and not be called after the order
of Aaron." Chapter 7 and verse 15, after the similitude of Melchizedek,
there arises another prophet. Chapter 7 and verse 17, you are
a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Then chapter
7 and 21, again, a priest forever after the order
of Melchizedek. Now, the apostle, therefore,
hangs much upon this weighty prophecy of the Scripture. Let's go back and read in chapter
5 and verse 10 and verse 11 of Hebrews where this discussion
might have taken its ride. Now, notice in Hebrews 5, 10
and 11, He says, called of God and high
priest after the order of Melchizedek, and watch verse 11, of whom we
have many things to say and hard to be uttered, seeing you are
dull of hearing. Now, in verse 11, having quoted
the passage from Psalm 110 and verse 4, that Christ is called
of God to be a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek,
but after the order or arrangement of Melchizedek, the author then
checks himself as it were, having brought that up, and he tells
his readers, A, he says there is much to be said concerning
Melchizedek, much of importance, much that is vital to be said
of this man Melchizedek. But be, he said, or concede maybe
is the word, it was difficult, it was hard to explain, it was
hard to make clear. And then see, he said, this difficulty
was not owing to any inadequacy in the revelation or in the mind
of the writer or of the author, but this difficulty was owing
to their being dull of hearing. that they were slow and sluggish
listeners. And so the apostle, as John Brown
put it, quote, goes into a digression, unquote, what John Owen called,
quote, the designed digression, unquote, and reproving them for
their slothfulness and attempting to stir them up to hear the much-needed
instruction concerning Melchizedek and how Christ is the priest
after that order or arrangement. The digression, and I agree with
him, there is a digression here that runs down to the end of
the chapter 6, and the digression runs from 511 to the end of the
sixth chapter, and is a study in itself and of itself. But we don't have time to look
at it. But then in chapter 7 and verse 1, he returns again for
a full and complete discussion of this Melchizedek." Before
we wade out into the deep here, the deep end of the pool, let's
acknowledge right now that there are several different views of
what order of beings it was that Melchizedek belonged unto. Was he God? Was he an angel? Was he a man? Some think that
him to be an angel. Some taught him even to be the
Holy Spirit of God that had taken some form, and some took him
to be Shem, one of the sons of Noah, and even some that he was
created by God and that he was a perfect and sinless man who
met Abraham that day. Now, perhaps the most popular
view in Christendom is that he was the very Son of God himself,
the Son of God appearing in human form. That is, a theanthropic
appearance of the Son of God in human form, a divine being
in human form, a personal appearance of God's Son to Abraham in the
likeness or the form of a man. I find probably most in Christendom
are satisfied and would latch on to that explanation. And they think that such a view
is supported by what is said in the third verse of our text
in chapter 7, without father, without mother, without descent,
having neither beginning of days nor end of life. I remind you that the author
is describing Melchizedek, not the Lord Jesus in those words. As expositors John Brown, John
Gill, and others have pointed out, Melchizedek and Christ are
clearly distinguished from one another in this passage of the
scripture, in that one is made like unto the other. They are types and antitypes. And besides, as Hebrews does
repeatedly emphasize, only a man can be a high priest. A priest is taken from among
men to act in behalf of men before God in things pertaining to God. Hebrews 5, 1 through 4 is very
clear on that. Now, if Melchizedek were a priest
in things pertaining unto men, and so he was, as seen in his
blessing Abraham upon his return, then Melchizedek was a man. And of course the part that stumbles
some is most likely the thing said about Melchizedek there
in the third verse of our text. particularly without father and
without mother, having neither beginning of days nor end of
life. Now, let's look closely and consider
the words in the middle of these words. King James has it, without
descent, or in the margin you will find it, pedigree. Without
pedigree. Some render the word genealogy
with no genealogy, without genealogy. And that means, as someone said,
unregistered as to his birth. There being no record of his
parents, who they were, or their name. No record of the time of
his birth, or a record of the end of his life. Before we move
along, Let's consider some things that are very pertinent to this,
I believe, such as the Levitical priests needed their pedigree
to serve in the office of a priest. They could not serve without
it. They could not serve except they
were provable descendants of the house of Aaron and Levi. They were the sons of Aaron. Now something else, when Mephazodek
has no genealogy, we remember how in the Genesis record, in
Genesis early, there are careful, careful genealogies of the patriarch
and of their offspring, sometimes splittering into one son and
following that all the way. How often do we read? in that
part of Genesis, so and so begat so and so. Again and again, that's
what we read in the scripture. Then again we also read, such
and such lived so many years and begat so and so and died. In other words, a careful genealogy. an extensive record or genealogy
of their birth, of their age, of the death of the patriarchs
by name. Genesis 10 and 11, the generation
of Noah is there and the generation of his son. In Genesis 11, verse
27 through 32, there is the genealogy of the family of Abraham the
patriarch and father of the faithful. Then remember something else,
too. If we go to the first book in the New Testament, Matthew
1, 1 through 16, and what will you find? You will find there
that the genealogy of Jesus Christ is Christ all the way back to
Abraham. There is a genealogy of our Lord. So when it says, without genealogy
or pedigree, it's talking about Melchizedek, for our Lord had
a very, very clear pedigree. Remember something else, if you
will, and that is that in Luke, the genealogy of our Lord, chapter
3, verse 23 through 38, is traced from Joseph, the husband of Mary,
all the way back to Adam, which was the son of God. Let's take the time to notice,
if we might, how both passages protect the divinity and deity
of our Lord. Matthew 1 and verse 16. Jacob
begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is
called Christ." Matthew is careful not to say, Joseph begat Jesus. Luke 3.23, Jesus himself began
to be about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son
of Joseph." Again, Luke is careful to point out that it was thought
or it was imagined or it was assumed that Jesus was the son
of Joseph. On the other hand, Melchizedek
appeared as a priest without a genealogy giving him indeed
a unique priesthood, one that stood alone, in that there is
no account of his parents, of his mother or his father. and
there is no record of his birth or of his death, which means
that he did not succeed another priest to become a priest, nor
did any other succeed him. He is a priest alone, and in
this, his priesthood was a type of the priesthood of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, see the last part of Hebrews
7 and verse 3. Made like unto the Son of God
abides or remains a priest forever. The reference again is to Melchizedek,
that he was a priest all the days of his life. never giving
his priesthood over to any other priest, the only one of his kind,
the only one of his order. And this foreshadowed the priesthood
of Christ our Lord. John Owen wrote this, quote,
the design of the apostle in this was to show that there was
in scripture even before the institution of the Aaronic priesthood,
a representation of an eternal, unchangeable priesthood to be
introduced among the people of God. And when we look then at
verse 11, if therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood,
What further need was there that another priest should arise after
the order of Melchizedek and not be called after the order
of Aaron? Look again at verse 15 of chapter
7. It is yet far more evident that
after the similitude of Melchizedek, there arises another priest. And it is the intention of the
author of Hebrews to show that Jesus Christ is a priest He is
that priest that was foretold in the order of Melchizedek. But before he presses back upon
them, his readers, he adds force to the argument by showing them
an example of the greatness of Melchizedek from the way that
he interacted with Abraham. Consider how he reacted or how
he responded to Abraham. You have this in verse 4 through
verse 10 of chapter 7 here. Consider how great this man was. Again, not talking about the
Lord Jesus, but talking about Melchizedek, the priest of the
Most High God. John Brown suggested, consider
how great this man must have been, and that from the reverence
and the respect that Abraham gave unto him when they met. And there to what the apostle
has already said of Melchizedek in verse 1, King of Salem, of
the Most High God. Verse 2, His name meant, or is
translated, King of Righteousness, King of Peace. The account of
this is in Genesis 14. It's very short. It's just verse
18 through 20. There's the record where Melchizedek met Abraham returning from the
slaughter of the king and the rescue of Lot, and he met Abraham,
and he blessed Abraham, and Abraham gave to him a tenth of the spoil,
a tithe of the spoils that he had gathered. Now, what is the
essence of this? How and in what way is Christ
a priest after the Melchizedekian order? As in verse 15 again,
after the similitude of Melchizedek, the word order is seven times
in the book of Hebrews, all of them referring to the priesthood
of Christ. Three times the word is found
outside of Hebrews, Luke 1, 8, 1 Corinthians 14, 40, Colossians
2, and verse 5, it is the word taxes,
an appointed arrangement after the order or the arrangement
appointed of Melchizedek. in Hebrews 7 and verse 15 has
the meaning of likeness, resemblance, being like, being similar unto
the priesthood of Abraham. But again, where in is this likeness? How does the priesthood of Christ
resemble that of Melchizedek? If Melchizedek is a man, Christ
is the Son of God. How then does one typify the
other? Melchizedek was a man, Jesus,
the very eternal Son of the Most High God. Again, Melchizedek
served only on the earth, and our Lord Jesus entered into the
heavenly tabernacle. Our Lord conquered death and
then entered in at the right hand of God. And yet it is repeatedly
said that Christ's priesthood is after the order of Melchizedek. It is after the arrangement.
It is after the likeness of the priesthood held by Melchizedek. Now, it's very clear in the overall
context that both Melchizedek and Christ held what has and
may be called, quote, an intransmissible That is, a priesthood that did
not pass from one unto another. Melchizedek didn't become priest
in the place or the stead or at the death of another. And
neither did one take up his word. For what saith the prophecy?
You are a priest forever, as we emphasize that great word,
eternally without end, in unbroken continuity. Now this the apostle
emphasizes. If we look at verse 15 and 16
again, it is far more evident that after the similar feud of
Melchizedek there arises another priest who is made not after
the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless
lie. Then drop down to verse 23 and
4. And there 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." Jesus is a perpetual
priest. Someone put it, Jesus has his
priesthood in perpetuity. if we understand that word. And
there are so many ways, so many words that agree with this and
by which we might express it. I've copied down some that have
a description, a likeness to that perpetuity of the priesthood
of Christ. Here they are, continuing forever,
occurring continually. having no interruption, along
with all of those synonyms that go with it, such as continual,
unending, ceaseless, constant, continuous, endless, incessant,
interminable, non-stop, uninterrupted, eternal, sustained, unremitting. Our Lord has a priesthood that
can have no end. of Levi or Aaron was proof of
the imperfection of the Levitical priesthood. You don't improve
on perfection. But the Levitical sacrifices
could not take away sin, Hebrews 10, 1 through 4. They could not
purge the conscience of the worshippers from their dead works. In short,
they could not perfect the worshippers. They could not bring them to
God as Christ can and does. so could not present them blameless
unto and before God. And that means, as we see under
verse 12, when the priesthood is changed, there must be a corresponding
change of the law of the priesthood as well. See verse 18, the coming
of a different order of a priesthood would be inconsistent with the
Levitical law of the priesthood, because under that old economy,
the priesthood was strictly and absolutely restricted to the
Levite tribe. None other tribe could serve
as a priest or serve at the altar. Then in verse 13, of our chapter,
the person of whom these things were spoken, that is, in Psalm
110 and verse 4, belonged to, descended from, a different tribe. And yes, says the author, a tribe
from which no man ever gave attendance at the altar. Never a single
man at any time out of the tribe of Judah ever gave attendance
at the altar, ever devoted himself, ever served at the altar. In short, no man from any tribe
other than Levi under the old economy ever offered sacrifices
and made atonement for the people. And the fact that the one to
whom the prophecy applied sprang from or descended out of another
tribe from which Moses was completely silent about priesthood or sacrifices
at the altar, that being the tribe of Judah, is proof that
the law of the priesthood is changed. A change of the law,
a change of the priesthood. How extensive and weighty is
that prophecy in Psalm 100 and verse 4. How much the apostle
hangs upon that one prophecy of the Scripture. A priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek. Forever is the interesting word
there. This means in verse 16 that he
was made, that he was constituted that he became a priest, not
according to the fleshly or the coronal ordinance, but after
the power of an endless life. Some have rendered that an indissoluble
life, an indestructible life, a never-ending life has our Lord
as he is alive forevermore. Revelation 1 and 18. Though he
died, yet he lived again. Death had no more power or dominion
over him. Romans chapter 6 and verse 9.
Now there are two great differences between Christ as a priest and
the Levitical priesthood. They are, number one, that while
the Levitical verse 23, were prevented by death from continuing
as a priest, as in verse 28, the law makes men priests who
have infirmities. They were both sinners and they
were mortal who held that Old Testament priesthood. Christ,
on the other hand, holds an endless infinite, unending life and priesthood. Secondly, no Levite was ever
put in the priesthood with an oath. Not one time did a high
priest of Israel, under the old economy, ever enter into with
an oath such as was given unto Christ. Not even Aaron, who was
the first and perhaps the greatest of them, never was it said to
one of them, you are a priest forever. But when Christ is told,
you are a priest forever, it was in connection with a divine
oath, if we look at the passage, so that the Lord swore and will
not repent. He received his priesthood not
apart or without and oath from God, he did not enter upon the
priesthood oathless or without a swearing of God." There were
two ways that a man could enter upon the priesthood. A. He could enter in without
an oath, and Aaron and all of his sons did that. Or B. He could enter in with an oath
from God, a priest forever, and our Lord Jesus Christ did that. This is the case with his priesthood. How can one who is dead, someone
say, has died, function as a priest? Death causes a cessation forever
of the Levitical service and their function. It puts them
into their ministry. Those of you who might argue,
well, another can take up his place and on and on as it was. But you would still have the
same imperfect system A priest that was a sinner and that was
dying, making sacrifices which could never remove sin, exercising
a system that could only be temporary and only be typical. While in Christ we have an ever-living
one with an unchangeable priesthood who is able to save unto the
uttermost. all that come unto God by him. Why? Seeing he ever lives to
make intercession for them. He is even at the right hand
of God. We have a priest who is perfectly
suited to our situation, being separate from sinners, made higher
than the heavens, having made a perfect, once for all sacrifice
for the sins of all of his people. We have a great high priest. He is one forever. He has made
the great sacrifice. He has sanctified forever by
one offering, them that are given unto him. And yet, you know,
many claiming to be Christians today, I think in wonder and
fear, have little understanding or conception of the priesthood
of Christ our Lord. I don't think that many in Christendom
today realize that Christ is a priest as he is in heaven at
the right hand of God making intercession for us. making application
of that holy sacrifice that he died, being our advocate, pleading
for us by the merit of his death and of his blood. He has entered
into the heavenly tabernacle or sanctuary, not the typical
one on earth, but in the very presence of God there to make
intercession for those. We have a great high priest,
Jesus, the Son of God, after the order of Melchizedek, one
forever, who never needs again to offer another sacrifice or
to die. He died once, and once is sufficient. We have a great high priest. We don't have one on earth that
we call Father, we have one in heaven that is our Savior, our
God, and yes, our elder brother, the Lord Jesus Christ, our great
High Priest.