Now in the previous chapters
that we've been studying, Paul has mentioned this man Melchizedek
several times. And here in chapter 7, he gives
us some explanation about who this man Melchizedek is. He showed
us in this letter so far that Christ is better than the prophets. He's better than the angels.
He's better than Moses. Now in this chapter, he's going
to show us that the priesthood of Christ is far superior to
Aaron's priesthood. So he begins in verse 1 of chapter
7. He says, For this Melchizedek,
king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, 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 interpretation
king of righteousness, and after that also king of Salem, which
is king of peace, without father, without mother, without descent,
having neither beginning of days nor end of But made like unto
the Son of God, abideth a priest continually." Now what Paul is
talking about here is the time in history when Abraham met Melchizedek. A group of kings had captured
Sodom, took all of Sodom captive, including Lot, Abraham's nephew. So Abraham gathered up his men
and he went and rescued Lot and took all the spoil. On his way
back home, Abraham meets this man Melchizedek. Melchizedek
blessed Abraham. And Abraham gave Melchizedek
a tenth of the spoil that he had gathered up. And many people,
including me, believe that Melchizedek was a pre-incarnate appearance
of Christ. This is Christ himself. And some
people don't believe that, think he's just a man, just a king.
And that may be. But if this man is not Christ
himself, he is an excellent type of the Lord Jesus Christ. You
see how he's described here, first of all, as the priest of
the most high God. Now look back in Genesis 14.
This is the only time that we meet Melchizedek in Scripture. He's talked about in the Psalms
and here in Hebrews, but this is where we see him. In Genesis
14. In verse 18, and Melchizedek,
king of Salem. brought forth bread and wine,
and he was the priest of the Most High God. And he blessed
him 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 thy hand. And he gave him tithes
of all." Now this priest of the Most High God brought forth bread
and wine. He didn't bring forth the blood
of an animal sacrifice like all of Aaron's priesthood did. bread
and wine, which is a picture of the sacrifice of the body
of the Lord Jesus Christ, his broken body and his shed blood
shed for the sins of his people. Now, nobody but Christ, I don't
think, would do such a thing. Only Christ himself would do
that, priest of the most high God. Second, Melchizedek is described
as being the king of righteousness. And that's a clear picture of
the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only righteous man to ever
live. And He's not just a mere man,
He is King of kings. Scripture says His scepter is
a scepter of righteousness. He's the King of righteousness.
His very name is righteousness. Jehovah Sidken and the Lord our
righteousness. Everything He does is righteous
and holy. He makes His people righteous
in Himself. The gospel of Christ comes and
declares to us the righteousness of God. Our High Priest, the
Lord Jesus Christ is the King. of righteousness. Melchizedek
next is described as the king of peace. And that can picture
be no one but the Lord Jesus Christ. He came and made peace
with God through the blood of His cross. Made peace for us.
And He sends forth His gospel bringing us tidings of peace. This is a gospel not of war,
but of peace. Telling us the battle's over.
There's peace. Melchizedek, I read this this
week, one of the writers, I thought this was outstanding. He met
Abraham. He gave to Abraham sovereignly
as a king. And he blessed him as a priest.
The king priest. Now no one in the Old Testament
ever held those two offices at the same time. You could be prophet
and priest. Maybe you could be prophet and
king. But no one was ever king and priest at the same time.
That office, king priest, is reserved for Christ himself.
Well, Melchizedek next is described as being without father, without
mother, without descent, without any genealogy. And a lot of people
say, well, he had a father and mother and genealogy is just
not recorded so that he can become a good type of Christ. And that
may be or may mean exactly what says he's without earthly father
and mother, without earthly genealogy. But whichever means, I know this.
Here's the point. Melchizedek did not inherit his
priesthood from his father. His father wasn't a priest and
he died and Melchizedek took his place like Aaron's sons did.
God made him priest. And that's a picture of the Lord
Jesus Christ. He didn't come and inherit a
priesthood from an earthly father, from an earthly genealogy. God
the Father anointed him to be our high priest. Next, Melchizedek
is described as neither having beginning of days or end of life. And again, maybe his birth and
death is not recorded, or maybe this means exactly what it says.
He wasn't born from earthly parents. But here's the point. The Lord
Jesus Christ is eternal. Now, I've heard all my life,
before there was a sinner, there was a Savior. And that couldn't
be more true. Well, before there was ever a
sinner, there was a high priest, too, to offer that sacrifice. He's the lamb slain from before
the foundation of the world. And he's the high priest who
offers the sacrifice from before the foundation of the world.
Our high priest is not an afterthought. He's the eternal high priest
of the Most High God. And then last, he's described
as being made like unto the Son of God. Now, I read that And
I think about the story in the Old Testament. Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego. Remember, they were thrown into
the fiery furnace. And Nebuchadnezzar looked down
that fiery furnace. He said, didn't we throw three
men down there? There are four down there now. One has an appearance
like unto the Son of God. That's Melchizedek, made like
unto the Son of God. And maybe it's only in type,
but I sure think this is Christ Himself. We read last week God
could swear by no greater, so he swore by himself. Well, God's
going to send a high priest. Well, he could find no equal.
He could find no greater. So he came in the order of himself.
He sent his son as Melchizedek, because Aaron's priesthood just
could never be an accurate type and picture of the priesthood
of Christ because it has too many weaknesses. So God sent
his son, a pre-incarnate appearance, and then he sent him again. in
the order of himself, just like he could swear by no greater,
so he swore by himself. He came in the order of himself
so that we'd have a more accurate picture and type of the priesthood
of our Lord. So, verse 4, Paul says, Now consider
how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham
gave the tenth of the spoils. And barely they that are the
sons of Levi, who received 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.
But 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
For he was yet in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met
him." Now, Melchizedek is much greater than Aaron. Melchizedek's
priesthood is much greater than Aaron's priesthood. This Melchizedek,
the apostle says, is greater than even our father Abraham.
The Lord Jesus Christ is so great. He has no equal. He has no rival. We have pictures of Christ given
to us in Scripture. But none of him can accurately
portray his greatness and his glory and the wonder of who he
is. Aaron's priesthood had so many
weaknesses, and Paul's going to list several of them here
in the rest of the chapter. But it had so many weaknesses,
it could never be an accurate picture of the perfect priesthood
of our Lord Jesus Christ. So God sent Melchizedek to give
us a closer picture. And Paul says it's a lesser.
It's always blessed of the better. And Melchizedek, the better,
blessed Abraham, the lesser. And Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek. Not because he had to, but out
of respect for his person. Out of respect for his office
as king priest. And Melchizedek didn't receive
those tithes because the law demanded that Abraham pay him
tithes like the law would demand that you pay tithes to the priest
like it was a tax. No. Abraham paid those tithes
out of respect for who he is because he was acknowledging
Melchizedek is superior to me. He's paying tithes to him out
of respect. And all those who were in Abraham,
Paul says, paid tithes to him too because he's greater than
all those priests who would come from Abraham's loins. And believers today, you don't
bring offerings of money Sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise. You
don't give of your time and efforts and talents because the law demands
that you do it. No, you do it out of a thankful
heart. It's not a tax. It's given out
of a thankful heart to our Savior and what He's done for us. Given
out of a thankful heart to our King who has all superiority
and glory over us. It's not a... When you put your
money in offering, that's not a... It's not a duty, that's
a joy. And that's the way Abraham paid
tithes to Melchizedek. It was a joy to give him a tenth
of those spoils. So verse 11, Paul goes on, he
says, Now if therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood,
for under it the people received the law, what further need was
there that another priest should arise after the order of Melchizedek,
and not be called after the order of Aaron? could have been justified
under that Old Testament law, that Old Testament priesthood,
there wouldn't have been any need for Christ to come. But
obviously, there was a great need for God to send his Son,
because those Levitical priests never could do anything to put
away sin. They never could do anything
that would satisfy God. It was obvious that everything
they did didn't please God, because here they came offering another
one, and another one, and another one, one right after another,
every day, every morning, evening, and noon and evening, until they
died. And then their sons took up the same repetitive offering
over and over and over again. It's obvious to us, another high
priest had to come, who could make his people perfect. Verse
12, Paul says, for the priesthood being changed, there is made
of necessity a change also of the law. Now the priesthood is
going to change. The law that set that priesthood
up has got to change too. That just kind of makes common
sense. And that's what Christ did. Scripture tells us he's
the end of the law for righteousness. When Christ came, he abolished
the law. and established grace. Look over
a few pages in Hebrews 10 verse 9. In Hebrews 10 verse 9, Then said
he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first,
he abolishes the first, that he may establish the second.
He removed that first reveal, that covenant of works, and he
established the eternal covenant of grace. It was the second reveal.
But now our Lord didn't come and just throw away the law.
He didn't just scrap it and throw it away and say, well, this isn't
working, so we better come up with plan B of salvation. No,
He didn't throw it away. He fulfilled it. He fulfilled
it perfectly as our substitute, as our representative. And He
changed that law. He changed the priesthood. He
changed the whole law. The first thing He changed about
this law, the priesthood, was the tribe that the high priest
belongs to. Look at verse 13. For he of whom
these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no
man gave attendance of the author. For it is evident that our Lord
sprang out of Judah, of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning
the priesthood." See, the priest in the law came from the tribe
of Levi, but our Lord came through David's tribe, the tribe of Judah,
the kingly tribe. He's a high priest forever after
the order of Melchizedek. who's the king priest. Well,
if he's going to be after the order of Melchizedek, he's got
to come from the kingly tribe. And that's what he did. Our Lord
didn't follow from Aaron's descendants because there has to be a different
kind of priesthood. A priesthood that actually will
make atonement for sin. And that's what we need. And
that's the way he came. So, verse 15, and it is yet far
more evident For that after the similitude of Melchizedek there
ariseth another priest, who is made, not after the law of carnal
commandment, but after the power of an endless life." Now here's
another thing that changed. Where the power and authority
of the priesthood is from. Those Old Testament priests got
their authority from the law. The law set up the priesthood
and said here's the man that's going to be the priest. Christ
wasn't made a priest like that. He has his authority and his
power His power because he's God. He has all power, all authority. And because he's God, he's eternally
the priest. Because he's God, he has the
power in his blood and his sacrifice to do what those Old Testament
high priests never could do. Put our sin away. This is the
kind of high priest that we need. His blood does pay for sin. And that's a whole lot different
than Aaron's priesthood. And he has the power of an endless
life. The Lord Jesus Christ is life. He is the life giver, both physically
and spiritually. But it's more than just he gives
life. The Lord Jesus Christ is a believer's life. He is all
of our life. He gives life to his people.
Those Old Testament priests were powerless to give life. They
are powerless to forgive sin. And they dealt in weak and beggarly
elements. They dealt in animal blood, smoke
and incense and things. Christ deals in power. In the power of His deity. He
deals in the power of His sin-atoning blood. And that enables Him to
forgive the sin of His people. That enables Him to give eternal
life to His people. So verse 18. Paul says, For there
is barely a disannulling of the commandment, going before, for
the weakness and 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. Now the law, all the ceremonies
and the sacrifices and the priesthood and everything tied up in that
had to be annulled because they were weak. They were weak through
the flesh. They weren't weak because God
made up a plan that was weak and gave Moses something that
was weak. No, the law was perfect. It was weak through our flesh,
through the weakness of sinful flesh. That's what rendered that
priesthood completely unprofitable. The law could never make anyone
perfect. All the law could do is show
a sinner how sinful we are. That's what the law does. Shows
us our need of a Savior. That law and those priests They
could never justify anyone from sin. They could never cleanse
the inward pollution that we're born with. They could wash the
body, but they can't touch the filthy, polluted sin soul that
we're born with. They could never set someone
free from guilt. They obviously still had guilt because they
offered a sacrifice and they came back and offered another.
They never set anybody free from guilt or from the power of sin
and death. All they could do was point out
where sin is, but they couldn't do anything about it. They couldn't
put it away. So Christ had to come. And He
came and He put the sin of His people away. He justifies His
people from all sin. And He cleanses us, washes us
in His blood and cleanses His people from all sin. All of it. He sets us free from sin and
death. And he does what that Old Testament
high priest could never do. Purge the conscience from the
guilt of sin. Look over Romans chapter 8. Romans 8 verse 2. For the law of the spirit of
life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and
death. For what the law could not do In that it was weak through
the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful
flesh and for sin, for a sacrifice for sin, condemned sin in the
flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled
in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. And we have a better hope because
Christ, our High Priest, offered better blood, way better blood. I mean, he doesn't even compare
to the animal blood. He offered perfect blood, the
blood of God. He makes His people perfectly
holy and righteous and gives us a good hope through grace,
through God's amazing grace to His people. And in Christ, we're
made perfect so that we draw nigh to God. You know, I thought
this week, really, I feel sorry for those Old Testament priests.
Under that law, everyone was kept out of the presence of God. Presence of God 12th and that
Holy of Holies and you couldn't go in there. Only the high priest
could go. He couldn't go to whenever he
wanted to. Just one time a year, not without blood. He can only
come when God told him to. Everyone was kept out. It was
just a law of no. You can't do that. You can't
come in here. You can't do this. You can't do that. You can't
do this. Christ doesn't say that. He says come. Come unto me. Drink. Come unto me. Eat and
live. We, in Christ, we draw nigh to the Father and cry unto
Him, Abba, Father. We come to Him because our sin
is forgiven. Under that Old Testament law,
there's fear. The people heard the thunderings
and the lightnings and they're afraid. And they told Moses,
go talk to God for us. We're afraid too. Don't let Him
speak to us. In Christ, the fear is gone.
And we pray, let the Father speak to us. Let Jason pray. Let your
Spirit come on us and speak to us. Fear is gone because Christ
has made peace for us through the blood of his cross. So verse
20, and inasmuch as not without an oath, he was made priest.
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. Now
the law changed, the priesthood changed, the tribe of the priest
changed. where he got his power and authority
from, it changed. Now the way the priest is made
is changed. Those Old Testament priests,
they became priests because they were born into a family where
his father was the high priest. He died. They were in the tribe
of Levi. The father died. The oldest son
took his place. That's how he became high priest.
They weren't sworn in. They weren't sworn with an oath.
But the Lord Jesus Christ was made priest by God Almighty. God anointed him priest and swore
an oath and made him our priest. And we looked at this last week.
We have God's promise. We have his word and his oath.
He'll never change his purpose toward his people in his son,
because his sons are eternal high priests. Now, verse 22. By so much as Jesus made surety
of a better testimony. 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. Now again, here we have a change. The number of the high priests
change. There are many high priests,
just for three or four or five hundred years, just constantly
changing. Their high priesthood ended when
they died. I mean, they weren't real effective
when they were living, but their death rendered them completely
useless as a priest. But Christ's priesthood is eternal. And His death didn't make His
priesthood null and void. His death is what makes His priesthood
effectual. Because in His death, He put
away the sin of His people. His death is actually what makes
His priesthood eternal. And none of God's children ever
have to worry about our High Priest family, never, because
his sacrifice is eternally effectual, to put our sin away and let us
rest in him. Something the Jews under that
Old Testament priesthood never could do. They could never rest.
Because you're High Priest, you can rest in him. Now verse 25. Wherefore, all this being understood,
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." That Old Testament priesthood, like
I said, was just a life of futility. Their work was never finished
because they never accomplished anything. As far as sin is concerned,
they didn't. The only thing they could do
was give a picture of redemption. They could point out sin because
of a constant need of sacrifices. What they were doing was pointing
out a need for a Savior to come and do what they couldn't do,
to put sin away. And in the fullness of time,
God sent His Son. Our Lord Jesus Christ came and
He completely, to the uttermost, saved His people from their sins. He didn't leave one left unpaid
for. He didn't leave one spot or blemish.
His blood and His priesthood reaches everywhere His people
are. He left nothing undone. He cleansed
every spot of leprosy. He removed every trace of sin.
He removed every trace of death. His blood has gone deeper than
the stain has gone. His blood has gone deeper than
the stain of Adam's sin. And He saved His people, Scripture
says, to the uttermost. And that word means forevermore.
Eternally, He saved His people from their sin. What else would
you expect an eternal high priest to do? Everything he does is
eternal. including the salvation of his people. So, verse 26, For such a high
priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate
from sinners, and made higher than the heavens. Now, this high
priest became us, and that phrase means he's suitable to us. He's
suitable to us because the Lord Jesus Christ meets every need
of every sinner. On the day of atonement, the
high priest, on his hat, he wore a sign across his forehead that
said, Holiness to the Lord. Well, that's Christ our high
priest. A suitable high priest for us.
He is holy. And he makes us holy in him.
It's not just a sign pasted on the outside. He makes his people
holy. Gives us the holiness in himself. He's holy. He's harmless. There's no guile found in his
mouth and no malice in his heart. In Isaiah 41, the prophecy of
the Messiah says, the bruised reed shall he not break, and
the smoking flax shall he not quench. He's harmless. He never
harmed anybody. The only thing he did was go
around healing people, helping people, meeting people's needs.
That's a suitable high priest for us. That makes him a suitable
sacrifice. The sinless sacrifice who can
be made sin. for our left. That makes Him
able to bear my sin and put my sin away. He's holy, He's harmless,
and He's undefiled. He's undefiled with Adam's sin.
You and me are defiled with Adam's sin. We've got His nature. That's
what makes us just sin constantly. But our Lord was undefiled in
Adam's sin. He didn't come with the seed
of man. He didn't come from Adam's seed. He came from the seed of
woman. And that makes Him a suitable High Priest for us. The blood
he offered was perfect blood. It wasn't defiled with Adam's
sin. It was pure, sinless blood of a lamb without blemish and
without spot. He's undefiled. And he's separate
from sinners. He came in the likeness of sinful
flesh, yet without sin. He took on him the nature of
sinners without taking on him a sin nature. He's separate from
sinners in Adam. But you know, when we read He
is separate from sinners, where do you always find the Lord Jesus?
In the company of sinners. That's what the Pharisees accused
Him of. This man received sinners. And He is with them. He was in
the company of sinners. But our sin never rubbed off
on Him. It didn't defile Him. He was
in the company of sinners without ever condoning or encouraging
sin. He forgave it. And one day, He took our sin. He took our
sin in His body on the tree and traded us His righteousness. Imputed His righteousness to
us and had our sin imputed to Him in His body on the tree.
And He put every last one of those sins away with the sacrifice
of His body. How He suffered and died to put
our sin away. That high priest, is suitable
for me. How about you? Oh, I'm so thankful. And now Paul says he's made higher
than the heavens, given all glory and honor, exalted above, given
a name as exalted above every name, seated at the Father's
right hand. That high priest is suitable
for us. He's at the Father's right hand,
always near, ready to make intercession for his people. In verse 27,
who needeth not daily as those high priests to offer up sacrifice
first for his own sins and then for the people's? For this he
did once when he offered up himself. For the law maketh men high priests
which have infirmities, but the word of the oath which was since
the law maketh the son who is consecrated forevermore. That
high priest in the Old Testament, he first had to offer sacrifice
for himself because he's a sinner too. Then he could offer a sacrifice
for the sins of the people. You see, a sinner can never put
away the sin of another sinner. It's impossible. But Christ,
our high priest, had no sin of his own. He knew no sin. He did
no sin. He wasn't acquainted with any
sin. So he didn't have to offer a sacrifice for his own sin,
then for ours. Now, he is perfect. The only
sacrifice he offered was one. Sacrifice for the sin of his
elect. He had no sin of His own, but He made our sin His. He took
it to Himself, made it His, so He could put it away under His
blood and give us eternal life. That's something those Old Testament
high priests never could do. Christ is better, isn't He? In
every way, He's better. Well, I hope that blessed you.