Melchizedek: A Picture Of Jesus

 

 

 

"For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, ² to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace. ³ Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually.

⁴ Now observe how great this man was to whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth of the choicest spoils. ⁵ And those indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest’s office have commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their brethren, although these are descended from Abraham. ⁶ But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises. ⁷ But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater. ⁸ In this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on. ⁹ And, so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes, ¹⁰ for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

¹¹ Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron? ¹² For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also. ¹³ For the one concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar. ¹⁴ For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with ref28rence to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests. ¹⁵ And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, ¹⁶ who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷ For it is attested of Him,

“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”

¹⁸ For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness ¹⁹ (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. ²⁰ And inasmuch as it was not without an oath ²¹ (for they indeed became priests without an oath, but He with an oath through the One who said to Him,

“The Lord has sworn
And will not change His mind,
‘You are a priest forever’”);

²² so much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.

²³ The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, ²⁴ but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. ²⁵ Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

²⁶ For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; ²⁷ who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. ²⁸ For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever."   

Hebrews 7:1-28

 

 

Good Morning My Beloved,

Welcome to worship this Lord's Day!

We are so very grateful for our beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, we are so thankful that you are all with us today. We continue to lift all of you up in prayer, and ask that you would also do the same for us.

 

Many Christians today, admittedly do not take the time to study the Old Testament. As such, they are motivated to learn about Melchizedek. Let's face it, you’ve got marriage problems, problems with your kids, financial problems, personal problems, not to mention your daily needs. So, why would you be interested in learning about some obscure man from many centuries ago named Melchizedek? I believe that learning about Melchizedek will help you to be a better person, no whatever role you are in. My purpose today, is to convince you that you do need to know about Melchizedek.

 

To better understand the present, we need to better understand the pull of the past, we need to realize that many religious traditions die hard! For centuries,many generations have lived and died without ever questioning religious traditions. Today, these false religious views dominate their way in which they live their life. And, when missionaries try to penetrate these cultural religions with the gospel, they are often met with strong resistance, because to accept the gospel means to abandon centuries of religious tradition.

 

Let us bow our heads in prayer.

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Father, thank You for Your Word, may we not over complicate it, we know it can be difficult to comprehend at times. Thank You for giving us another beautiful, glorious picture of Jesus Christ. Thank You for teaching us these great truths. Give us a hunger to know Your Word. Lord, we pray that these truths might deeply penetrate our hearts.

In Jesus name

Amen

Today's Message: Melchizedek: A Picture Of Jesus

As we come to Hebrews chapter 7, which is really the main chapter in the epistle to the Hebrews. It tackles the key question that concerned the Jews, and that was the question of priesthood. Whenever we talk about a priest today, a lot of different things come to mind. Some think of a Catholic priest, going through certain rituals, or think of a Jewish priest, who historically wore all kinds of paraphernalia. But whatever image comes to mind, we tend to think of them with backward collars and having a rather strange and peculiar relationship to our society and exist in a kind of a religious world all their own. 

However, to the Jew, the priesthood was a very exalted position, that was very intrinsic to Judaism. They were the ones who really connected men with God. The Latin word for priest is pontifex, which taken apart and really means bridge builder. So, priests built the bridge between God and man. Religion was the access to God, and since they couldn’t directly get to God, they had to go through a mediator, and the priests were designed to be mediators. 

Priests could not have direct access to God except through a sacrifice, because God had designed that sin would be paid for by a blood sacrifice. And in chapter 9, it says "Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission for sins." The priest was the one who actually did all of the technicalities of the sacrifice and offered the blood as an atonement for sin. We covered all this a few messages ago.

God made a perfect law, and, men had broken it. Therefore, men’s fellowship with God was also broken. In order be rejoined again, and when a man repented and made an offering, the priest went through the ritual, then the genuineness of the man’s repentance was shown in his obedience to the sacrifice. However, human priests were frail, and they were sinful, and before they could ever offer sacrifices for anybody else, they first had to offer sacrifices for themselves because of their frailties.

The author of Hebrews was trying to convince people that a religious system of sacrifices, rituals, and rules that had been in place for over 1,400 years had now been replaced by a better way. He focuses on the supremacy of Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment of all that was written by Moses and the Jewish prophets. He introduces a theme that is only treated in the Book of Hebrews, that Jesus Christ is our high priest. The problem with the Jewish priesthood was that it was so inadequate. The writer wants to prove to us that there’s a greater high priest than any Jewish priest, a greater priest than any Hebrew priest, one who doesn’t need to make atonement for His own sins.

We will only appreciate our need for a high priest to the degree that we realize how holy and unapproachable God is and how sinful and defiled we are. When Isaiah saw the Lord, sitting on His throne, lofty and exalted, surrounded by the seraphim who called out, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts," the prophet was undone. It devastated him because immediately he became aware of how utterly sinful he was, in contrast to God in His awesome holiness.

Open your Bibles with me to the seventh chapter in the book of Hebrews. As we have previously discussed, the book of Hebrews is a presentation of the preeminence of Christ. It presents Jesus Christ as the exalted one. Jesus is the mediator of a better covenant, with a better hope. Men needed a priest, and finally, a great, glorious high priest has come along. Not only does Christ fit the qualifications of a priest, but He supersedes any qualifications of any priest. The Holy Spirit writes all about the priesthood of Jesus Christ, because this is the very heart of Judaism.

 

I invite you to follow along with me as I read to set the text in our minds, as we prepare our hearts for a message from our Lord. Hebrews 7:1-28.

 

"For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace. Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually.

Now observe how great this man was to whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth of the choicest spoils. And those indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest’s office have commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their brethren, although these are descended from Abraham. But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises. But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater. In this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on. And, so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

¹¹ Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron? ¹² For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also. ¹³ For the one concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar. ¹⁴ For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests. ¹⁵ And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, ¹⁶ who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷ For it is attested of Him,

“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”

¹⁸ For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness ¹⁹ (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. ²⁰ And inasmuch as it was not without an oath ²¹ (for they indeed became priests without an oath, but He with an oath through the One who said to Him,

“The Lord has sworn
And will not change His mind,
‘You are a priest forever’”);

²² so much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.

²³ The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, ²⁴ but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. ²⁵ Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

²⁶ For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; ²⁷ who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. ²⁸ For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the ord of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever."

Here the Holy Spirit introduces the priesthood of Christ, I am sure you will recall, that He was going to compare Melchizedek to Jesus, but then He stopped back in chapter 5. In 5:11 to 6:20, you have a parenthesis. And we have been study that parenthesis, where He says and I'll paraphrase it, "I want to tell you about Melchizedek, but you’re too spiritually hard of hearing." Then, to the unbelievers, He says, "Wake up! And come to Christ." They needed to understand that Jesus is a priest of a higher order than Aaron. That Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchizedek. Then in verse 20 He gets right back to His point, "Jesus, made an High Priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek." And then here in chapter 7, verse 1, He immediately launches into this comparison.

 

I find it rather interesting, that He stops and says "I cannot go to tell you the things I need to until you become mature, then almost immediately goes on to tell them. I believe the reason is, if He had been speaking to Christians that needed to grow up, He would have had to wait a long time before He ever started chapter 7. However, since the maturity that He is talking about here. is the maturity that comes in salvation, it is a momentary maturity, He can then say, "Now I’m going right on for those of you who know Christ."  

 

So, He introduces Melchizedek, and then He says, "Jesus is a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek." Now, there’s all kinds of speculation about who Melchizedek is. Some insist that he is an angel, this is a common thought. However, in chapter 5, verse 1, I think that is done away with, because it says, "Every high priest is taken from among men." Therefore, it's impossible that he would be an angel. While others suggest that he is Jesus Christ. The reason they say that is because there is so much mystery that surrounds him. However, in verse 3, He says " Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually." It does not say He wasthe Son of God, but made likethe Son of God. A Bible is not "like" a Bible, a Bible "is" a Bible. I believe that the only clear answer here, is that he is a man whom God designs to use as a picture of Jesus Christ. He's neither Christ or an angel but a kind of Christ. But, the secret things belong to the Lord, that's not something we can really play around it.

So, all that we can know about Melchizedek comes from the Scriptures. And that is out of three verses in the Old Testament, which we will look at those in a minute. But the whole place that Melchizedek occupies in sacred history is one of the most remarkable proofs of inspiration and the unity of the Scripture as written by the divine Spirit. The whole concept of Melchizedek is an amazing insight into the fact that God wrote the Bible.

 

In Genesis for example, we have three verses about Melchizedek. Then, a thousand years later, we find a Psalm with only a single verse about him. That is in Psalm 110:4, which says "The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind "You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek." So, we haveGod Himself who swears to His Son that he will be a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. Then, another thousand years passes by, and another verse becomes the seed of this wonderful exposition about Melchizedek. And you know you can see nothing less than the divine order of the mind of the Spirit, guiding Melchizedek and guiding Abraham with a view through all of these thousands of years to coming up to a perfect picture of Jesus Christ. Melchizedek and Abraham had no idea what was going to happen 2,000 years, the psalmist had no idea, yet God knew exactly what He was doing with the person of Melchizedek. Which clearly tells me, that same God who wrote Genesis wrote the book of Hebrews.

 

So, here in chapter 7 verses 1 to 10, He tells us about Melchizedek. Let's look at two significant points;

The superiority of Melchizedek presented and the superiority of Melchizedek proven. They’re presented in verses 1 to 3, where the Spirit unfolds this fascinating character for us. Coming right off of verse 20, which says "where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek," He says here in verse 1 "For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him." Here we again meet Melchizedek, and we learn a few things about him, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God. He met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed Abraham.

 

This is coming directly from Genesis 14:17. Allow me to quickly read that to you. " hen after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand." That’s it, that's the beginning and the end of all you’ll ever hear about Melchizedek.

 

There in Genesis chapter 14, we get all the detail leading up to this. Chedorlaomer incidentally, in that time, there were little pockets of land which were ruled by tribal chieftains many times who were really kings. There was the king of Sodom, and there was the king of the Elamites, and there was the king of this group and that group. And they were all in charge of their own establishment.

 

Abraham was a very important man who ruled over his own people and the tribe that was his. And all of these individuals had their little dominions all in the area of Jordan. The Chedorlaomer was an Elamite king, and he got together with three allied kings and raided this area. He came over to Jordan, and he raided Transjordan, and he raided the Negev. And he defeated all these little city states as they were around Jordan, including Sodom. He defeated that area and carried off a large number of captives as well as Lot, which you will remember was Abraham’s nephew. Lot had gone to live in Sodom, and Lot got carried away.

 

The news finally made its way to Abraham at Mamre; Abraham lived up further north near Hebron. And Abraham decided to get some forces together and chase Chedorlaomer and these other kings. And, he overtook them by a surprise attack at Damascus, and they fled leaving all the captives and all the spoil. You can’t get a better deal than that, right? Then Abraham gathered up all the captives and all the spoil and he took off for home. However, along the way, he ran into the king of Sodom, who was rejoicing over what had happened. And he said to Abraham, you ought to keep all the spoil for what you’ve done. And Abraham said no, because Abraham had promised the Lord that he wouldn’t do that. So, he didn’t.

 

Then, immediately before Abraham ran into the king of Sodom, he met Melchizedek, who was the king of another area called Salem. Not only the king, but he was the priest of the Most High God, and he blessed Abraham. So Abraham took of the spoils and paid it to Melchizedek, then he just fades away, and that’s all we hear about him.

 

So, one one hand, we have Aaron’s priesthood. And, on the other hand is Melchizedek’s priesthood. Aaron’s priesthood was national, it was Judaistic. The priests were subject to the kings, they were not kings themselves. Aaron’s priesthood offered no permanent righteousness and peace, only that from continual sacrificing. It was a constant repetition every time they sinned, the peace and righteousness was shattered. Aaron’s priesthood was hereditary. If you were born into the right family, you were automatically a priest, which obviously posed some problems. It was also a timed priesthood, from around the age of 25 to 50, it was limited. It was never a permanent priesthood.

 

It is important for us to understand this because Melchizedek’s priesthood supersedes Aaron’s in every way. Therefore, the Holy Spirit says that Christ is a better priest than Aaron. Christ is a better priest than Aaron. That may not mean much to you, but to the Jew, that means a lot! Because if Christ is better than Aaron, then need to turn to Christ. That the new covenant is better than the old covenant, that's the point. God is trying to reach Israel, to get Israel to turn from Judaism to Christianity. So, it's very important that they understand that Christianity is superior in its priesthood. That's the whole point. And so, we see the comparison with Melchizedek.

 

 So, in verse 1, first we see that Melchizedek’s priesthood was universal, it wasn't national. That's a rich concept, then we see that he is the priest of the Most High God. In relation to Israel, God took the name of Jehovah. God's name is I AM. YHWH in Hebrew. So, since no Jew would say the name of God. And so, since the Jews didn’t want to say the name Jehovah, they took the consonants of Jehovah and the vowels out of Adonai, which means Lord, and put them together and they got Yehowah, which is Jehovah. Jehovah is not really the name of God, its the name that Israel came up with, which deals strictly with Israel. Within the line of Aaron, the Levite line, all of those who came from Aaron were priests only of Jehovah. That is they were related to God only in connection with Israel. They were tied to Israel.

 

 So, it's important to note that it does not say that Melchizedek was the priest of Jehovah, he is the priest of the Most High God. That's important because it's a universal name for God, El Elyon, and it reaches everywhere and everything in both heaven and earth. It is the universal name of God that includes Jew and Gentile. Its far broader than the Jewish term Jehovah. So, Aaron’s priesthood related only to Israel, Melchizedek’s was much broader because it related to all men. Now, the Holy Spirit says Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchizedek. That's very significant, because Jesus is not just the Messiah of Israel but the Messiah of the entire world. So, that is very important to establish Melchizedek’s priesthood as universal if you’re going to say Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchizedek. Jesus Christ transcends Israel. Abraham understood this concept, because in Genesis 14:22, in response to Melchizedek he said to the king of Sodom, "I have sworn to the Lord God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth" Abraham understood Jehovah in the covenant relationship.

 

Even the demons understood this when the Lord cast the out in Mark chapter 5, when they cried out with a loud voice "What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!" You will remember that Jesus says for those of us who come into His relationship, He promised that we shall be called the sons of the Most High. And so, Most High is the universal name for God in the sense of His universal rule and character as it involves all men. And this means that Melchizedek’s priesthood is not limited to a nation. He is not just priest of Jehovah; he is priest of the Most High God, El Elyon, Possessor of heaven and earth, it is above all national and above all dispensational distinction. Why is this important? Because Judaism was a closed system, they didn't seek converts. So, the Messiah is not their own, but a priest after the order of Melchizedek.

 

We see this in John chapter 1, in which says "he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" And, in I John 2:2, "He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world." Therefore, Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of all men who call upon Him.

 

Then, we see that Aaron’s priesthood was subject to royalty; Melchizedek’s priesthood was royalty, he was the "king of Salem." In fact, four times it says he was king. In verse 2, it says "to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace." He is called king for times in just these two verses. So Melchizedek’s priesthood was royal, which is something totally foreign to the Aaronic priests. Because Israel’s priests were never king and priest, there was never a combination. No priest was ever royal. Then, comes Jesus Christ, who is the perfect blend, of both priest and king, the true Priest, the Great Priest, the glorious Priest Jesus Christ is that perfect blend of priest and king, so that He not only takes men to God, but He rules men for God. 

 

I'd like you to notice that later on in chapter 7 verse 26-27, when He gets into talking about Jesus, He says "For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself." Jesus is made higher than the heavens, He is supreme royalty, King of Kings, Lord of Lords.

 

Melchizedek, had the name king of Salem. That’s very likely an ancient name for Jerusalem. Jerusalem also had the name Jebus, we know that the Jebusites occupied Jerusalem initially. It may well have has the name of Salem at the time of Melchizedek. It was the hometown of God. So, Jerusalem had a king long before David, and a king that was appointed by God; and a priest long before Aaron, and a priest who was appointed by God. Melchizedek was king and priest of Jerusalem. Now, this is important, because the Jews always felt that God dwelt with them, that God was exclusively theirs, and there could never be another priesthood, and there could never be another covenant. And so, when Christianity came along and says, "Here’s another covenant; here’s another priesthood," they just couldn't believe it. 

 

There is a beautiful statement about that in Psalm 132 verses 13-14, no need to turn there, I'll just read that to you, "For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His habitation. “This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it." God's hometown is Jerusalem. So, in a beautiful argument by the Spirit. He says "Look, there was another priest, and there was another covenant before you existed. So, why can’t there be one after?" In other words, the whole world didn’t begin with Judaism, there was something going on before that, God worked in another way, so why can't He do it again? If God dealt differently before, why can’t He deal differently now? That leaves an opening for the new covenant. That's why this is so important, because God didn’t need to work through the nation Israel before Abraham. If He had a royal priest at one time, why can't He have another one?

 

The next things is, there was no permanent righteousness, and there was no permanent peace in Aaron’s priesthood, but in verse 2, we see that Melchizedek, "first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace." Salem, from Shalom, which means peace. His name is righteousness; his city is peace. He is a perfect combination of righteousness and peace. Righteousness is holiness, and righteousness is demanded before you can ever be at peace with God, because God hates sin. Therefore, if you’re a sinner, you and God are not at peace. If a man is righteous in the eyes of God, then he’s not at war with God, God fights against His enemies. That's why in Romans chapter 3, Scripture teaches us that Jesus Christ gave us His righteousness, therefore, we are at peace with God. The righteousness of Christ is given to you by faith in Him. Christ’s righteousness becomes yours; therefore, you’re immediately at peace with God. Every priest wanted to make a man righteous, so that he might be at peace with God, however, they were not able to do it.  Peace with God only lasted as long as man didn't sin. So here, He is saying that Melchizedek’s very name was righteousness, and his city was peace, emphasizing that his was a kingdom and his was a priesthood of righteousness and peace. That is typical of Jesus Christ!

 

When a sinner comes to Christ, His righteousness cover him forever. Jesus Christ secures our righteousness and peace with God on a permanent basis. Melchizedek was likely a righteous man, and a peaceful king, but the Holy Spirit isn't dealing with the personal characteristics of Melchizedek; He is only dealing with the fact that Melchizedek is a type of Christ. He was first righteousness and then peace. I believe that it's important to mention, that they always come in that order; because unless there is righteousness, there’s no peace with God.

 

In Psalm 85, and I love this, it says "Lovingkindness and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other." The two things that men wanted most was a sense of righteousness before God and being at peace with God, and they kissed each other and became a reality in Messiah. That was the promise!  Jesus Christ came to give us His righteousness so that we might be at peace with God. What a beautiful truth, what a tremendous promise we have been given in Christ. So we can clearly see, that Melchizedek’s priesthood is a picture of Christ: a universal priesthood, a royal priesthood, and a righteousness and peace priesthood.

 

Next, we see that Aaron’s priesthood was hereditary; Christ’s was personal. Beloved, this is so very important. Because since the beginning of God’s dealing with Israel, since the establishment of the Aaronic priesthood, heredity and genealogy was the key to the whole to the picture. This is important, because it had nothing to do with personal qualification. You could be a real dirt bag, and as long as you were born in the right line, you were in. It only had to do with heredity. But the priesthood of Melchizedek had nothing to do with heredity, it had to do with personal qualifications, therefore, it was superior.

 

So, when you come to Melchizedek, look at verse 3, "Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually." He was without father or mother, without genealogy, neither beginning or end. In the record of Genesis, there is no indication of his genealogy. This is significant, because the Judaistic priests all based their rights on their genealogy. This is not a comparison between Melchizedek and Christ, but a comparison between the revelation about Melchizedek in Genesis 14 and Christ. We know Melchizedek had a descent, he had a mother and a father, the point is that he was chosen by God on the basis of personal quality. Scripture is silent on this because it's unimportant, the revelation leaves that out because its not important, he is presented as a type of Christ, in terms of priesthood, in terms of the Levitical priesthood, He had no right to be a priest. Jesus Christ belonged to the tribe of Judah, not Levi.

He was a priest not after the order of Aaron, but of Melchizedek.

 

"Without descent” is two words in the Greek a genealogētos, which means without a genealogy. What I find to be interesting, I do not believe that we ever find it any other Greek writing I either biblically or classically.  

 

Now, look at verse 3 again, "having neither beginning of days nor end of life," in the revelation in Genesis 14, there’s no beginning or ending. He just appears as alive, possibly eternal, the Scripture leaves out any other information, in order that he might appear that way. Incidentally, in Numbers 20 and following, there’s a very detailed record of Aaron’s death. There is no record of Melchizedek’s death. And so, Melchizedek appears as one who doesn’t need to follow the patterns of the Aaronic priesthood. He stands apart and is chosen by God purely on the basis of his quality. The same is also true of Jesus Christ.

Now, look at verses 15-16, "And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life." Notice He says "not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life." In other words, based not only upon His personal quality, but on His eternity, not on any set of laws. Aaron's priesthood was limited by time, Melchizedek's was eternal. herefore a picture of Jesus Christ. And here in chapter 7, it tells that Jesus Christ is just such a High Priest. 

 

And look at verses 24-25, "but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." That is what a High Priest does. Melchizedek was only a type of  Christ, he was inferior to Jesus Christ. If he had really been eternal, as with Jesus Christ, he would have been reality. He was a picture of Jesus. A picture of a bird is not the bird, is it? Its just a picture.

 

Then, in verses 26-28, "For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever."

 

The Holy Spirit presents Jesus as a superior priest three ways. First, the guarantee of a better covenant.

Let's go back to verse 22 for a moment, "So much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant." Second,  He is able to save forever. Look at verse 25, "Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." And third, separated from sinners. There is in verse 26, He says "For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens." Those are the three key statements by which He draws to a conclusion the priesthood of Jesus Christ.

 

The goal of Christianity is to bring men into the presence of God. The goal of faith is to have access to God. Jesus was able to do what no other priest could, with the other priests, the veil always remained. When Jesus Christ's sacrifice was accepted by God, the veil was torn down. Christ is the fitting High Priest; He fits the requirements. He is the perfect one. His sympathy is the fullest because He has endured a temptation to its extreme, for He who is tempted and never succumbs knows temptation at all its limits. He is fitting because He is not only is He sympathetic, but He’s able. He’s able. He not only feels what we feel, He also knows the way of escape. So, in verse 26, He says of the sinlessness of Jesus Christ: perfect, holy, harmless, and undefiled.

 

The word for holy, is usually the word hagios, which means separated unto God, that's not the word used here, its the word hosios, which refers to holiness of character rather than holiness of service like hagios. The Lord Jesus Christ is both hagios and hosios. Then He says He is innocent, holy toward God, innocent toward men. He never injured anyone else. He goes on to say "He was undefiled," meaning free from blemish and defilement. For 33 years, Jesus Christ was in the world, under the curse, mingling daily with sinners and Satan, and yet He never lost any of His purity. He was in contact with Satan, but remained untouched, He was as spotless as when He entered the world, undefiled. He touched the leper and the leper was made clean, He encountered death, and death died. He is in a different class than sinful men, in fact, He is made higher than the heavens.

 

In verse 27, He takes the contrast a bit further. "who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself." He doesn't need to make an offer of sacrifice for His own sin, because He doesn't have any. He didn't need to make an offer of sacrifice daily, look at the end of verse 27,  "He did once for all when He offered up Himself." He did it once, and it was done. The perfect Priest, the perfect sacrifice.

 

Then, in verse 28, He sums it all up. "For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever." "For the law," the was the Old Testament Levitical, and Aaronic system, when God set up the Levitical priesthood, it made men priests who were weak. But when God set up the priesthood of Jesus, He did it with an oath, and it was a perfect priesthood. 

 

In the Old Testament, the priest wore a breastplate, and on the breastplate were all the stones that represented the 12 tribes so that whenever he went into the presence of God, he carried with him on his chest all the tribes of Israel. Also, draped over his shoulders, he wore what the Bible calls an ephod. And on the ephod, on his shoulder, were all the names of the 12 tribes also. On the chest or the breast and the shoulder. We really do not know what an ephod looked like, Scripture doesn't tell us that, but it was something that went over the shoulders. In other words, the priest bore the children of Israel to God on his heart, his affections; and on his shoulder, his strength.

 

In Closing..

 

Right now, Jesus Christ is at God’s right hand. And on His heart is my name and on His shoulder is my name. He loves me! That's affection. Not only is He willing, He is able. And, if Jesus Christ is your Savior, there is also your name.

 

So many teachers of the Word today, feel they have accomplished the purpose because they’ve presented the truth. However, the purpose is not accomplished until there is a response. There must always be a response to God's Word. My role as your pastor, is to proclaim and explain God’s Word to you, however, within that role, there is always the danger that you might depend too much on me. I cannot represent you before God. You can, and should go directly to God through Jesus Christ. The perfect High Priest. In today's world, human pastors may come and go, but Jesus Christ is forever. 

 

May it be so..

 

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen

 

 

 

 

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