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January 11, 2009
# 21 Hebrews 7 1-10
The Picture of the New Priesthood
Throughout the Old Testament there are scattered incidents which seem to parallel things in the new, particularly concerned with Christ.
Now some call these “types”, a type of Christ, and there are a few incidents where we can clearly see that the Holy Spirit intends one event to foretell or foreshadow , beyond mere illustration, Jesus.
For instance, Moses and the brass serpent is compared in John 3.
We know that a sacrificial lamb is equated with the Christ.
We know that Jonah was a foreshadowing of Christ in that he spent 3 days in the great fish as Jesus did in the earth. We are told clearly that that was the spirit’s intention.
But to look at an event in the Old Testament that the Holy Spirit doesn’t specifically point to in the new and adamantly refer to it as “a type” is not our call. Bringing our imagination into play as a basis for interpretation is dangerous. A type is a frail illustration at best. A lamb is not really like Christ, only humbly pictured. And so Melchisedec does not deserve equality with Christ.
But he is a graphic picture of Christ placed there by God for the very purpose of convincing some of these Jews of Christ’s right to priesthood. This was a main focus of the Jews and became a basic question concerning Christianity, where is your High Priest.
The Jews had to have a priest, not like the priests of our day, a little man in a robe who blessed people or goes through rituals.
Not even like the historic Jewish priests in the cute little hat and funny get up.
No! To the Jew the priesthood was exalted highly, it was basic to Judaism.
The priests were the ones who connected men to God . You recall the Latin word for priest. “Pontiffex” or bridge builder. The priest was the one who was the bridge between God and man.
So to the Jew the priesthood was #1 super important. The crux of their religion was the priesthood, without him there was no access possible to God.
On Yom Kippur they could not go into the Holy of Holies and put blood on the mercy seat, the High priest had to build that bridge. Why?
That was how God did it and men would be called out, sons of Aaron and Levi, to minister as priests, to mediate between God and man or build bridges to God according to God’s specifications.
Later in Hebrews 9 we see that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin, and the priests didn’t have access to God without the sacrifices God had ordained. And God had ordained a blood sacrifice, done by priests, to link God and man.
God had made a perfect law. Man had broken a perfect law, and so a sacrifice was needed to open the path to God to deal with the sin. A man’s genuine repentance showed as he sacrificed obediently to God. The priests were the ones who administered this sacrifice and built the bridge to God, but human priests are sinful so they have to sacrifice for themselves too.
In this book the writer wants to show us, to prove to us, that there is a greater high priest than any Levitical one.
There is a greater high priest than any Hebrew one who didn’t need atonement for his own sins.
The whole problem with the Jewish priesthood was that it was inadequate. What they did day to day was not of any worth tomorrow. The sacrifices had to be done day by day and over and over and over constantly, never a final satisfaction. For every new sin a new sacrifice. Here in Hebrews the Holy Spirit shows that we need a new and better priesthood and a new and better sacrifice and that both are fully realized in Jesus Christ, who is the greatest sacrifice and the greatest high priest. This Superior high priesthood is pointed out in 8:1-2 in summary, but here in chapter 7 it is pointed out that Christ id better than any High priest, even than Aaron acc to Ch. 4:14. 7:1-10 we see Melchisedec an old Testament picture or illustration or type which is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Back in 5:11 he stopped in his persuasion of Christ to explain what they should already have known and to warn them to mature.
Now in 7:1 he picks up where 5:11 stopped, so let’s look here first at the description of Melchisedec in verses 1-3. The in 4-10 we’ll se the superiority of Melchisedec.
Look at verses 1-3 “The Description of Melchisedec”
Turn back to Genesis 14:12-20 (Look it up)
Here is the case history. Notice that Melchisedec wasn’t the only one who met Abraham as he returned. The king of Sodom was there too. But as the writer of Hebrews, divinely inspired of God, only wants us to notice Melchisedec and only concentrates on the details of the story that help him make his point about Christ.
Look at his description:
1. A King and a priest who gave a blessing to Abraham and received tithes from Abraham.
2. His very NAME is messianic. It means “King of Righteousness.” And who is righteousness’ chief? Through whom do we obtain righteousness? Jesus Christ.
Also Melchisedec is the King of Salem, or Shalom which is Peace.
Isaiah 9:6 refers to the coming Messiah: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
So his NAME is messianic.
(3) He is described or presented as without genealogy, As eternal. Why? Why is his genealogy not given? Because the Holy Spirit intended him to foreshadow Jesus Christ as the eternal high priest. So Melchisedec, as a matter of record had no parents listed. But Jesus is now and ever has been the eternal God. Some have speculated that Melchisedec was Christ pre-incarnate and that may be so but I dare not do that.
The word said “He was made LIKE the Son of God. God prepared the history of Melchisedec to use him to describe the Son, the eternally existent Son of God. He notes Christ’s pre-existence because that is unusual.
Christ ALONE has existed eternally as God. No one else is pre-existent except God. Now if this is unusual, and it is, and Christ alone is preexistent and he is. Then the Mormon’s are wrong saying we all are eternally pre-existent gods.
Now what is the purpose in describing Melchisedec? To show he is a proper illustration of Christ high priesthood. So now in keeping with that he shows in vv 4-10 The Superiority of Melchisedec.
1. Verse 4-5 Shows That Melchisedec is greater than Abraham. Abraham gave a tithe to Melchisedec.
2. vv 6-7 Melchisedec Blessed Abraham
3. Melchisedec is greater than Levites. They die
4. Levi paid tithes to Melchisedec so Melchisedec is greater than Levi.
Now hang on, you need to see this clearly, how the Holy Spirit proves the superiority of Christ’s Priesthood over the Levitical Priesthood. SO Hang on
Verse 4. Now carefully consider how great this man was. He was even greater than Abraham the Patriarch, and then he proves that by the fact that Abraham gave tithe to Melchisedec.
Verse 5. And he says, The Levites, Son’s of Aaron, receive a tithe because the law said to, Not because they are greater or superior to other Jews. But with Melchisedec it was not so. Verse 6 says Melchisedec did not trace HIS descent from Levi.
He was not simply one of 12 brothers, Sons of Abraham, he was a solitary figure of grandeur and he exacted a tithe not simply from the other brothers but from Abraham Himself. Melchisedec’s greatness stands out.
Now hang on to that, it figures in his argument. Chew it carefully, this meat.
Not only is Melchisedec’s greatness seen in that Abraham tithed to Him, but also in that Melchisedec blessed Abraham.
Calvin says “A blessing is a solemn act of prayer with which one who is endowed with some outstanding public honor, commends to God private individuals who are under his care.”
That is the gist of the argument. Look at verse 7. It goes without saying that the one who blesses is greater than the one being blessed.
Abraham, in giving spoil to Melchisedec, conceded Melchisedec’s greatness, and Melchisedec in conferring a blessing, accepts that judgment. So Melchisedec is greater than Abraham, the one who has God’s promise. You with me on that?
In verse 8 we see that Melchisedec. is also greater than the Levitical priests. Levitical priests receive tithes, but grow old and die, but Melchisedec is not noted as dead, rather without dying and without end. So Melchisedec’s priesthood id greater than Levi’s
The argument of verse 9 is more acceptable to a Jewish mind than to us. They would readily understand that Mel is greater than Levi not only in that Levites die, BUT in that Levi, by extension, gave tithe to Mel. As Abraham tithed, so did the grandchildren yet unborn. The Jews recognized the power of one offspring.
God told Rebecca ‘Two nations are in your womb (Gen 25:23) we know that In Adam all died (1 Cor. 15:22) So too all Levites are seen as tithing to Melchisedec in Abraham and therefore are inferior to Melchisedec.
Now the whole purpose of the Holy Spirit is to show the absolute unquestionable superiority of Jesus Christ’s Priesthood and he uses the mysterious Melchisedec as a powerful illustration of this.
Now family, this section is doctrine, teaching, proving to them and us the greatness of Christ, indeed the ultimate unchallenged final authority of Christ in every realm.
Next time we will examine this new and better priesthood, but what does this all mean to us?
We saw in 6:9-10 God’s Promise is sure. In Hebrews so far we have seen that Our Christ is a greater High priest than Aaron, a greater law giver than Moses and greater than any one or anything.
In Matthew He says “I have all power, so YOU GO and I promise I will be with you always even to the end of the earth. So trust me and go.
Today we are proud and pleased that one of our own is doing her part to fulfill that hope. That calling.
Kathryn, as you go from here Be confident that the one who told you to go will be with you.
We, as your church family are proud of you and (show hands) these people will covenant to pray for you while you are away.
Kathryn, dear small sister, We offer you our blessing, our love our
Pride and our prayers.
Gather around and pray with me for this woman, this beloved daughter of all our hearts.
This is left in that you might Pray for 18 year old Kathryn as she is on her 2 month mission trip to Nepal. She is building at an orphanage and sowing seeds.
She returns to us in February
