JESUS COMPARED TO MELCHIZEDEK – HEBREWS 7:11-28 Our Heavenly Father, Creator of all things and Master Teacher, we humbly come into Your presence to seek Your Holy Spirit to open our eyes to these Holy Scriptures. We earnestly pray for enlightenment as we study together, and we ask You, Father, to open our eyes to see the truths contained in these words. Open our minds to comprehend that which we are reading, and open our hearts to receive the message that You have for us. Finally, dear Father, we ask for the strength and courage to live our lives in a manner of the called, constantly giving You the glory, honor, and praise that You deserve. We pray these things in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Hebrews 7:11 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 rise after the order of Melchisedek, and not be called after the order of Aaron? After Abraham bowed and worshiped him, nothing is heard of Melchizedek for another thousand years—until Psalm 110, where we read a priest would come not from Aaron and the Levites but from the order of Melchizedek (verse 4). Hebrews 7:12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. If there’s now a new priesthood on the scene greater than Aaron and the Levites, then there must be a change of the law as well, reasons the author of Hebrews. In other words, the rules of the entire game are changing. Hebrews 7:13–17 For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood. And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest, Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedek. Neither Melchizedek nor Jesus was of the tribe of Levi. Yet the Father, talking to the Son in Psalm 110, identified Jesus as a Priest after the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 7:18, 19 (a) For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. For the law made nothing perfect… The only thing the law makes perfect is the understanding that no one can keep it. Therefore, Aaron and the Levites were part of a system unable to make you, me, or anyone perfect. Hebrews 7:19 (b) …but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God. The better Hope, the Anchor who makes us perfect is Jesus Christ. Hebrews 7:20, 21 (a) And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made priest: (For those priests were made without an oath… In the Levitical system, there was no swearing-in ceremony. One became a priest by being born into the tribe of Levi and a high priest by being born into the direct line of Aaron. Hebrews 7:21 (b) …but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedek:) Unlike the Levitical priesthood, Jesus had a “swearing-in ceremony,” recorded in Psalm 110, as the Father “swears in” the Son after the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 7:22, 23 By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death. Because every priest died, the Levitical priesthood was constantly changing. Hebrews 7:24 But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. According to the Talmud, there were eighteen high priests before the destruction of the first temple and three hundred-plus before the destruction of the second. In the Levitical system, there was a bunch of priests. In the Melchizedekian order, there was only One. Hebrews 7:25 (a) Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him… The implication in the Greek language is that He is able to save continually. Hebrews 7:25 (b) …seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. When most people think of intercession, here’s what they picture: I sinned again. And Jesus, my Intercessor pleads my case before the Father. “Okay, I hear Your presentation, Son,” the Father says. “So because You are the Intercessor, the charges against him/her are dropped.” But wait. That’s not what happens. In chapter 1, we saw that after He purged our sins, Jesus went to the right hand of the throne of God and sat down. Therefore, although Romans 8 declares He’s at the right hand of the Father making intercession, He’s doing so not with His words, but with His wounds. Both Johnnie Cochran and Marcia Clark stood when they made their cases in the O. J. Simpson trial because they were trying to persuade a jury. Neither side felt their case was secure enough to sit. On the other hand, if you walked into the home of another football legend, Jim Plunkett, and heard him say, “I was a great quarterback,” there would be no discussion, no debate, no argument. The Heismann trophy on his mantel would be absolute evidence of the fact that Jim Plunkett was a great football player. So, too, Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, and the wounds in His hands and feet, the scars on His brow, the hole in His side settle the issue. Jesus isn’t talking the Father into being merciful to me. He’s not asking the Father to be lenient with me. His scars alone are sufficient. That’s why when Thomas finally saw Jesus, Jesus didn’t say to him, “Let’s talk doctrine. He said, “Touch My wounds” (see John 20:27). Hebrews 7:26–28 (a) For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; 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 infirmity… The author makes a case saying the Levitical priesthood was flawed. The Levites had infirmities physically, problems spiritually, and they kicked the bucket eventually. Hebrews 7:28 (b) …but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore. The fact that the Aaronic priesthood was flawed does not diminish the fact that in chapter 5, when the author discussed the priesthood of Aaron, he listed three characteristics that point to Jesus.… FIRST, HE’S CHOSEN FROM AMONG MEN. For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins… Hebrews 5:1 (a) Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. Hebrews 2:17 SECOND, HE OFFERED SACRIFICE FOR SINS. And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. Hebrews 5:3 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. Hebrews 7:27 THIRD, HE ATTAINED THE POSITION THROUGH LINEAGE. And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. Hebrews 5:4 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. Hebrews 5:5 Thus, Jesus completely fulfills the picture and the type of Aaron’s priesthood. But He is represented more fully in the Melchizedekian order. Why is this important? Because every one of us is relating to Jesus in one of those two ways.… Many people relate to Jesus only as the fulfillment of the Aaronic priesthood. And what they see is this: a Man who became like us, who laid down His life for us, who did not choose that position for Himself but only sought to glorify the Father and to obtain our salvation through His sacrifice for us. And for them, that’s as far as it goes. They do not understand that Jesus is not only the fulfillment of the Aaronic priesthood, but that He is Melchizedek. Melchizedek’s ministry is not to obtain salvation. It is to maintain salvation. That is why Jesus ever lives to make intercession (Hebrews 7:25). The Melchizedekian order is a ministry of maintaining my salvation based upon His wounds—and it’s a done deal. That means that as I drive home to Deland today, and I have something I need to pray about or a promise I wish I could claim, I don’t have to say, “I can’t claim this promise because I haven’t prayed with the kind of intensity I should,” or, “I can’t pray now because I haven’t read my Bible in three months.” No, I can simply say, “Jesus continues to save me because His ministry is intercession based upon what He once offered, upon the wounds He now has. There’s no discussion about my worthiness. I am free. I am completely and totally free.” Aaron’s line was always busy working, always pleading, always sacrificing. In the Melchizedekian order, however, there’s nothing more to be said, nothing more to do. It was done once and for evermore when our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ, offered Himself as a sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary. Have a blessed day!
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 14:59:40 +0000