Hebrews
7-9
We’re
going to cover 3! chapters in Hebrews tonight because the writer is
making one seamless argument that all flows together.
That means we’ll have to read larger chunks and be a bit more summary
in our examination so that we can get a better feel for the overall argument.
Sometimes
we miss the forest for seeing all the trees individually.
It’s the writers intent here to reveal a theological forest, so we need
to step back a bit and take a wider look at what he says here.
As
I’ve said for the last couple weeks, beginning with chapter 5 and running all
the way through chapter 10, the author of this letter is making a stupendous
case for the superiority of Christ as our Great High Priest.
In
chapters 7, 8, & 9, he reveals where Jesus gets his priesthood from, and why
it’s superior to the priesthood of Israel.
We
jump right in to the thick of it with this mysterious reference . . .
1For this Melchizedek, king
of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the
slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2to whom also Abraham gave a
tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then
also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” 3without father,
without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of
life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.
Since
most of vs. 1-3 are a parenthesis, let’s cut all of that out and just get the
heart of what he’s saying here; we’re left with . . .
Beginning
v. 1, “For this Melchizedek” and ending v. 3 “remains a priest
continually.”
“For
this Melchizedek remains a priest continually.”
Everything else in vs. 1-3 is descriptive of this mysterious fellow
Melchizedek.
The writer first mentioned him in ch. 5 when he originally revealed
Jesus Christ as our new Great High Priest.
He said there that he had a lot more to say about his Melchizedek, but
that it didn’t appear his readers were ready to hear it – that they had grown
rather dull of hearing and this all might be a bit too much for them.
Then,
in the last verse of chapter 6, he again mentioned him and said that Jesus’
priesthood was superior to the priesthood of the Tribe of Levi because
it was based on the higher priesthood of this guy Melchizedek.
Now he sets out to prove how Melchizedek’s priesthood was superior.
He says here he was the king of Salem and priest of the Most High God.
We first learn about Melchizedek in Genesis 14 were we read these words
. . .
18Then Melchizedek king of
Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. 19And
he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of
heaven and earth; 20 And
blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And
[Abram] gave him a tithe of all.
As
the story goes, someone came to Abram one day and told him his nephew Lot had
been kidnapped by a raiding party.
Abram rounded up his servants and went after the raiders and defeated
them.
The spoils of the rescue was pretty substantial and
as he returned to his home he had to pass by the city of Salem, the ancient
name for the City of Jerusalem.
As he passed by, the King of Salem, Melchizedek,
came out to greet him.
Besides being the King of Salem (which means Peace),
he is also given the title of priest of the Most High God.
And take careful note of the emblems of
greeting he brought out - bread and wine, the emblems of the New Covenant!
So Melchizedek is the King of Peace, Priest of God,
and he serves Abram communion.
And
what does he do? He blesses Abram!
Without any argument, the lesser is blessed by the greater!
And Abram immediately acknowledges Melchizedek’s
superiority by giving him a tenth of the spoils of the battle.
This was the allotment due to God, and Abram paid it
to Melchizedek!
The name “Melchizedek” means “king of righteousness.”
The
interesting thing in the account in Genesis is, this is all we see or hear of
him.
No genealogy is given for him; we don’t know who his parents were.
And since there’s no other mention of him, we don’t
know when he rose to reign in Salem or when his rule ended.
The
writer is concerned here with emphasizing the fact that Abram, who the Jews
recognized as the friend of God and the spiritual and physical father of their
race and religion, paid the deepest kind of respect and honor to this
Melchizedek.
And
Melchizedek’s priesthood, because it’s origin and conclusion remain a mystery,
still stands because it’s never been declared superceded by God.
Until there is some kind of evidence of the fate
of Melchizedek, his priesthood still stands!
Who
was Melchizedek?
Most scholars are convinced this is what is called a theophany –
and appearance of God in human form.
Specifically, this is a Christophany – an
appearance of Christ in the OT.
In fact, this whole account is given in Genesis as a
way to lay the groundwork for the later coming of Christ and His taking the
role of Great High Priest in an order that surpasses the priesthood of Israel.
It may be this very event,
Abram’s meeting the King of Salem, that Jesus referred to in John 8 when he
said to the religious leaders who were standing against Him . .
56Your father Abraham rejoiced
to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”
57Then the Jews said to Him,
“You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
58Jesus said to them, “Most
assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
And
of course, they took up stones to kill him, but He escaped once again.
4Now consider how great this
man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. 5And
indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a
commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is,
from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham; 6but
he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham
and blessed him who had the promises. 7Now beyond all
contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. 8Here mortal men
receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that
he lives. 9Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through
Abraham, so to speak, 10for he was still in the loins of his
father when Melchizedek met him.
The
argument is simple and straightforward.
In the Law of Moses, the people were commanded to offer tithes to God
and give them to the priests.
The priests were the descendants of the tribe of
Levi.
But Levi was the great-grandson of Abraham,
and Abraham paid a tithe to Melchizedek!
So, in a way, Levi and all his descendants paid a
tithe to Melchizedek through Abraham and by so doing, they acknowledged
there was a priesthood that was superior to their own.
11Therefore, if perfection
were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the
law), what further need was there that another priest should rise
according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order
of Aaron? 12For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is
also a change of the law. 13For He of whom these things are spoken
belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar.
14For it is evident
that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing
concerning priesthood. 15And it is yet far more evident if, in the
likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest 16who has come,
not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power
of an endless life. 17For He testifies:
“You are
a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
Okay,
this gets a bit steeper – but don’t lose sight of the overall point.
The writer is simply saying that the priesthood of
the tribe of Levi was only meant to be temporary until the Messiah would
come and officiate from a higher order of priesthood; one that was
eternal and was revealed in Genesis 14 through Melchizedek.
Where he gets the idea the Levitical priesthood was temporary
comes from Psalm 110:4 which he quotes in v. 17.
Psalm 110 is clearly Messianic – it points to the
coming Messiah.
And in it King David says that the Messiah will not only be the King of
the Earth, He will be a priest in the same order that Melchizedek served.
A change in priesthood means a change in the law –
for the priesthood is ordered by the law; it was the Law of Moses which
established the Priesthood of the tribe of Levi and made the Family of Aaron
the family of high priests.
If the Messiah is a priest of a higher
priesthood, that means the entrance of a higher law.
18For on the one hand there is
an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and
unprofitableness, 19for the law made nothing perfect; on the other
hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw
near to God.
The
Law of Moses while in itself perfect, was powerless to affect real change in
the people.
All the law of Moses could do was reveal sin
by specifying what to do and what not to do, and then to provide a temporary
covering for the guilt of the sins committed by the people.
But the law had no power to enable people to KEEP
it.
If anything, all it did was make the people aware of
their sin and their powerlessness.
And
that was precisely God’s intent.
God gave the Law of Moses so that people would
realize they were sinners.
He gave the priesthood and the rituals of sacrifice
as a pattern or example of what was needed to forgive sin – a substitutionary
sacrifice on their behalf.
All of this was meant to drive the people to the
Messiah who would come and first provide the final substitutionary sacrifice
that wouldn’t simple cover, but would remove their guilt, and
then second - rise from the dead with new life so they could find power to
overcome sin in their personal lives.
20And inasmuch as He was
not made priest without an oath 21(for they have become
priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him:
“The Lord has sworn And will not relent, ‘You are
a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek’”),
22by so much more Jesus has
become a surety of a better covenant.
Again,
to understand this we need to drop the parenthesis –
V.
20 - And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath -
V.
22 - by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.
When
a priest of Israel began his service, it was simply because as a man of the
tribe of Levi who had reached the proper age, that was his job.
But
King David, in writing Psalm 110, spoke prophetically and declared the Word of
God that the Lord swore, He took an oath that the Messiah would
serve as high priest from the order of Melchizedek.
So Jesus of Nazareth, though he is from the tribe of Judah, serves from
an order of priests that is higher than the tribe of Levi.
A higher priesthood means a higher covenant and law.
23Also there were many
priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. 24But
He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. 25Therefore
He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him,
since He always lives to make intercession for them.
Jesus’
priesthood is also higher because He lives forever!
The priests of Israel had a life span of only 60 or 70 years.
And since the priests represented the people before
God, the quality of the worship that was offered to God was directly
proportional to the godliness of the priest.
That meant in some seasons, when a really good man
served, the worship of God was holy and right.
But at other seasons when mere office holders and
career men held the priesthood, worship was stale and lifeless.
Jesus is perfect in righteousness and holiness and there is no one more
fervent or zealous for God with perfect knowledge.
So His priesthood is superior to every one that came before Him.
And of course, because He lives eternally, no priest
comes after Him.
As
it says in v. 25, the work that Jesus does as priest doesn’t merely cover over
the guilt of our sin –
He saves us in that He not only removes our guilt, He removes the sin
itself.
And then, He sits at the right hand of the Father
and makes constant intercession for us.
Imagine how difficult it had to be for the people of ancient Israel.
If you lived in the region of Galilee, your sense of communion with God
had to be an extremely difficult proposition.
The reason why is because, according to the law, the
only place you could offer a sacrifice was where? In Jerusalem at the temple.
But the trip to Jerusalem was a long and difficult
one.
Most folks only made the trip once a year.
When you sinned, you needed to offer a sacrifice.
If you wanted to make a special dedication of
yourself to God, you had to offer a sacrifice.
If you wanted to really worship the Lord, you had to
bring an offering.
And that meant going to Jerusalem, standing in line
at the temple – meeting with a priest, expressing your heart to, and then going
back home.
So, this issue of intercession on the part or the
priest, which was a necessary part of your worship of God and your sense of
intimacy with the Lord was infrequent and a huge hassle!
But now, Jesus Christ, our great High Priest as
entered into the presence of God, not with the blood of bulls and goats which
can only cover sin.
He’s entered with His own blood which removes sin and He abides there
to make unceasing intercession for us.
This is what makes our ability to be in constant
fellowship with God possible.
26For such a High Priest was
fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,
and has become higher than the heavens; 27who does not need daily,
as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then
for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. 28For
the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the
oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected
forever.
Every
day in the temple, the priests would offer up the sacrifices of the people.
But before they could offer up the offerings of others, they had to
offer one for themselves because as mere men, they too were sinners.
Every day, all day, the smoke of the sacrifices went
up.
Every day, all day, the priests officiated at the
altar.
Why? Because
the offerings that were made did not actually discharge guilt or enable
holiness.
Jesus single sacrifice of Himself did what the millions of offerings
and sacrifices of the past could never do – remove sin and enable for holiness.
1Now this is the main
point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at
the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, 2a
Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected,
and not man.
3For every high priest is
appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary
that this One also have something to offer. 4For if He were on
earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts
according to the law; 5who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly
things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the
tabernacle. For He said, “See that you make all things
according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” 6But now He has
obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better
covenant, which was established on better promises.
The
temple in Jerusalem was built by Solomon from plans developed by his father
David.
David in turn got his plans from the book of Exodus in which we read
that Moses received the pattern and blueprints for the tabernacle in the
wilderness.
Moses was told to make sure that the tabernacle be
built exactly according to the vision and plans he’d been given by God.
The reason why was because it was actually a replica
of something in heaven; more than likely the throne room of heaven.
By carefully executing the plans for the tabernacle
and later the temple, the people were supposed to be confronted with the
holiness of God and the need for someone to stand between a holy God and sinful
man – a Mediator who could bridge the gap between them.
Just as the priests of Israel served in the replica on earth – Jesus
entered in to the real thing in heaven and performed His perfect service.
His service, because it was perfect and
lacked nothing, only needed to be offered once.
Then He sat down at the right had of the
Father, as testimony to the fact that His work is finished.
7For if that first covenant
had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.
Now
the writer moves to show that it was ALWAYS God’s intention to surpass the Law
of Moses and Covenant with Israel.
He does this by quoting the prophet Jeremiah . . .
8Because finding fault with
them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—9not
according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took
them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not
continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. 10For
this is
the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says
the Lord: I will put My laws in
their mind and write them on their hearts; and I
will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11None
of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me,
from the least of them to the greatest of them. 12For
I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and
their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
13In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
This
is a quote from Jeremiah 31:31-34 and was spoken by the prophet nearly 1000
years after God gave Moses the Law.
The Jewish people ought to have realized that a New covenant and
priesthood was coming – it was clearly spelled out in this passage.
All that the old covenant and too weak to perform,
the New covenant would accomplish.
In v. 13, the writer says that since the New Covenant has come in, the
Old Covenant is no longer needed and will be swept away.
There is a short transition time while the gospel is preached to the
last of the Jews, but then, once it is, the last vestiges of the Old System
will be removed.
Isn’t it interesting that not long after this letter
was written, the temple was destroyed and the priesthood of the tribe of Levi
was submerged.
Though Judaism continues as a religion today, the
ritual and formula are gone.
Since there is no temple, there is no altar.
And since there is no altar, there are no
sacrifices!
And since there are no sacrifices, the heart and
soul of Judaism are absent.
In
this chapter, which we’ll cover only very briefly, the writer describes the
service the priests used to offer in the tabernacle and temple . . .
1Then indeed, even the first covenant
had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary. 2For a
tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand,
the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary; 3and
behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest
of All, 4which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant
overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had
the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; 5and
above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these
things we cannot now speak in detail.
6Now when these things had
been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the
tabernacle, performing the services. 7But into the second
part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he
offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance;
8the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of
All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. 9It
was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are
offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to
the conscience—10concerned only with foods and drinks,
various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.
He
is just repeating what he’s said before.
The old sacrifices only covered sin, they
didn’t remove them.
11But Christ came as
High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect
tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 12Not
with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most
Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 13For
if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the
unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14how much more
shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself
without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve
the living God? 15And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new
covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the
first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the
eternal inheritance.
This
is a great picture he paints here.
He says in effect that all those sacrifices and offerings that were
made under the old covenant were like IOU’s that people made to God.
Each sacrifice was another IOU placed on the holy
spindle.
When Christ came, He gathered up all the IOU’s and
nailed them to the cross.
When He shouted, “It is finished – Paid in full” every one of those
IOU’s was paid in full.
That declaration – received by faith, sets us free from sin and clears
our conscience of the sense of guilt.
The last phrase of v. 15 introduces a new idea . . .
. .
. those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
Think
about the mindset of the ancient Jew as they walked away from the temple after
just having handed over their sacrifice to a priest.
Their sense of communion with God was renewed, re-established – based
on what?
The death of the sacrifice!
The death of the substitute meant a renewal of life!
The author draws on that idea here and says that those who believe in
Christ, enjoy an inheritance.
His death secures for them and inheritance of life.
16For where there is a
testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. 17For
a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all
while the testator lives. 18Therefore not even the first covenant
was dedicated without blood. 19For when Moses had spoken every
precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and
goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself
and all the people, 20saying, “This is
the blood
of the covenant which God has commanded you.” 21Then likewise
he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the
ministry. 22And according to the law almost all things are purified
with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.
The
word “covenant” carries the idea of “a last will and testament.” [1]
If a man writes his will, that will is not in force
until he dies.
It was necessary for Jesus Christ to die so that the
terms of the New Covenant might be enforced.
Even
the Old Covenant was established on the basis of blood as the writer
says in vs. 19-21, which is lifted from Exodus 24:3-8.
In Lev. 17:11 we find God laying down this principle when we read,
The
life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the
altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that
makes atonement for the soul.
Since
God has ordained that forgiveness of sins is through the shedding of
blood, it’s necessary that blood be shed and applied if the New Covenant is to
be in force.
Moses cleansed and prepared the earthly tabernacle for service by sprinkling
the blood of a bull.
Jesus has entered into heaven with His own blood.
23Therefore it was
necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with
these, [meaning the blood of bulls] but the heavenly things themselves
with better sacrifices than these. [meaning
the blood of Christ]
We
can understand why the earthly tabernacle and temple had to be purified and
dedicated by the application of blood.
Without the shedding of blood there is no remission
or forgiveness of sins.
And since the earthly temple
was built by mere human hands, it was subject to being defiled.
The sprinkling of blood
cleansed the temple of it’s defilement, at least temporarily.
But heaven is undefiled, holy!
Sin is not allowed to enter there.
So why would Christ need to apply His blood to the
heavenly things?
The reason why is because the sprinkled blood
changed God’s relationship to the heavenly things.
God could enter into communion with people because of the blood of
Christ.
Here’s
the crux of what the author is saying:
Through Jesus Christ, we who are sinners can enter
into the holy of holies in the heavenly sanctuary.
Physically, we’re on earth; but spiritually, we’re
communing with God in the heavenlies.
All of this will get a fuller treatment in ch. 10,
which we’ll get in to next week.
24For Christ has not entered
the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into
heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; 25not
that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy
Place every year with blood of another—26He then would have had to
suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the
ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 27And
as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28so
Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for
Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
Now
we can summarize the writer’s point in this entire portion of Hebrews we’ve
looked at tonight.
The
New Covenant was established by blood, just as the Old Covenant was.
The difference is that the New Covenant was established on the basis of
a far better sacrifice and applied in a better place!
Vs.
27 & 28 will be my text for Sunday.
We’ll dig into them deeper then.
But
for now, notice the point made in vs. 24-26.
While the high priests of Israel had to renew the
sacrifice every year – Jesus offered Himself once!
And that one offering is good for al time!
Let me try to say this delicately, yet clearly – In the Roman church,
when the priest holds the elements of the Lord’s table and pronounces his
blessing over them, Roman Catholic doctrine teaches that the bread & wine
literally become the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
This is called the doctrine of transubstantiation;
in which the substance of bread dough and fermented grape juice transmutes
into the body and blood of Christ.
Thus when people eat the Mass, they are actually taking
Christ unto and into themselves.
This is understood as how one receives grace, and so stands in right
relationship with God.
According
to Roman doctrine, only a Roman priest has the power to transmute the elements
into the body and blood of Christ.
And once the elements are transmuted, they are then elevated and
carried around in a re-enactment of Jesus being lifted up on the cross.
During the Mass, Jesus’ crucifixion is carried out all over again.
And it is this act, so says Rome, that gives the Mass it’s power to
affect salvation.
But this flies in the face of the clear teaching of Hebrews 9:25 where
we read . . .
25not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters
the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another—26He then would
have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once
at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of
Himself. 27And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after
this the judgment, 28so Christ was offered once to bear the sins
of many.
Christ’s
death, because it was perfect in it’s aim and purpose has secured our eternal
salvation.
We have no need today of priests to intervene on our behalf because we
have a Great High Priest who even now sits at the right hand of God and makes
intercession for us.
We don’t need priests, saints or anyone else – We
have Jesus!