Hebrews: Melchizedek's Priesthood Like Christ's (Chapter 7)

 Jesus is not only greater than Aaron, but He is greater than Abraham since He is a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek, who blessed Abraham.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:06

You're listening to Teach Me the Bible podcast, where we unpack the meaning of books, passages and themes from Scripture. Join us each week as Dr David Klingler walks us through God's Word and teaches the Bible. Each episode has a study guide available in the show notes. This is Teach Me the Bible podcast.

Speaker 2: 0:31

Hey everybody, welcome back to Teach Me the Bible podcast. Today we are in chapter 7 of the book of Hebrews. So we are trekking along right through the book and we're starting to see the simplicity of the author's argument in these two choices. These two paths Either be carried along to maturity or fall into the hands of a disciplining God. And if that sounds very unfamiliar to you, then I'll encourage you to go back and listen to these first six chapters. But we're going to press on with this argument as we kind of get into this high priest discussion with Christ here in chapter 7. So you want to lead us through.

Speaker 3: 1:11

So we just jump right in. So continuing ends chapter 6 according to the order of Melchizedek. And of course he's introduced this Psalm 110 order of Melchizedek all the way back very early in his letter, all the way back in chapter 1, verse 13. Sit in my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. So he's already been in Psalm 110 and developing this high priest, this priest that sits at the right hand of the father, until the enemies are a footstool for his feet, according to the order of Melchizedek. That's in Psalm 110. And so this Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us. We finished the last week with that verse, that's 620, that he's run the. He's a pre-runner, he's run the race already, and now the race is set before the run. He's gotten to the completion or the perfection language.

Speaker 3: 2:14

He's been becoming a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Now, what's the point that he's going to make here? He's saying that he's been talking about the Aaronic priesthood and how the high priest in the Old Testament. He had to carry the sins of the people and had to carry his own sins, but not so with Jesus. Jesus didn't have his own sin to carry, and so the work of the Old Testament high priest was never done. The priest never sat down, but this high priest is taking his seat. So this, this Melchizedek high priest.

Speaker 3: 2:48

Melchizedek means Melchizedek, king of Righteousness is what Melchizedek means. And so for this Melchizedek, this King of Righteousness, this King of Peace, king of Salem, king of Peace, the 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 of all of the spoils, was the first of all, by the translation of his name, king of Righteousness and then also King of Salem, which is King of Peace. He was without father, without mother, without genealogy. Now what's he talking about here? In the book of Genesis, everybody's got a genealogy. You know where all of these characters came from, except for Melchizedek. He just walks onto the scene and Moses doesn't tell where he came from, who his ancestors were, who his father was, who his mother was, and so the author is making the point here. Just as there was no father and mother in the Genesis story, so also Christ is this no beginning and no end, having neither a beginning nor end of days, but made like the Son of God, he abides as a priest perpetually. Now observe how great this man was, to whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth of his choice of spoils, and those, indeed, of the sons of Levi who received the priest's office, have a commandment in the law to collect a tenth from the people, in other words the Melchizedek.

Speaker 3: 4:28

Abraham paying the Melchizedek is the standard by which it was, the means by which this gets codified into law, and so now the believer that follows also pays a tenth to the Levitical priesthood. It's a type, it's a shadow, and that's the language that he's going to use here and next week in the next chapter. This paying a tenth was a type, a shadow of what was coming, that is, from their brethren, also these who 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, and so the Lord promised back in chapter six that he was going to bless Abraham, and the means by which he did it was Melchizedek. Melchizedek brings the blessing and Melchizedek is the forerunner to Christ. Everything was looking towards Christ. The Melchizedekian priesthood is the standard by which the Levitical priesthood is set, at least as far as paying the tithe, and so his point is that the lesser is blessed by the greater, and in this case, mortal men receive ties, but in that case one receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on and, so to speak, through Abram, even Levi, who received ties and paid ties, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him. So, in other words, when Abraham paid the tithe to Melchizedek, it was the same as Levi paying the tithe to Melchizedek, and Melchizedek is the type of Christ. This is the argument, for if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood and here's his point right If the story was all about the Levitical priesthood and that was the end, all be all, then why was there a forerunner to it and why is there one that's going to come after it. Why does it look towards a greater priest and a greater law? Now, if perfection came 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? In other words, Melchizedek was this great figure that appeared in the story that Abraham paid the tithe to, and Melchizedek blessed Abraham.

Speaker 3: 6:58

Then the Levitical priesthood comes. The Levitical priesthood was built on the type of Melchizedek, in that the tithe was paid to the Levitical priesthood just as Abraham paid Melchizedek. Moreover, the law was given through the Levitical priesthood, but the Levitical priesthood and Psalm 110 looks forward to a greater priest, one according to the order of Melchizedek, who would make payment once for all for sin and sit down at the right hand of the Father. So, he says, the Levitical priesthood was built on a higher standard and it looked forward to a later standard, a higher standard. However, when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also. So we're looking towards not only a change of priesthood but a change of law.

Speaker 3: 7:59

A greater covenant is what's coming, for the one concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to the same tribe, of which no one has officiated.

Speaker 3: 8:10

In other words, the Levitical priesthood is from the line of Levi, but the one that's coming. It is evident that the Lord has descended from Judah, the tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests. In other words, there's no Judah priest, and this is clear. Still, if another priest arises, according to the likeliness of Melchizedek, who has become so, it's not on the basis of law, of physical requirement, but according to the power of the indestructible life, in other words, resurrection. No beginning, no end, for it is witnessed of him. You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. In other words, the story was looking for a priest not from the line of Judah, but this was to be a messianic king priest like Melchizedek, thank you. And so a change is necessary, for, on the one hand, there's a setting aside, a former commandment, because of its weakness and uselessness, for the law made nothing perfect. That's important to remember. The law made nothing perfect. The priest of the law made nothing perfect, perfect, completed, brought it to its end Right.

Speaker 2: 9:24

Which is said earlier in chapter 11, if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood, it's not. That's right, no, yeah.

Speaker 3: 9:31

And it's through Christ. He is the RK, the beginner and the completer right, 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, and in so much as it was nothing without an oath for they indeed became priests without an oath but he with an oath, through the one who said the Lord, has sworn and will not change his mind. You are a high priest forever. And so what's his point here? There's no swearing in, no oath from the Lord of the Levitical priesthood, but of this one. There is the Lord. This is the Lord's doing, so much more also, jesus having becoming the guarantee of a better covenant.

Speaker 3: 10:17

And the former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater number because they were prevented by death from continuing. There's one, then another, the whole Levitical priesthood. But he, on the other hand, because he abides forever, without beginning, without end, holds his priesthood permanently. Hence also, he is able to save forever those who draw near to God. Through him, he always lives to make intercession for them. It was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens. Who does not need daily, does not need the daily, like those other high priests, to offer sacrifices, first for his own sins, then for the sins of the people, because he did it once for all when he offered up himself. For the law points men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, the word of the Lord, which came after the law, appoints the Son to be priest forever, to make perfect forever. He is the beginner and the completer of our faith. So the author of Hebrews is making the point from every means possible that Jesus is the end, all be all of the Old Testament. Everything pointed to him. The law didn't make you clean, he's going to say here, coming up. The blood of bulls and goats can never take away sin. The priest couldn't take away sin, only this one could take away sin. And so we have a greater high priest.

Speaker 3: 11:56

Now, why is this important? Because this, this Jew who's a believer in Christ, is contemplating going back to the Old Testament, going back to Old Testament law, going back to the Old Testament biblical priesthood, going back to the Old Testament revelation and covenant. And the author's point is everything about that Old Testament. The angels, the word which was given, was talking about Christ. The Moses was the one through whom the law was given and he managed the house, but Christ was the house and God is the builder of the house. And the little local priesthood was was necessary, but it was inferior to the Mchisedecchian priesthood that preceded it and it looked forward to a priesthood that would come after it. And so if this was the end, all be all the Old Testament, then why was it looking for another? Why was it looking for a greater rest? Why was it looking for a greater covenant? Why was it looking for greater Moses? Why was it looking for a greater priesthood? All of it, and why couldn't it carry you to completion.

Speaker 2: 13:01

To completion. That's exactly right.

Speaker 3: 13:05

And so in chapter eight he's going to say the main point of what I've been saying is this and so if you're reading chapters one through seven and you don't get to the point that he's making in chapter eight, then you need to go back and read it right. And not only is it is chapter eight where he's headed, but then he's going to chapter nine where he's going to talk about the old, the old sanctuary, the old sacrifices, the old covenant and the new covenant, the new covenant sacrifices. Chapter 10, he's going to talk about how this Christ could take away sin and we need to hold fast to that confession. Then he's going to go into all the examples. Consider all the saints in the Old Testament who never received what was promised but looked forward to the day when they would be perfected. And so he's going to finish chapter 11 with this that all of these saints, having gained approval from God through their faith, did not receive what was promised. In other words, they were not perfected because God had providing something better for us, so that, apart from us, they should not be made perfect, not should not be made complete and perfect. And that's where this whole story is going. This whole letter is going is towards perfection. So, therefore, since we're surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, and every example that I could come up with says the writer endure, run, otherwise you're going to fall into the discipline of the Lord, and that will not go well for you, right?

Speaker 3: 14:45

And so we're just putting this whole book together and then, in chapter 13, he's gonna finish and say all right, so you got it. You have a ministry. Go carry this message to your fellow brethren, your Jewish brethren. Be useful.

Speaker 2: 15:01

And be useful.

Speaker 3: 15:02

Yeah, don't be fruitless, don't yield thorns and thistles, but yield a valuable, a fruit, valuable response. And so we were gonna get into chapter 13 with a bunch of imperatives, and so that's how this book's gonna spell out and play out and finish out.

Speaker 2: 15:20

Well, just as we said last time, once again struck by the simplicity of the argument, and what I mean by that is the logic which he's using. It's really he's making a very simple point and he's using all these illustrations, but what makes it easier to understand is knowing the Old Testament and knowing the illustrations which he's using. And so, if that's not you, if you feel like you don't know the Old Testament, we have all kinds of resources. We wanna sort of point you back because we recognize that some of these illustrations you might not have ever heard of Melchizedek before, you might not have ever heard of the Levitical Priesthood or whatever. So we'll point you back to.

Speaker 2: 15:59

We have a whole Bible in a year series. That's a good start. We'll point you back to that. If you haven't already listened to it. Go back, listen to the Bible in a year and continue to look out for more resources, because we're gonna go through Old Testament books and continue to hash these things out. Then we're confident that as you keep plugging in, as you keep learning, that these things will become more and more clear to you.

Speaker 3: 16:23

And don't forget that this is a general epistle by general epistle. The general epistles are written to a Jewish audience. James is written to a Jew, hebrews 1, peter. The Jews knew their Old Covenant, they knew their Old Testament Bible, and so the way that you would argue with someone who already knows this stuff, was grown up by it, would be very different than trying to explain something to a Gentile who doesn't know anything. Which is, generally speaking, why we like the Pauline epistles, because they're written to Gentiles who don't know anything, and so he kind of puts it on the bottom shelf for the readers, whereas the assumed shared knowledge between the author and audience. In these letters written to Jews, written probably by a Jew to a Jew, there's much higher Old Testament prerequisite knowledge needed?

Speaker 2: 17:20

Yeah, for sure. All right, well, so yeah, go check out those resources and then join us back here next week for chapter eight. We'll see you then.

Speaker 1: 17:29

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