Hebrews 7:1-28 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
to 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,”
without 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.
Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils.
And 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;
but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.
Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better.
Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives.
Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak,
for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.
Therefore, 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?
For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law.
For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar.
For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.
And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest
who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life.
For He testifies: “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness,
for 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.
And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath
(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’ “),
by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.
Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing.
But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood.
Therefore 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.
For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;
who 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.
For 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.
Daniel Webster was a 19th century American statesman. He was once at dinner with some very elite figures in Boston, and the conversation turned to Christianity. Webster was a convinced Christian, and openly confessed His belief in Christ and His atoning work. Someone at the table said to him, “Mr Webster, can you comprehend how Jesus Christ can be both God and man?”
Webster replied, “No sir, I cannot understand it, and I would be ashamed to acknowledge Christ as my Saviour if I could comprehend it. He could be no greater than myself, and such is my conviction of my accountability to God, my sense of sinfulness before Him, and my knowledge of my own incapacity to recover myself, that I feel I need a superhuman Saviour.”
When we really understand the Gospel, we really understand that our Saviour had to be both God and Man. When we really understand the Gospel, we understand what Christmas is about: the Incarnation. The book of Hebrews is one of the most eloquent defences of Messiah being both God and Man.
Back in chapter 5, the writer began telling us about how the God-Man came to be our High Priest.
By being both God and Man, He could be both sinless and sympathetic. He began to compare Jesus to Melchizedek, but the difficulty of the subject led him to break off and talk about the immaturity of his readers. He doubted their ability to handle truth about Melchizedek, and it took him all of chapter 6 to address the matter of their maturity. It is only in chapter 7 that he returns to Melchizedek, and wants us to understand something else about our High Priest. Once again, there is something about the High Priesthood of Jesus that requires that He be both God and Man.
Why does the writer bring up Melchizedek? You have to imagine the Jews who were reading this book. They were under persecution from other Jews. And the Jews who were persecuting the readers were saying things like, “How can your sins be atoned for by Jesus? He isn’t even a legitimate priest! The real High Priest is in Jerusalem. He has all the proper credentials, of the tribe of Levi, chosen according to written commandments of Moses’s law. There he operates, in his beautiful priestly garments, in the beautiful Temple. What do you have? A crucified man, who you say rose again? Where’s His priesthood? Where’s His Temple? Who called Him?”
The writer links Jesus to Melchizedek because he wants to show that Jesus is no phoney. In Psalm 110, Messiah is said to be after the order of priest Melchizedek. If so, Jesus is not a usurper or pretender to the office of High Priest. He is not only qualified to be High Priest, He is actually far superior to the High Priest in Jerusalem. So much so, that you can’t go back to that priesthood. Once the God-Man has come, there is only one priest, one mediator between God and man.
That’s important for us to hear as well. We might not have the same concerns as 1st century Jews did, but we also need to know, is Jesus really the only way? In a world where you will get persecuted, vilified, hated for saying that there is only one way to God, and it is Jesus, we need to know, is He really the only way? Is it Jesus and certain other ways? Is it Jesus or other religious paths? Or is Jesus truly the only mediator, worth staking your life on, worth losing your reputation for, worth suffering for? The writer will give us three qualities of Christ’s priesthood that answer that question.
I. Superior Priesthood
Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils.
And 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;
but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.
Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better.
Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives.
Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak,
for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.
Our information about Melchizedek is very little. The only Scriptures we have about him are Genesis 14:18-20, where Abraham pays tithes to him, and then one verse in Psalm 110, which is a psalm about Messiah:
Psalm 110:4
The LORD has sworn And will not relent, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
So who and what was Melchizedek, and why does the writer want to compare Jesus to him? All we actually know about him is that he lived at the time of Abraham, was a king-priest of the city of Salem, which later became Jerusalem. Of the three offices of prophet, priest, and king, there are a very few people who hold two at once. Samuel would have been a prophet-priest. David, since he wrote Scripture was a prophet-king, as was Saul, who prophesied a few times. Melchizedek is the only king-priest we read of. Only Messiah is prophet, priest, and king.
So we know he was a king-priest.
We also know he is the only other order of priest mentioned in the Bible. There is the order of Levi – the priests established by the Law. And then 500 years later, we have King David writing Psalm 110 and giving us this one-verse mention of the priesthood after the order of Melchizedek.
His name means king of righteousness. And since he was the king of Salem, and Salem means peace, he was the king of peace. He was a worshipper of the one true God, and brought out bread and wine to Abraham, perhaps a foreshadowing of the Lord’s Supper one day. He appears in Scripture and then disappears, not connected to anyone else, no genealogy given.
That’s all we know. Who was he? Lots of theories exist. Some have suggested it was Christ Himself before Bethlehem. It seems the Jewish community at Qumran thought he was an angel of sorts. Some Jewish traditions held that he was actually Shem, the son of Noah (who actually was still alive during the time of Abraham). However, most of the wording in Hebrews can be fairly easily attached to a real, historical figure, who actually lived in Canaan, and worshipped the true God.
So why bring Melchizedek into the picture?
If you had lived in the Roman empire and were shopping for a religion, the highest, and purest, and wisest religion, was that of the Jews. Whereas the priests of pagan religions were known for their immorality and excesses, the priests of the Jewish religion were self-controlled, modest, and known for their strict adherence to food laws, and other laws of purity. These priests all came from one tribe in Israel, the tribe of Levi. As far as religions go, Judaism seemed to be the purest, and the Levitical priests were the top of that religion. If you were a contender for mediator between God and man, you needed to top the Levites, the priesthood of Aaron.
But the writer shows us something interesting. All Israel, including Levi come from Abraham. When Abraham came back from the battle, he met Melchizedek. And there, Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, acknowledging Melchizedek as his superior. He honoured him. And in one sense, Abraham’s descendants, the Levites, also paid those tithes and acknowledged Melchizedek as their superior. Melchizedek blessed Abraham, again showing that Melchizedek was the superior one.
What the writer gets from this is simple: any priesthood coming from Abraham is inferior to a priesthood coming from Melchizedek. And since Messiah is after that priesthood, He is superior. He doesn’t have to be born from the tribe of Levi. He can come from the tribe of Judah, because the order of Melchizedek has no genealogy, no family line.
For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar.
For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.
There’s another piece of evidence that Christ’s priesthood is superior. The promise that Messiah would be a priest after the order of Melchizedek came hundreds of years after the giving of the Law and the establishment of the Aaronic priesthood. This makes one ask, if those priests were sufficient, why speak of another priesthood?
Therefore, 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?
For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law.
The answer is, Messiah’s priesthood was going to replace the old priesthood. And if it was going to replace the priesthood, it was also going to replace that Law that the priesthood was based upon. It means the old covenant is inferior and has been replaced.
Now if Jews of the 1st century could not return to their beautiful Temple and their gloriously arrayed high priests, what does that say to us? Will we return to some nominal form of Christianity where the church institution is the mediator? How can we do so, when we know that the priesthood of Messiah is superior to them all?
But how does anyone know that the priesthood of Jesus is superior? Why should we trust it over some other path? The answer is the second reason for trusting that Jesus alone is the mediator between God and man.
II. Sworn-in Priesthood
And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath
(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’ “),
by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.
The writer of Hebrews tells us that Messiah is made after this order by an oath. The Aaronic priesthood was not established with an oath. That’s why God could alter it or even abolish it. God did not bind Himself to the sons of Aaron. But the priesthood of Messiah was instituted by an oath by God the Father. God the Father will not lie or repent. If God has established it by His own promise, then it will never be abolished. Nothing can be higher than a promise made by God, so there will never be a priesthood after Messiah’s transcending His.
For Messiah to be a priest, He needed to be human. But for Messiah to have this kind of oath sworn to Him, he needed to be God. Only the Son is worthy of an oath from the Father.
For 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.
In South Africa today, everywhere you look, there is some kind of ministry, some kind of church springing up, with self-appointed prophets, self-appointed apostles, self-appointed evangelists, self-appointed pastors. No church calls them, no body of believers recognise God’s call on their life, and yet they call on people to trust them.
Outside our borders, there is no shortage of self-help gurus, motivational speakers, life coaches, and such who tell you to buy their book, watch their show, visit their website, get all their DVDs – why? Because they have the answers. They are the mediator between you and happiness, you and life fulfillment, you and Heaven. How do you know you can trust them? Just look how many other people are following them? Look how many people are subscribed to their Twitter feed or Facebook page! Look at how many books have been sold.
If that’s how you judge if you can trust someone, the Bible has something to say to you:
Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
“Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Luke 6:26
Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets.
Popularity is rarely a sound judge of truth. We do not trust Jesus because of how many people endorse Him. We trust Christ because He is Messiah the priest by divine appointment. God has placed Himself under oath, saying Messiah is the final, forever priest. Man to be a priest, God to be God-appointed.
Being sworn in was one proof of His superiority. The other reason is even more compelling.
III. Surviving Priesthood
Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing.
But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood.
Therefore 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.
Here is the problem with every human being who claims to have the answer of life. Here is the problem with every priest who acts as some kind of mediator between you and God. They all die.
And once they’re dead, they obviously can’t help you any longer. They might have left their books behind, but they can’t advise you, pray for you, assist you or provide any mediation. They’re dead, which means their time of helping the living is over.
But imagine if there was a mediator who would be there, in the same place, from your earliest memory till you close your eyes in death. And when your grandchildren’s grandchildren are adults, the same mediator is there. That’s the power of a surviving priesthood. It never needs to be passed on, rebooted, restarted, or suffer from inconsistencies. The same, immortal priest is always there.
The order of Melchizedek is an immortal order. A priest belonging to this order lasts forever. Melchizedek himself was without genealogy, and so was a type of someone without beginning and without end. And the Father swore that Messiah would be a priest after the order of Melchizedek forever. How can a priest be in that office forever?
Answer: because He is the God-Man. To be a priest He had to be human. But to be a priest who continues forever, He had to have an indestructible life, which called for Him to be divine.
If Messiah were merely human, He would have been only a son of Adam, afflicted with sin, and doomed to die. If Messiah is both God and Man, He could live a sinless life, die for the sin of others, rise again, and be a priest who never dies. Yes, He is a priest in heaven, but He is the God-Man in heaven. He is there as your advocate and intercessor, and as long as He is there, you are being prayed for and pled for.
As we speak, billions of dollars are being poured into scientific research into slowing and even stopping the ageing process. Some very idealistic scientists believe that within 20 years, we will have essentially reversed the trend, and will be adding a year onto our lifespans with every year that passes, making us effectively immortal. I can tell you with some certainty why that will never happen.
God made sure Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden precisely so they would not eat from the tree of life and live eternally in a state of sin and alienation from God. God placed an angelic guard there, and you can be sure that before humanity tries to get at that fruit again, God will make sure it does not happen. Cell degeneration is not the main cause of death. Cell-degeneration is the symptom of death. Sin is still the cause of death, and the only one exempt from death’s curse is the one who did not sin. The only one who did not sin, chose to die for those who had earned death.
And both because of His sinless human life, and because of His indestructible, immortal divine life, Jesus rose. What offering has He brought there before the Father?
Hebrews 7:27
who 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.
Question: if Jesus has presented His own perfect life in atonement, and if He stands before the Father always praying for a believer, and not against a believer, how secure is your salvation? Look at the verse
Therefore 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.
The words to the uttermost mean “to the very end’, ‘completely and finally’. If Jesus’ status as High priest was temporary, then so would your salvation be. If Jesus’ position before the Father was temporary, then so would your salvation be. But because he is the God-Man, he lives forever before the Father, and prays for you for as long as He is there.
We sing
Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.
How long will He stand in heaven?
Robert Murray McCheyne, the Scottish minister of the 19th century, wrote, “If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet the distance makes no difference. He is praying for me!”
To know God, we need a mediator. We need a mediator who is superior to all other mediators and priesthoods, including the best that Israel had. We need Messiah, who is appointed by God with an oath by the Father to the Son. We need a human priest, but one who survives death to present his own life as an offering, and still lives to plead for us.