SIMPLY JESUS
Jesus Our High Priest (part 2)
Hebrews 7:1-28
INTRODUCTION
-As you read the book of Genesis there are some amazing tales.
-You could make the argument that the two key characters in Genesis are God…and this guy called Abraham.
-We also read about Abraham’s descendants in Gen, but the reason those people are mentioned is that they’re related to Abe.
-Abraham was considered the Father of the Jews.
-He was the central figure in their history. And as you read about Abraham’s life in Genesis there is a very strange tale that is told.
-It’s easy to miss! The story is only 3 verses long and it involves a mysterious figure named Melchizedek!
-The story isn’t prominent in Genesis, but it’s one of the little things that becomes a big thing later on.
-And Hebrews 7 explains why that episode with Melchizedek was so important.
-In our series through Hebrews so far, we’ve learned that:
-Jesus is the Final Word, he is the King of Angels, he was 100% God and 100% man, he is our Rest, he is our way out, and last week we saw that Jesus is our Hope.
-Now, if you’ve paid attention you’ve noticed that:
-JESUS IS CALLED A HIGH PRIEST FROM THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK’S THREE TIMES BEFORE CHAPTER 7. (5:6, 5:10, 6:20)
-So far, we’ve read that without too much enthusiasm!
-Jesus is a High priest in the order of Melchizedek. Sound good.
-And good for him, it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy!
-But the question comes to our mind…“so what?”
-Why is that important to us, today, here in America?
-I promise I will answer that question, but not just yet.
-Most of us here have never known a human priest; Jesus is our high priest and we don’t really care what order he’s from.
-But the Jews who received this letter would’ve struggled with the idea of Jesus as a High Priest because of an intellectual barrier.
-In spite of all that Jesus said and did…in spite of that little matter of being raised from the dead…
-THE JEWISH CHRISTIANS STRUGGLED WITH A TECHNICALITY; JESUS WASN’T FROM THE TRIBE OF LEVI.
-The priests of Israel could only be from the tribe of Levi.
-And Jesus was from the tribe of Judah.
-And because of that one little detail, they had trouble accepting Jesus as their High Priest.
-That sounds a little whacky to me! He’s Jesus! God in flesh
-But this is the kind of thing you encounter in missionary work.
-If you want to share the message of Jesus you have to work through people’s preconceived notions.
-Not, we aren’t Old Testament Jews so it’s no big deal to us, but it was a big deal to them.
-So our author takes the time to write a careful argument showing that Jesus is a High Priest but from a different order; Melchizedek!
-Now this is a very long chapter, it’s technical and I don’t want to spend 3 weeks on it, so we’re going to fly through this and I’ll be summarizing some of the big sections for the sake of time.
-So there are three pillars that support our author’s argument.
MELCHIZEDEK WAS A PRIEST (VS 1-3)
-THE STORY OF MELCHIZEDEK IS RECORDED IN GENESIS 14:18-20
-Abraham had just won a major battle against Kedorlaomer’s army and rescued his nephew Lot.
-Suddenly this guy Melchizedek appears, and immediately and inexplicably Abraham says here is 10% of everything I took in plunder and it’s all yours.
-There are only 3 verses about Melchizedek but there are some important details given about him.
-He was also called King of Salem which means “king of peace”
-Before Moses, and before the Levite priests ever existed…this MELCHIZEDEK WAS CALLED “A PRIEST OF GOD MOST HIGH” (GN 14:18)
-That’s the first pillar. Here is the second:
ABRAHAM…RECOGNIZED MELCHIZEDEK AS A PRIEST (VS 4-7)
4 Consider then how great this Melchizedek was. Even Abraham, the great patriarch of Israel, recognized this by giving him a tenth of what he had taken in battle. (SKIP VERSE 5-7)
-ABRAHAM TITHED TO MELCHIZEDEK (VS 4) (Gave him a 10%)
-If you want to freak out your friends try that one: I just plundered the neighboring town & I’m cutting you in for 10%! (Call 911)
-Here’s why that’s significant; in the OT people tithed to…priests!
-Abraham tithing to Melchizedek proves that he was a priest!
-ABRAHAM WAS BLESSED BY MELCHIZEDEK (VS 6)
- Priests are the ones who gave out blessings.
-The Jews who read this letter had to stop when they read this and admit…even Father Abraham saw Melchizedek as a priest.
-That the second pillar of this argument. Here is the third.
MELCHIZEDEK’S PRIESTHOOD PRECEDED THE LEVITES (VS 8-14)
13 For the priest we are talking about belongs to a different tribe, whose members have never served at the altar as priests. 14 What I mean is, our Lord came from the tribe of Judah, and Moses never mentioned priests coming from that tribe.
-Here’s the point; there was a priesthood that existed before Moses, and before the Levites were ever born!
-IF THE FOUNDER OF ISRAEL RECOGNIZED MELCHIZEDEK AS A PRIEST, THEN THE ISRAELITES MUST RECOGNIZE HIM TOO.
-Do you see how the author has answered their objections?
-They were saying, “Jesus can’t be high priest, he’s not a Levite!”
-So our author says…let’s review the tape:
-Melchizedek was a priest…and he was no Levite.
-Abraham called him a priest...even though he was no Levite.
-And technically, his priesthood preceded the Levites.
-So Jesus is a high priest in the spirit and tradition of Melchizedek
-And that’s the point of this long argument in Hebrews 7.
-Now we get into the stuff that’s more relevant to us.
JESUS THE HIGH PRIEST
15 This change has been made very clear since a different priest, who is like Melchizedek, has appeared. 16 Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed.
-Early on in this series we said that something must have been going on with these Hebrews Christians.
-We suspect that they were thinking about giving up on Jesus to go back to the old ways…their Old Testament ways.
-Our author has been building a case throughout this book that Jesus is better.
-That going back to the OT ways, was going the wrong way.
-He’s reminded these Jewish Christians that a change has been made, and it’s a change for the good.
-Because this new priest…Jesus…has real power.
-That’s one of the things I love about our Celebrate Recovery ministry…one of their foundational teaching is that we are powerless…but Jesus has all the power that we need for change.
-And this wasn’t some random thing our author made up.
17 And the psalmist pointed this out when he prophesied, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” (ps 110:4)
-David had prophesied that another priest would arrive.
-A priest like Melchizedek. And Jesus is that priest.
-In 1984 the Portland Trailblazers got the # 2 draft pick overall.
-They had just drafted Clyde Drexler in 83 and they felt like they needed a big man…so they drafted Sam Bowie.
-Sam Bowie went on to play 10 seasons in the NBA but was plagued by chronic injuries. (Sound familiar…Greg Oden?)
-The # 3 pick that year was a guy named…Michael Jordan who went on to play 15 years, had 6 NBA championships, was the NBA MVP 5 times, rookie of the year, nicknamed “His Airness” and considered the best basketball player in the history of the game.
-Trailblazers fans love to say…if only we had drafted Jordan!
-Everyone with common sense knows that having Jordan would have been better than having Sam Bowie. It’s Michael Jordan!
-But once in a while you meet a Blazer fan who says, yeah but we didn’t need Jordan…we needed a big man!
-And that’s exactly how these Hebrews were!
-We’ve got Jesus! Yeah, but we really need a Levite. No
-But it’s Jesus! Jesus Christ! Risen Lord…heard if him?
-And that’s what the author is trying to get across.
THE PRIESTHOOD OF JESUS IS BETTER.
-In every way better. Jesus is superior in everyway. It’s Jesus!
18 Yes, the old requirement about the priesthood was set aside because it was weak and useless. 19 For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God. 22 Because of this oath, Jesus is the one who guarantees this better covenant with God.
-The old priesthood was weak and useless.
-The Law didn’t perfect anything.
-But our new priest, Jesus is perfect!
-He isn’t weak, he’s powerful.
-He isn’t useless, he’s completely effective.
-And this better priest is a major reason that we know that our covenant is better. More on that in chapter 8.
23 There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. 24 But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. 25 Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.
THE PRIESTHOOD OF JESUS LASTS FOREVER.
-Think about the OT Priests.
-There was a whole bunch of them…vs 23 says they kept on dying!
-They were human…they were born, they served, they died.
-Their ministry didn’t last; it had a beginning and an end.
-That’s the whole thing with the OT & NT comparisons in Hebrews
-He’s been trying to establish that the covenant, the sacrifice, the priesthood, and ministry of Jesus are superior in every way.
-Leaving Jesus to go back to Levitical priests makes zero sense!
-Jesus is the ultimate High Priest. There is no one else.
-In college I did a lot of jobs but the one I disliked the most was custodian. Now, it wasn’t because of the custodial work.
-I was the custodian of the chapel building.
-The chapel seated around 1000 people and there were at least two chapel sessions every week.
-You had to get that vacuum cleaner down each of the aisles of pews which was a tight squeeze.
-You had to pick up all the trash that was left behind.
-We had to clean the bathrooms, the lobby, the stairs, the stage…it was a big job.
-You had to get that place spotless by Wednesday afternoon and by Thursday at 11am it was completely trashed all over again.
-It didn’t matter how hard I worked, or how good a job I did…
-The job of cleaning the chapel was never really complete.
-The job of the OT priests was never complete.
-Their ministry didn’t last.
-But Jesus is eternal, and his ministry is eternal, and his priesthood lasts forever…we can trust in him to save us.
26 He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven. 27 Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people.
-Everyday those OT priests got up and made preparations.
-Everyday they worked with people who’d sinned.
-They made offerings and sacrifices.
-They said prayers and helped people get right with God.
-And they had their own sins to deal with as well.
-And no matter what they did for the Lord, or how good they did it…they had to get up and do it again tomorrow.
-Jesus doesn’t make sacrifices every day, he made one for all
-That’s just another way that Jesus, his covenant, and his priesthood are superior.
-Jesus doesn’t show up at a temple building for work each day…he’s declared that we are the temple!
-Jesus doesn’t have 100’s of priests working as mediators for people and God, he is the one mediator for all people.
-We don’t have to go to a priest to confess our sins, Jesus is our priest and we can talk to him whenever we want.
-We don’t have to make sacrifices any longer, because our priest sacrificed himself.
-I told you in the beginning that’d I’d answer the question of what this means for us. Here it is….
THE PRIESTHOOD OF JESUS IS FOR ME.
27b But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins. 28 The law appointed high priests who were limited by human weakness. But after the law was given, God appointed his Son with an oath, and his Son has been made the perfect High Priest forever.
-Jesus sacrifice himself once for all. All of what?
-All people. Everyone…and that includes you and it includes me.
-Sometimes we Christians forget just what Christ has done for us.
-The King of Glory became a human being…and Hebrews says he experienced every weakness and temptation just like us.
-The perfect Son of God, laid down his life for all the wayward sons and daughters.
-The only person who ever lived a sinless life, offered that life for sinners like me, and like you.
-And when he sacrificed himself on that cross, he did something amazing…he gave people the opportunity to reconnect with God.
-That’s what priests do. They serve as go betweens, and mediators, they get connect people with God.
-And that’s what Jesus did for us. For those who accept him as Lord, he is High Priest.
-He’s the bridge between us and God. So many people want to know God. They want to feel spiritually connected to him.
-They know that he’s there and they are curious.
-But many of them have the same problem as the Hebrews that this letter was written to: preconceived notions.
-Mental barriers. Details that they are hung up on.
-The Hebrews knew everything about Jesus, what he said, what he did, the whole gospel message.
-But they were thinking about giving it up, because Jesus didn’t meet their requirements.
-And many of the lost people you know feel the same way.
-They don’t like a teaching of Jesus. They don’t like a stance of his.
-They are uncomfortable with his claims or his standards.
-But Jesus is God’s High Priest. He is THE mediator. There is no one else. You can’t know God, connect w/God outside of Jesus.
