Hebrews 7:20-28

I invite you to take your copy of God's Word. Turn to Hebrews chapter 7.

Hebrews 7 · chapter mention

Our text for today will be Hebrews chapter 7 verses 20 through 28.

Hebrews 7:20–28

! Before I read it, beloved, let me remind you that this is God's Word to us.

It was written for His glory and our good.

And so we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.

And it was not without an oath.

For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath.

But this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to Him,

The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind. You are a priest forever.

This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.

The former priests were many in number because they were prevented by death from continuing in office.

But He holds His priesthood permanently because He continues forever.

Consequently, He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him,

since He always lives to make intercession for them.

For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest,

holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

He has no need like those high priests to offer sacrifices daily,

first for His own sins and then for those of the people,

since He did this once for all when He offered up Himself.

For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests.

But the word of the oath, which came later than the law,

appoints a son who has been made perfect forever.

So we have been working through the book of Hebrews for quite some time now,

and have been for the last couple of weeks working through this idea of

Jesus being a priest after the order of Melchizedek.

I hope that you haven't grown tired of the name,

that you've begun to wrap your mind around the significance of this reality.

And if you wonder what I'm doing,

I'm trying to download my sermon notes onto my iPad right now,

which I typically do in advance and I forgot this morning.

So we're almost there.

There we go.

I've got notes.

So, this letter was likely written to a small church made up of Greek-speaking Jews

meeting on the outskirts of Rome, and its author is unknown.

But what we can be certain of concerning the author

is that he has great pastoral affection for these people.

This little church had suffered, and it would suffer.

Some of them were mocked and beaten for following Jesus.

We read of this in chapter 10 and verse 33.

Some of them were imprisoned for following Jesus.

Chapter 10 and verse 34.

Also in verse 34 of chapter 10,

some of them had had their property stolen for following Jesus.

None of them had yet died.

They hadn't shed blood yet.

But it seems the author of this letter believes that they will.

Chapter 12 and verse 4.

And because of the trial they were experiencing,

some of them had apostatized or abandoned their faith in Christ.

We see this in chapter 6, verses 4 through 6.

So this letter is a pastoral encouragement to persevere to the end.

Hebrews chapter 6, verses 11 and 12 says,

Hebrews 6:11

The author of this letter is taking great pains

to show his hearers the excellency,

the superiority of Jesus Christ.

He's working through their minds to their hearts to say,

Don't give up on this way,

because it is a more excellent way.

Recall that at the beginning of the letter,

he skips any form of salutation

and begins the letter in this way.

Chapter 1, the first three verses.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways,

God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.

But in these last days,

he has spoken to us by his Son,

whom he appointed the heir of all things,

through whom also he created the world.

He is the radiance of the glory of God

and the exact imprint of his nature.

And he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

After making purification for sins,

he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high.

And then he quickly sets about the work

of showing Christ's superiority,

beginning with his superiority to angels.

Verse 4, he writes,

Having become as much superior to angels

as the name he has inherited

is more excellent than theirs.

And he continues this theme

in showing that Jesus is superior to Moses

in chapter 3,

that Jesus is superior to the high priest

at the end of chapter 4 and into chapter 5,

and that Jesus is superior to the whole Levitical system,

which is where we find ourselves

in the text this morning.

As the author continues to make the point

that Jesus' priesthood

was not at all like the Aaronic

or Levitical priesthood,

because he was not a priest of their order,

but that his priesthood is superior to theirs

because it is of the order of Melchizedek.

And beloved, we have to have this foundation

if we have any hope in this life

or in the life to come at all.

We must understand Jesus

as a Melchizedekian priest.

And you don't have to walk around using that name,

but you have to understand that he's a priest

that was appointed by God with the promise,

that he's a priest who is permanent,

and he was the perfect priest

because he was the perfect sacrifice.

We must understand this

to have a foundation on which

to build anything of value before God.

Every person in the world,

whether they are willing to admit it or not,

builds upon some foundation.

Often it's a foundation of our own making.

In the case of the Hebrews,

it was a foundation of Judaism,

and they were very tempted

to go back to that foundation

rather than this new foundation

of Christ as this forever priest.

So we're going to have foundations.

If you've ever heard the term,

it's turtles all the way down.

It comes from a story of a teacher

posing the question to a small class,

young people,

what holds the world up?

She thought she'd get no answer to this question,

and she herself didn't have one.

But a little boy shot up his hand,

and he said,

the world sits on the back of a turtle.

And she said,

well, very cleverly,

what holds that turtle up?

And he said,

another turtle.

And she said,

well, and what holds that turtle up?

And he goes,

teacher,

it's turtles all the way down.

So when you hear me say that phrase,

it's turtles all the way down,

what I'm suggesting to you

is we have to build upon something.

We have to make some assumptions at some point,

but praise God,

because of the holy writ,

because of this inspired word,

there's an actual foundation,

a real foundation on which we can build.

I had a very difficult week,

and until the second,

I wasn't planning on sharing this with you,

but I think it's good and appropriate at this time.

I don't know exactly.

The diagnostics are still running

about why this week was so hard for me.

I haven't had a vacation since last January.

I think there's a tiredness

that's just soaked into my bones.

I think it's physical.

More than that,

I think it's emotional and spiritual.

I'm just tired.

There are good reasons for this,

and there are, I'm sure,

poor reasons for this.

I rolled into yesterday,

anxious,

that's the word to put on it.

I'm just feeling an anxiety

about what in particular I couldn't say.

I think what probably was causing me the most anxiety

is that I didn't feel ready to face today.

Here we are,

we're talking about this Melchizedekian priest again.

How do I say this in a meaningful way

that's new and fresh and helpful?

I don't know.

I've got an outline.

I think it's a pretty good outline for the text.

I think it makes sense,

but how is it going to be helpful?

How is it even helpful to me?

These are the kinds of things

that are going through my head,

and I'm fearing

the need to fake my way

through having anything useful

to do and say today.

And this caused me

what I can only describe,

I don't know if this is what it was or not,

but to have an anxiety attack.

Again, if you've had an anxiety attack,

what I felt may have been nothing like what you felt,

but I had heart palpitations,

my heart was beating extremely fast in my chest,

inexplicably,

and I just felt this overwhelming pressure.

And generally, for this morning,

I don't know.

And it took me

most of yesterday

and into this morning,

my wife very kindly gave me some space

yesterday evening

to work through

Philippians chapter 4,

Philippians 4 · chapter mention

running my mind through

beginning verse 4

all the way through

verse 8.

What is the remedy

for this type of feeling

that I'm having?

And so if you will,

turn with me to

Philippians 4.

I want to read it to you.

I just,

in a very unplanned way,

but hopefully this will help us

to consider today's text.

This is what Paul writes,

Rejoice in the Lord always.

Again, I will say,

Rejoice.

Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.

The Lord is at hand.

Right?

So he's saying,

like,

why would you not rejoice?

Be reasonable.

Because God is near.

God knows.

God is with you.

Do not be anxious about anything.

But in everything,

by prayer and supplication,

with thanksgiving,

let your requests be made known

to God.

And here comes the cycling of that.

I'm going,

I'm not even sure what to pray.

I don't even know exactly

what's going on with me right now.

How do I pray

that God would help me

in this feeling

that I'm having?

It's anxiety.

I know.

What am I even anxious about?

And in the promise of verse 7,

if we can make these requests known to God,

is that the peace of God,

which surpasses all understanding,

will guard our hearts

and our minds

in Christ Jesus.

Jesus.

And I suddenly went,

that Melchizedekian priest

who does what for us?

He always intercedes.

So Jesus takes

my messy prayers yesterday

and he brings them

before the Father.

He cleans them up,

makes them

understandable,

and he pleads on my behalf

before God.

Right?

It's in him

we have this greater hope

by which we draw near

to God.

Verse 19

of Hebrews chapter 6.

Hebrews 6 · chapter mention

So,

if we don't have that foundation,

beloved,

we have no hope.

We have no hope in this life.

And we have no hope

in the life to come.

We need this

superior Christ.

And it's a reality.

It's not just some philosophy.

It's not an idea.

It's a reality.

There is this Jesus.

And he is in fact

superior.

And on this

we can build a life

that's filled with hope

and peace

and is pleasing

to God.

So,

the outline for our study

of this morning's text

is as follows.

Number one,

Jesus is superior

because of a promise.

Jesus is superior

because of a promise.

Number two,

Jesus is superior

because of his permanence.

And number three,

Jesus is superior

because of his person.

So,

he's superior

because of a promise,

because of his permanence,

and because of his person.

First,

Jesus is superior

because of a promise.

So,

just before our text today,

right,

we can read up

a little bit,

right,

that there has been

a priest

given to us,

a better hope

through which

we draw near

to God.

It's through this,

because the Deccan priest,

Jesus Christ,

that was a better hope,

better than

the Aaronic priesthood,

that we can

draw near

to Christ.

And then the author says,

and it was not

without

an oath,

a promise.

For those who

formerly became priests

were made such

without

an oath.

But this one,

Jesus Christ,

was made a priest

with an oath

by the one

who said to him,

the Lord has sworn

and will not

change his mind.

You are a priest

forever.

This makes Jesus

the guarantor

of a better

covenant.

The point of

Jesus' superiority

is first made

by drawing

our attention

to the fact

that Jesus

became

a Melchizedekian

priest

through a divine

oath

that was recorded

in Psalm 110

Psalms 110:4

verse 4.

The author of Hebrews,

right,

through inspiration

and quite brilliantly

sees Psalm 110

and verse 4

as pointing

to

Christ.

A promise

that was made

that Jesus

would be

a forever

priest.

The Aaronic priests

were not appointed

with a promise.

They took their positions

because of their lineage

through divine

instruction

but not

through an oath.

The only other time

we know

of God swearing

an oath

is when he ratified

the covenant

that he made

with Abraham.

We noted this

and talked about it

at length

when we studied

chapter 6

verses 13

through 18.

And God is not

obligated

to make oaths.

He's God.

Humans may need

to make oaths

to say,

no really,

right,

we're flawed.

Even in our best efforts

we often lie.

So we would say

to somebody,

I mean this.

I'm making this

commitment,

right,

we make marriage

vows.

These are oaths

made to one another

because we're weak.

God is not.

He is in no way

obligated

to make oaths

but because of our

weakness

he does so.

His word is sure

so

when God serves

our feeble minds

by making oaths

we should pay

very careful

attention

to what it is

he's promised

to do.

The author of Hebrews

tells us

why God does this

in Hebrews chapter 6

Hebrews 6:17

verse 17.

So when God desired

to show

more convincingly,

right,

this isn't because

his word fails

but because we fail

to believe his word

more convincingly

to the heirs of the promise

the unchangeable character

of his purpose

he guaranteed it

with an oath.

He makes this

promise.

He swears by himself

he makes it sure

that Jesus

will be

a forever

priest.

And the author

is tying this together

for us

in verse 22

where he says

this makes Jesus

the guarantor

of a better

covenant.

Because he's

the forever priest

and he was

made so

by a divine

oath

this divine promise

he's

the guarantor

the guarantee

of a better

covenant.

There's two

very important things

to note

about verse

22.

First

in Greek

the sentence

ends

with the word

the name

Jesus.

It's at the very end

of the sentence.

Here in English

the translation

that we're using

most of us

this morning

ESV

says this makes

Jesus

the guarantor

of a better

covenant.

But in the Greek

it would have been

directly

this makes

the guarantor

of a better

covenant

Jesus.

And in Greek

emphasis

was placed

towards the end

of the sentence.

Greek sentences

drive to the point.

They drive to the end.

They drive to the weight

of that

sentence.

And so in the original

language

this is one of the

beautiful things

about knowing

it's not the case

for me

but at least

knowing how to

look up

these types

of things

that the author

of Hebrews

is placing

the full weight

of verses

20 through 22

on

Christ

on

Jesus.

Right?

This makes

the guarantor

of a better

covenant

Jesus.

Secondly

about verse 22

the author

using the name

Jesus

instead of in

other forms

which he does

throughout the letter

Jesus Christ

the Christ

is emphasizing

his humanity

and his work.

Jesus

right?

This

God

man

emphasizing

his

incarnation

that he came

and lived

as a man

that he had

an earthly

ministry.

And the author

of Hebrews

let me remind you

has made this

point.

We lose this

sometimes in our

verse by verse

study which is a

good and valuable

thing to do

but he means

for ideas to be

carrying as

this is a letter

opened and read

at one time.

So Hebrews

Hebrews 4:15

chapter 4

verse 15

he says

for we do not

have a high priest

who is unable

to sympathize

with our weaknesses

but one who in

every respect

has been tempted

as we are

yet

without sin.

So beloved

as you build

a foundation

on Christ

we can have

this confidence

that this

guarantor

of a better

covenant

lived also

as a man

took on

bodily form

experienced

the things

that we

experience

experience

them to the

full

because he

never

sinned

all of the

temptation

that came

everything

that was

driving at

me across

this past

week

that I would

suggest

caused me

to sin

he didn't

give in

to

and he

doesn't

just

empathize

with me

in my

weakness

he sympathizes

with me

he's walked

in my

shoes

what a

foundation

to build

upon

what

a forever

priest

speaks

also

of

this

name

Jesus

to his

propitiation

that he

stood

in our

place

that he

took

the

punishment

of God

that was

due us

in

himself

again

in the

book of

Hebrews

Hebrews 5:7–10

chapter 5

verses 7

through 10

in the

days of

his flesh

Jesus

offered up

prayers

and supplications

with loud

cries

and tears

to him

who was

able to

save him

from death

and he

was heard

because of

his reverence

although he

was a son

he learned

obedience

through what

he suffered

and being

made perfect

he became

the source

of eternal

salvation

to all

who obey

him

being designated

by God

a high

priest

and this

is where

it's

originally

introduced

to us

after the

order

of

Melchizedek

Jesus

died

in our

stead

lived

a perfect

life

that we

might

have

his

perfection

so it

speaks of

his

incarnation

it speaks

of his

propitiation

and it

speaks

now

and where

we are

in our

text

today

of his

intercession

Jesus

God

man

put to

death

for our

sin

was raised

again

ascended

and seated

at the

right hand

of the

father

and in

his

session

his

current

rule

he

intercedes

or prays

on our

behalf

Hebrews

Hebrews 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7

and verse

25

where we're

headed

consequently

he is able

to save

to the uttermost

those who

draw near

to God

through

him

since he

always

lives

to make

intercession

for them

and this

is all

true

because

of this

promise

Jesus

is superior

because

of the

promise

secondly

Jesus

is superior

because

of his

permanence

we can see

this in

verses 23

through

25

which I

just read

the former

priests were

many in

number

because they

were prevented

by death

from

continuing

in office

but he

holds

his priesthood

permanently

because he

continues

forever

and then

verse 25

consequently

he is able

to save

to the uttermost

those who

draw near

to God

through him

since he

always lives

to make

intercession

for them

Aaron

then

Eleazar

then

Phineas

and so

on

and so

on

and so

on

there

was a

high

priest

who died

and then

another high

priest took

his place

and he died

and another high

priest took

his place

and he died

inevitably

all of the

biblical record

of these men

ends with

and he

died

human men

just as we

lose our

earthly bodies

one day

these men

could no

longer

continue in

the office

of high

priest

it was

insufficient

it was

inferior

in that

way

the historian

Josephus

records

that 83

priests

served

from Aaron

to the

destruction

of the

second temple

in AD

70

83

right

and then

he died

came another

and then

he died

and then

came another

in some other

historical

records

there are as

many as

300 plus

that served

in this role

so there's

even some

contradiction

in there

but the

point being

and simply

the point

that the

author of

Hebrews

is making

here

is that

they couldn't

continue

forever

and they

didn't

in contrast

Jesus'

priesthood

is permanent

that is

it is

non-transferable

it is

his priesthood

and he

will be

the priest

forever

Jesus is a

priest

after the

order of

Melchizedek

perpetually

right

in perpetuity

if you like

to watch

Shark Tank

and the

benefits

of this

reality

are massive

they're

massive

firstly

by faith

in Jesus'

eternal

perpetual

priesthood

we are

saved

totally

the author

of Hebrews

says that

he is able

to save

to the

uttermost

priesthood

it's not

a word

that's

common

in our

vernacular

today

and I

commend

the use

of it

in this

case

because the

idea of

completeness

is bound up

in the original

Greek word

but that's not

it

the idea

of

eternality

is also

bound up

in this

Greek word

and so to

use either

one

some translations

say for

all time

but that

falls short

and so

what I'm

guessing

is that

the translators

used a word

that would

make us all

scratch our

heads a little

bit

and do a

little work

to understand

that the

original word

combines these

ideas of

completeness

with

eternality

that really

to translate

it well

we'd have to

insert a

phrase

for that

single word

which would

be something

like

able to

save

completely

for all

time

that he

does a

work

that he

saves

us

it's not

a working

of our

own

right

we do

good work

now

because

he's

saved

us

but our

good working

adds

nothing

to

our

salvation

it

glorifies

the one

who saved

us

so he

saves us

completely

and he

saves us

securely

for all

time

so we

can add

nothing

to it

Paul writes

of this

in Ephesians

Ephesians 2:8

chapter 2

verse 8

and 9

for by grace

you have been

saved through

faith

and this is

not your own

doing

unless we be

unclear about

what grace

is

it's not

your own

doing

it's the

gift

of God

not a

result of

works

so that

no one

may boast

God

has

saved us

and this

has

present

implication

for us

in this

life

as we

are

even

now

saved

completely

yet

growing

up

in

holiness

this

thing

we

call

sanctification

Paul

writes

in 1

1 Corinthians 1 · chapter mention

Corinthians

chapter 1

and verse

18

for the word

of the cross

is folly

to those

who are

perishing

but to

us who

are being

saved

it is

the power

of God

this

doesn't

mean

that we

are being

saved

in a

degree

we

are

saved

but we

are

continually

being

saved

we are

continually

being turned

from sin

and to

God

in

Christ

Christ

is able

to save

to the

uttermost

completely

for all

time

those who

place their

faith

in him

secondly

by faith

in Jesus

eternal

perpetual

priesthood

we are

interceded

for

totally

totally

he does

it all

he catches

every

heavenward

prayer

and he

intercedes

for us

because he

always

lives

to make

intercession

for them

do you ever

grow weary

in your

praying

I do

I grow weary

in my

praying

my prayers

can be

so weak

just often

don't even

know

what

to pray

but praise

God

Christ

never

does

he is

self-existing

and self-sustaining

and he sits

at the right

hand of the

father

forever

he never

falls asleep

on the job

he never

takes a

bathroom

break

he never

ceases

to intercede

for us

that's a

reality

that you

can build

upon

if you

are in

Christ

he is

interceding

for you

the author

of Hebrews

Hebrews 9:24

chapter 9

verse 24

says

Christ

has entered

into heaven

itself

now to

appear in

the presence

of God

on our

behalf

Paul

Paul writes

in Romans

Romans 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8

and verse

34

who is

to

condemn

not even

myself

Christ

Jesus

is the

one who

died

more than

that who

was raised

who is at

the right

hand of

God

who indeed

is interceding

for us

he clothes us

in his righteousness

he gives us the

ability to draw

near to God

and he

cleans us up

and he cleans

up our prayers

so that we

would be

accepted

by God

he ushers

us

into his

presence

this is

astounding

Christ

is dumb

a 4th century

preacher

gives

a helpful

analogy

of this idea

of Jesus

interceding

for us

and I

quote from

Kent Hughes

commentary

on Hebrews

a young boy

whose father

was away

on a trip

wanted to

present his

father with

something that

would please

him

his mother

sent him

into the

garden

to gather

a bouquet

of flowers

moms I

don't know

if that's

really what

dads want

when they

come home

but

this young

boy's mom

did this

the little

boy

gathered a

sorry bouquet

of weeds

as well as

flowers

I think moms

have all

gotten one

of those

but when

the father

returned home

he was

presented with

a beautifully

arranged bouquet

for the

mother

had intervened

removing

all the

weeds

Jesus

cleans up

our

prayers

and he

most certainly

cleans up

us

so that we

can draw near

to God

in him

so Jesus

is superior

because of

a promise

and he is

superior because

of his

permanence

and lastly

he is

superior

because of

his

person

verse 26

and through

the end

of the text

for it was

indeed fitting

that we should

have such a

high priest

holy

innocent

unstained

separated from

sinners

and exalted

above the

heavens

he has no

need like

those high

priests to

offer

sacrifices

daily

first for

his own

sins

and then

for those

of the

people

since he

did this

once for

all

when he

offered up

himself

for the

law

appoints

men

in their

weakness

as high

priests

but the

word of

the oath

which came

later than

the law

appoints

a son

who has

been made

perfect

forever

now of

interest

these three

verses

it was

argued by

the ancient

Italian

commentator

Teodorico

something like

that

are an

old hymn

he called

it in his

commentary

a hymn

to the

high

priest

I hope

this was

true

it's very

possible that

the author

of Hebrews

is quoting

he's citing

a hymn

to this

little

Hebrew

church

they would

have been

familiar with

these words

in similar

fashion from

time to time

when we're

preaching

will remind

us of

something we

sing together

and we're

showing its

veracity

from the

scripture

it may be

that he's

intending to

sum up this

idea of

Christ's

priesthood

before he

moves into

him being a

priest of a

better covenant

with a

song

I like that

idea

whether or not

it's the case

the author of

Hebrews does

seem to

encapsulate all

that he has been

saying in

these final

three verses

he begins

this idea

of it being

fitting

that we should

have such a

high priest

and this is

better rendered

it's clunky

in English

but would be

better rendered

such a high

priest

exactly

befits

us

us

you see

the emphasis

here being

put on

what we

needed in

a high

priest

because of

our

fallen

condition

because we

are incapable

of pleasing

God

because no

man could go

to God

on our

behalf

because that

man is in

that same

fallen

condition

makes that

point in

verse 28

the law

points men

in their

weakness

and that

those high

priests

verse 27

had to

offer

sacrifices

daily

first for

their

sins

as humans

we all

find ourselves

in this

place

and so

no man

can intercede

for another

man

because of

our fallen

condition

such a

high priest

exactly

befits

us

because of

the

insufficiency

of the

law

to give

us

unfettered

access

to God

there's

no measure

of our

working

no amount

of sacrifice

that could

fully draw

us near

to God

the way

we can

in Christ

because of

this

condition

we need

a superior

priest

and Jesus

is that

priest

he is

holy

and

innocent

and

unstained

the text

tells us

he is

perfect

and this

is either

the author

of Hebrews

just building

upon that

idea

right

he is

without

sin

never

committed

it

he is

holy

like God

is holy

he is

unstained

not only

on the

outside

as the

Levitical

priesthood

had to

be

purified

on the

outside

but he

is also

unstained

on the

inside

his very

person

is without

stain

so he

may be

just

compounding

an idea

or

possibly

in relation

to God

he is

holy

like God

is holy

in relation

to man

he is

innocent

have never

committed

any crime

against man

and yet

tried

and condemned

and

in relation

to

himself

unstained

without

any

sin

either

way

idea

being

given

to

us

is

that

he is

perfect

right

he goes

on

to say

separated

from

sinners

most

likely

due to

the

context

of

this

letter

the

author

is

referring

to

his

distinction

from

the

Levitical

priesthood

some

suggest

that

because

he is

in

his

heavenly

session

he is

separated

from

sinners

but

the author

of

Hebrews

has

been

telling

us

that

we

have

this

very

near

priest

right

one

who

can

sympathize

with

us

in

our

weaknesses

this

does

not

seem

like

a

far

standing

off

separated

priest

but

a

close

priest

so

most

likely

he is

talking

about

this

distinction

from

the

Levitical

priesthood

because

verse 27

he has

no need

like

those

high

priests

to

offer

sacrifices

daily

first

for

his

own

sins

and

then

for

those

of

the