A Change in the Priesthood

Hebrews chapter 7. We'll continue with where we left off last week, verse 11.

Hebrews 7 · chapter mention

Hebrews chapter 7, verse 11 is where we will start. We will read through verse 24.

Hebrews 7:11

We're still talking about Melchizedek, the author of Hebrews, had wanted to talk

about him for some time and he finally in chapter 7 is able to talk about

Melchizedek. If you miss any of our sermons and ever want to find them,

they're always available online. You can go to EnterpriseBaptist.com if you

want to catch up if you miss some. But today we're continuing on. We're still

talking about Melchizedek today. We kind of were introduced to him a little bit

last week, but there is still more to be said about Melchizedek. Hebrews chapter

Hebrews 7:11

7, verse 11. We'll read through the text and then we'll pray. If then perfection

came through the Levitical priesthood, for under it the people received the law,

what further need was there for another priest to appear, said to be in the order

of Melchizedek and not in the order of Aaron. For when there is a change of the

priesthood, there must be a change of the law as well. For the one these things are

spoken about belong to a different tribe. No one from it has served at the altar.

Now it is evident that our Lord came from Judah and Moses said nothing about

that tribe concerning priests. And this becomes clearer if another priest like

Melchizedek appears, who did not become a priest based on a legal command

concerning physical descent, but based on the power of an indestructible life. For

it has been testified, you are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. So

the previous command is annulled because it was weak and unprofitable, for the law

perfected nothing. But a better hope is introduced through which we draw near to

God. None of this happened without an oath. For others became priests without

an oath, but he became a priest with an oath made by the one who said to him, the

Lord has sworn and he will not change his mind. You are a priest forever. So

Jesus also became the guarantee of a better covenant. Now many have become

Levitical priests since they are prevented by death from remaining in

office, but because he remains forever, he holds his priesthood permanently. Let's

pray. Father God, we come to you this morning and we read these words and God

there is a lot for us to wrap our head around here, a lot for us to consider and

God some of this stuff we kind of look at it and we say what does this

mean God? I pray that you would help us to see what it means. That God your word

is not confusing, but sometimes we just need a little help and so God I pray

that today that you would help us, that you would help me to preach and teach

your word in a way that brings glory to Jesus Christ. God that we see Jesus

as our high priest today. I pray God that if there is one that does not know Jesus

Christ, God that your Holy Spirit today would speak to their heart. God I pray

that we would see the greatness of who Jesus is this morning in your word. I pray

that you would hide me behind the cross, that you'd take away my fear, I'd take

away my pride dear Lord, that your Holy Spirit would speak through me this

morning. I pray that you would help us not to be distracted by the worries of

this world dear Lord. There's things that went on this past week and things that

will go on this next week in our lives and and God those things are probably

competing for our attention now, but I pray God that your Holy Spirit would

grab a hold of us today. Your Holy Spirit would speak to us today and I ask these

things in Jesus name, amen. It's a lot for us to consider when we talk about

Melchizedek and some of this stuff that we see today it might not make perfect

sense to us when we read through that text and we kind of say what does this

mean? Well we talked last week about Melchizedek and kind of were introduced

to him and in the Old Testament his name is mentioned exactly two times, but yet by

the time we get to the book of Hebrews in two chapters the author mentions his

name nine times. We know almost nothing about Melchizedek but from the nothing

we know the author of Hebrews has kind of made this the focal point of his

argument for his audience. His audience is Jewish Christians, that is people who

were raised up living by the law that came through the priesthood, but they

have put their faith in Jesus Christ and through hard times they are tempted to

go back to the old way and that's why the author of Hebrews is focused so

much on this point and so he tells us of Melchizedek and we talked last week

about some of the significance to Melchizedek. One, he was a king and two

he was a priest and that is significant because when God established the law the

priestly line was going to come through Aaron and that was going to be through

the Levites and then the Kings were going to come from a different tribe. Now

he's not so much focused on Kings in this passage as he is priest. What he

really wants to talk about and this is important for us today too maybe not in

all of the same ways as it was to his audience but it is important to us that

we understand some of this history so that we can really grasp the point of

this whole book. Now what he really wants to focus on is the idea of Jesus being

our high priest and that's why he brings up Melchizedek because it says in the

Old Testament that Melchizedek was both a king and a priest and the

significance is is Melchizedek is pointing us forward to Jesus because

before Jesus in the time between Melchizedek and Jesus those offices

could not be held by the same person but when Jesus comes along it is

established that Jesus is better than what has come before and that's what the

author of Hebrews wants us to know that Jesus serves as both priest and king. Now

he's focusing on the priestly part of Jesus's ministry here but Melchizedek

that came before was at the very least a type of what was to come. Now we see this

in some Old Testament characters. We see lots of prophecies about Jesus. We see

some Old Testament characters that are a type that is they're foreshadowing.

They're kind of giving us a glimpse of who Jesus is and what he will do.

Maybe a good example is Joshua. Okay so Moses led the people out of Egypt out of

slavery but it was Joshua who was going to lead them into the promised land and

give them some level of rest although not the ultimate rest that God desires

and we can look at Joshua as a type of Jesus kind of a foreshadowing of

one who would lead his people into the promised land and more importantly would

give his people rest as we've seen in the book of Hebrews that Joshua didn't

give God's people the ultimate rest they desired but that rest was going to be

given by Jesus who would to come. So Joshua is a type of Jesus who is to come.

Now at the very least Melchizedek is a type of Jesus simply saying look there's

a better priesthood one that is forever. Now we see that mentioned in Psalm 110.

You can read that this week. We see this idea that God swore an oath. Now this

Psalm 110 is pointing us forward to Jesus and it says that God swore an oath

that Jesus would be a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. Now what we're

establishing here is this idea of a priesthood that was before that that

came through the law and a priesthood that is better than that that came

before the law. So there are several different ways that we could look at

Melchizedek. I'll tell you a couple of them. One of them we kind of talked about

last week that look he may just be a normal guy. He was just a normal guy who

was a king and the significance to who he was was that he was a king and a

priest and therefore that's a fitting comparison for who Jesus is and maybe

that's all Melchizedek was. That's one view. Now there are a couple of other

views. We'll only talk about one of them here for just a second. The other view is

that Melchizedek was a Christophany. Now we've talked about that before but I'll

refresh you on what a Christophany is. A Christophany is the idea that Jesus

Christ appeared in some form in the Old Testament before he came in the New

Testament that he took on flesh in some way. Now we also use the word sometimes

theophany. Now that is to say that God took on some human form in some way. Now

we see examples of this when when the vistas came to Abraham. It were angels

but it was men and it was in fact God was one of them. That would what that'd be

what we'd call a theophany or some would say maybe that was Jesus a

Christophany or Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and there was another in the

fire who was like a man but who was it? Well some have said well maybe that is a

Christophany that is Jesus Christ appearing in some way. Some have

suggested and maybe rightfully so when we really begin to look at the language

that is spoken of of Melchizedek that Melchizedek in fact was Jesus that that

was Jesus who blessed Abraham and the fact that it says that Melchizedek's

priesthood forever is certainly a good argument to say that maybe Melchizedek

was a Christophany. There's no real way to know for sure. We know at the very

least that the the idea of who Melchizedek was certainly pointed us to

Jesus and maybe even was Jesus in some form in the Old Testament and so the

author of Hebrews uses Melchizedek to bring about what he wants to talk about

and that is the priesthood. Now the Jewish people they loved the priesthood

they loved the law and rightfully so because God had given them the law once

he brought them out of Egypt he had given them the law and he had given them

instructions and he had established the priesthood to offer sacrifices and so

the author begins to talk about the priesthood here and he uses that also to

talk about the law but what he really wants to talk about is the new covenant

now we saw that in the passage we just read today that God has established a

better covenant through Jesus Christ and that's what he wants to get to we will

get there but today we're kind of moving kind of in between the priesthood and

the law now God established the priesthood through Aaron and that was a

great importance because in the priesthood it pointed us forward to

Jesus we see this all through the Old Testament everything we see is pointing

us forward to Jesus it's a shadow of what is to come it kind of shows a

little bit about God's what God's doing and what God wants to do and how God is

going to accomplish it and so we see that when he established the priesthood

because it was the priest who had offered sacrifice for the sins of the

people it was the law that would give the people the instruction on how they

were to live it would let them know what is right and what is wrong and those

things are pointing us forward to Jesus and so God had established a priesthood

and he had established the law and it was good and this audience who grew up

under the priesthood and the law it was good it was right it was the thing for

them to do until Jesus came on to the scene and what the author of Hebrews is

telling us is that something better than the law has come something better than

the priesthood of Aaron has come and it has come through Jesus Christ so the

author is trying to make this point by saying that the priesthood that you are

tempted to go back to and the law that you are tempted to go back to is of no

significance to you it has no power and to show you that there is a better

priesthood I'm telling you about Melchizedek that there was a priesthood

established forever before that of Aaron that is to say that the priesthood of

Aaron was temporary and it has served its purpose now he tells us that in the

beginning of the passage in verse 12 he said for when there is a change of the

priesthood there must be a change of the law as well he's making the point

throughout this passage if the law would have been sufficient if the old

priesthood would have been sufficient there would be no need for Jesus if the

old law was sufficient and the old priesthood was sufficient then that's

what we'd be doing today well probably not because they wouldn't have met on a

Sunday but but if the law was sufficient and then we'd have somebody that was a

priest and we'd be gathering our animals and we'd be going for the high priest to

sacrifice once a year for us that was the high priest job but what the author

of Hebrews says is he said there has been a change in the priesthood who is

the high priest the answer is Jesus Jesus has become our high priest and

what is the significance of a new priesthood the significance is this that

there has been a change in the law there's been a change in the law through

Jesus Christ what does he say as we continue to read in the passage he says

in verse 18 so the previous command is annulled because it was weak and

profitable okay so it's not to say that the law did not have a purpose it did

have a purpose but at its very best the law that God gave through Moses was

weak and unprofitable it was never going to fulfill what Jesus was going to

fulfill for us now it's certainly the law served a purpose the scripture tells

us in Matthew 5 that Jesus did not come to destroy the law okay the law had its

purpose but what else does it say in the rest of that passage Jesus did not come

to destroy the law but to fulfill the law Jesus came to do what we could not

do so when Jesus came onto the scene he did not say okay well well the law is

done there's there's no purpose to the law no the law had to be fulfilled

justice had to be served the law told what sin was but that sin had to be

dealt with and the law could not deal with that sin and so he sent Jesus

Christ now Jesus didn't just come and do away with the law he fulfilled it the

law has been fulfilled for us today through Jesus Christ and that's what the

author of Hebrews wants his audience to know is we do not live under the law

Romans chapter 6 tells us that we are not under the law but we are under grace

Romans 6 · chapter mention

now this was a problem for his Hebrew audience because they wanted to go back

to the way of the law now certainly there is some difference of opinion among

Christians today some Christians would say we are totally and completely free

in Jesus Christ and I would agree with that I believe so some Christians would

say well we're free in Jesus but we're still under some parts of the law and I

think we need to be careful when we look at that I think Jesus Christ has freed

us from the law when we get into the New Testament we see that the law is summed

up in one word to love your neighbor as yourself I can't think of the passage

right now but it's there look it up and check me on that but but what we see in

the New Testament is this new command this new law which really is not new at

all and that is to love the Lord our God with all our heart mind soul and strength

and to love our neighbor as our self so what the New Testament tells us is that

we are under a law of love and what we see sometimes among Christians may not

be so different from what we see among the the audience of the Hebrews here is

that they're trying to live maybe with one foot on Jesus but also trying to go

to the law when they when the New Testament seems pretty clear that the

law is done away with that Jesus has fulfilled that you and I could not

fulfill that praise the Lord if the law was still here we'd still be trying to

fulfill it yet trusting that Jesus had fulfilled it but no we no longer try to

fulfill the law because Jesus Christ has done that on our behalf praise the Lord

because when we look at the Old Testament laws the things that are

commanded in there are impossible for us to do we can try it with all our might

and as much as we may desire to we cannot fulfill the works of the law and

so we are fully and totally dependent on Jesus Christ today we need to be fully

and totally dependent on Jesus Christ today but sometimes we fall into this

trap sometimes we fall into this trap that somehow we think we need to earn

God's favor by our good works that somehow we can we can live in a way

that's good enough that that's going to be good enough for God that somehow that

we can obtain some righteousness by living by the law but we cannot be made

righteous by the law today we cannot be we will only be made righteous through

Jesus Christ who fulfilled everything in the law that you and I could not

fulfill Paul spends the whole book of Galatians talking about this point he

talks about the point of the law having a purpose but its purpose was only until

Jesus came if you want to turn to Galatians you can Galatians chapter 3

Galatians 3 · chapter mention

Galatians chapter 3 verses 10 through 13 this is relevant it was relevant to the

Galatians 3:10–13

audience that Paul was writing to in Galatians the same idea is relevant

similar to what we've seen in the book of Hebrews and it's relevant for us

today Galatians chapter 3 verse 10 says this for all who rely on the works of

Galatians 3:10

the law are under a curse because it is written everyone who does not continue

doing everything written in the book of the law is cursed okay well that's still

true for you and I today the law gives us the commands of God but we sin we

fail to live by those commands and as a result what does Paul say those who live

under the law so if you're just living by the law today you're in trouble

because you're cursed because you cannot live up to what the law commands verse

11 now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law because

the righteous will live by faith but the law is not based on faith instead the

one who does these things will live by them Christ has redeemed us from the

curse of the law by becoming a curse for us because it is written everyone who is

hung on a tree is cursed so the law is not based on faith but our relationship

in Jesus Christ is based on faith so what does the scripture tell us this is

good news we cannot live up to what the law calls us to but Jesus has become the

curse for us Jesus has been nailed on the cross for you and I today now there

may be some of you in this room and you've been trying to be good enough but

you can't be good enough nothing we can do is good enough but I've got good news

what Jesus did for you on the cross is good enough it is through Jesus's

righteousness that our sins are forgiven we're not justified by the law

we're justified and made righteous by our faith and that's what Paul is trying

to tell his audience and the whole book of Galatians is that they are freed from

the law there were some back in those times who were trying to live by the law

there are some today that would teach that we need to live by the law but the

Bible teaches us that we are free in Jesus Christ he goes on to say in

Galatians chapter 3 verses 24 and 25 the law then was our guardian into a Christ

Galatians 3:24

so that we could be justified by faith but since that faith has come we are no

longer under a guardian okay so the law had a purpose it was to guide God's

people along it was to keep them in check it was to show them the desires of

God but the law could never accomplish what God desires and that is forgiveness

of sins it can only accomplish that for a little while but every year the priests

would go year after year to offer sacrifices for the people and so the law

had a purpose it was until Jesus and Jesus came and he fulfilled the law Paul

tells us in Galatians chapter 3 so what about those who were still trying to be

Galatians 3 · chapter mention

justified by the law well in Galatians chapter 5 verse 4 it says this those who

Galatians 5:4

seek to be justified by the law have fallen from grace now we've seen that

language throughout the book of Hebrews this is common this is the warning that

we see the author of Hebrews given to his audience here in chapter 2 be

careful that you don't drift away in chapter 6 we had that strong warning

about those who have who have tasted the Word of God and and the works of God and

who's who's lived that out to some extent and yet they have fallen away so

the author of Hebrews is giving a very similar warning to that of Paul in

Galatians chapter 5 those who were trying to be justified by the law have

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

fallen from grace so the author of Hebrews says all this stuff about Mel

Chesedek a character that we don't know much about but what we do know about him

is he established a priesthood that was far ever as Psalm 110 verse 4 tells us

Psalms 110:4

and Jesus is a high priest forever in the order of Mel Chesedek which means

what before Jesus came there was a priesthood that was serving for a little

while it was that of Aaron but there have been a has been a change in the

priesthood and what does Hebrews tell us when there is a change in the

priesthood there is a change in the law so there's no more benefit to animal

sacrifices there's no more benefit to any of that there are certainly a few

Jewish people who would love to rebuild a temple and love to re-establish animal

sacrifices and maybe they will and maybe they'll sacrifice a million animals but

they will receive no salvation from that because salvation does not come from the

law in the old priesthood because Jesus has established a new priesthood and the

old priesthood is annulled when there is a change in the priesthood there is a

change in the law and that's what the author of Hebrews wants his audience to

know so what do we see of Jesus and his new priesthood if we're not justified by

the law but justified by faith do we see that in who Jesus is absolutely

absolutely we see that throughout the New Testament the law had lots of

commands the law have lots of things and in the law what the law did was it made

people sinners not that not that people weren't sinners before but it made

people aware of who they were the law pulled the wool off their eyes they knew

for sure this is what is required by God there are lots of commands in the Old

Testament but what Jesus did was he accomplished things that no priest could

do that no one in the Old Testament could do now we see some examples of

this idea of faith coming through through the teachings of Jesus and people

having faith and here's the effect that Jesus had when he came and a new

priesthood was established he made things clean in the Old Testament in the

law there were lots of ways in which people could be made unclean but when

Jesus came onto the scene he was not made unclean by the things that were

unclean instead he took what was unclean and he washed it and made it pure so we

see some good examples of that in Matthew chapter 8 and chapter 9 we see

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

in the Old Testament that one who touched a leper would be unclean but yet

what do we see of Jesus in Matthew chapter 8 that a leper came to him and

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

Jesus what did he do he touched the leper does that mean that Jesus was

unclean absolutely not because Jesus had the reverse effect you see before Jesus

came there were things that would make us unclean but what Jesus shows us in

the scripture is that Jesus wasn't made unclean by the unclean but instead Jesus

made the unclean clean we see that as we continue reading in Matthew chapter 9 we

Matthew 9 · chapter mention

see a woman whose daughter had died and Jesus went and what does it say he do he

took the daughter by the hand but in the Old Testament law it said that if he

touched the dead body you'd be made unclean but yet what did Jesus do in the

story he touched the dead body it says in the Old Testament law that a that a

woman who was in a in a time of bleeding if they were touched they would be

unclean but what do we see of a woman of a problem of bleeding for years came and

touched Jesus and in all of these instances Jesus was not made unclean but

the reverse happened when they came to Jesus they were made clean that's the

power of Jesus because the power of sin is a curse to us it is a curse to us we

see that in first Corinthians chapter 15 if you want to turn there this morning

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

you can first Corinthians chapter 15 first Corinthians chapters 15 verse 56

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention 1 Corinthians 15:56

says this now the sting of death as sin and the power of sin is the law the

sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law but what Jesus has done

as he has come and he has fulfilled everything in the law what Jesus has

come and the things that would once have made us unclean the things that would

have once made us sinners and we still are sinners by the way are made clean

through Jesus Christ and so the power of the law has lost its sting the power of

sin has lost its sting why because Jesus Christ is a better high priest and his

priesthood is established forever there are no two priesthoods there's not the

priesthood of Aaron and the priesthood of Jesus that's simultaneous the

priesthood of Aaron is ended and it is the priesthood of Jesus that is eternal

and that's what the author of Hebrews says look don't go back to the old ways

because Jesus has come and he has set up a priesthood forever in the order of

Melchizedek and where the old priest would have been made unclean by the

things of the law the new priest has come and he has freed us from the the

curse he has freed us from our sin and that is good news for us today that's

good news for us today because the old priesthood and following all the law

that we could follow was never going to be enough to to justify us to make us

righteous but Jesus has come for us today and what Jesus has come to do is

reverse the effects of sin now we still sin but before the wages of sin was

death and through Jesus Christ now we have a way of escape we have a way that

when death comes in our life that it does not have the final say but that

victory over the curse has come because Jesus has become the curse on our behalf

and so today we need to be as those we see so often in the New Testament those

who so often are unclean and they come before Jesus and when they come to Jesus

and they seek Jesus we see time and again that they are made well and time

and time again in the New Testament we see the phrase your faith has healed you

your faith has made you well this is what Jesus calls us to today this is the

law to love God and to love our neighbor it's summed up in that way when we love

God we will serve him we will be obedient to him we will give to him we

will worship him we will praise him when we love our neighbor we will not kill

them we will not steal from them we will not commit adultery we will not lie to

them we will not do any of those things this is the law of love that Jesus has

established and that we are called to what Jesus does is offer forgiveness of

sins where the priesthood of the of the past and the law of the past could not

do and so there are perhaps some of us today that need to come before Jesus and

we need to realize this morning that we'll never be saved by our works you

come to church every day you can put money into play you can do good stuff

but that's not enough to save you because that only comes through Jesus

Christ everything in the Old Testament all this priesthood stuff all the laws

all pointing us to Jesus Christ to a better priest who would establish a

priesthood forever a priest who would wash us of our sins today have you been

washed of your sins today if you hadn't put your faith in Jesus Christ I can

tell you you haven't but if you have put your faith in Jesus Christ you've been

made clean today maybe there are some of you today and you need to come to Jesus

Christ you need to come and you need to seek him and you need to realize that he

is the only hope we have that's what the author of Hebrews said in this passage

that Jesus is a better hope that brings about a better covenant it's built on

better promises and that's what we see in Jesus Christ it's better hope than

what the world shows you today there's hope in Jesus Christ he'll make you

clean he'll forgive you of your sins if you'll come to him if you'll seek him

with faith because that's what God calls us to if you put your faith in Jesus

Christ today I hope you have let's pray dear Lord we come to you this morning we

thank you for your word dear Lord a lot to like to think about but God I pray

that we don't miss the point of all this Melchizedek stuff God I pray that we

don't miss the point that Jesus is better dear Lord that Jesus has

established the perfect way God that yeah you gave a lot of ways in the Old

Testament as far as instructions for the people to follow and how to live and that

was all pointing us forward to who Jesus was dear Lord there was never going to

be salvation through the law it was good for a time dear Lord it guided your

people for a time but dear Lord you have provided something better than the law

for us today and we thank you for providing Jesus Christ for us God I pray

that we never fall into the trap of being legalistic of thinking that we

will be justified by the law trying to live by the law and trying to be good

enough dear Lord God we can't be good enough this morning but Jesus was good

enough dear Lord I pray for any in this room or in this world today that may be

seeking to be justified by the works of the law but instead dear Lord that they

would be justified by the works of Jesus Christ God I pray today that that maybe

there is one here today and they just realized that they need help God maybe

their life feels hopeless God I pray that today they'd see that there is hope

in who Jesus is that he has become a better high priest and he is seated on

the throne today because he has offered a sacrifice for their sin dear Lord and I

pray today that if there are some in this room that do not know Jesus Christ

that they would repent of their sin turn from that sinful way that they would ask

you now in this moment to forgive them dear Lord that they would come to faith

in you that they would not try to be justified by their works but they would

trust in who Jesus is God let us come before you today with our uncleanliness

with our with our sickness that is our sin dear Lord let us come to you let us

seek you dear Lord let us seek you with all of our heart to know that that there

is forgiveness that there is hope dear Lord so God I pray that we would be

those of faith today not those who have faith in the law and in the priesthood

of of old but that we would be those who have faith in Jesus Christ and who Jesus

is because God there is salvation in no other this morning so God I pray today

that we would be those who seek his righteousness and seek his help God

maybe there are some today that are struggling I pray that you'd help them I

pray that they'd seek you I pray that they'd find you I pray that you'd make

them well today in their soul and in their in their worldly struggles

whatever it may be that they're going through dear Lord I pray that you'd you'd

bring healing to their life today and I ask these things in Jesus name amen