Our Better Priest

And we've taken a two-week hiatus from the book of Hebrews.

!

So if you'd open up your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 7, I'm going to read chapter 7 in its entirety.

Hebrews 7 · chapter mention

So 28 verses, let your hearts take courage.

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him.

And to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything.

He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness.

And then he's also king of Salem, that is, king of peace.

He's without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life.

But resembling the Son of God, he continues a priest forever.

See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils.

And those descendants of Levi who received the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people.

That is, from their brothers.

Though these also are descended from Abraham.

But this man, who does not have his descent from them, received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.

It's beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.

In the one case, tithes are received by mortal men.

But in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives.

One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham.

For he was still in the loins of his ancestor Abraham when Melchizedek met him.

Now, if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood, for under it the people received the law,

what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek,

rather than one name after the order of Aaron?

For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.

For the one of whom these things are spoken belong to another tribe from which no one has ever served at the altar.

For it is evident that our Lord, who was descended from Judah,

and in connection with that tribe, Moses said nothing about priests.

This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek,

who has become a priest not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent,

but by the power of an indestructible life.

For it is witnessed of him, you are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness,

for the law made nothing perfect.

But on the other hand, a better hope is introduced through which we draw near to God.

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 a 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's been made perfect forever.

A priest is a kind of go-between,

a mediator between God and man.

And the job of a priest is to advocate for sinners before a holy God.

Essentially, a priest helps his fellow sinners.

How so?

By interceding for them, offering up prayers,

offering up sacrifices to cover sins.

That's what the Old Testament priesthood did.

Under the Old Covenant, under the law of Moses,

the Levitical priesthood interceded, offered up sacrifices,

but the law and the Levitical priesthood had a major problem.

A huge flaw.

Neither could make sinners perfect.

Oh, they did a great job of exposing sin,

but they couldn't cleanse a conscience.

We have a major imperfection problem.

I mean, you introduced yourself that way this morning.

Maybe you're here this morning with an acute sense of your own imperfections.

You know your own sinfulness.

You're aware of your weakness.

Your ability, your inability to change yourself.

You're starkly aware of regrets, guilt, shame.

And you have no way to make yourself perfect in the eyes of a holy God.

Or maybe you've come into this building this morning

and you've got a vague sense of your imperfection.

And to be honest, you prefer it that way.

You don't want to see your imperfections with clarity and detail.

Easier vague.

Easier to ignore.

You'd rather not become confronted with your failings.

You'd rather not have to deal with your guilt,

your shame, your regret over the sin in you

or the sins that you have committed.

So whether you're acutely aware of your sins or vaguely aware of your sins,

let me ask you.

Where do you turn for help?

Where do you look to?

When you become aware in some measure of your imperfections,

where do you look for help?

Maybe it's your spouse.

Who can help you with your imperfection problem?

Maybe it's a mentor.

Maybe it's a counselor.

Maybe it's a person in a podcast.

The original audience that received this letter,

the letter of Hebrews,

was a Jewish background church

and they had been suffering persecution for Christ

and they were struggling with sin

and their temptation was to go back to Judaism

because they knew it.

It was familiar.

and this author is saying don't go back

that can't do anything for you

if you're not

have a Jewish background I doubt that you're tempted to go back to Judaism

when you're confronted with your imperfections

my guess is you'd rather turn somewhere else

my guess is you may even self-appoint

yourself as your own priest

to make you perfect in God's sight

you can make yourself better

but imperfect people can't make themselves perfect

but there is a better priest who can

a perfect priest

Jesus

and what we have in this passage

is a better priest by

precedent a better priest

by promise and a better

priest by perfection

Jesus Christ is our perfect

priest who alone

can make us

perfect

so let's look at this better by

precedent

precedent

in chapter 7 1 through 10

we are shown the Old Testament precedent

of a better priesthood

his name is Melchizedek

he's not a Levitical priest

he's a different order of priest

than the Levites

than Aaron

and it's this order

the order of Melchizedek

that Jesus the Christ

is a priest himself

in Genesis 14

Abraham has just rescued his

his relative Lot

defeated a number of kings

he has got a bunch of spoils

and on his way back home

he is met by this figure

named Melchizedek

Melchizedek

the patriarch Abraham

then gives him a tithe

of everything he's got

and then Melchizedek

blesses Abraham

because he's a priest

of the Most High God

what the author of Hebrews

is doing here

is setting a precedent

in 7 1 through 3

we have this emphasis

on his nature

he's got the title of king

7 1

he is the king of Salem

he's a Most High God

right out of the gate

this Melchizedekian priest

he is a king

and a priest

king of Salem

priest of the Most High God

his name

Melchizedek

is translated

king of righteousness

that's getting at his nature

his righteous character

he's also the king of Salem

which is a word

that comes from Shalom

king of peace

he's a peacemaker

he's quite a man

he goes on to show us

that in verse 3

he is without father

or mother

genealogy

there's no record

of who this guy

is related to

nothing on the books

he goes on to say

having neither beginning

of days

nor end of life

there's no birth certificate

and there's no death certificate

so what it does is

it makes his priesthood

open still

some have concluded

that this Melchizedek

is an appearance

of the pre-incarnate Christ

the second person

of the Trinity

it's like

that fourth person

in Daniel 3

in the fire

Shadrach, Meshach

and Abednego

it's like

Joshua chapter 5

Joshua 5 · chapter mention

where Joshua

drops at the knees

of the commander

of the Lord's army

pre-incarnate

appearances

of Christ

and it's attractive

to think

that this Melchizedek

is Christ

in the Old Testament

but

in 7.3

we read this

but

resembling

the son of God

he continues

a priest forever

in verse 15

we read

this becomes

even more evident

when another priest

arises in the likeness

of Melchizedek

I go back and forth

there's something in me

that really wants

Melchizedek

to be a pre-incarnate

appearance

of Christ

but

constrained by what

these words are saying

I think

this man

is pointing

to

the son of God

he's established

a priesthood

he has got

a unique

character

a unique

background

theologians

call this a type

typology

that

Melchizedek

is a type

fulfilled

in the person

of Jesus

Old Testament

pointing

to something

that happens

in the coming

of Jesus

in this sense

Melchizedek

points to

a

better priest

there's something

else that

the writer of Hebrews

wants to establish

and it's in verses

4-10

I'm just going to

summarize it for you

we read it in verse

7

it's beyond dispute

that the inferior

is blessed by

the superior

not only is this

Melchizedekian

priesthood

legit

it's a different

kind of guy

he's also a better

status

he's superior

Abraham

tithed to him

and

Melchizedek

blessed him

it's a picture

of superiority

he's got a higher

status

do you

do you know

why

the author of

Hebrews

is

showing us

this

to establish

a precedent

right now

in our country

President

Trump

is enacting

a lot of

executive orders

and there's some

questions about

how far

can he go

what is his

legal precedent

precedent

to do this

what is his

authority

is there something

that shows that he

can do this

that's what

the author of

Hebrews is showing

us

there is a

legitimate

other priesthood

established in the

law

Genesis 14

we've got

precedent

legal

biblical

precedent

precedent

and we

know

that this

is fulfilled

by Jesus

the

ultimate

Melchizedekian

priest

we have

here

the establishing

of precedent

a better

priesthood

by precedent

it's not

new

it's right

there in our

Bibles

but what we

also have

in our

Bibles

is not

just a

precedent

but a

promise

and we

see this

promise

showing up

as a

quote

of Psalm

110

4

in this

passage

it shows

up in

verse 17

for it is

witnessed

of him

you are

a priest

forever

after the

order of

Melchizedek

that's Psalm

110

4

and then

again

in verse

21

the Lord

has sworn

and will

not change

his mind

you are

a priest

forever

those are

quoting

the same

verse

out of

Psalm

110

and what

Psalm

110

is

is

a

promise

so we've

got precedent

Genesis

14

and now

we've got

a promise

in Psalm

110

4

so Melchizedek

that name

it shows up

only twice

in your

Old Testament

Genesis

14

and here

in Psalm

110

4

and the

writer

of

Hebrews

has

already

quoted

Psalm

110

if you

turn back

to chapter

1

verse 13

remember

this

the writer

is showing

us that

Jesus

the son

of God

is greater

superior

to the

angels

verse 13

and to

which

of the

angels

has he

ever

said

sit

at

my

right

hand

until

I

make

your

enemies

a

footstool

for

your

feet

that's

Psalm

110

1

and what

Psalm

110

does

is

pointing

to

someone

who is

coming

promised

who will

be both

an exalted

king

and

a

forever

priest

Psalm

110

4

emphasizes

the

forever

priesthood

of this

one

coming

if you

turn to

Psalm

110

it's

on page

602

of your

pew

Bible

I

just

want

you

to

see

the

first

verse

there's

something

going on

here

you gotta

understand

there's

three

people

being

talked

about

Psalm

110

1

a

Psalm

of

David

the

Lord

says

to

my

Lord

the

Lord

all

caps

that's

talking

about

Yahweh

God

God

the

Father

the

Lord

says

to

my

that's

David

Lord

that's

David's

greater

son

David's

master

David's

king

king

and so

we have

three

people

God

the

father

who

is

saying

something

to

David's

coming

master

God

the

son

and what

he says

to him

in

110

1

is

sit

on my

right hand

you're

exalted

you're

king

and

then

in

verse

4

he

says

to

the

same

one

it's

like

David

is

overhearing

what

God

the

father

is

saying

to

God

the

son

prophetically

you

are

a

priest

forever

and so

in

Psalm

110

what

we

have

is

a

promise

of

the

coming

of

David's

greater

son

the

Messiah

the

Christ

who

would

be

both

the

exalted

king

at

God's

right

hand

and

a

forever

priest

it's

a

promise

now

just

think

about

when

it

was

written

when

David

penned

Psalm

110

there

would

have

been

a

Levitical

priesthood

operating

there

would

have

been

a

Levitical

priesthood

interceding

offer

up

sacrifices

and

what

he's

writing

is

hey

there

there's

someone

else

coming

of

a

different

priesthood

and

here's

why

that

matters

what

this

promise

does

is

it

claims

there's

going

to

be

a

fundamental

shift

in

the

law

because

with

the

coming

of

a

new

priesthood

means

there

must

be

a

change

in

the

law

look

at

verse

12

of

chapter

7

for

one

there

is

a

change

in

the

priesthood

and

it's

coming

so

says

psalm

110

there's

necessarily

a

change

in

the

law

as

well

there

needs

to

be

a

change

we

need

a

new

priesthood

we

need

we

need

a

change

in

the

law

and

we've

got

to

ask

the

question

why

is

that

why

is

there

a

need

for

a

change

I

mean

what's

the

point

I

mean

that's

what

he's

asking

in

where

does

he

say

it

he's

like

why

would

we

need

another

priest

what

further

need

would

there

have

been

for

another

priest

to

arise

if

if

the

law

in

the

Levitical

priesthood

could

make

people

perfect

there

would

not

be

a

need

for

another

priest

why

do

we

need

another

priest

because

they

couldn't

couldn't

make

us

perfect

11

now

if

perfection

had

been

attainable

through

the

Levitical

priesthood

it's

not

can't

do it

look at

verses

18 and

19

for

on

the

one

hand

a

former

commandment

is

set

aside

because

of

its

weakness

and

uselessness

for

the

law

made

nothing

perfect

check out

chapter 10

verse 1

for

since

the

law

has

but

a

shadow

of

the

good

things

to

come

instead

of

the

true

form

of

these

realities

it

can

never

by

the

same

sacrifices

that

are

continually

offered

every

year

make

perfect

those

who

draw

near

it's

a

perfection

problem

we

need

a

change

in

the

law

because

this

isn't

making

anybody

perfect

in

God's

sight

it

exposes

our

sinfulness

but

it

can't

make

us

holy

can't

make

us

cleanse

our

conscience

so

this

promise

is being

used

by the

writer

of

Hebrews

to

say

hey

there

is

a

massive

change

coming

and the

way

that

God

relates

to

his

people

there's

going

to be

a

new

priesthood

and a

new

covenant

Jeremiah

31

Caleb's

preaching

that

next

week

this

is

massive

there's

something

else

a couple

other

things

I

want

to

point

out

this

promise

that's

being

made

here

of a

new

priest

priest

it's

not

of

priests

it's

a

priest

check

it

out

verse

17

for

it

is

witnessed

of

him

God

the

father

speaking

to

God

the

son

you

are

a

priest

forever

after

the

order

of

Melchizedek

it's

not

many

it's

just

one

21

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

you

see

the

whole

priesthood

and

all

its

useless

imperfection

weakness

got

swapped

out

by

one

priest

in

the

order

of

Melchizedek

the

other

thing

I

want

you

to

notice

is

this

is

an

exceptional

promise

it's

a

certain

kind

of

promise

it's

the

promise

with

an

oath

look

at

verse

20

through

22

and

it

was

not

without

an

oath

for

those

who

were

formerly

became

priests

Levitical

priesthood

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

were

a

priest

forever

this

makes

Jesus

the

guarantor

of a

better

covenant

do you

see

when

God

wants

to

promise

something

and

it's

like

the

highest

form

of

his

promises

if

that's

possible

he

will

make

that

promise

and

he

will

base

it

on

himself

to

make

the

point

there's

no one

greater

I can

promise

by

to assure

!

you

that

this

change

will

happen

it's

going

to

happen

it

has

happened

because

this

is

God's

plan

for

the

fullness

of

time

to

bring

about

a

forever

peace

priest

who

will

make

imperfect

people

perfect

and

so

when

God

swears

by

himself

it

should

make

you

remind

you

of

chapter

6

where

similar

language

is

used

to

talk

about

how

God

will

bless

Abraham

and

he

swears

by

himself

Genesis

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

chapter

22

16

with

an

oath

that

it's

going

to

happen

he's

going

to

bless

all

people

that's

what's

happening

here

in

chapter

7

with

the

giving

of

the

son

as

a

forever

priest

in

the

order

of

Melchizedek

you

see

this

better

priesthood

is

won

by

promise

God's

promise

you

can't

it

can't

not

happen

it's

unstoppable

when

you

become

aware

of

your

own

imperfections

you

need

to

be

looking

for

help

you're

looking

for

help

from

a

better

priest

by

precedent

!

a

better

priest

by

promise!

And

can I

just say

one

more

thing?

Before

we

go

to

the

finale!

God

promised

you

help

brother

and

sister

long

before

you

came

on

the

scene

he

promised

this

this

forever

priest

when

David

lived

he

knows

you

are

imperfect

and

he's

made

a

way

which

now

brings

us

to

a

better

priest

by

perfection

and

this

is

what

has

been

ministering

to

my

soul

all

week

long

because

the

guy

standing

behind

the

pulpit

is

acutely

aware

of

his

imperfections

as

a

man

and

as

a

husband

and

as

a

father

and

as

a

pastor

in

verses

11

through

28

we

are

told

a

number

of

things

about

this

forever

priest

and

unlike

the

Levitical

priesthood

who

were

weak

who

died

who

were

imperfect

Jesus

was

made

perfect

728

for

the

law

appoints

men

and

their

weaknesses

as

high

priests

but

the

word

of

oath

that's

referenced

to

Psalm

110

4

which

came

later

than

the

law

appoints

a

son

who

has

been

made

perfect

forever

we

don't

have

an

imperfect

priest

we

have

a

perfect

priest

you

can't

even

make

yourself

perfect

so

what

are

some

of

the

things

that

give

us

this

better

hope

what

is

true

about

this

better

priest

I

mean

he's

got

precedent

!

He's

been

promised!

He's

come

on

the

scene!

Let

me

just

point

you

to

five

real

quick!

The

first

is

he's

indestructible!

7

15

and

16

this

becomes

even

more

evident

that

this

is

a

new

priesthood

a

better

priesthood

becomes

even

more

evident

when

another

priest

arises

in

the

likeness

of

Melchizedek

who

has

become

a

priest

not

on

the

basis

of

legal

requirements

concerning

bodily

descent

are

you

a

descendant

of

Levi

but

by

the

power

of

an

indestructible

life

what

qualifies

Jesus

to

be

this

forever

priest

in the

order of

Melchizedek

is his

resurrection

indestructible

I like

indestructible

a little bit

more than

resurrection

because

yeah he's

raised from

the dead

and you

can't

dead him

again

it's

indestructible

can I just

ask you

three questions

you just

answer

yes or

no

can

death

destroy

the

risen

Christ

no

can

the

devil

destroy

the

risen

Christ

can

your

sin

destroy

the

risen

Christ

no

indestructible

in fact

when you

get to

the end

of the

book of

revelation

Jesus

has

death

and the

devil

thrown

into

the

lake

of

fire

which

is

a

picture

of

final

destruction

final

and

forever

which

means

that

Jesus

is

the

destroyer

of

these

things

he's

the

destroyer

of

death

he's

the

destroyer

of

the

devil

and

he's

the

destroyer

of

your

sin

he's

justified

you

he's

made

you

righteous

in

his

sight

and

so

he's

destroyed

the

penalty

of

sin

against

you

he's

going

to

sanctify

you

he has

!

destroyed

the

power

of

sin

in

you

therefore

he's

able

to

make

you

more

and

more

holy

you

are

being