Hebrews 7 :: PROPHET, PRIEST, AND KING // INTRO With the book of Hebrews, I’m finding it necessary for myself, and hopefully it’s a help to you also, that I want to remind us of the ground we’ve already covered Hebrews is a thick text to take on, as it is packed with allusions and references to other things, especially in the Old Testament This morning YOU will decide a mystery that has been debated for ages (and what I mean is that you’ll decide for yourself, not for anyone else….) We will strive to answer the question, “Who was/is Melchizadek?” And I just wanted to tell you that up front, because anyone here that has looked ahead this week to the text is going to have an opinion (and like my daddy always said when I was growing up, “Where there are 2 people, there will be at least 3 opinions…!” The person of Melchizedek is a mysterious figure in the Old Testament who appears in the text with Abraham, and really doesn’t reappear until this chapter in Hebrews (with the exception of brief stint in Psalms) And because of the many conjectures about this, I want to say, right up front that I want you come to your own conclusion about who and what he is…and if you want to grab coffee this week and talk it out, I’m game Just let me know Let’s look back at what we’ve covered, so that we can continue forward (and I’ll be succinct) Chapter 1 dealt with the superiority of Christ’s Priesthood - His Preeminence In these last days, He has spoken by His Son, who is the Heir of all things He is the express Image of His Person In chapter 2, we were told not to neglect so great a salvation, made possible by Jesus’ atoning death on the Cross His sacrifice opened the way for sinners to have relationship with the Holy One He’s greater than angels He destroyed death for us and brother many sons and daughters to glory In chapter 3, He is the greater High Priest He is worthy of glory, being the one and only Son Chapter 4 spoke about entering into that rest that still remains for the Covenant people of God Chapter 5 was a primer on the Melchizedek Priesthood with no beginning and no end! Jesus was greater than Aaron, because being perfected, He became the Author of salvation for all who put their faith in Him Chapter 6 dealt with apostasy (falling away from the faith) This world requires that we persevere And we went back to remember this things: repentance from dead works, faith, baptism, the laying on of hands, and the resurrection from the dead So I want to contrast the Priesthoods that we see in the Scriptures this morning Actually, we’ll deal with Aaron now, and save Melchizedek for towards the end The Aaronic Priesthood was only open to the descendants of Aaron These were the priests of Israel in the Old Covenant (and still today in Israel) And there were three offices in Israel: that of Prophet, Priest, and King, and these 3 were distinct from one other And there was SOME overlap, but we’ll get to that But SPOILER ALERT!! There is ONE exception to that rule! Jesus Christ, the Risen One perfectly fills all three roles at the same time He is Prophet, Priest, and King! (here I am burying the lead!) But this is a very great blessing in the Old Covenant, whereas one man might occupy 2 of those titles, no single Man was able to occupy all 3 of them! Imagine a mortal man occupying all 3! That kind of power goes to the head, and things inevitably go sideways Additionally, we see for ourselves in the Old Covenant that perfection was not achieved (nor achievable) through the Levitical priesthood, the sons of Aaron That perfection had to come from somewhere else, and this necessitated another priest from a different line than Aaron So this One had to rise up according to the order of Melchizedek, as we will see And the same was true of our Lord - Jesus could not be a priest according to Mosaic law, because He was of the tribe of Judah, and not the tribe of Levi So the Jews were (and still are) for another priest to come, who would bring a new Covenant, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless and eternal life Praise God that many of them have found Yeshua/Jesus the true Messiah! Pray for the nation of Israel to awaken to the Way, the Truth, and the Life! And again, this chapter in Hebrews really pushes us to see the comparison and contrast of the priesthoods, as well as the Covenants that God put in place The writer of Hebrews really wanted to expound upon this mystery of the Person of Melchizadek to this group of Jewish Believers in Messiah that he was writing to And it comes with a stern reminder to let the Word of God interpret the Word of God! So let’s read together… // TEXT & EXPOSITION Hebrews 7 [1] For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, [2] and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. [3] He is 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. There are three main “offices” spoken of in the Old Testament—prophet, priest, and king And already, we have a problem! It was given to Israel to have Prophets, Priests and Kings from God Most High What about 2 of those 3 different roles at the same time? What about all 3?!?! They were all 3 major roles in the religious and civil life of Israel, and all this by God’s good design: Prophet, Priest, and King So a King could be a Prophet And a Priest could be a Prophet But a Priest could not be a King! (and that was by design) That was to put too much power in the hands of one individual, having power over the religious AND civil life of Israel And a Prophet’s role was telling truth (mainly to those who didn’t want to hear it), and in that reality, we can relate as a culture But then, people don’t care what you know until they know that you care! So we have to build relationships, as part of our calling But before we go too much farther along, I need to mention something...and we need to back up 2 chapters to get it The writer of Hebrews really wanted to expound this mystery of Melchizadek to the group of Jewish Believers he was writing to...but it comes with a stern reminder (And I’m going back a few weeks…) Hebrews 5:8-14 Although he (Jesus) was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. (9) And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, (10) being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. (11) About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. (12) For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, (13) for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. (14) But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. “The One and Only Son of God learned obedience by reading a scroll!” Wait!! No! That’s not what the text says! Jesus learned obedience by what He suffered (and there’s a Word there for us!) So strain hard this morning to renew your minds and chew on some meaty stuff Jesus Christ is worth our best effort! There are a lot of things in Scripture that are not easy to understand The person of Melchizedek is one of those things! He is a shadowy and mysterious figure from Genesis 14 (only 2 verses there) and then 1000 years later gets a mention in Psalm 110 as we'll see in a moment Then in Hebrews, he gets 2 entire chapters, so apparently he is fairly important To get some background, I’ll quickly catch us up with the story from Genesis 14 Abram's nephew Lot (most of us are familiar with his name) had parted ways because their people were having proximity issues, being so many in number and trying to stay together So Lot looked down and saw how good the plains of Sodom and Gamorrah looked and he went that way Make sure you catch this - Lot chose by sight, not by faith! Some other kings unified under a guy named Chederlaomer, and they came and defeated the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, which left the town and cities wide open for plunder So Lot and his family get swept up by this confederation of kings and are carried away with all of the spoils from those cities Abram got word, so he took 318 of his servants to hunt them down Think back to the tracking scene from The Two Towers with just Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli chasing down the Uruk Hai In a nighttime ambush, Abraham and his guys slaughtered these kings and their armies and the survivors fled away So Abram is returning with all the captives and spoils So the King of Sodom comes out to meet him, as does this strange person, Melchizadek M pronounces a priestly blessing on Abram And Abram gives to M a tithe of the spoils [4] See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! [5] And those descendants of Levi who receive 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. [6] But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. [7] It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. [8] 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. [9] One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, [10] for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him. The text is explicitly pointing to the fact that M was somebody special! Abraham was NOT a nobody Abraham had just come from rescuing his people in Genesis 14:1-17 Though he was the older family member and would have the right to the best land, he lets Lot have his choice to avoid strife God has promised Abraham land and he is trusting God to provide for him, and Abraham believed it In contrast, Lot chose the Plain of Sodom, and we all know how that turned out On the road back to Hebron, Abraham comes to Salem (the city we now Jerusalem), to the Valley of Shaveh "After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley). Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High...." (14:17-18) So two kings meet Abraham there -- Melchizedek, king of Salem, and Bera, king of Sodom The king of Sodom has come to negotiate for his subjects' release The king of Salem, as host, brings out food and provisions for the soldiers To defeat the great Mesopotamian army was an amazing victory for these small city-states to accomplish, but it came by the Hand of God So WHO IS MELCHIZADEK??? I want to tell you as plainly as I can: I DO NOT KNOW… He is shrouded in mystery and shadow, and as we’ve already seen, there is not much about him in the text of Scripture But there is another mention in Psalm 110, which was written by David [1] The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” [2] The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! [3] Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours. [4] The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” [5] The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. [6] He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. [7] He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head. So we see this mention of Melchizadek in the context of the Lord God directing someone to sit down at His right hand And now I’m going to do my best Church Lady impression… “Well, well, well….I wonder who that could be? Hmmmmm…..could it be JESUS?!?! (that reference was specifically for the 50+ crowd) David was writing this song about history and what God had done in the past, but likely didn’t know that he was also writing prophetically about our Lord and Savior But the parallels are many Both Melchizadek and Jesus were/are priests of God Most High Both brought forth bread and wine Both out-rank Aaron and his priesthood And while the Aaronic priesthood was for the Jews, the Melchizadean Priesthood is international! He was a Caananite who crossed national lines to in order to minister to the Father of the Israelite nation The Priesthood of Aaron was only FOR the Jews, but Jesus is the High Priest to all people, regardless of nationality Again, I want to drive this down deep OT priests could be prophets, and Kings could be prophets, but priests could NOT be Kings God wanted a separation of powers, knowing fully what is in the heart of Mankind [11] 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 named after the order of Aaron? [12] For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. [13] For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. [14] For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. What does the Scripture tell us about the Law?? 1 Timothy 1:8-11 : Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted. Getting back to the Hebrews text… [15] This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, [16] who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. [17] For it is witnessed of him, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” So….what are we dealing with? Mysterious Man or Christophany (a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus)?? The question remains even to this day Is it possible that Medchizadek, the King of Righteousness, was actually a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Himself?? If He was, It likely wasn’t for a sight-seeing tour But I will say this: There is a 100% chance that Jesus foresaw that the Priesthood would be an issue at some point later on, and so intervened And, later David came along, and added some comments in song, and clarified things via the Holy Spirit And still, we are left with a mystery, but that’s part of the fun of following the Lord He doesn’t tell us everything - just the things we need to know So don’t fret about it - God’s got this! [18] For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness [19] (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God. God has not destroyed nor invalidated His Law But, we who are IN Christ Jesus are no longer under that reality/dispensation (Does that make me a Dispensationalist??) Some commandments have a shelf-life (and someone will stand and say, “Blasphemy!”) Some commandments don’t expire! Take for example the commandment to love one another There will never be a time when that commandment comes to an end But “Do not kill” will become obsolete in the new Heavens and Earth So “Love one another!” remains forever In fact, it’s only going to grow more powerful and applicative as we go into eternity So the author of Hebrews is making this point But the Commandment that says, “Do not blaspheme!” has an expiration date When we’re with Jesus in glory, there will be no application of the Law because we will be glorified , and therefore it won’t be necessary We have a better hope, and over the days and months of our lives, we grow closer and closer to seeing Jesus and bring with Him, as He is glorified! I CANNOT WAIT!! [20] And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, [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.’” [22] This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. Still dealing with commandments and the Law of God…there is a better hope coming! And that promise was not without an oath backing it up! But it wasn’t Abraham or any of the forefathers who had the clout to set it in place Only Jesus! God hasn’t changed His mind - Jesus is a priest forever He’s our High Priest, to whom we pray, and receive all good things And because Jesus willingly went to the Cross for us, He Himself is both the Guarantee AND the Guarantor (the one who puts it in place) HALLELUJAH!! [23] The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, [24] but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. [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. That’s pretty self-explanatory There is no need for Priests anymore because we have ONE High Priest who is perfect in all His ways, and has never sinned He is the 2nd Person of the Trinity and He ever lives to make intercession for us! And when we all get to Heaven (what a day of rejoicing that will be!) we will be in awe at what He has done for us, and all that awaits us Our imaginations fail us, as the Scriptures say: Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it entered into the heart of Man what God has in store for us! [26] For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. [27] 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. [28] 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. Jesus, our High Priest in the Heavens He was and is completely holy and innocent before God He took upon Himself the sins of the world on the Cross Separated from sinners, but in His great love for us, He made a way for sinners to become Saints of God He bore them up so that they would be gone from us forever because of His atoning sacrifice It took the death of the Son of God, and His precious blood poured out for you and me to have a way to God Sin had made a crimson stain Jesus washed it white as snow! // APPLICATION So Hebrews 7 shows how Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchizedek Jesus is not just a “priest forever,” but also the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! The priesthood of Aaron was temporary and transferable, but Jesus’ priesthood is everlasting and non-transferable The priesthood of Aaron was national only, applying to the Jewish people But the priesthood of Christ is international - it knows no boundaries! Melchizadek, like Jesus,was priest to all those who are of faith, regardless of nationality And this is a royal, kingly priesthood In the OT, priests could be prophets and kings could be prophets but priests could not be kings or vice versa – this was ALWAYS the case This is why Saul got into trouble for offering up sacrifice instead of waiting for Samuel Was M a Christophany? Was this M just a man or was this a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus? The question remains, and I don’t think we’ll have full clarity until we’re with our Lord It could be that Melchizedek, the King of Righteousness and Peace was in fact Jesus Christ Himself! That's what some interpreters think Other interpreters see Melchizedek as a typology of Christ The comment in Heb 7 that he "without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever," would be referring to Psalms 110 But we know now, by the Word of the Lord given to us through the Bible, that the Messiah is a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek In this, I will leave you to your own conclusions, and thus it remains a mystery In Hebrews 10:16 God says, "I will put my laws upon their hearts, and upon their mind I will write them." We have the Holy Spirit actually living within us, though we sometimes take Him for granted He is able to tell us what to do, and give us the power to do it The result is that we can "draw near to God" without fear of any kind But let us not forget, however, that this relationship with our Savior, is only possible when we first "set aside" the old system of works Without Christ, we can do nothing But IN Him, we can do all things (John 15:5; Phil. 4:13) Jesus Christ alone can bring salvation And union with Christ is the only way of salvation Jesus is better qualified to be a high priest than any priest from the order of the Law of Moses because the sacrifice that He offered up was himself And Jesus learned obedience by what He suffered O praise the One who took my sin and raised me up to life again!! Let’s pray! // SING // ANNOUNCEMENTS // DEVOTED Study - This Wednesday evening! We’ll be following up with discussion from today’s sermon, so we can go deeper! // Grilling with the Sattys at our home - May 15th Sign up through … // Men’s Huddle - May 17th @ 7:30am in the ER space // BENEDICTION / PRAYER // Emmaus Road Church, YOU ARE SENT!!