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Let’s open our scriptures to the reading of God’s word from Hebrews chapter 7.
We’re looking at Hebrews chapter 7 this evening and we’ll be reading verses 4 through 19.
Hebrews chapter 7, this is the word of God starting verse 4.
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 command 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 is 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 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 named 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 the one
for it is evident that our Lord 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. 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. Amen you may
be seated let’s pray. Our Father in heaven we thank you for giving us your word we thank you
for your spirit inspiring its writing for its for your preservation of it that we might have it
today and we ask now that you would blow that you would give your presence and power so that
we might hear it and believe it it might change us that your power might be present in the
preaching of your word we ask this for Jesus sake amen. Why would you change a winning team?
That was the question that many fans of the Dallas Mavericks were asking themselves last month
when the Mavericks unexpectedly changed the young star Luka Doncic for the older injury-prone
Anthony Davis. People are still scratching their heads over what the Mavericks were thinking.
They had done very well in the playoffs even though they hadn’t won everything
and unfortunately as many would have predicted Anthony Davis got injured almost immediately
leaving the Mavericks with their new player sitting on the bench. This is the season that
they call March Madness and although I didn’t have a clue of what I just told you about when
it happened I’ve been told by disappointed Mavericks fans that it was devastating.
If you didn’t follow that that’s okay. The reason this trade was so puzzling was because
it’s just common sense that you don’t change a winning team. If you’re changing things up
it ought to be because there’s something wrong with the old one and that’s what we find in our
passage this evening. One commentator on our passage says the author of Hebrews pre-supposition
may be paraphrased as you don’t change a winning team. If the priesthood is changed there’s a new
priest of a completely different order than what was wrong with the old one. When Jesus was declared
to be a priest of Melchizedekian order it had significant implications and the writer of Hebrews
is adamant that the Levitical priesthood was never able to achieve perfection which is why the Messiah
had to come from a superior order which transcends the problems present in the previous priesthood.
So this evening we’ll consider what the Levitical priesthood lacked in three ways. Number one the
imperfection of the Levitical priesthood but number two the introduction of the Melchizedekian
priesthood and number three the immutability of Christ’s eternal priesthood. Number one the
imperfection of the Levitical priesthood. Hebrews chapter 7 11 verse 11 asks 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. This question gets at the heart of what the author
of Hebrews finds so significant about the mention of Melchizedek in Psalm 110 verse 4.
It’s a good question why does the messianic prophecy in Psalm 110 mention Melchizedek
rather than Aaron. The implications of this
deviation are cataclysmic but not without warrant. The Aaronic priesthood was good as far as it went
but it ultimately was imperfect. Now in chapters 9 and 10 of Hebrews we’ll see the author more
fully delineate what was going wrong with the Aaronic priesthood.
But here in chapter 7 he says he simply says it’s unable to achieve or attain or bestow perfection
as verse 19 states for the law made nothing perfect. We’ve seen this word perfect or perfection
show up a few times in the book of Hebrews already. If we look at Hebrews 2 verse 10
for is fitting that he for whom and by whom all things exist in bringing many sons to glory
should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering or Hebrews chapter 5 9 and 10
and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him being
designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. Now the root of the Greek word
that’s used there for perfect speaks of the end or end goal the completion or perfection
in chapters 5 and 6 it’s even translated as mature. The inadequacy of the Levitical priesthood lay
chiefly in its inability to take care of sin in a permanent way. The Levitical priesthood along
with the rest of the ceremonial law given by Moses was never meant to be the end all be all
solution to sin. It was the God appointed means for the people of Israel to deal with sin but it
but it’s required repetition pointed to its inability to resolve the problem.
It can be helpful to think of the Levitical priesthood and the ceremonial law that went
along with that in contrast to Jesus priesthood like the difference between a credit card and a
debit card. A credit card is connected to what’s called a line of credit so that when you swipe
your card to buy something at Walmart the credit card pays Walmart and then sends you a bill later.
Money doesn’t come out of your bank account right away. A debit card on the other hand is connected
directly to your bank and it takes the funds out immediately. The Levitical priesthood offers
sacrifices of animals for sins and God accepted it like a credit card. The animals didn’t actually
appease God’s wrath for sin but they were like a credit card that covered that sin temporarily.
The sin still had to be paid off at some point which is why Jesus had to die. In the New Testament
we don’t put things on credit. Jesus has died and so the payment for sins comes directly out of the
account like a debit card but you see in both cases sins are paid for by Jesus death and
resurrection. In the Old Testament there was a credit of what Jesus was going to do
and in the New Testament there’s a debit of what Jesus has already done.
Now this can help us understand why the Levitical priesthood couldn’t ever bring perfection.
A credit card can’t pay itself off. It’s got to be paid off with cash.
The more you spend on credit the more you owe. The Levitical priesthood could only offer IOUs
spiritually speaking. They couldn’t actually settle the debt. They couldn’t close out the account.
The Levitical priesthood was important in the history of redemption but it was never the goal.
It was never an end in and of itself. It was meant to foreshadow another priest who was to come
and for the Levitical priests their own death was the end of their temporary ministry.
Instead for Jesus his death was the initiation of a permanent ministry.
He was perfected through suffering becoming the source of eternal salvation
but another reason the Levitical priesthood was imperfect was because it was inferior
before it was even founded. This is what we have in verses 4 through 10 of chapter 7 of Hebrews.
An argument for the Levitical priesthood’s inferiority to Melchizedek.
Let’s look at verses 4 through 10 again. See how great a man this was to whom Abraham the patriarch
gave a tenth of the spoils 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 but this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes
from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. It is 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 but he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.
What we see here is the author of Hebrews drawing out the implications
from the interaction that Abraham had with Melchizedek in Genesis 14.
There’s more going on than meets the eye he’s saying. Abraham is viewed not as an individual
but as the ancestor of a people all those who would come after him just as God’s promise to
Abraham was repeatedly stated to you and your offspring. The author of Hebrews is considering
Abraham with regard to his descendants. Now the particular descendant that Hebrews brings out is
Levi because it is from the because it is from Levi that the Israelites who serve in the temple
are distinguished from the others. The tribe of Levi was set apart to serve God generally
and it was one particular individual Aaron from the tribe of Levi from whom the priesthood was
derived. With this in view the interaction between Abraham and Melchizedek takes on a whole new
meaning. Melchizedek who is said to be a priest of God most high acts on behalf of Abraham.
He pronounces a blessing on Abraham which is what the priests were instructed to do.
We see this in Numbers 6 22 and 27 known as the Aaronic blessing which by the way
this is part of the reason that Pastor Jeff pronounces the benediction at the end of each
worship service. God instructed his representative to bless the people in his name. Now the blessing
by itself would not have implied Melchizedek is Abraham’s priest but combined with what Abraham
does in response makes it unmistakable. Abraham gives a tithe in response. The tithe is what God
would later command the Israelites to give to him by giving it to the Levites. Now of course this
was not a crude pay-to-play like pagans trying to buy favor with God. Instead the tithe is God
calling his people to remember he owns it all and he claims the first 10 percent to be returned to
him but by giving this tithe to Melchizedek Abraham is recognizing Melchizedek as his priest.
The author of Hebrews is saying when we think about Abraham as representative of his descendants
then when Abraham paid a tithe Levi did and this means that the interaction between Abraham and
Melchizedek represents the entire Aaronic priesthood paying tithes to Melchizedek.
Melchizedek then is the priest’s priest. Melchizedek blesses the entire Levitical priesthood
as represented by Abraham their patriarch and the Levitical priesthood through Abraham’s actions
responds by tithing as a recognition of Melchizedek as their priest.
The Levitical priesthood was never a permanent solution since it could never provide perfection.
It was also imperfect because even before it was founded there was a superior priesthood on the
horizon. Sooner or later a change would be needed as foreshadowed in the interaction in Genesis 14
and this interaction between Abraham and Melchizedek was intended to foreshadow a future
interaction in which the Levitical priesthood is handed down handed over and even superseded
by the introduction of a final priest who’s part of the superior Melchizedekian priesthood.
So secondly we see the introduction of the Melchizedekian priesthood in our passage.
While the account in Genesis 14 demonstrates the superior the superiority of Melchizedek as an
individual without Psalm 110 it would have relatively little significance
but once Psalm 110 introduces God’s declaration declaration of the coming Messiah to be a priest
after the order of Melchizedek it casts everything in a new light. The very introduction of a new
order of priesthood is extremely significant verse 12. For when there is a change in the
priesthood there is necessarily a change in the law as well. This was for two reasons. First the
priest taught the people the law. They were the means of transmitting God’s law. That’s why it
says under it the people received the law. But second the law stipulated the qualifications for
the priesthood. So a new law equals new qualification requirements for priesthood.
The arising of a priesthood from a different order isn’t like the various monastic orders
that we have today. Today there are monks, monks that follow Augustine, monks that follow Benedict
and they all have their different practices but they’re more or less serving in parallel.
But this is not the case with the Old Testament priests. There was more there was no other God
appointed means for the people to approach God except as a priest descended from Aaron.
The only one authorized to introduce a new priest is God himself which is exactly what happened.
Hebrews 5, 5 and 6 the author quotes from Psalm 110 and Psalm 2. He says,
So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest but was appointed by him who said to
him, Psalm 2, you are my son today I have begotten you. As he also says in another place Psalm 110
verse 4, you are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. And verse 10 he reiterates his
point being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. Since the law establishing
the Levitical priesthood had been given by God directly it was his right alone to change it.
By changing the order of priesthood God was changing other things as well.
Not only was the Levitical priesthood integral to the giving and functioning of the Mosaic
ceremonial law but there were the stipulations within the law concerning the priestly succession.
The law in the Old Testament set up the priesthood in a much less relational and individualized way.
The requirements for priesthood were not determined on merit but on descent.
Only the sons of Aaron could be priests and unless they had a disfigurement or were immoral they
didn’t have a choice. The priesthood wasn’t a career option which was available to the most
qualified candidates. It was restricted to biological descent. As Hebrews 7 16 says the
basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent. We have an example in Ezra of the people
in Ezra of the people having to work through this after returning from the exile. In Ezra chapter 2
verses 59 to 62. Ezra is right after Chronicles if you’re looking for it. In Ezra when the people
are coming back from exile they run into a bit of a problem because not all the returning priests
are able to prove their genealogy. So we find in Ezra chapter 2 verse 59
the following were those who came up from Telmela, Telharshah, Cherub, Aden, and Imur.
Though they could not prove their father’s houses nor their descent whether they belonged to Israel
the sons of Deliah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nakoda, 652, also of the sons of the priests,
the sons of Habiah, the sons of Haakaz, the sons of Barzilai who had taken a wife from the daughters
of Barzilai the Gileadite and was called by their name. These sought their registration among those
enrolled in the genealogies but they were not found there so they were excluded from the priesthood
as unclean. Under the Mosaic law the priesthood was based on bodily descent but Psalm 110
prophesies the Messiah will be priest on a different basis. The installation of a priest
who does not trace his lineage through Aaron indicates a more pervasive change in how people
relate to God. This new priest breaks the mold indicating there’s not just a new priesthood
but a new law as well. 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 belonged to another tribe
from which no one has ever served at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord was descended
from Judah and his connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.
The law stipulated priests be descended from Aaron yet the Messiah was prophesied to be David’s
descendant. God told David in 2 Samuel 7 that he would have a son who would sit on his throne
forever. That’s why Matthew’s gospel begins with a genealogy demonstrating Jesus’ descent from David.
Now some Jews resolved the discrepancy suggesting there would be more than one individual.
One would be a priest and one would be a king.
If you notice the one time that Jesus goes on the offensive and grills the Pharisees about scripture
is in terms of Psalm 110 forcing them to consider if the Messiah is David’s son
how is he his Lord? David was going to have a son who would reign as king forever.
If we look at the beginning of verse 14 again we see for it is evident that our Lord was descended
from Judah. Now we see two things first the title Lord which is actually God’s name in the Old Testament
and when it is applied to Jesus as it is all over the New Testament
it’s reminding us that he is God and second to that word descended in verse 14.
It’s not the usual word to describe descent almost everywhere else this Greek word is translated
sprung up or risen like the sun or a plant. Isaiah 60 verse 1 has that exact same word in the phrase
arise shine for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
But we see this word all over the place Balaam prophesies a star will arise from Jacob
numbers 24. Zechariah 6 that we read earlier prophesies about the branch that will branch
out or spring up and of course as we saw in Zechariah 6 a priest will sit on the throne.
Malachi 4 2 about the son of righteousness who will arise and many more that we could list.
The use of this word would have brought to mind the numerous prophecies about the Messiah
about his introduction to the scene and how that would change everything.
What the author of Hebrews is bringing together is that the same qualification for reigning being
able to sit on David’s throne forever is the same qualification for the messianic Melchizedekian
priesthood. It was patterned after Melchizedek and thus it could only be held by one who could
hold it forever. The author of Hebrews bases this on the wording of Psalm 110 which he quotes in
verse 17 he says for it is witnessed of him you are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
The author of Hebrews is picking up on that word forever the Aaronic priests were all temporary
their own mortality limited their ability to continue serving as priest sooner or later they
would die. The word forever means that the coming messianic Melchizedekian priest who is prophesied
about must not be subject to the inevitable mortality that afflicts the other priests.
The priest of Psalm 110 would never retire which changed the requirement from bodily descent
to an indestructible life. The bodily descent of the Messiah had to be established through David
but his transcendent priesthood was based on his ability to transcend death. When God introduces
a priest who’s connected to a new priesthood changes everything but this disruptive priest
brings completely unprecedented stability. So finally we’ll consider the immutability of
Christ’s eternal priesthood. Christ’s permanent priesthood is permanent because he is permanent.
This concept of a transcendent order of priesthood is very likely what C.S. Lewis was thinking of
when he wrote the scene in the lie and the witch in the wardrobe. The white witch has claimed the
right to kill Edmund since his original betrayal of his siblings rendered him her property according
to the deep magic that’s written on the stone table. Aslan concedes that she’s correct and
allows himself to be killed on the stone table by the white witch in order to redeem Edmund
but upon Aslan’s rising again Lucy and Susan ask him what does it mean
and here’s where Lewis quote where Lewis lays it out it means said Aslan that though the white
witch knew that the deep magic there is a magic deeper still which she did not know her knowledge
goes back only to the dawn of time but if she could have looked a little further back into the
stillness and darkness before time dawned she would have read there a different incantation
she would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a
trader’s stead the table would crack and death itself would start working backward
Aslan’s sacrifice and resurrection meant the reversal of death and in Acts 2 24 Peter in his
sermon on Pentecost explains the rationale for Christ’s resurrection as his inability to stay
dead. Acts 2 24 God raised him up loosing the pains of death because it was not possible for
him to be held by it. The resurrection of Jesus was an inevitable necessity because of who he is
It’s like trying to hold down a beach ball underwater in a pool. It’s only a matter of time
before you lose it and it pops back up to the surface. Jesus couldn’t stay dead.
How is Jesus qualified to be a Melchizedekian priest? Well as we see in our passage verses 15
and 16 this becomes even more evident when another priest arises and the likeness of Melchizedek.
One who has become a priest not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent
but by the power of an indestructible life. Let’s look a little more closely at that phrase
an indestructible life in verse 16. The Greek word doesn’t show up anywhere else in the New Testament
and it has this idea of being utterly impervious to change or degradation.
Christ’s life is endless but not in an impersonal static way but in a dynamic pulsating way that
never loses its intensity. This indestructibility of Christ’s life is a quality of his divinity.
Only God has life within himself. Only God is what philosophers call a necessary being.
This is in contrast to a contingent being which is everything else and all of us.
Our existence is completely dependent on all kinds of things. Without food, water, and air
for instance you won’t last very long. But God doesn’t rely on anything to exist. Even if
everything else stopped existing it wouldn’t have any effect on God’s existence. He can’t help but
exist. We’ve seen the writer of Hebrews talk a lot about the importance of Jesus’ humanity,
his ability to suffer and die, his weakness as qualifying him for an empathetic and sympathetic
priestly role. But here we have the other side. In order to be a priest according to the order of
Melchizedek Christ must be God. He must have the divine power of an indestructible life.
He must have the divine power of an indestructible life since the Melchizedekian priesthood is
permanent. When I first married Callie we were applying with a mission agency to go to Japan.
It didn’t end up working out but at the time it seemed like we might be leaving within a year
or less, maybe only a few months. Have you ever tried to apply for a job
knowing you’ll only be around for a few months? I made the mistake of being too transparent and
telling my employers, my prospective employers of my planned eminent departure and they quickly
became uninterested. They were looking for someone who could hold the job permanently,
not just a temporary employee for a couple months.
The Aaronic priests were temporary employees. Sooner or later they’d have to move on,
in retirement or death. But Jesus, the Melchizedekian priest, holds a permanent position.
An indestructible life is an indispensable qualification.
Now the Melchizedekian priesthood, this transcends the Aaronic priesthood.
Melchizedek’s interaction with Abraham foreshadowed that the messianic Melchizedekian priest
would be a priest to the priests. Melchizedek is unrelated to Abraham but he steps in and ministers
in a similar way as God. The Christ serves as a priest for the priests who are beset with weakness.
But the Melchizedekian priesthood of Christ doesn’t just sit on top of the Aaronic priesthood like an
extra tier. Christ’s priesthood transcends and displaces the Aaronic priesthood.
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. But on the other hand a better hope is
introduced through which we draw near to God. Christ’s priesthood provides access for all of
God’s people equally. While the tabernacle and the Aaronic priesthood made provision
for God to dwell among his people, in comparison to what we have in Christ it looks like an immense
distance. The Aaronic priesthood is based upon an individual that stands in between God and the
people. There’s God, the priest, and then the people. But in the priesthood of Christ these
become united in one person. Christ is God, Christ is the priest, and Christ is man, one of the people.
This illustrates the way that Christ’s priesthood is on a whole new level. Christ doesn’t just
connect us to God by passing messages or giving us the access code. Christ himself is God. He said,
when you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father. John 14, 9. In Acts 13, verses 38 and 39, Paul sums up
the difference of what we have in Christ like this. He says, let it be known to you, brothers, therefore
that through this man, forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who
believes is freed from everything that you could not be freed from by the law of Moses.
The Levitical priesthood was never able to be the ultimate means of having peace with God.
It was instituted so that we could see what Christ came to do. The Old Testament ceremonial
laws were instituted to break up Christ’s work into little pieces, little bits, so that we might
understand the comprehensive nature of what he was doing. But those laws and those practices were
never intended to stand by themselves. They couldn’t make anything perfect because their
whole role was to point beyond themselves to the one who would embody everything at once.
Christ said he did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. He came to be the reality
that they were all pointing to. The object of future expectation is called hope.
So when the reality shows up, there’s no point in going back to the shadows.
Jesus is our hope, a better hope, the best hope through whom we draw near to God. Let’s pray.
Our Father in heaven, we thank you that we can draw near to you through
the better priest, the ultimate priest, Jesus Christ our Lord. We thank you that he is both man
but also God, that he can be our perfect high priest. Lord, we ask that you would
draw near to us, that you would cleanse us from our sins, that you would hear his prayer,
you would accept us as righteous in Christ, and you would draw us near into your very fellowship
and presence. We pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.