A Priest Forever According To The Order Of Melchizedek

Hebrews 7 and the Superiority of Melchizedek’s Priesthood

With me, please, once again, to the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 7, Hebrews chapter 7. This morning we began this section and we will continue to work through it, Lord willing, this evening. Before we open the Word of God, let us once again ask His blessing upon our time.

Our gracious Heavenly Father, we once again desire the presence of Your Spirit with us to glorify our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We recognize our need of His assistance to open our hearts and our minds to give us understanding to Your divine Word.

So be with us now. Help us to hear You, we pray in Christ's name. Amen. This morning we began looking at Hebrews chapter 7 and we did so by looking back at Genesis chapter 14 and Psalm 110 to look at the Old Testament witness concerning this one named Melchizedek.

Melchizedek, Abraham, and the Argument from Psalm 110

Melchizedek, the King of Salem, the priest of the Most High God. His name means King of Righteousness. And we began looking at the argument that the author is presenting to us wherein he is providing a type-antitype discussion of Melchizedek and the Lord Jesus Christ.

So once again, let us read this section of Scripture to remind ourselves of the context so that we can press on beginning with verse 11. Going back to the beginning of chapter 7,. For this Melchizedek, King of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him.

To whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, King of Righteousness, and then also King of Salem, which is King of Peace. Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually.

Now observe how great this man was to whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth of the choice of spoils. And those indeed of the sons of Levi, who received the priest's office, have commandment in the law to collect a tenth from the people, that is from their brethren, although these are descended from Abraham.

But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them, collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises. But without any dispute, the lesser is blessed by the greater. In this case, mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them of whom it is witnessed that he lives on.

And so to speak, through Abraham, even Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him. Now, if perfection was through Levitical priesthood, for on the basis of it the people received the law, what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek and not be designated according to the order of Aaron?

For when the priesthood is changed of necessity, there takes place a change of law also. For the one concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe from which no one has officiated the altar.

For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests. And this is clearer still if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life.

For it is attested of him, you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. For on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness, for the law made nothing perfect.

And on the other hand, there is a bringing in of a better hope through which we draw near to God. And inasmuch as it was not without an oath, for they indeed became priests without an oath, but he with an oath through the one who said to him, the Lord is sworn and will not change his mind, you are a priest forever.

So much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. The former priests on the one hand existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing. But Jesus, on the other hand, because he continues forever, holds his priesthood permanently.

Therefore, he is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens, who does not need daily like those high priests to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people.

Because this he did once for all when he offered up himself. The law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath which came after the law appoints a son made perfect forever. Amen.

Why Perfection Cannot Come Through the Levitical Priesthood

So here once again is the task before us. Hebrews chapter 7, we have worked through verse 10 and we have seen the author's argument going back to Genesis chapter 14. And he has made the argument that the Melchizedek priest is superior to the Levitical priest.

And this is demonstrated by the fact that Abraham, who is the progenitor of Levi and hence prior to the Levitical priesthood, gave a tithe to Melchizedek, demonstrating Melchizedek was greater. And he was blessed by Melchizedek.

And as we mentioned, blessings go downhill. The greater blesses the lesser. With that then in mind, we continue with the argument and notice verse 11. Now, if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood from the basis of it, the people received the law, what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek and not be designated according to the order of Aaron?

Now, notice that we have here an indication at the beginning of verse 11 of exactly who this book is being written to. Because no Gentile Christian would ever have come to the conclusion that perfection was through the Levitical priesthood in the first place.

Very, very clearly we have here a reference to the fact that we are talking to Hebrew Christians, to people who understood the Jewish system and would have been placed under pressure by the argumentation of their families and friends that perfection was through the Levitical priesthood.

And certainly they could have gone to certain Old Testament, Old Covenant texts that talked about the establishment of the priesthood, the establishment of the Old Covenant with the people of Israel, and would have said, ah, see, this is to be perpetual, this is to be forever.

And so the argument is being made, and there is a use in the language here of a second-class conditional. Now, if perfection was through Levitical priesthood, the argument is, no, it's not, but here's what would have happened.

If perfection was through the Levitical priesthood, what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek? The argument is fairly straightforward. If it was God's intention that the old ways, the old order, which included the Levitical priest, was to bring about perfection, then why is there this prophetic word in Psalm 110 about some new order, an order about which Moses said nothing?

What is this being a priest after the order of Melchizedek? Why in a text that the Jews themselves recognized was Messianic, that the Jews themselves recognized was referring to one who was to come, why would there be another priestly line mentioned?

That's the argument that's being made. But notice the parenthetical statement. Most English translations put it into parentheses, hence the term parenthetical, for on the basis of it, the people received the law.

Now, what does that mean? The author is arguing that the Levitical priesthood, that the priesthood itself, is foundational to the giving of the law itself. And I looked rather closely at this because it literally says, for upon it, that is the priesthood, there was legislation.

That's the most basic meaning of the original language translated here as the people received the law. I think what is being said here is not that the law came to Moses through a priesthood situation, but that you had the actual application, legislation of the law amongst the people, and this was to be done through the role of the Levitical priests.

They were to make application of God's law in that way. And so the statement is being made, there is an intimate connection between the law and the priesthood under the old covenant, and that is going to then become very important then in verse 12.

So the argument of verse 11 is, if the Levitical priesthood was enough, if it had been God's intention, that perfection would come through Levitical priesthood. And why is the person arguing this? Real simple, that's exactly what the Jewish Christians would have been hearing from their families.

Come back to the old ways. You've misunderstood, you've been deceived by this Christ cult, and don't you understand that the actual intention of God is that this was going to continue forever. Step back for a moment.

What does this tell you once again about the dating of the book of Hebrews? This book would make that much sense, none, if it was not written before the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. It just wouldn't make any sense.

Not only would it be just incomprehensible if the author would not make reference to the end of the sacrifices in the temple wrought by the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, but the whole form of argumentation would make no sense either.

If there wasn't something to go back to, this book makes no sense. It's incomprehensible, it really is. And so the argument being there still has to be a Levitical priesthood that someone could be arguing is God's intended way.

And the author is saying no, because the very same scriptures that lay out the Levitical priesthood likewise contain this prophetic word in Psalm 110 about this priesthood after the order of Melchizedek that's directly connected to the messianic fulfillments we're all looking for.

The fulfillment passages, what God is going to be doing. And that plays into what we're going to see in the next few chapters about the law as the old covenant as a type and a shadow that has a fulfillment and that fulfillment has come in the person of Jesus Christ.

The Change of Priesthood Means the End of the Old Covenant Order

So verse 12, for when the priesthood is changed of necessity, there takes place a change of law also. Now here, I believe the author is sort of foreshadowing what we're going to see in Hebrews chapter 8 and his bringing in a very strong defense of the new covenant and the differences that exist between the old and the new covenants.

But the point here is that he introduces this concept of a change in priesthood. A change in priesthood, which again he has based already on Psalm 110 for and will do so again in the next few verses. And having asserted this close connection between the law that has been given by God and the Levitical priesthood, what he's saying is, for when the priesthood is changed of necessity, there takes place a change of law also.

The two go together. And so the Old Testament sacrificial law especially, which is the primary area in which the Levitical priesthood is going to be involved, especially in comparison to the Melchizedek.

Because what's the contrast that's going to be drawn here in the next few chapters? The repeated sacrifices of the old covenant, the high priests, and the fact that even they can't continue forever with the finished work of Christ, one sacrifice, once for all, one priesthood, one intercession, all of these shadows pointing to fulfillments in Christ.

That is what he's talking about when he talks about this change of priesthood and change of law. I stopped here for just a moment to make a comment, a passing comment, on an observation that I have had to make over the years because of the work that I do as an apologist.

It is interesting to note that sub-biblical forms of the Christian faith, and even sub-biblical forms of other religions that try to at least make room for a biblical faith, all tend to go back away.

They tend to back away from the fulfillment of old covenant promises in the new covenant. What do I mean by this? Well, let's think of Roman Catholicism. What is one of the very first things that strikes the mind and the eye when you think of Roman Catholicism today?

What is the face of Rome? Well, the Pope. And who is he always surrounded by? His bishops. And who are they always surrounded by? The priests. The Pope, the bishops, the priests are the priesthood of the Roman Catholic Church.

And yet, there is nothing anywhere in the apostolic writings that substantiates the creation of a celibate, separate priesthood as Rome has designated it. And when Roman Catholic apologists attempt to defend the establishment of the priesthood, they don't go generally to the New Testament.

They go to the Old Testament. They go to the old covenant. And it does not surprise me in the slightest that that then is directly connected to what is the primary act of worship in Romanism? The Mass.

The Eucharistic sacrifice, which is a re-presentation of a sacrifice, the book of Hebrews says, was once for all, one time. And so, you go back to the old ways. Repetitive sacrifices that never perfect anyone and a priesthood that stands between the people and God.

Romanism is a return. It's a repudiation of the completed promises of the new covenant. This, we see in other false or pseudo-Christian religions. I think of the fact that the first thing that ever drove me to studying this section of Hebrews chapter 7, was Mormonism.

Because those two young guys you see riding down the road, sweating profusely in their white shirts and dark ties at this time of year, on their bicycles, have a little name badge on that says elder so-and-so.

And they believe that to be an elder means that they hold the Melchizedek priesthood. And so, I've had to explain many, many times to them what this very text is talking about. In fact, I've directed them to a number of statements in this text.

For example, Hebrews 7, 24, but Judas, on the other hand, because he continues forever, holds his priesthood permanently. The Greek term there, operabaton, is a hapoxogamon. It appears only one time in the New Testament.

It means permanently, without successor. And yet, every one of those young men, who generally know almost nothing about the Bible whatsoever, have been told by their leaders that they are priests after the order of Melchizedek.

And that that's what makes their church the one true church, is because that's the true priesthood that everyone must have to be properly baptized and receive the Holy Spirit. And so, it is interesting to me that these sub-Christian expressions of what calls itself Christianity, all back away from the fulfillment texts that we have here in the book of Hebrews.

So, for when the priesthood is changed, the necessitator takes place a change of law also. For the one concerning whom these things are spoken, specifically in regards to fulfillment in Melchizedek, and especially Psalm 110, for the one concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe from which no one is officiated at the altar.

For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests. And so, this one who comes in the order of Melchizedek does not come under the Levitical system.

He does not come from the tribe of Levi. Though, again, it's interesting to note that there were some in the early church who were troubled by this. It's like they did not understand the fulfillment, and they actually tried to find a way of making Jesus a member of the tribe of Levi.

So, he could be a priest of the old covenant, not seeing what the text of Scripture here was stating. But the point is that Jesus, and notice it's evident that our Lord was descended from Judah. In other words, everyone reading this epistle, as well as the man writing to these Jewish Christians, it was a given.

The Gospels themselves may have been written by this time. We don't know. But the fact of the matter is the Gospel truths, the texts, the traditions upon which those texts were written, the stories of Jesus, they were well known to all the believers.

He doesn't even have to go back and try to prove it here. It's evident. We already know this. This is a given that our Lord was descended from Judah. And of course, that is a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests.

That was a royal tribe, not the tribe of the priests. And so, Jesus is not a Levitical priest. His priesthood is superior to the Levitical priest because it's the fulfillment of the oracle in the Psalter, Psalm 110, you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

And he says, and this is clearer still, there's an even greater demonstration of this. If another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become such, not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, in other words, not on the basis of the Old Testament law that says only the descendants of Levi can fulfill this position.

But if a priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become such, not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life. That's something else I've raised to those young Mormon missionaries.

So, you're a Melchizedek priest, huh? Yeah. So, if I shoot you, you won't die? Huh? I like going through the requirements of the Melchizedek priest. They've never looked. They've never looked. They're 18-year-old young guys.

They don't know the Bible. They don't even know the Book of Mormon. And they have no idea. The blasphemy that they are engaging in and claiming to be Melchizedek priests. Though I've also heard Roman Catholics use that language in regards to their priesthood.

But, yet as it may. But according to the power of an indestructible life, for it is attested of him, you're a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. See how he's using that oracle again?

And you are a priest forever. That's why Psalm 110 could not have been fulfilled in some Davidic king, because he can't be a priest forever. He does not have an indestructible life. This is pointing to a greater fulfillment.

One who conquers death. And this one is, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, he says this is a clearer still demonstration that the fulfillment of that oracle and the Melchizedek priest has to be someone very special.

The Better Hope, the Better Covenant, and Direct Access to God

Someone who transcends any of the high priests that we could point to at that time of the writing of this text. For on the one hand, verse 18, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness.

For the law made nothing perfect. And on the other hand, there is a bringing in of a better hope through which we draw near to God. Now, here we're transitioning again into an extremely important part of this argument.

First of all, the author says, we have on the one hand a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness. You see, the author here is telling us there's nothing to go back to positively because of what Christ has done.

His supremacy. His superiority. But negatively, there's nothing to go back to because it's fulfilled. It's gone. It's finished. It had a purpose. God purposed to use it to point forward to something. But once that pointing forward has found its fulfillment in the work of Christ, then to continue to practice that that puts you in direct opposition to God.

And what is the first thought that should probably be crossing your mind as to how God Himself demonstrated this? What happens when Christ dies upon the cross? The veil in the temple is torn from top to bottom.

What was the veil? The veil separated the people from God so that they could only be represented before Him. How? When the high priest once per year goes into the holiest place with the blood of the sacrifice on Yom Kippur.

But once the sacrifice is completed in the person of Christ, the veil in the temple is torn from the top to the bottom. Not how man would do it. He'd do it from bottom to top. It's torn. The way is open.

And did you notice what it said here? How does verse 19 end? There is a bringing in of a better hope. What's the rest of it? Through which we draw near to God. The old covenant law could not bring us direct access to God.

Now, there were old covenant believers who had intimate relationships with God. But you might well say the Levitical priesthood functioned not to bring us into the presence of God, but to actually keep us from the presence of God.

Think about what happened with Moses. Think about what happens when the law is given. What do the people say? We don't want to see anything more about the lightning and the thundering. We're afraid. And what's Moses concerned about?

Don't draw near past this point because God's wrath might break out on you. You're such a stiff-necked people. All that somehow changed. The law... Well, it sounds like Paul here again, doesn't it? The law is our schoolmaster.

The law tells us something about our sin. It tells us about the holiness of God, our own depravity, but it does not possess within itself the ability to solve our problem. It drives us either to despair or to the Savior.

And so, the writer here uses strong language. Weakness and uselessness. Not politically correct speech in any way, shape, or form. Weakness and uselessness. Now, are we really talking about what God himself had established in the law?

Yes, once the fulfillment has come, the law made nothing perfect. The law was always pointing away from itself. The law informs us of sin. The law informs us of holiness. But just as that law would cause a man to keep going in year after year and offering blood upon the altar, never experiencing perfection, and then he has to go back out and that veil has to be closed and kept closed.

Separation. Now that fulfillment has come. Now that that veil has been torn, you have one of two choices. Either you enter into, you draw nigh unto God by the one means He has opened up to do so, or you do what all human religion has to do.

You sew the veil back up. That's human religion. That's human religion. That's the sacramental system of Rome. That's the Hajj and the pilgrimage in Islam. That's the self-denial and self-emptying in Buddhism.

That's the wheel of reincarnation in Hinduism. That's the legalism of a lot of evangelicals. Sew the veil back up. I want to add something to what God has done. I do not want to submit myself to the only way He has provided.

That's human. Made nothing perfect. But on the other hand, there is a bringing in, and here we start seeing the word, you might want to start a list of the better things because we're going to run across a bunch of them here.

A better hope. A better hope through which we draw near to God. Now a person whose sins have not been dealt with doesn't want to draw near to God. That person wants to stay as far away from God as possible.

That person wants a nice thick veil. It's comforting to have God on that side. I'm over here. He's over there. That's good. The only ones who want to draw near to God, enter into His presence, are those who have experienced true redemption.

A conscience cleansed, not by self-righteous works, through a perfect righteousness provided by another. And as much as it was not without an oath, for they indeed became priests without an oath, but he with an oath, for the one who said to him, and the Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, you are a priest forever.

So much the more, also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. Better hope. Now a better covenant. What's the argument of 20 and 21? Very simple. There was no oath involved in the establishment of the old covenant priests that you have the parallel to in Psalm 110.

There is an oath in Psalm 110. Notice he quotes it again. The Lord has sworn, will not change his mind, so God has given an oath and he establishes a Melchizedek priesthood. The old priests became priests on the basis of the fact they're born into a certain family, not as the fulfillment of the Lord swearing an oath.

And so, he contrasts the two. They indeed became priests without an oath, he with an oath. So much the more then, verse 22, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. Since his priesthood flows from an oath that God himself has given, the highest form of guaranteeing, then Jesus himself becomes the guarantee of a better covenant.

And that phrase better covenant is going to become expanded upon in Hebrews chapter 8. That's as far as we'll get this evening because we need to finish up here with verse 22. Make sure we understand this and then we'll be able to press on with Hebrews 7 .23 in the next study which is only in a couple of weeks.

In the middle of July, we'll have four services in a row. We'll be able to press into chapter 8. But notice how everything's coming together. So much the more also, Jesus, remember at the end of chapter 6, we had had that tremendous text.

He's gone into the holy place. We have that sure and steadfast anchor. Jesus, our forerunner, has gone in. But now we have more of... That was an assertion, but since the writer here is dealing with people who are under pressure from people who are going to argue back, now he's giving the arguments of part of it, the foundation of it.

And he says Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. The guarantee. Now, I don't know about you, but every time I go and have to buy a car, I don't like doing it. I've got nothing against car salesmen.

I just don't like them. I don't trust them. I know I'm just a number to them. And I know that all the professed concern they have about me and my family and everything else is going to disappear as soon as I walk out of that showroom.

It'll disappear even faster if I don't buy the car from them. And so when I read about guarantees, just sort of naturally a little bit skeptical. And I really wonder what's going to happen if I end up with a lemon and I bring the thing back to the showroom or bring the thing back to the dealership.

You know, sometimes it works out, but I just don't automatically grab a guarantee and go, oh, this is it. Because how many times have we gotten a guarantee on something we bought? Car, house, you know, computer, whatever it might be.

And something goes wrong and it sounded a whole lot better than it turns out. Let's just put it that way. So we tend to be a little bit skeptical. But in this case, Jesus becomes the guarantee of a better covenant.

The old covenant came from God and God established it. The text is not denying that. But what the text is saying is that God had a purpose for that covenant. And when a covenant is fulfilled to ignore what his purpose was, it's not a wise thing.

That he has something better. He has a better covenant. And Jesus has become the guarantee of it. Well, how could he be a guarantee? Well, I would suggest to you, resurrection is a good thing. I mean, when someone says, I'm going to die and be buried and rise again three days later, and he goes and does that, that's probably a good enough indication you can trust what he has to say.

And that when he explains, this is why I did this to provide you with direct access to God. That's a good guarantee. That's a good guarantee. That's something you can trust. That's something, as we would say, you can take to the bank.

He's proven that God has accepted his work. The Father has accepted his sacrifice. And so he is now the guarantee of a better covenant because he has an instructable life. He is a priest after the order of Melchizedek.

He actually fulfills the prophetic oracle. His priesthood transcends the Levitical priesthood. And while the Levitical priesthood could not perfect anyone, it could not allow us to draw near to God, he has established a covenant that not only allows us to draw near to God, as we'll see in Hebrews chapter 8, everyone in this covenant has God's law written upon his heart.

He is their God. This is the fulfillment of all that language we've been reading for years now, here on Sunday evenings as we've been working through Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the minor prophets. We even heard it tonight in the portion from Zechariah.

And so he becomes the guarantee of a better covenant. And so once again, in a few weeks, on the third Sunday of the month, we will once again have the Lord's Sunday. And you will hear covenant language.

This is the covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you eat and drink in remembrance of me. This is where this comes from. This is what it's talking about. He is the guarantee of a better covenant. A covenant that we need to understand because it is that covenant that gives us the foundation of our certainty, our assurance of God's acceptance.

I submit to you, it is because of an ignorance of these things so many Christians lack a meaningful assurance of their own salvation. Why? Because if you don't understand what God has done to give you peace with Him, you're probably not really going to have a real deep peace with Him to begin with.

When He has revealed these things in His Word, we ignore these things to our own detriment. It's a detriment of our own self-assurance, not in assurance of ourselves, but in what God has done as well as our worship.

That's why I'm excited about this text. That's why I'm excited about this study is that I simply don't know of any other portion of Scripture where you have as long and as in-depth a discussion of exactly what it is God has done in Jesus Christ to bring us into His presence.

And we have right here. And yet, because it is couched in the language of covenant and priesthood, old covenant, new covenant, fulfillment, sacrifice, so many people just push it aside because, well, that's the Old Testament.

Yes, it is. And the Old Testament becomes this shining light pointing to fulfillment in Christ, which then becomes a foundation for us to go look at God's faithfulness over generation after generation after generation, which should absolutely thrill us.

It becomes the very foundation of our being able to say, if He has been so faithful for so long, how can I even begin to question His faithfulness in accomplishing His purpose in my life? There's the practical application.

We have much to be thankful for as we consider the fact that we have Jesus' guarantee of a better covenant by which we have peace before God this very evening. Let's pray together. Indeed, our gracious Heavenly Father, we think on these words and we think of Jesus, the guarantee of that better covenant.

We think of His finished work. We think of the fact that He has entered into the holy place. He's gone there as our forerunner. And we cannot help but rejoice, for we know we could not have accomplished any of this ourselves.

There is nothing we could do. And so when we think about what He has done, He by whom all the universe came into existence, humbling Himself so as to provide the perfect way, the only way of salvation.

May we rejoice in it. May we be bold in the proclamation of it and the defense of it. May we live in light of it. To your honor and glory, we pray in Christ's name.