Jesus: A Priest After the Order of Melchizedek

0:01 Let's pray together. Father in heaven, I ask for your help one more time now before we dig in to this perplexing glorious passage. Give us ears to hear, hearts to believe, minds to understand, hands ready to act, I pray according to your will in Jesus name. Amen. 54 years ago when Noel and I were in Germany studying, I was teaching a Sunday school class at the military base and we were working through our Galatians and it was a hard text that Sunday. I think it might have been, I can't remember for sure, the Hagar-Sara passage, you know, where those two women and our two covenants, and oh my goodness, this is difficult. And a woman came up to me afterwards and she was so angry. And she said, I think everything in the Bible should be easy enough for a child to understand. You make everything so complicated. That's what she said. And I don't remember what I answered, but I I wish, I hope I said something like, look, I understand your frustration.

1:27 I'm just trying to make plain, complicated things that are really in the Bible. They really are. And I know it's true that the Bible has, it's like a shoreline with shallow water where kids can play and splash around, and it's got unfathomable deeps where Leviathan sports. So, it's not my book. I didn't. Now, I don't say that now in this service because I've experienced it to be true, which I have, but rather that the Bible says it's so. Right? The Bible says, teach these things to your children. The Bible says it makes wise the simple. And And the Bible says in 2 Peter 3.16, there are some hard things to understand.

2:31 That's what it says in the Bible. The Bible says the Bible is hard to understand. It's not just my idea. And amazingly, this text, I think, is said to be one of those. So let's go back to chapter 5, verse 9. It goes like this, being made perfect, he, Jesus, became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. That's what we're going to pick up on here in chapter 7. And then it says in verse 11, about this, namely this order of Melchizedek, we have much to say. Oh, does he? And it is hard to explain. Okay, there it is. You don't have to be ashamed. He says it. He wrote it. He says it. However, it seems to be owing to the fact that you've become dull of hearing.

3:48 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. Now if I were Jared Compton, if I were smart as Jared, I might have said to that lady in Germany, there are a lot of things that a second grader can understand in the Bible. But Jared's words were, it's weird if you want to stay in the second grade the rest of your life. And that really landed on me like, that's weird. And there are just thousands of Christians who make no effort to get out of the second grade?

4:41 The Bible says in 2 Peter 3.18, grow in the knowledge and the grace of the Lord Jesus. It's a command. How are you doing? Do you know him better today than a month ago? or 10 years ago, or are you stuck? Just stuck. I'm still in second grade. It's just a zillion churches that don't try to help people get out of second grade. They're in second grade every Sunday morning. It's not a good way to do church, in my opinion. How long does he wait before he helps these readers get out of second grade? He waits two chapters. That's how long he waits. So here we are, it's high school folks, maybe college.

5:46 We're going to open, we're going to put away the second grade reader, and we're going to open the college history textbook. If you want to stay in the second grade this morning, you can just doze off now.

6:08 But before you do, seriously, before you do, let me try to clarify something for all of us. This writer of Hebrews is not playing Bible trivia. Yeah. He is trying to help you and me endure the hardest things in life until we're dead. He's trying his best from every angle to help us endure the hardest things in life until we are dead so that we don't make shipwreck of our faith. These folks, these readers, they are in a tough situation. Here's one description of it. This is chapter 12, verse 3. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, that's Jesus, so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted in your struggle against sin. You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood, but almost.

7:27 We know that because of chapter 10. This is chapter 10 verse 32. You endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. You had compassion on those who were in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you had a better possession and an abiding one? It has come to that. Not blood, but your property has been wrecked because you're a Christian. Get out of the neighborhood, Christian! Smattered on your walls. It has come to that, and I want to help you. He is not dealing with Melchizedek because he finds it intriguing. You know, there are not many words that make me angry in theological discussion. That one makes me angry. I find it intriguing. I find the Bible intriguing.

8:43 It's not intriguing. He's trying to save our lives. Seriously. So don't doze off because it's hard. It'll make you more enduring. It'll make you more stable. It'll make you more durable. You go home this afternoon and find that somebody has written, we hate Christians on your wall.

9:21 Melchizedek's going to help. I promise you. It's going to help. You go with me for the next 20 minutes or so, and you will weather those trials better. Otherwise, it wouldn't be in the book. So, just get the Old Testament background, you've got to do that because that's where he is. So, Melchizedek, That word, that name occurs two times in the Bible, in the Old Testament, in the Jewish Bible. Genesis 14, Psalm 110 verse 4. So go with me to Genesis 14. We should look at this with your own eyeballs. Genesis chapter 14. We've got to see where is Hebrews getting these strange ideas.

10:27 There are five kings. I'll give you a little background then I'll read some of the text with you. There are five kings in alliance with each other and they fought against Chedorlaomer and three other kings. So five against four. And the four kings win. Let's read verse 11. The four kings took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their provisions and went their way. They also took Lot. Oh my, that's a mistake. They also took Lot, the son of Abram's brother, so he's Abram's nephew, who was dwelling in Sodom and his possessions and went their way. That was a big mistake. You don't mess with Abram. He's under the blessing of God Almighty. Everybody in the world is going to be blessed by Abraham. Don't mess with Abraham. So what does Abraham do? He picks 318 choice armed men, verse 14, men of war. He divides them into two groups. He sneaks up on these four kings encamped at night and he defeats them all with 318 men. That's verse 15. And now we're going to read starting verse 16. Then he brought back all the possessions and also brought back his kinsmen Lot, he got him, with his possessions and the women and the people after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him, Abram, in the valley of Shaveh

12:32 that is the king's valley and Melchizedek out of the blue, who in the world. King of Salem brought out bread and wine. That should be a sermon probably, but it's not going to be because it's not in our text. And he blessed him. So Melchizedek blessed Abram and said, blessed be Abraham, by God most high, possessor of heaven and earth. And blessed be God most high who has delivered your enemies into your hand and Abram gave him a tenth of everything. Why? Who in the world is he? No answers. Thousand years later King David writes Psalm 110.

13:42 And like another lightning bolt Melchizedek shows up. Only other place in the Bible in the Old Testament he shows up. Psalm 110 verse 4. It's absolutely crucial because I think what David did with Melchizedek shows the writer to the Hebrews what he should do. It opens the door, gives him permission, says, here's what you're talking about in chapter 14 of Genesis. This psalm is the most quoted psalm in the New Testament. Jesus himself in Matthew 22, 44 took this psalm to refer to himself. He predicts, the psalm predicts there's coming a Messiah. The Lord said to my Lord, and he takes it to refer to himself. So here we are in verse 4, the Lord, small caps, Yahweh, Hebrew God of gods, Lord of lords, Yahweh, has sworn and will not change his mind, you, referring to the Messiah in the context of Psalm 110, you are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Only other place in the Bible. What order? Like, there's one.

15:24 So the writer of the book of Hebrews sees this reference to Melchizedek in chapter 14. He sees Abraham paying tithes to him. Strange. He sees him blessing Abraham. And then he sees Psalm 110. The Messiah is going to have his priesthood after the order of Melchizedek. And he ponders, wouldn't you? Like, hmm, good night. The Old Testament's an amazing book, glorious book. Every detail matters. It really does. So, let's get the big picture now.

16:26 Let's step back, get the big picture, and then we're going to deal with the details of verses 1 to 10. Look at all of them. So here's the big picture. In the book of Hebrews, we've been hearing from Kenny and others. Jesus Christ is the final decisive great high priest, right? He offers himself and he becomes the final decisive sacrifice. Final priest, final sacrifice. He brings the priesthood to an end. By fulfilling it, he brings the sacrifices to an end by being the final decisive sacrifice. Verse 26 of chapter 9 is a good summary of this, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Glorious. Or chapter 10, verse 12, when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice, one never to be repeated, he sat down at the right hand of God. So the sacrifices are over, The priesthood is over, and Jesus has fulfilled them both, and now and forever, by virtue of an indestructible life, he's our intercessor, he's our king, he's our priest, and he's our sacrifice.

17:52 We don't need another. We have Jesus, and he's alive, doing his work. We have a great salvation. that's Hebrews. He is better. Here's the problem. These are Hebrews, right? He's writing to Jews, Jewish Christians. They're not all Christian. Not everybody in the synagogue is being converted. A lot of them are, evidently. And those who aren't say, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute. This is not going to work. You cannot claim that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament priesthood because he's not even in the line of the Levites. Only Levites can be priests. sons of Levi, and then Aaron, the son of Levi, the tribe. And he's from the tribe of Judah. Kings come from Judah, priests come from Levi. You can't have it this way. You Christians are foisting on the Old Testament, our book, our authoritative about your fanciful interpretations. That's the problem.

19:16 they would say, Abraham had a son, the heir Isaac. Isaac had a son, the heir Jacob. Jacob had 12 sons, one of whom is Levi. 400 years later, God at Mount Sinai says, henceforth, all the priests come from Levi. That's our book. That's our belief. All you converts to Christianity should come back. Come back to the true fold of God's people, Israel. And the answer to that objection in the book of Hebrews is Melchizedek. It's a big deal. It's not a small thing. Like this is not intriguing. This is life and death. This is life and death.

20:13 is Jesus being twisted? Is the interpretation of the Old Testament just being twisted all around? so that we Christians can claim the Old Testament is where Jesus came from. And the Jewish people, my wife and I prayed this morning that Jews would show up this morning. Jewish people would be in this room and in the next hour, because I think this text is tailor-made to say, come on, we're not making this up. Seriously, we're not we're leaning heavily on your book, which we believe is our book, too, the Old Testament. God planned, just looking at the Old Testament, God planned that this mysterious figure show up in chapter 14. He'd show up like a bolt of lightning. Boom! He's there, he's gone, never shows up for a thousand years. What in the world?

21:25 He was there and he's called a priest. He's called the priest of the Most High God two generations before Levi existed. That's a problem for the Jewish objector. Then a thousand years later, David, best of all kings, under the inspiration of God, says, there's coming a Messiah, and he's going to be a priest after that order, Melchizedek. So, get David's word, not mine, not Hebrews, David, interpreting Genesis 4.14 that way. And so here comes chapter 7. Right? And you can think, oh, now I see. Why would there be a whole chapter devoted to Melchizedek in the Bible, in the book of Hebrews? And I hope now you see this We've got to figure out how Jesus, tribe of Judah, can be our everlasting intercessor with God in fulfillment of the Old Testament priesthood when he's not qualified to be evidently. Or is he? That's the issue. It's not a small thing.

23:03 Okay, let's look at some details in chapter 7. So everybody with me in chapter 7? You got your phones out or your Bibles open? You know, paper Bibles have a big advantage because they're just so easy to mark up. And you might be a genius and know how to mark things up on a phone, but Not many people can. Just a little plug there. This is a Bible. We sit right over there. I have my Bible. My wife has her phone. It's okay. She's not texting, I promise you. So there are going to be some things that you don't want to circle, really. 10, 1, he's a king. Verse 1, for this Melchizedek, king of Salem, king of Salem.

24:05 Verse 2, he is first by translation of his name, king of righteousness. No Old Testament priest was a king. No Old Testament king was a priest. This man's both, as we'll see, he's the king. The kingship culminates in Jesus, the priesthood culminates in Jesus, the Word of God culminates in Jesus, so that's number one, king. Number two, he's a peacemaker. Verse 1, Melchizedek was King of Salem, Shalom, which in verse 3 is interpreted for us, King of Peace. He's also King of Salem, King of Peace.

25:02 Why is that important? Because that's what priests do. They make peace between us and God. We don't have any peace with God. God is holy. I can't even get near him without being consumed. I'm a sinner. I have to have a mediator, intercessor who makes peace between me and God. I want God to be on my side. I want to be on his side. I don't want God to be my enemy. I've got to have peace with God or I'm undone. It really matters that his name is King of Peace. Number three, Melchizedek is priest of the Most High God, still in verse 1, priest of the Most High God. Abraham, let's call him Abraham instead of Abraham, that's because Hebrews does. Abraham knew this was a genuine priest. I mean, there are a bazillion priests of all kinds of false religions, right? There are priests and witchcraft priests and all kinds of priests. But he says, the text says, priest of the Most High God. That's Yahweh or not. And Abraham could have said, I'm not doing anything with this priest because he's a pagan. He wasn't a pagan.

26:29 He recognized this priest as genuinely a true priest. You can know that down in verse 22 of chapter 14. You look at it now, but he refers to possessor of heaven and earth. That's the way Abraham identifies him, and that's what he called himself the priest of. He blessed Abraham from the Most High God possessor of heaven and earth. And you just say, wow, how can that even be? He's outside the line. He's just showing up. There's a line that goes from Abraham to Isaac, to Jacob, to the twelve tribes, to Jesus. There's this line of covenant faithfulness, and he's not in it. What's going on? That's exactly what you're supposed to think. This is weird. What's the explanation? It's just so strange, which is why King David comes back to it in his psalm.

27:45 That's number three, priest. He's a genuine priest of the Most High God. He's not in the Jewish line, and yet he's something, and Abraham did not question it. Number four, Still in verse 1, Melchizedek met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him. He is a, Melchizedek is a blessing giver to very great people. I say very great people because in verse 6 it says, Melchizedek blessed him, Abraham, who had the promises. The whole redemptive plan of God for thousands of years is in Abraham. In Abraham. Salvation is of the Jews and Abraham was the first one. And this figure, out of nowhere, blesses him. And verse 7 says, it's clear, that the inferior is blessed by the superior, meaning the greatest father of the Jewish people was inferior to Melchizedek.

29:19 And you're just supposed to say What? Number five. Verse 2, and to him, that is to Melchizedek, Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He tithed to Melchizedek. Now that really rivets the attention of the writer to the Hebrews and spends the rest of the text the rest of the text on that with the small exception of verse seven where he talks about the blessing. So this is where you're graduating because this is not easy to follow. I'm gonna do my best. You want to get angry and saying, come up with me after this.

30:21 I think the babble should be easy enough to a child. And he said, I'm doing my best. Verse 5 reminds us that the Mosaic Commandments, the Mosaic Commandment, gives to Levites the right to collect taxes or tithes, they were a kind of tax, from other descendants of Abraham. All right, Here's what it says, those descendants of Levi, so that's the priests or the priestly order from whom the high priest comes, 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 are descended descended from Abraham.

31:18 But, verse 6, this man, Melchizedek, who does not have his descent from the Levites, received tithes anyway from Abraham. So what right, that's the What right does he have as a non-Levite, that's what he's forcing us to ask, to get any tithes? it's a portrait. It's a picture pointing to Jesus. It's just developing more and more and more. It's just pointing like he doesn't have any right unless he's functioning as a pointer to the one who does have a right outside the Levites.

32:23 Now we're at verse 8. And in verses 8 to 10, he draws out two touches of this tithing issue. Okay, first, verse 8, he says, in the one case, now that's the case of the Levites receiving tithes. All right? In the one case, tithes are received by mortal men, just plain ordinary Levites. In the other case, that's the case of Melchizedek receiving tithes, tithes are received by one whom it is testified he lives. What does that mean? Like not mortal? He's contrasting the mortality of the Levites and this Melchizedek who just lives. Look at the middle of verse 3, which we'll come to shortly for the other details there. It says, Melchizedek, having neither beginning of days nor end of life. There it is. He lives. Nor end of life. Now here's a crucial question you've got to ask. Are you saying, is he saying, Melchizedek was Jesus. I mean Melchizedek was immortal.

34:03 I wish this were a classroom because I would make you answer that and I wouldn't let you roam around. I'd make you rivet your eye on the verse. And you know that's not the case. It's not Jesus. Melchizedek is not Jesus. Pre-incarnate Jesus. Because of the next phrase in verse 3, he resembled the Son of God. Now if I had a paper Bible, I would circle the word resembled. Or your version might say, made like. If something is like something, it's not the something. This is not Jesus, but it's a picture. It's a pointer. Like in the story, no beginning. In the story, no ending. It's a picture from which we're supposed to say, out of blue, he shows up, he does things nobody else is allowed to do, and there's no end described to him. It's a light, he's like immortal, pointing to one who is immortal.

35:10 That's the way I'm understanding this he lives. The second thing in verses 8 to 10 that is pointed out regarding the tithing, which is strange, starts in verse 9. This is so important to grasp. It begins, one might even say, do you see that? Or maybe your version says, so to speak. We have a phrase in English like that, so to speak, meaning, please don't take me literally here. That's so important to see because otherwise you're going to see, this is weird. You're talking about genetic presence of Levi in Abraham. What's that? So to speak.

36:03 So he begins, one might even say, that Levi himself, who receives tithes, that's what he is supposed to be, paid tithes through Abraham to Melchizedek, for he was still in the loins. He's in the DNA. of Abraham. well Melchizedek when Melchizedek met him so Abraham would pass on his seed to Isaac Isaac would pass on his seed to Levi or to Jacob Jacob would pass on his seed to Levi and then Levi would be the heir of the one from whom the priests come. And one might even say, so to speak, Levi, because of that descendant, was in Abraham and paid tithes to Melchizedek, which is totally strange. Like, the Levites received tithes, that's the way God set it up. And you're saying now because he was in Abraham, he paid tithes to Melchizedek, which means Melchizedek is a picture of something off the charts amazing. His name is Jesus. That's the amazing thing that he's pointing to. So we have five now of the ten aspects of Melchizedek's portrait.

37:56 Number one, he's a king. Number two, he's a peacemaker. Number three, he's a priest of the Most High God. Number four, he's a blessing giver and thus superior. And number five, he's a tithe receiver and therefore unbelievably, strangely, superior. Now the last five traits or amazing aspects of Melchizedek pointing to Jesus are in verses 2 and 3, and we'll treat them very briefly. Number six, so we get five now, five more. Six, he's righteous. Middle of verse 2. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness. Melchi, king of tzedek, righteousness. King of righteousness. If you're not righteous, you can't make peace between a righteous God and a sinful, sinful people. Number seven and eight and nine, take them together. It It says here in verse 7, No beginning, no ending, seven, eight, resembling the Son of God, nine.

39:24 So, no narrative origin. In the story, no origin told. In the story, no end told. And so, resembling, not being, resembling the Son of God as he's portrayed there. We know, Kenny will pick it up next week and the rest of the chapter, Jesus has his priesthood by virtue of an indestructible life. No beginning, no ending, Alpha and Omega, King of Kings and Priest of Priests. Melchizedek was like the Son of God, Jesus is the Son of God. Finally, number 10, the 10th aspect of Melchizedek's portrait.

40:25 Verse 3 at the end, he continues a priest forever. Melchizedek portrays, he points to one who lives forever, one whom David said, this is what David gets, Hebrews is not making this up, David said, you are a priest forever. That's what he said about the Messiah. You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, Psalm 110 verse 4. So the sum of the matter is this, summing up. To those who say Jesus has no right to claim to be the consummation of the Old Testament priesthood because he's not of the tribe of Levi from which the priests came? The answer of the book of Hebrews is no. That's not a valid objection because the Old Testament itself, the Jewish Bible, the Jewish Bible...

41:40 takes chapter 14 and Psalm 110 verse 4 and gives us a warranted portrait. The Messiah will be a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. There is no order of Melchizedek. He's one of a kind. That's the point. Messiah is going to be one of a kind like that. That's Old Testament theology, truth, not just Christian fabrication foisted upon the Jewish Bible. So here's what we Christians should believe and take heart from. There is one coming, I'll say that for the first coming and we embrace it for the second coming, who is without beginning. He has no ending, Alpha and Omega. He will be the Son of God, not just resembling the Son of God. He will be an utterly unique high priest, not fitting anybody's categories.

43:00 He will be unimpeachably righteous without any sin at all, Hebrews makes plain. He will make peace between God and man for all who trust him. He will be an all-governing king. He will receive tribute from the great and he will give blessing to the humble, and he will do it forever. That's who you love. That's whom we trust. So Father, as we sing for all the glorious names like priests, and as to go to the table, thrill us with the life and death issues that this writer deals with from the Old Testament, from Christ. Make us strong, make us stable, make us durable, get us out of second grade. Grow us up into Christ and his fullness, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.