|
About Jesus - Steve Sweetman Chapters 7 and 8 Melchizedek
The Priest (ch. 7:1-10) Before
we carry on we need to say a little bit about Melchizedek, since his name
has been, and now is mentioned
again. The name Melchizedek
means “King of righteousness”. A
secondary meaning is “ King of Salem”.
One
time after winning a battle, Abraham came to The
story of Abraham and Melchizedek is found in Genesis 14:17 to 24.
Melchizedek was the priest of the Most High God.
He is somewhat of an allusive character because we just don't know
much about him, but what we do know is that He represents Jesus, that is
figuratively. Abraham and him
got together and shared wine and bread and at that time Melchizedek
blessed Abraham. This was just
one of a number of important and spiritual events in Abraham's life.
This event should be viewed as God speaking through Melchizedek to
Abraham. In
verse 3 it says that Melchizedek had no beginning and
no end of days, but was like the Son of God.
This is hard for us to understand.
Did he actually have no birth or no death, or is there simply no
mention of him being born or dying? We
cannot give ourselves to much speculation.
Speculations is not rooted in fact, and as Bible interpreters we
can only state the facts.
Verse
4 says that Melchizedek was greater than Abraham.
Why? Because Abraham
gave him one tenth of the spoils of war.
Also Melchizedek blessed Abraham.
So this tells you that Melchizedek was greater than Abraham.
Verse
5 speaks of the Old Testament Law. It
says that the Levites, or sons of Levi were to be priests.
It also says that these priests would collect a tenth, or a tithe
from the people of We
should note that Melchizedek was both a king and a priest.
The Law of Moses which came later in history forbid one man to be
both king and priest. The sons
of Levi were to be priests, while the sons of One
thing to note concerning tithing. The
subject is basically an Old Testament subject and is not mentioned much in
the New Testament, only in Hebrews and when it is talked about, it is in
reference to Old Testament teaching. I
will not discuss this here because I've done it elsewhere, but I strongly
believe that tithing is not New Testament teaching.
The Law of Moses has been laid aside, and that includes the tithing
laws. I'll just say one thing
about this text. Some suggest
that because tithing existed before the Law of Moses, as seen here with
Abraham, it still exists after the Law, that is, today.
There's no logic in this thinking.
Many other things existed prior to the Law that were incorporated
into the Law, like animal sacrifices.
We don't kill animals to sacrifice today, and we don't tithe
either. Jesus is the end of
the Law as Paul states in Romans 10:4.
This does not mean Christians should not give.
Christians are to give cheerfully, abundantly, and according to
their ability to give. They
should also give intelligently.
The
comparison is now being made between the Levitical
Priesthood and Melchizedek’s priesthood.
The Levites were men who died, Melchizedek was a man who did not
die. That's another reason why
Melchizedek symbolizes Jesus. The writer gets a little philosophical when he says in verse 9 and 10 that you could say that the Levitical Priesthood actually offered a tithe to Mechizedek, because when Abraham gave his tenth to Melchizedek, Levi was not yet born. He was “still in the body of Abraham”.
Jesus
Like Melchizedek (ch. 7:11-28) Before
we go any farther we should review the three different priesthoods the
writer has been, and still is talking about.
First of all you have the priesthood of Melchizedek who lived
during the time of Abraham. Then
you have the Levitical Priesthood which was during the time of Moses and
following. Then lastly, you
have the priesthood of Jesus. Here
in verse 11 we note that if “perfection could have been attained through
the Levitical priesthood … why was there still need for another priest
to come”. The Priest to come
is referring to Jesus, and is compared to the Melchizedek priesthood.
Jesus’ priesthood has nothing to do with the Levitical
priesthood. Verse
12 tells us that “when there is a change in the priesthood, there must
be a change in the Law”. What
does this mean? The Old
Testament Law said that only the descendents of Levi could be priests.
No one from another tribe could be a priest.
So if you were going to allow someone other than a Levite to be a
priest, you would obviously need to make a new law that would allow this
to happen. The
writer goes on to say that Jesus was not a descendent of Levi but of Jesus
would have to be a priest under a whole new system.
He did not become a priest because He was born into a particular
family. His priesthood is like
Melchizedek’s because both He and Melchizedek’s priesthood “was on
the basis of the power of an indestructible life” (ch. 7:17)
This means that both Jesus and Melchizedek had no beginning and no
end. It was for this reason
that both could become priests under a different system than the Old
Testament Law required. This
discussion is pointing out the weakness of the Old Testament Law.
It is so weak that the writer in verse 18 says that the “former
regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless”.
The writer goes on to say that “the Law could make nothing
perfect”, that is why it is weak. In
verse 19 the writer speaks of “a better hope”.
The Law has not been laid aside without something else taking its
place. Of course we know what
that something else is. The
Law has been replaced by Jesus. We
see this clearly in Rom. 10:4 where Paul says that “Christ is the end of
the Law”. The Levitical
priests became priests because they were born into the family of Levi.
Yet Jesus became a priest
due to an oath, due to a covenant that God made with Himself.
The writer quotes a Psalm where God’s covenant is stated.
“The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: you are a
priest forever” He is
clearly talking about Jesus here. God
has covenanted with Himself to make Jesus a priest forever.
I've said this before, but it is interesting for me to note that
Jesus will be our priest forever. That
means, even though we will be like Jesus, there still is a distinct
difference, leading us to always needing a priest. Verse
22 says this clearly. “Because
of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant”.
You see God gave the Law to Moses.
It was a covenant, but now there is a better covenant that has
replaced the Law of Moses. This
covenant is seen in the above Psalm. God
decided to make a new priesthood of which Jesus is the one and only priest
forever. This covenant far
outweighs the Mosaic covenant. In
verses 23 to 25 the writer makes the point that the Levitical priests died
and had to be replaced. Yet
with Jesus, He never dies. He
doesn’t have to be replaced. This
makes Jesus a much better priest. He
sits beside God constantly interceding for us.
In
verse 25 he says that Jesus “is able to save completely those who come
to God through Him”. Jesus
and only Jesus can save us completely.
Only His sacrifice can make us perfect in God’s eyes.
Jesus is the only one who is representing us before God, much like
a lawyer represents his client before a judge.
From
verse 26 to the end of this chapter the writer compares Jesus to the high
priest of the Levitcal system. It
says that Jesus is “holy, blameless and pure, set apart from sinners, is
exalted above the heavens”. When
comparing Jesus with the traditional high priest, there just isn’t any
comparison. The high priests
that the Jews were used to had to offer sacrifices over and over again,
not only for the people but for themselves as well.
Jesus does not have to offer such sacrifices over and over again.
He offered Himself as a sacrifice once and for all.
There are no other sacrifices to be made, not even one.
Besides, Jesus did not have to offer His sacrifice for Himself
since He is perfect. Verse
28 speaks of God’s covenant that came after the Law of Moses.
We often think of God’s covenant that was made in Abraham’s
day, but this can’t be what is being talked about here since the writer
says that the covenant that makes Jesus a priest forever came after Moses.
It is possible that this oath was made in David’s day since it is
recorded in the Psalms? Or it
is possible that this oath was an eternal oath that God made before
creation but merely proclaimed in David’s day? The High Priest Of A New Covenant (ch. 8:1-13) In
Chapter 8 the discussion concerning Jesus as our high priest continues.
The writer notes that our new high
priest, is sitting down at the right hand of God at this moment.
He is serving us before God by interceding for us in the very
presence of God. The writer
calls this place the true sanctuary, where God Himself can be found.
Jesus is there, constantly representing us before God.
His nail pierced hands are enough to remind God of His sacrifice on
our behalf, if God actually needs to be reminded.
One important truth to note here is that even though Jesus is Lord
over all things, He remains a servent in His duties as the Most High
Priest. Verse
3 tells us that every high priest must offer gifts and sacrifices to God,
Jesus, was no exception, other than His gift and sacrifice was Himself.
The writer goes on to say that if Jesus were on earth He would not
be able to offer sacrifices because there are already priest doing that
now that are designated by the Law. And
as we already know, Jesus could not participate in this ritual since He
was from the tribe of The
earthy priest serves in a temple made by hands.
Moses was told by God to build the tabernacle, or tent.
Moses had to build it with the exact specifications that God gave
him because it was a picture of the true temple in Heaven.
It was a shadow of the real thing.
Jesus
is serving in the real temple, in the very presence of God Almighty.
His ministry is superior to those of the Levitical order.
His Covenant, that is the New Covenant is also superior and founded
on better promises. In
verse 7 we see that the Old Covenant had things wrong with it and
therefore a New Covenant had to take its place.
The Old Covenant which included the Law could only go so far and do
certain things. The New
Covenant instituted by Jesus and His sacrifice could make us righteous in
the eyes of God, even as God Himself is righteous. In
verse 9 it says that God found fault with the people.
The Old Covenant had its problems but so did God’s people.
For these reasons God put a New Covenant in place. This
New Covenant would “not be like the covenant that I made with their
forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of The
writer goes on to say that the new covenant is different than the old one
in the fact that the old one was external.
This New Covenant is internal.
He quotes God by saying, “I will put
my laws in their minds and write them in their hearts”.
How can this be? This
is done through the Holy Spirit. When
the Holy Spirit comes into our lives, God’s ways are within us.
We thus begin to learn by the Spirit within.
The completion of this process will be seen when Jesus comes back
for us and every fiber of our existence will belong to Him.
The
writer continues to quote the Lord by saying, “I will be their God and
they shall be my people” (ch. 8:10)
This is part of the New Covenant, that is God will have a people
who love Him. This people will
consist of many different nationalities.
Part of this has come true for us in New Testament times.
God has His people, yet the completion of this covenant is yet to
be realized. I say this
because of the next verse. It
says, “no longer will a man teach his neighbour, or his brother, saying,
‘know the Lord’, because they will all know me”.
Well all do not yet know the Lord.
That will happen in a future day.
Verse
12 says that God “will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins
no more”. In one sense of
the word this has been completed. As
Christians God has forgiven our sins because of the sacrifice of Jesus,
and as a result He views us as sinless.
So we are forgiven. Yet
the context of these verses to me seems to be futuristic, and when God
says that He will remember your sins no more, I think that the completion
of this truth is futuristic as well. Once
judgement day is passed and all the sins of everyone are exposed and
accounted for and either covered by the blood of Jesus for the believers,
or not covered by unbelievers; at that time God will have no more need to
remember sins. That
being said, the writer is talking to Jews about Jewish things here.
This passage is clearly meant to be understood in Jewish terms.
When Jesus returns, The
writer closes this chapter by telling us that the Old Covenant is
obsolete, and what is obsolete is in the process of fading away.
Thus another Scripture telling us that the Old Testament Law is on
its way out. It has only one
purpose for us today and that is to show us our depravity. That is the
only reason for the Law. One
day it won’t even have that reason for its existence.
|