WEBVTT 00:00:13.580 --> 00:00:17.019 Have you ever noticed that sometimes the quickest 00:00:17.019 --> 00:00:21.640 way to explain who a person is is by comparing 00:00:21.640 --> 00:00:25.260 them to somebody else? If I were to tell you 00:00:25.260 --> 00:00:27.859 that this new young basketball player who's just 00:00:27.859 --> 00:00:31.519 come into the NBA is the next Steph Curry, well 00:00:31.519 --> 00:00:33.579 if you were a basketball fan you would immediately 00:00:33.579 --> 00:00:36.920 begin forming in your mind a picture of to who 00:00:36.920 --> 00:00:40.619 this player is. You would think about his size, 00:00:40.840 --> 00:00:43.439 his shooting ability, his court vision, his leadership, 00:00:43.780 --> 00:00:48.719 his work ethic, what he brings to the game. The 00:00:48.719 --> 00:00:52.219 comparison tells you something important before 00:00:52.219 --> 00:00:54.520 you really know anything else about the person. 00:00:54.579 --> 00:00:57.579 Or if I were to say that this young politician, 00:00:57.820 --> 00:01:00.039 this up -and -coming politician is another Abraham 00:01:00.039 --> 00:01:02.759 Lincoln, you would instantly think of certain 00:01:02.759 --> 00:01:06.459 things. Integrity, courage, being able to lead 00:01:06.459 --> 00:01:12.069 during difficult times. Comparisons are a powerful 00:01:12.069 --> 00:01:16.909 way to allow us to understand something unfamiliar 00:01:16.909 --> 00:01:21.950 by connecting it to something else. And that's 00:01:21.950 --> 00:01:25.469 exactly what the writer of Hebrews is going to 00:01:25.469 --> 00:01:29.569 do in chapter 7. The readers know Jesus. They 00:01:29.569 --> 00:01:31.750 know He is the Son of God. They know that He 00:01:31.750 --> 00:01:35.560 died and rose again. They know that He is their 00:01:35.560 --> 00:01:39.019 Savior, but there's one aspect of the ministry 00:01:39.019 --> 00:01:42.799 of Jesus that the writer of Hebrews desperately 00:01:42.799 --> 00:01:46.480 wants them to understand. He wants them to get 00:01:46.480 --> 00:01:50.620 it. He wants them to get that Jesus is their 00:01:50.620 --> 00:01:55.780 great high priest. The problem is, is that Jesus 00:01:55.780 --> 00:02:00.260 was not from the priestly tribe. Jesus was from 00:02:00.260 --> 00:02:05.540 the tribe of Judah. So how can he be our great 00:02:05.540 --> 00:02:09.280 high priest? And to answer that question the 00:02:09.280 --> 00:02:13.479 writer is going to reach back nearly 2 ,000 years 00:02:13.479 --> 00:02:17.580 before Christ and he's gonna pull this mysterious 00:02:17.580 --> 00:02:22.259 figure out of the pages of Genesis. A man who 00:02:22.259 --> 00:02:26.000 appears for only a few verses then disappears 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:30.020 just as quickly only to be mentioned again a 00:02:30.020 --> 00:02:35.219 thousand years later in one of our Psalms. Of 00:02:35.219 --> 00:02:37.280 course, we've already encountered him a couple 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:40.840 times. His name is Melchizedek. Back in chapter 00:02:40.840 --> 00:02:44.379 five, the writer mentions that Jesus was a priest 00:02:44.379 --> 00:02:47.979 forever in the order of Melchizedek. He brings 00:02:47.979 --> 00:02:51.319 him up again in chapter six, but each time when 00:02:51.319 --> 00:02:53.539 you think that maybe he's going to explain to 00:02:53.539 --> 00:02:56.860 us who Melchizedek is or why he's bringing up 00:02:56.860 --> 00:02:59.659 Melchizedek, he just keeps stopping short. So 00:02:59.659 --> 00:03:01.599 he brings up Melchizedek and you're like, Melchizedek, 00:03:01.759 --> 00:03:03.860 what's going on with this? And then he just stops 00:03:03.860 --> 00:03:05.819 and he goes to something else. And then he brings 00:03:05.819 --> 00:03:07.580 him up again and you're like, Melchizedek, what's 00:03:07.580 --> 00:03:09.379 going on with this? And then he starts to warn 00:03:09.379 --> 00:03:13.479 the people. So he's been hinting at that using 00:03:13.479 --> 00:03:17.219 this person as a comparison for Jesus all along. 00:03:17.280 --> 00:03:21.680 And finally in chapter seven, he returns to this 00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:25.180 mysterious figure and he reveals why he brought 00:03:25.180 --> 00:03:28.759 him up in the first place. Now at first glance, 00:03:30.469 --> 00:03:33.590 Melchizedek seems like a strange place to build 00:03:33.590 --> 00:03:39.310 an argument. As I said, he's just briefly mentioned 00:03:39.310 --> 00:03:42.729 in Genesis 14, yet the writer of Hebrews is going 00:03:42.729 --> 00:03:46.270 to build an entire chapter, we'll do some of 00:03:46.270 --> 00:03:47.949 it this week, Brother James will finish it next 00:03:47.949 --> 00:03:51.469 week, Lord willing, and yet he's going to discuss 00:03:51.469 --> 00:03:54.969 Melchizedek for an entire chapter. And the question 00:03:54.969 --> 00:03:57.740 has to be asked, well, why? Why are you bringing 00:03:57.740 --> 00:03:59.759 up this mysterious figure that kind of comes 00:03:59.759 --> 00:04:03.879 out of nowhere in Genesis 14? And the reason 00:04:03.879 --> 00:04:07.680 why he does it is not because Melchizedek is 00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:11.580 the hero of the story. Not because we're supposed 00:04:11.580 --> 00:04:15.919 to become so fascinated with Melchizedek. He 00:04:15.919 --> 00:04:18.879 brings up Melchizedek because Melchizedek is 00:04:18.879 --> 00:04:24.850 a God -given portrait of Jesus. The writer is 00:04:24.850 --> 00:04:28.189 essentially saying, if you want to understand 00:04:28.189 --> 00:04:32.709 how Jesus Christ is your great high priest, you 00:04:32.709 --> 00:04:37.910 need to look at Melchizedek. And as we do that, 00:04:38.209 --> 00:04:42.829 we are going to discover that every point that 00:04:42.829 --> 00:04:47.589 the writer of Hebrews brings up about Melchizedek 00:04:47.589 --> 00:04:51.970 points to Jesus. It's not about the man himself. 00:04:52.490 --> 00:04:57.149 It is about the greatness of Jesus Christ. Does 00:04:57.149 --> 00:05:00.629 that make sense? It's not about Melchizedek. 00:05:01.149 --> 00:05:04.370 It is about Jesus. So let's turn to Hebrews chapter 00:05:04.370 --> 00:05:07.069 seven. We're gonna read the first 10 verses and 00:05:07.069 --> 00:05:09.110 then we're basically gonna look at a couple things. 00:05:09.850 --> 00:05:13.350 What he reveals about Melchizedek and then the 00:05:13.350 --> 00:05:16.970 proofs that he gives to show that Melchizedek 00:05:16.970 --> 00:05:20.230 is in fact great and why he points. to Jesus. 00:05:20.269 --> 00:05:22.149 So let's read these first 10 verses and then 00:05:22.149 --> 00:05:27.410 we'll begin discussing the shadow of Melchizedek 00:05:27.410 --> 00:05:31.490 pointing to Christ. For this Melchizedek, king 00:05:31.490 --> 00:05:36.790 of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham 00:05:36.790 --> 00:05:39.990 returning from the slaughter of the kings and 00:05:39.990 --> 00:05:44.290 blessing. And to him Abraham apportioned a tenth 00:05:44.290 --> 00:05:48.769 part of everything. He is first, by translation 00:05:48.769 --> 00:05:52.290 of His name, King of Righteousness. And then 00:05:52.290 --> 00:05:56.529 He is also King of Salem. That is, King of Peace. 00:05:57.990 --> 00:06:00.930 He is without father or mother or genealogy, 00:06:01.370 --> 00:06:04.310 having neither beginning of days nor end of life, 00:06:04.990 --> 00:06:08.389 but resembling the Son of God, He continues a 00:06:08.389 --> 00:06:13.410 priest forever. See how great this man was, to 00:06:13.410 --> 00:06:17.089 whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of his 00:06:17.089 --> 00:06:20.610 spoils. And those descendants of Levi who received 00:06:20.610 --> 00:06:22.910 the priestly office have a commandment in the 00:06:22.910 --> 00:06:25.750 law to take tithes from the people that is from 00:06:25.750 --> 00:06:29.550 their brothers, though these also are descendants 00:06:29.550 --> 00:06:34.430 from Abraham. But this man, who does not have 00:06:34.430 --> 00:06:37.610 his descent from the received tithes of Abraham 00:06:37.610 --> 00:06:43.110 and blessed him, who had the promises. It is 00:06:43.110 --> 00:06:45.930 beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by 00:06:45.930 --> 00:06:49.189 the superior. In one case tithes are received 00:06:49.189 --> 00:06:51.810 by mortal men, but in the other case by one of 00:06:51.810 --> 00:06:54.810 whom it is testified that he lives. One might 00:06:54.810 --> 00:06:58.189 even say that Levi himself, who received tithes, 00:06:58.430 --> 00:07:02.350 paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still 00:07:02.350 --> 00:07:05.189 in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek 00:07:05.189 --> 00:07:08.639 met him. Let's break down this argument. Let's 00:07:08.639 --> 00:07:12.019 break down why he's bringing up Melchizedek. 00:07:12.120 --> 00:07:16.439 Now, the writer begins by introducing us to this 00:07:16.439 --> 00:07:20.019 man. But this isn't, again, this isn't merely 00:07:20.019 --> 00:07:24.860 a history lesson. Every detail is going to highlight 00:07:24.860 --> 00:07:29.040 and is intended to reveal us something about 00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:32.560 Christ. The writer is identifying the ways that 00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:37.750 this character Melchizedek resembles Jesus. Melchizedek 00:07:37.750 --> 00:07:41.930 is not the destination. He is a portrait of the 00:07:41.930 --> 00:07:45.170 better priest king. Here's the first thing that 00:07:45.170 --> 00:07:49.949 we see, verse one. This character, Melchizedek, 00:07:50.069 --> 00:07:53.269 unites two offices together. It says in verse 00:07:53.269 --> 00:07:56.649 one, for this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest 00:07:56.649 --> 00:08:00.949 of the Most High God. Notice there, king and 00:08:00.949 --> 00:08:05.000 priest. Now that may not sound unusual to us. 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:07.500 We've talked about this before. It would have 00:08:07.500 --> 00:08:11.620 been completely unusual for the Jews to have 00:08:11.620 --> 00:08:16.300 a king -priest. Kings came from the tribe of 00:08:16.300 --> 00:08:19.899 Judah. Priests came from the tribe of Levi. They 00:08:19.899 --> 00:08:23.699 didn't come from the same tribe. Yet centuries 00:08:23.699 --> 00:08:26.779 before the law was given Melchizedek appears 00:08:26.779 --> 00:08:30.240 on the pages of Scripture holding both offices. 00:08:30.649 --> 00:08:35.450 He was king and he was priest. Now why does that 00:08:35.450 --> 00:08:38.490 matter? Because Melchizedek is pointing us to 00:08:38.490 --> 00:08:44.090 Jesus. Jesus is the king who rules his people. 00:08:44.809 --> 00:08:50.470 And he is also the priest who represents his 00:08:50.470 --> 00:08:54.269 people before God. Think about how wonderful 00:08:54.269 --> 00:08:58.480 that is. The one who possesses all authority 00:08:58.480 --> 00:09:03.059 is the one who intercedes for you. If you had 00:09:03.059 --> 00:09:06.179 a king without a priestly compassion that king 00:09:06.179 --> 00:09:10.159 could become a tyrant. If you had a priest without 00:09:10.159 --> 00:09:13.100 kingly authority that priest could become powerless. 00:09:13.740 --> 00:09:17.799 But in Jesus you have perfect authority and perfect 00:09:17.799 --> 00:09:25.340 mediation meeting together. He truly is our better 00:09:25.340 --> 00:09:28.500 priest king. So the first reason, the first revelation 00:09:28.500 --> 00:09:30.460 that we're getting from Melchizedek is that he 00:09:30.460 --> 00:09:34.779 was a priest king, pointing to the better priest 00:09:34.779 --> 00:09:38.019 king, holding both offices together. The second 00:09:38.019 --> 00:09:41.960 thing that he reveals is that he brings righteousness. 00:09:42.200 --> 00:09:45.559 It says first in verse two, by translation of 00:09:45.559 --> 00:09:49.340 his name, king of righteousness. Now the name 00:09:49.340 --> 00:09:52.379 Melchizedek literally means king of righteousness. 00:09:53.149 --> 00:09:55.870 But the writer isn't giving us this name. He's 00:09:55.870 --> 00:09:57.830 not just doing like a Hebrew word study for us 00:09:57.830 --> 00:10:01.029 so that we can be smart and just think that we 00:10:01.029 --> 00:10:03.669 know the definition of His name. He's showing 00:10:03.669 --> 00:10:07.090 another way in which this points to Christ. Because 00:10:07.090 --> 00:10:10.509 righteousness is at the very heart of God's kingdom. 00:10:11.509 --> 00:10:14.610 It is at the very heart of God's kingdom. Jesus 00:10:14.610 --> 00:10:18.929 is righteous in His character. Amen? He is righteous 00:10:18.929 --> 00:10:22.919 in His life that He lived. He perfectly fulfilled 00:10:22.919 --> 00:10:27.019 the law of God, and Jesus always did what was 00:10:27.019 --> 00:10:31.700 pleasing to the Father. And through faith in 00:10:31.700 --> 00:10:35.860 Jesus, His righteousness becomes our righteousness. 00:10:36.620 --> 00:10:40.419 Okay? We don't have any righteousness of our 00:10:40.419 --> 00:10:43.019 own. This is one of the greatest truths of all 00:10:43.019 --> 00:10:46.919 of Scripture. When we stand before God in Jesus 00:10:46.919 --> 00:10:50.450 Christ, We do not stand in our own righteousness. 00:10:50.570 --> 00:10:52.750 That would be standing in filthy rags. It would 00:10:52.750 --> 00:10:54.909 be pointless and it would be an abomination before 00:10:54.909 --> 00:10:58.429 God. But instead, in Christ, we stand there with 00:10:58.429 --> 00:11:03.029 His righteousness. We stand before God clothed 00:11:03.029 --> 00:11:07.370 in the purity of Jesus Christ. And Melchizedek... 00:11:07.240 --> 00:11:10.799 bore this title, King of Righteousness, and the 00:11:10.799 --> 00:11:14.100 author of Hebrews is saying, Jesus is the real 00:11:14.100 --> 00:11:16.980 King of Righteousness. Melchizedek just pointed 00:11:16.980 --> 00:11:20.500 there. He bore the title, but Jesus fulfills 00:11:20.500 --> 00:11:24.379 the reality. He's the better priest king because 00:11:24.379 --> 00:11:28.539 he brings righteousness to his people. Then he 00:11:28.539 --> 00:11:32.559 gives us a third revelation of this king. Verse 00:11:32.559 --> 00:11:36.470 two, he secures peace. It says, he then, And 00:11:36.470 --> 00:11:41.070 then he is also king of Salem. That is king of 00:11:41.070 --> 00:11:46.690 peace. Salem means peace. So Melchizedek is both 00:11:46.690 --> 00:11:49.830 the king of righteousness and the king of peace. 00:11:50.110 --> 00:11:53.879 Now don't miss the order here. This order is 00:11:53.879 --> 00:11:56.379 very important. He doesn't say first he is the 00:11:56.379 --> 00:11:58.259 king of peace and then he is the king of righteousness. 00:11:58.360 --> 00:12:00.960 He says no, he is the king of righteousness and 00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:03.519 he is the king of peace. And this is very, very 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:07.480 important. The order is not accidental. The Bible 00:12:07.480 --> 00:12:10.759 never teaches peace with God apart from righteousness, 00:12:11.620 --> 00:12:15.220 ever. That's why when people say, you know, I 00:12:15.220 --> 00:12:16.600 think I'm gonna go to heaven one day because 00:12:16.600 --> 00:12:22.309 I'm a good person. The question is not if you're 00:12:22.309 --> 00:12:24.029 a good person or a bad person. The question is, 00:12:24.070 --> 00:12:27.049 are you perfectly righteous? And if the answer 00:12:27.049 --> 00:12:30.610 is no, then you don't have peace with God. It's 00:12:30.610 --> 00:12:35.110 impossible. Peace cannot come without righteousness. 00:12:36.370 --> 00:12:42.409 It's impossible. God does not make peace by ignoring 00:12:42.409 --> 00:12:46.509 sin. He doesn't make peace by sweeping sin under 00:12:46.509 --> 00:12:50.450 the rug. God establishes righteousness first 00:12:50.450 --> 00:12:54.470 and then peace follows, and that is exactly what 00:12:54.470 --> 00:12:57.809 Jesus accomplished on the cross. What does Romans 00:12:57.809 --> 00:13:01.669 5 .1 say? Therefore, since we have been justified 00:13:01.669 --> 00:13:05.549 by faith, you remember, what is justification? 00:13:05.950 --> 00:13:08.230 I always like to describe it in the words of 00:13:08.230 --> 00:13:11.190 Paul George, that's a basketball player, Bob 00:13:11.190 --> 00:13:14.659 George. Always like to describe it like he described 00:13:14.659 --> 00:13:19.039 it the great exchange. I bring all my sin and 00:13:19.039 --> 00:13:23.399 I give it to Jesus Jesus takes it he died for 00:13:23.399 --> 00:13:25.320 it and then he takes all of his righteousness 00:13:25.320 --> 00:13:28.820 and gives it to me. It is the great exchange 00:13:28.820 --> 00:13:33.919 So to be justified is to be righteous before 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:38.149 God in right standing before God because of Jesus. 00:13:38.769 --> 00:13:43.350 So in Romans 5 .1, therefore, since we have been 00:13:43.350 --> 00:13:47.230 justified by faith, made righteous by faith, 00:13:47.769 --> 00:13:51.850 we have peace with God, our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:13:52.230 --> 00:13:56.570 So there's the order. We become righteous because 00:13:56.570 --> 00:13:59.129 of Jesus' righteousness, because of the King 00:13:59.129 --> 00:14:01.769 of righteousness, and then because He is the 00:14:01.769 --> 00:14:04.679 King of peace, we have peace with God. Don't 00:14:04.679 --> 00:14:07.539 get that order messed up. That is a very deep 00:14:07.539 --> 00:14:13.679 theological truth that we cling to. Justification 00:14:13.679 --> 00:14:17.080 then peace. Righteousness then peace. And our 00:14:17.080 --> 00:14:22.279 better priest king secures both for us. The fourth 00:14:22.279 --> 00:14:24.639 and final revelation from these first three verses 00:14:24.639 --> 00:14:28.960 is that he reigns forever. Now verse three is 00:14:28.960 --> 00:14:32.679 probably the most misunderstood verse in this 00:14:32.679 --> 00:14:35.970 passage. The writer says of Melchizedek that 00:14:35.970 --> 00:14:38.389 he was without father or mother or genealogy 00:14:38.389 --> 00:14:41.350 having neither beginning of days nor end of life. 00:14:42.230 --> 00:14:46.889 This has made some people conclude that Melchizedek 00:14:46.889 --> 00:14:49.750 must have been some type of celestial being. 00:14:49.809 --> 00:14:53.350 Maybe he was an angel. Others have suggested 00:14:53.350 --> 00:14:56.470 that maybe he was a pre -incarnate appearance 00:14:56.470 --> 00:14:59.889 of Jesus Christ. But I do not think that is what 00:14:59.889 --> 00:15:03.700 the author is saying. The writer is describing 00:15:03.700 --> 00:15:08.960 Melchizedek as he appears in Genesis. Follow 00:15:08.960 --> 00:15:12.460 me here. He's not describing all the details 00:15:12.460 --> 00:15:15.000 about Melchizedek. Did Melchizedek have a mother? 00:15:15.080 --> 00:15:19.120 Yes. Did Melchizedek have a father? Yes. That's 00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:21.419 a reality of Melchizedek. He was a human being. 00:15:22.039 --> 00:15:26.679 However, what he's doing is not describing the 00:15:26.679 --> 00:15:29.820 actual genealogy of Melchizedek. That's not the 00:15:29.820 --> 00:15:34.389 point. What he's doing is he's using how Melchizedek 00:15:34.389 --> 00:15:38.470 appears in Genesis to point it to Jesus. In Genesis, 00:15:38.830 --> 00:15:41.070 Melchizedek has no father or mother. He just 00:15:41.070 --> 00:15:45.289 shows up. And so he's grabbing a hold of that 00:15:45.289 --> 00:15:48.129 picture and he's saying, look, he didn't have 00:15:48.129 --> 00:15:50.450 a father or mother in Genesis, he's just there. 00:15:51.610 --> 00:15:55.450 And so he's not, Genesis, because it records 00:15:55.450 --> 00:15:57.830 no genealogy, there's no ancestry, there's no 00:15:57.830 --> 00:16:02.059 birth, there's no death. He is using that portrayal 00:16:02.059 --> 00:16:06.059 of Melchizedek to point it to Jesus. By the way, 00:16:06.559 --> 00:16:08.860 this was Genesis 14 that we're gonna read about 00:16:08.860 --> 00:16:12.740 in a minute, is inspired by God. Why did God 00:16:12.740 --> 00:16:15.779 inspire Moses to write about Melchizedek and 00:16:15.779 --> 00:16:19.019 not mention his father and mother? Because Melchizedek 00:16:19.019 --> 00:16:22.320 was always going to be a picture of Jesus. It's 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:24.879 one of the great principles of one of the great 00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:26.960 defenses of why we believe the Bible's inspired. 00:16:29.099 --> 00:16:31.639 God is not coming to the author of Hebrews and 00:16:31.639 --> 00:16:33.279 saying, hey, you know, I just thought of something. 00:16:34.759 --> 00:16:37.220 That's a great idea. Let's use Melchizedek to 00:16:37.220 --> 00:16:40.580 point to Jesus. And then the writer of Hebrews 00:16:40.580 --> 00:16:44.799 is like, that's great, God. And then wrote it 00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:49.629 down. This was being planned. 2000 years ago. 00:16:49.950 --> 00:16:52.149 That's why he's not mentioned as having a father, 00:16:52.149 --> 00:16:54.549 mother, or any kind of genealogy, or ancestry, 00:16:54.590 --> 00:16:57.230 or death. Because Melchizedek was always going 00:16:57.230 --> 00:16:59.429 to be written the way he was written so that 00:16:59.429 --> 00:17:02.110 he could point to Jesus, and years later we could 00:17:02.110 --> 00:17:04.089 use Melchizedek as a picture in a portrait. Does 00:17:04.089 --> 00:17:13.130 that make sense? Now, let's get to the point 00:17:13.130 --> 00:17:16.190 of not having a mother, father, or ancestry. 00:17:16.519 --> 00:17:21.740 The Levitical priesthood, you became a priest 00:17:21.740 --> 00:17:25.420 because of your genealogy or because of your 00:17:25.420 --> 00:17:30.799 ancestry, correct? Now, not every Levite was 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:33.799 going to be a priest, but you couldn't be a priest 00:17:33.799 --> 00:17:37.359 unless you were a Levite. So your ancestry and 00:17:37.359 --> 00:17:41.660 genealogy was a requirement in order for you 00:17:41.660 --> 00:17:44.119 to become a priest. And another thing that happened 00:17:44.119 --> 00:17:48.329 to every Levitical priest is that their ministry 00:17:48.329 --> 00:17:54.289 ended because they died. Now, in fact, I believe 00:17:54.289 --> 00:17:56.029 they had to stop being a priest at the age of 00:17:56.029 --> 00:18:00.730 50. So I think at 50 they would stop being a 00:18:00.730 --> 00:18:03.049 priest and then others that they had trained 00:18:03.049 --> 00:18:04.410 would take over. And then sometimes they would 00:18:04.410 --> 00:18:08.170 die even before 50. So their ministry would end. 00:18:09.230 --> 00:18:11.569 But there's no death mentioned of Melchizedek. 00:18:11.990 --> 00:18:15.880 There's no ending of Melchizedek's priesthood, 00:18:16.420 --> 00:18:19.480 which results in him becoming a perfect fitting 00:18:19.480 --> 00:18:22.920 picture of Christ. Jesus does not hold the priesthood 00:18:22.920 --> 00:18:25.980 because of his genealogy. Doesn't matter what 00:18:25.980 --> 00:18:30.039 tribe he's from. He becomes a priest because 00:18:30.039 --> 00:18:34.240 of who he is, not his genealogy. So being from 00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:36.460 the tribe of Judah doesn't matter for being the 00:18:36.460 --> 00:18:38.119 great high priest of God in the new covenant. 00:18:39.220 --> 00:18:41.220 Because this priest is not going to be priest 00:18:41.220 --> 00:18:45.109 because of his ancestry. Jesus holds the office 00:18:45.109 --> 00:18:48.029 because of who he is. And unlike every priest 00:18:48.029 --> 00:18:51.049 that comes before him, his ministry never ends. 00:18:51.450 --> 00:18:55.509 He never dies. He never needs a successor. He 00:18:55.509 --> 00:18:58.990 never ends in his intercession. His ministry 00:18:58.990 --> 00:19:03.390 never ends. Right now, at this very moment, our 00:19:03.390 --> 00:19:06.089 better priest king is seated at the right hand 00:19:06.089 --> 00:19:13.750 of the Father praying for his people. and he'll 00:19:13.750 --> 00:19:18.230 continue to do it forever. It's why we can trust 00:19:18.230 --> 00:19:22.250 him. It's why we can draw near to him. It's why 00:19:22.250 --> 00:19:24.950 he is our better priest king. John Calvin wrote, 00:19:25.009 --> 00:19:28.630 whatever excellency was in Melchizedek, it was 00:19:28.630 --> 00:19:31.529 just a shadow of that which was found perfectly 00:19:31.529 --> 00:19:33.670 in Jesus Christ. So here's the first thing he 00:19:33.670 --> 00:19:36.650 does in these first three verses. He gives us, 00:19:36.789 --> 00:19:43.329 he reveals to us these specific points. about 00:19:43.329 --> 00:19:48.930 Melchizedek and why Jesus is better than anything 00:19:48.930 --> 00:19:51.130 in the Levitical priesthood, because he's a priest 00:19:51.130 --> 00:19:55.549 in the order of Melchizedek. Also, by the way, 00:19:57.049 --> 00:20:00.990 as a side note here, one of the main reasons 00:20:00.990 --> 00:20:03.190 textually why I don't think Melchizedek was a 00:20:03.190 --> 00:20:06.250 pre -incarnate Jesus Christ is because it says, 00:20:09.079 --> 00:20:11.420 in verse three, at the end of verse three, but 00:20:11.420 --> 00:20:13.900 resembling the Son of God, he continues a priest 00:20:13.900 --> 00:20:19.099 forever. That word resembling, the weight of 00:20:19.099 --> 00:20:25.140 that word means that basically he just points 00:20:25.140 --> 00:20:28.440 to him or is like him. And so that leads me to 00:20:28.440 --> 00:20:30.339 believe that he's not a pre -incarnate Jesus. 00:20:30.420 --> 00:20:34.140 He's just one that God inspired to write about 00:20:34.140 --> 00:20:38.609 so that we could point to Jesus. Then after revealing 00:20:38.609 --> 00:20:41.369 what's been revealed in these first three verses, 00:20:42.490 --> 00:20:46.970 the writer is now going to prove how great he 00:20:46.970 --> 00:20:48.930 was. He even says at the beginning of verse four, 00:20:49.049 --> 00:20:52.210 see how great this man was. And then what he's 00:20:52.210 --> 00:20:55.309 gonna do is he's going to give us three reasons 00:20:55.309 --> 00:21:01.609 for how great Melchizedek was. Namely, how he's 00:21:01.609 --> 00:21:05.049 greater than Abraham and Levi. Now that's a huge 00:21:05.049 --> 00:21:09.470 statement to Jewish people. that this man Melchizedek 00:21:09.470 --> 00:21:12.170 was greater than Abraham and Levi. And then he's 00:21:12.170 --> 00:21:14.210 going to give the proofs for why that's true. 00:21:15.950 --> 00:21:18.190 In order to do this, he's going to take us all 00:21:18.190 --> 00:21:20.369 the way back to Genesis chapter 14. We need to 00:21:20.369 --> 00:21:23.029 understand Genesis 14 in order to understand 00:21:23.029 --> 00:21:25.869 the argument. Now many of us know Abraham as 00:21:25.869 --> 00:21:29.809 the father of faith. We know him as the man who 00:21:29.809 --> 00:21:33.950 left Ur... the man who received all the promises 00:21:33.950 --> 00:21:36.450 of God and believed those promises. But in Genesis 00:21:36.450 --> 00:21:39.730 14, there's a story here leading up to Melchizedek 00:21:39.730 --> 00:21:42.369 that pictures Abraham in a different role. And 00:21:42.369 --> 00:21:45.309 it's really the role of a warrior. We don't think 00:21:45.309 --> 00:21:48.190 about Abraham as a warrior. But in Genesis 14, 00:21:48.309 --> 00:21:50.410 we actually have a story of him being a warrior. 00:21:50.809 --> 00:21:53.210 Here's what happens in Genesis 14. Four powerful 00:21:53.210 --> 00:21:56.640 kings come together. and they decide we are going 00:21:56.640 --> 00:21:59.779 to attack the kings in the land of Canaan. So 00:21:59.779 --> 00:22:03.900 these kings from the east attack Canaan. And 00:22:03.900 --> 00:22:07.700 there's five kings that then join together to 00:22:07.700 --> 00:22:10.279 basically create a coalition to fight off these 00:22:10.279 --> 00:22:12.519 other four kings. So you got four kings that 00:22:12.519 --> 00:22:14.940 create a coalition, you've got five kings in 00:22:14.940 --> 00:22:18.599 Canaan that put together a coalition, and they 00:22:18.599 --> 00:22:24.480 go to war with each other. Now, two of the the 00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:27.960 kingdoms are Sodom and Gomorrah. Okay, now we 00:22:27.960 --> 00:22:31.400 know Sodom and Gomorrah because who chose Sodom 00:22:31.400 --> 00:22:34.359 and Gomorrah when Abraham said we can't fight 00:22:34.359 --> 00:22:36.460 anymore, this is ridiculous, our servants are 00:22:36.460 --> 00:22:38.319 fighting, we've gone too big, you choose where 00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:39.640 you want to go, I'll go to the other place. Who 00:22:39.640 --> 00:22:42.799 chooses it? Lot, his nephew. Well what happens 00:22:42.799 --> 00:22:45.500 in Genesis 14 is that these kings from the east 00:22:45.500 --> 00:22:49.720 who attack Canaan, they win. And they take possessions 00:22:49.720 --> 00:22:53.349 and they take captives to be slaves. and they're 00:22:53.349 --> 00:22:55.769 taking them back home. Well guess who is one 00:22:55.769 --> 00:22:59.269 of the persons that gets taken and taken captive 00:22:59.269 --> 00:23:04.710 by these Eastern kings? Lot. Abraham finds out 00:23:04.710 --> 00:23:08.180 about it. So what has happened now is these kings 00:23:08.180 --> 00:23:11.660 have attacked. Abraham finds out my nephew has 00:23:11.660 --> 00:23:14.539 been taken and probably his family has been taken 00:23:14.539 --> 00:23:18.339 in to basically slavery by these kings. So he 00:23:18.339 --> 00:23:22.380 gathers together 318 of his highly trained soldiers. 00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:24.519 We don't even often think about Abraham having 00:23:24.519 --> 00:23:26.480 soldiers, but you would think, well that makes 00:23:26.480 --> 00:23:28.059 sense. He's got to protect his crop. He's got 00:23:28.059 --> 00:23:30.079 to protect his flock. He's got to protect his 00:23:30.079 --> 00:23:33.519 family. He's trained these 318 soldiers and he 00:23:33.519 --> 00:23:37.859 leads them to go get lost. And in an amazing 00:23:37.859 --> 00:23:42.720 victory, 318 men led by Abraham go and attack 00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:47.099 four kings and win. Now it's not described how 00:23:47.099 --> 00:23:51.619 they won, but they win. And he gets Lot and all 00:23:51.619 --> 00:23:53.880 the possessions back and he brings them back 00:23:53.880 --> 00:23:55.720 to the kings. Can you imagine how this must have 00:23:55.720 --> 00:23:59.339 looked? Here these kings with all their soldiers 00:23:59.339 --> 00:24:02.500 and all of the resources that they have lose 00:24:02.500 --> 00:24:05.940 to these Eastern kings. And then all of a sudden, 00:24:06.200 --> 00:24:09.079 here comes Abraham out of nowhere, with Lot's 00:24:09.079 --> 00:24:10.660 family and all the other people that were taking 00:24:10.660 --> 00:24:14.940 slaves, and just tons of all the possessions, 00:24:15.019 --> 00:24:16.579 and he comes walking back into Canaan, and they 00:24:16.579 --> 00:24:21.839 say, hey guys, I got your stuff. How? How do 00:24:21.839 --> 00:24:24.339 you have our stuff? Well, we went and got it. 00:24:25.400 --> 00:24:26.680 Well, where's the rest of your army? Oh, this 00:24:26.680 --> 00:24:30.779 is it? These guys? We have Yahweh, in case you 00:24:30.779 --> 00:24:37.220 were wondering. And the king of Sodom is so blown 00:24:37.220 --> 00:24:39.480 away by all of this, he tells Abraham, you can 00:24:39.480 --> 00:24:42.539 have all the possessions. Like, you can just 00:24:42.539 --> 00:24:47.779 have it all. You're greater than all of us. Here, 00:24:47.839 --> 00:24:50.660 Abraham, take the possessions. Now, Abraham refuses 00:24:50.660 --> 00:24:52.119 it. We'll talk about that in a minute, but he 00:24:52.119 --> 00:24:55.039 refuses it. Mainly because this is the possessions 00:24:55.039 --> 00:24:56.680 of a wicked king and a wicked city and wicked 00:24:56.680 --> 00:24:57.880 people, and I don't want to have anything to 00:24:57.880 --> 00:25:02.440 do with it. You can have it back. And in Genesis 00:25:02.440 --> 00:25:06.799 14, What has happened is God has presented Abraham 00:25:06.799 --> 00:25:11.559 as this mighty hero, right? I mean, he just comes 00:25:11.559 --> 00:25:15.859 walking with everything that he's won and redeemed, 00:25:15.980 --> 00:25:18.839 but he just comes walking back in, and all these 00:25:18.839 --> 00:25:23.480 kings are like, dude, you are the greatest. Here, 00:25:23.519 --> 00:25:29.140 have our stuff. And it's right then that Melchizedek 00:25:29.140 --> 00:25:35.500 shows up. Why build up the story of the greatness 00:25:35.500 --> 00:25:39.359 of Abraham to then bring Melchizedek. Why not 00:25:39.359 --> 00:25:42.279 bring Melchizedek before? Why bring him after? 00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:45.900 Well, I think we see in Genesis 14, why all of 00:25:45.900 --> 00:25:51.900 this has happened. Because he's going to use 00:25:51.900 --> 00:25:55.480 this as the foundation to give us these proves 00:25:55.480 --> 00:25:59.440 that Melchizedek is greater than Abraham. So 00:25:59.440 --> 00:26:02.140 Abraham has just been set up in the story as 00:26:02.140 --> 00:26:05.859 being great. And then Melchizedek shows up and 00:26:05.859 --> 00:26:08.480 the author of Hebrews is going to say, yeah, 00:26:08.619 --> 00:26:11.880 and Melchizedek is greater than Abraham. So here 00:26:11.880 --> 00:26:16.160 are the proofs that he uses. First, Abraham honors 00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:19.579 Melchizedek with his tithes, with his treasure. 00:26:20.440 --> 00:26:23.500 Genesis 14 tells us that Abraham gave Melchizedek 00:26:23.500 --> 00:26:27.720 a tenth of everything. So Abraham refuses the 00:26:27.720 --> 00:26:30.700 king of Sodom and reveres the king of Salem. 00:26:31.549 --> 00:26:34.130 That should tell us something about how Abraham 00:26:34.130 --> 00:26:37.910 views this king. Now remember who Abraham is, 00:26:38.009 --> 00:26:41.069 not just what he has just accomplished, but remember 00:26:41.069 --> 00:26:43.529 who he is. This is the man that God gave the 00:26:43.529 --> 00:26:46.609 promises to. This is the father of the covenant 00:26:46.609 --> 00:26:49.670 people of God. This is the man through whom all 00:26:49.670 --> 00:26:52.490 the nations of the earth are going to be blessed, 00:26:52.730 --> 00:26:58.460 and yet Abraham tithes to Melchizedek. Why? because 00:26:58.460 --> 00:27:03.000 Abraham recognizes Melchizedek's greatness. The 00:27:03.000 --> 00:27:07.000 writer's point is very simple. The greater receives 00:27:07.000 --> 00:27:11.519 honor from the lesser. Abraham's tithe was an 00:27:11.519 --> 00:27:16.059 acknowledgement by Abraham that Melchizedek held 00:27:16.059 --> 00:27:22.359 the position of superiority above him. Got that? 00:27:23.440 --> 00:27:29.880 That's one of the proofs. Second proof, because 00:27:29.880 --> 00:27:33.380 the writer's not done yet, Abraham receives a 00:27:33.380 --> 00:27:38.519 blessing from Melchizedek. Genesis 14 tells us 00:27:38.519 --> 00:27:43.500 that Melchizedek then blesses Abraham. And notice 00:27:43.500 --> 00:27:46.319 the point that the author of Hebrews brings up. 00:27:46.559 --> 00:27:51.819 He says, it is beyond dispute. The inferior is 00:27:51.819 --> 00:27:57.900 blessed by the superior. Okay? The inferior doesn't 00:27:57.900 --> 00:28:01.640 bless the superior. The superior blesses the 00:28:01.640 --> 00:28:04.339 inferior. Who does the blessing in Genesis 14? 00:28:04.720 --> 00:28:08.099 Abraham and Melchizedek. Melchizedek. Why? He's 00:28:08.099 --> 00:28:12.480 superior. Abraham is inferior to Melchizedek. 00:28:12.779 --> 00:28:16.579 And Abraham receives the blessing. Abraham, the 00:28:16.579 --> 00:28:19.680 man who received all of God's promises, the patriarch, 00:28:19.839 --> 00:28:23.539 the father of Israel, yet he stands before Melchizedek 00:28:23.539 --> 00:28:27.119 receiving the blessing from him humbling himself 00:28:27.119 --> 00:28:30.799 and admitting, I am inferior, you are superior. 00:28:33.339 --> 00:28:36.180 So the writer, his argument is crystal clear. 00:28:36.839 --> 00:28:38.960 The one who blesses is greater. The one who gets 00:28:38.960 --> 00:28:42.920 blessed is lesser. And Abraham was the one who 00:28:42.920 --> 00:28:47.160 received the blessing. The third proof of the 00:28:47.160 --> 00:28:50.700 greatness of Melchizedek, probably the most surprising. 00:28:51.000 --> 00:28:57.609 The writer argues, that Levi himself paid tithes 00:28:57.609 --> 00:29:01.329 to Melchizedek through Abraham. Now, obviously 00:29:01.329 --> 00:29:04.230 Levi hadn't been born yet. Isaac hadn't been 00:29:04.230 --> 00:29:06.970 born yet. Jacob hadn't been born yet. We are 00:29:06.970 --> 00:29:12.769 generations away from Levi. And yet the writer 00:29:12.769 --> 00:29:20.630 says by nature of Levi being in Abraham, Levi 00:29:20.630 --> 00:29:24.720 was paying tithes to Melchizedek as well. Abraham 00:29:24.720 --> 00:29:28.839 was representing all of the Jewish people, including 00:29:28.839 --> 00:29:35.180 the Levitical priesthood of Israel. The Levitical 00:29:35.180 --> 00:29:40.259 priesthood was paying tithes to Melchizedek. 00:29:41.480 --> 00:29:44.839 Receiving, I think it's appropriate for us to 00:29:44.839 --> 00:29:49.680 say receiving the blessing from Melchizedek. 00:29:50.099 --> 00:29:54.619 Admitting then what? He is superior. we are inferior. 00:29:56.960 --> 00:30:00.400 The entire Levitical priesthood acknowledges 00:30:00.400 --> 00:30:06.299 the superiority of Melchizedek. And that is exactly 00:30:06.299 --> 00:30:09.420 what the writer of Hebrews wants, the conclusion 00:30:09.420 --> 00:30:13.519 he wants us to arrive to. If Abraham honored 00:30:13.519 --> 00:30:16.359 Melchizedek, if Abraham received Melchizedek's 00:30:16.359 --> 00:30:19.579 blessing, if Levi acknowledges Melchizedek's 00:30:19.579 --> 00:30:22.680 superiority, then Melchizedek's priesthood is 00:30:22.680 --> 00:30:27.759 greater than Levi's priesthood. And if Jesus 00:30:27.759 --> 00:30:32.920 is a priest in the order of Melchizedek, what's 00:30:32.920 --> 00:30:35.960 the conclusion we're supposed to come to? His 00:30:35.960 --> 00:30:39.359 priesthood is greater than the Levitical priesthood. 00:30:40.940 --> 00:30:43.680 That's the conclusion that he has been working 00:30:43.680 --> 00:30:46.099 toward and building toward. It's the reason why 00:30:46.099 --> 00:30:48.200 he's bringing up Melchizedek It's the reason 00:30:48.200 --> 00:30:51.579 why he's revealing who Melchizedek is and revealing 00:30:51.579 --> 00:30:54.119 how great Melchizedek is because he's wanting 00:30:54.119 --> 00:30:57.859 these these Jewish Christians who came out of 00:30:57.859 --> 00:31:03.759 Judaism to come to this conclusion Jesus His 00:31:03.759 --> 00:31:06.359 priesthood is greater than the Levitical priesthood 00:31:06.759 --> 00:31:10.200 He is greater than anything that the old covenant 00:31:10.200 --> 00:31:13.400 could ever provide. This is why John Owen said, 00:31:13.819 --> 00:31:16.339 all the glory of the Levitical priesthood was 00:31:16.339 --> 00:31:19.559 but a shadow of the glory of Christ's priesthood. 00:31:21.059 --> 00:31:30.799 This brings us to my third point today, and it's 00:31:30.799 --> 00:31:35.519 really the heart of the author of Hebrews. He 00:31:35.519 --> 00:31:42.220 has not simply spent 10 verses scratching an 00:31:42.220 --> 00:31:45.039 itch for the Jewish people to know more about 00:31:45.039 --> 00:31:49.380 Melchizedek. He is not going out of his way to 00:31:49.380 --> 00:31:51.299 go, and while we've been talking about Jesus 00:31:51.299 --> 00:31:52.839 this whole time, let's talk about Melchizedek, 00:31:52.900 --> 00:31:54.539 because I know you guys are confused about him 00:31:54.539 --> 00:31:56.900 and want to know who he is. It's not what he's 00:31:56.900 --> 00:32:03.480 doing. He has done all of this to increase their 00:32:03.480 --> 00:32:09.230 confidence and our confidence in Jesus. Remember 00:32:09.230 --> 00:32:13.009 the original audience. What were they being tempted 00:32:13.009 --> 00:32:16.490 back to do? What did he just begin warning them 00:32:16.490 --> 00:32:20.690 about in the previous chapter? Don't go back. 00:32:21.509 --> 00:32:26.970 Don't go back. If you go back to Judaism, you're 00:32:26.970 --> 00:32:29.750 rebelling against Christ and there's no salvation 00:32:29.750 --> 00:32:33.529 there. If you go there, there's no salvation. 00:32:34.180 --> 00:32:39.319 Cling to Christ, hold on to Christ. This is what 00:32:39.319 --> 00:32:42.160 they're being tempted to do, to return to the 00:32:42.160 --> 00:32:45.960 temple, the sacrifices, the Levitical priesthood. 00:32:47.079 --> 00:32:50.559 For them to turn back, the temple hasn't been 00:32:50.559 --> 00:32:53.720 destroyed yet. 70 AD hasn't happened. There's 00:32:53.720 --> 00:32:56.259 still Levitical priesthood stuff going on while 00:32:56.259 --> 00:32:59.720 he's writing this. And so what he's saying is, 00:32:59.880 --> 00:33:04.299 don't go back to the Levitical priesthood. Don't 00:33:04.299 --> 00:33:08.339 turn away from Christ. Why would you go back 00:33:08.339 --> 00:33:12.859 to the inferior when you have the superior? This 00:33:12.859 --> 00:33:15.619 is the argument that he's making. Why would you 00:33:15.619 --> 00:33:18.660 go back to the shadow if you have the substance? 00:33:19.299 --> 00:33:22.759 Why return to the temporary when you have the 00:33:22.759 --> 00:33:26.440 eternal? And so the argument of Hebrews 7 is 00:33:26.440 --> 00:33:29.000 not just that Jesus is a different priesthood. 00:33:29.319 --> 00:33:33.829 It is that Jesus is superior. That he is better, 00:33:33.950 --> 00:33:36.190 he's better than Levi, he's better than Aaron, 00:33:36.369 --> 00:33:38.650 he's better than any priest who has ever lived. 00:33:38.730 --> 00:33:43.410 He is the ultimate better priest king. And because 00:33:43.410 --> 00:33:47.309 of that, he is to be embraced with everything 00:33:47.309 --> 00:33:51.609 you are. He's to be embraced for his righteousness. 00:33:55.130 --> 00:33:57.750 As we said, we have no righteousness of our own. 00:33:57.930 --> 00:34:00.650 We can't stand before God based on our works. 00:34:00.730 --> 00:34:02.869 We cannot stand before God on our own and be 00:34:02.869 --> 00:34:06.730 accepted. But Christ brings righteousness to 00:34:06.730 --> 00:34:09.929 His people. He lived a life we could never live. 00:34:09.969 --> 00:34:12.030 He fulfilled the law that we could never fulfill. 00:34:13.070 --> 00:34:16.670 And He freely gives us His righteousness. So 00:34:16.670 --> 00:34:19.969 stop trying to establish your own righteousness 00:34:19.969 --> 00:34:23.130 with God. You say, well, I don't do that. Yes, 00:34:23.130 --> 00:34:28.019 we do. We do it all the time. We think God is 00:34:28.019 --> 00:34:32.340 going to love us more if we perform better. That's 00:34:32.340 --> 00:34:41.000 what we think. That's what we feel. It's probably 00:34:41.000 --> 00:34:44.079 not what we think. We probably know in our mind 00:34:44.079 --> 00:34:46.900 I'm accepted by God no matter what because of 00:34:46.900 --> 00:34:51.300 Jesus, but we feel like we're not. And so we 00:34:51.300 --> 00:34:56.889 come to God If we've been performing well, we 00:34:56.889 --> 00:34:59.750 come to God thinking He's gonna love us more. 00:35:00.590 --> 00:35:02.510 If we haven't been performing well, we might 00:35:02.510 --> 00:35:05.670 even feel like God doesn't love us as much. He 00:35:05.670 --> 00:35:11.889 doesn't accept us as much. And the reality is, 00:35:12.230 --> 00:35:14.429 He doesn't love you because of anything you've 00:35:14.429 --> 00:35:18.929 done. He loves you because the righteousness 00:35:18.929 --> 00:35:24.400 of Jesus. And so when you come to God, I don't 00:35:24.400 --> 00:35:27.940 care how you're feeling. Come to God based upon 00:35:27.940 --> 00:35:32.900 this truth. My Savior is the King of righteousness. 00:35:33.659 --> 00:35:38.739 And He gave it all to me. And I don't come to 00:35:38.739 --> 00:35:45.320 God based upon my own works. Embrace His righteousness. 00:35:45.559 --> 00:35:49.079 Embrace His peace. People are looking for peace. 00:35:49.360 --> 00:35:51.860 Peace in circumstances, peace in relationships, 00:35:52.059 --> 00:35:55.519 peace in their heart. But true peace begins and 00:35:55.519 --> 00:35:59.340 ends with Jesus. And that peace has already been 00:35:59.340 --> 00:36:02.800 secured through Jesus Christ. The better priest 00:36:02.800 --> 00:36:07.119 king has removed your guilt. He has reconciled 00:36:07.119 --> 00:36:11.159 you to God. And we do not live in fear. You know 00:36:11.159 --> 00:36:17.780 that passage that says, That he has not given 00:36:17.780 --> 00:36:20.719 us the spirit of fear for perfect fear or perfect 00:36:20.719 --> 00:36:23.280 love cast out fear We think that's that's in 00:36:23.280 --> 00:36:25.840 relationship to circumstances. It's not it's 00:36:25.840 --> 00:36:29.300 in relationship to God When we understand that 00:36:29.300 --> 00:36:33.280 we have been loved perfectly We no longer fear 00:36:33.280 --> 00:36:35.780 coming to God because we have peace with him 00:36:35.780 --> 00:36:40.219 So we haven't been given the spirit of fear we 00:36:40.219 --> 00:36:46.449 get to come to God not with with with with Timidness 00:36:46.449 --> 00:36:49.510 or or this idea that we may not be accepted we 00:36:49.510 --> 00:36:53.389 know no God loves me perfectly and because he 00:36:53.389 --> 00:36:57.210 loves me perfectly It casts out any fear that 00:36:57.210 --> 00:36:59.289 I have of coming to him because I'm at peace 00:36:59.289 --> 00:37:05.150 with God no matter what He is the king of peace 00:37:05.150 --> 00:37:11.590 We do not live in condemnation we can rest in 00:37:11.590 --> 00:37:13.829 the peace that Christ has secured for us and 00:37:13.829 --> 00:37:18.150 then We need to embrace his eternality, the eternal 00:37:18.150 --> 00:37:22.150 nature of his priesthood. This may be the most 00:37:22.150 --> 00:37:27.269 comforting truth in this entire passage. The 00:37:27.269 --> 00:37:30.829 point of Melchizedek's unusual description, appearing 00:37:30.829 --> 00:37:33.449 in Genesis without record of beginning and end, 00:37:34.429 --> 00:37:38.329 is not because he's eternal, but the one he pointed 00:37:38.329 --> 00:37:44.300 to is eternal. He's pointing to the one who is 00:37:44.300 --> 00:37:48.019 eternal. Levitical priests came and went. Our 00:37:48.019 --> 00:37:52.659 Christ died and no one ever took His place. Why? 00:37:53.000 --> 00:37:55.619 Because He rose again. Levitical priesthood, 00:37:56.059 --> 00:37:57.719 generation after generation, a new one would 00:37:57.719 --> 00:38:01.239 come, century after century. No priest remained. 00:38:01.659 --> 00:38:04.619 No priest lasted. No priest continued forever. 00:38:05.880 --> 00:38:11.380 But Jesus died and rose again. Jesus ascended 00:38:11.380 --> 00:38:13.619 to the right hand of the Father. Jesus lives 00:38:13.619 --> 00:38:17.119 forever. And what that means is, there has never 00:38:17.119 --> 00:38:20.280 been a moment since his ascension when he has 00:38:20.280 --> 00:38:22.380 not been your high priest praying for you. We 00:38:22.380 --> 00:38:25.239 gotta stop right there. I'm gonna introduce this, 00:38:26.059 --> 00:38:28.460 and then we're going to, it'll be fleshed out 00:38:28.460 --> 00:38:31.079 over the next several chapters. But I'm gonna 00:38:31.079 --> 00:38:34.760 introduce it right now. When Jesus died on the 00:38:34.760 --> 00:38:38.840 cross, did he die to make you saveable? That 00:38:38.840 --> 00:38:40.940 maybe one day you'll put your faith in Jesus 00:38:40.940 --> 00:38:43.219 and you'll be saved or did he die to actually 00:38:43.219 --> 00:38:48.539 save you? He died to actually save you Then he 00:38:48.539 --> 00:38:51.360 enters into the Holy of Holies not made by human 00:38:51.360 --> 00:38:54.840 hands before the throne of God Jesus enters in 00:38:54.840 --> 00:38:57.519 with the blood of his sacrifice and who is this 00:38:57.519 --> 00:39:01.159 sacrifice for all of his people and he enters 00:39:01.159 --> 00:39:06.639 in Presenting that sacrifice to the father as 00:39:06.639 --> 00:39:11.050 a high priest And when does God, when did Jesus 00:39:11.050 --> 00:39:14.650 Christ begin interceding on your behalf and for 00:39:14.650 --> 00:39:19.889 your salvation? Right then when he entered into 00:39:19.889 --> 00:39:22.769 the Holy of Holies not made by human hands. Please 00:39:22.769 --> 00:39:25.710 catch this. We'll flesh it out later, but please 00:39:25.710 --> 00:39:30.469 catch this. Your salvation was not just secured 00:39:30.469 --> 00:39:34.090 by the death of Jesus, it was secured by Him 00:39:34.090 --> 00:39:37.849 being your high priest. When He entered into 00:39:37.849 --> 00:39:40.449 the Holy of Holies as your high priest, He is 00:39:40.449 --> 00:39:42.989 the sacrifice and He is the priest who brings 00:39:42.989 --> 00:39:45.650 the sacrifice. And when He brings the sacrifice, 00:39:45.789 --> 00:39:48.590 He begins praying for your salvation, interceding 00:39:48.590 --> 00:39:51.230 for your salvation, mediating for your salvation. 00:39:51.489 --> 00:39:53.230 What was the chance when Jesus died that you 00:39:53.230 --> 00:39:57.710 would get saved, Christian? 100%. Ain't no ifs, 00:39:57.710 --> 00:40:03.079 ands, or buts about it. 100%. He paid for your 00:40:03.079 --> 00:40:05.780 salvation and mediated for your salvation before 00:40:05.780 --> 00:40:10.280 you ever existed. Those he foreknew, he also 00:40:10.280 --> 00:40:15.480 predestined to be in the image of his son. And 00:40:15.480 --> 00:40:19.860 those he predestined, inside of time, what does 00:40:19.860 --> 00:40:23.659 he do for them? He calls them, and he justifies 00:40:23.659 --> 00:40:28.559 them, and he glorifies them. But it was secured 00:40:28.559 --> 00:40:33.820 before you entered into time. There has never 00:40:33.820 --> 00:40:37.679 been a moment, Christian, that your great high 00:40:37.679 --> 00:40:41.079 priest king has not been praying and interceding 00:40:41.079 --> 00:40:45.179 and mediating for you. Think of that. When you 00:40:45.179 --> 00:40:49.699 were a rebellious, wicked, lost God -hater, Jesus 00:40:49.699 --> 00:40:51.800 was up there mediating for your salvation that 00:40:51.800 --> 00:40:56.480 was gonna happen inside of time. How comforting 00:40:56.480 --> 00:41:03.360 must that be? I fleshed it out a little too much, 00:41:03.920 --> 00:41:07.880 but it will continue to be fleshed out in the 00:41:07.880 --> 00:41:11.159 next several chapters as we keep talking about 00:41:11.159 --> 00:41:15.400 His priesthood. That means there's also never 00:41:15.400 --> 00:41:17.840 been a day when Christ was unavailable to you. 00:41:18.760 --> 00:41:20.820 Never been a crisis too great for His attention. 00:41:20.900 --> 00:41:23.460 Never been a sin confessed by one of His children 00:41:23.460 --> 00:41:25.739 that He did not hear. Never been a prayer offered 00:41:25.739 --> 00:41:27.980 by one of His saints that He did not accept. 00:41:29.380 --> 00:41:32.039 None of them escaped His notice. And at this 00:41:32.039 --> 00:41:34.139 very moment, He's doing for you what He has been 00:41:34.139 --> 00:41:41.619 doing for you for 2000 years. And because His 00:41:41.619 --> 00:41:44.699 priesthood is eternal, He's been doing it for 00:41:44.699 --> 00:41:47.159 2000 years. And guess what? He'll never stop 00:41:47.159 --> 00:41:52.199 doing it. His promises are eternal. His salvation 00:41:52.199 --> 00:41:55.469 is eternal. The one who saves you keeps you. 00:41:55.510 --> 00:41:57.150 The one who called you intercedes for you. The 00:41:57.150 --> 00:41:59.130 one who died for you will safely bring you home. 00:41:59.389 --> 00:42:01.969 As Robert Murray Mishan once said, if I could 00:42:01.969 --> 00:42:04.510 hear Christ praying for me in the next room, 00:42:04.710 --> 00:42:10.849 I would not fear a million enemies. Yet it makes 00:42:10.849 --> 00:42:15.690 no difference. He's praying for me. So we come 00:42:15.690 --> 00:42:18.710 to Hebrews chapter 7. It's easy to be fascinated 00:42:18.710 --> 00:42:23.110 by Melchizedek. One of the most mysterious figures 00:42:23.110 --> 00:42:27.230 in all of the Old Testament. People have debated 00:42:27.230 --> 00:42:32.090 his identity. But if all we leave with is more 00:42:32.090 --> 00:42:34.650 information about Melchizedek, we have wasted 00:42:34.650 --> 00:42:38.610 our time here this morning. We have missed the 00:42:38.610 --> 00:42:43.250 points altogether. His goal is not to make us 00:42:43.250 --> 00:42:47.349 marvel at Melchizedek. It is for us to marvel 00:42:47.349 --> 00:42:53.309 at Christ. Melchizedek was a shadow. Jesus is 00:42:53.309 --> 00:42:55.670 the substance. Melchizedek was a portrait. Jesus 00:42:55.670 --> 00:42:58.150 is the reality. Melchizedek was a signpost. Jesus 00:42:58.150 --> 00:43:01.010 is the destination. Church, there is no greater 00:43:01.010 --> 00:43:05.590 priest king than Jesus. He is the king who rules 00:43:05.590 --> 00:43:09.309 us, who represents us, gives us the righteousness 00:43:09.309 --> 00:43:12.280 we could never achieve. gives us security that 00:43:12.280 --> 00:43:15.639 we can never imagine, gives us peace. He never 00:43:15.639 --> 00:43:18.460 dies. He never stops interceding. And because 00:43:18.460 --> 00:43:22.539 He lives forever, all who belong to Him are eternally 00:43:22.539 --> 00:43:26.460 secure. So why would we settle for something 00:43:26.460 --> 00:43:30.699 lesser? That's the point. Why would we settle 00:43:30.699 --> 00:43:33.539 for something lesser? Don't look for righteousness 00:43:33.539 --> 00:43:36.199 anywhere else, no matter how you're feeling. 00:43:38.179 --> 00:43:41.440 Don't look for peace somewhere else. Don't look 00:43:41.440 --> 00:43:43.960 for acceptance with God somewhere else. Look 00:43:43.960 --> 00:43:46.860 to Christ. Trust Christ. Draw near to Christ. 00:43:47.219 --> 00:43:51.639 Hold fast to Christ. There is no greater priest. 00:43:51.800 --> 00:43:54.599 There is no greater King. There is no greater 00:43:54.599 --> 00:44:00.800 Savior. There is only Jesus Christ, our great, 00:44:01.900 --> 00:44:03.340 better, Priest King.