1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:12,000 Hebrews chapter 7. 2 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:17,000 Actually, let's hit the end of chapter 6 just for a little bit of context. 3 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:24,000 So we'll kind of look back over the verses we talked about last week, and then we will read through the first 10 verses of chapter 7. 4 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:34,000 But if you want to flip back a page to Hebrews chapter 6, verses 19 and 20, we'll read those as well. 5 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:45,000 Hebrews chapter 6, verse 19 is where we'll start, and we'll focus most of our attention today in Hebrews chapter 7. 6 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:51,000 Let's read through the text, then we'll pray. We'll get started. 7 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:57,000 We have this hope as an anchor for our lives, safe and secure. 8 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:01,000 It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain. 9 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:11,000 Jesus has entered there on our behalf as a forerunner, because he has become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. 10 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:21,000 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham and blessed him as he returned from defeating the kings, 11 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:24,000 and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. 12 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:32,000 First, his name means king of righteousness, then also king of Salem, meaning king of peace. 13 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:44,000 Without father, mother, or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, remains a priest forever. 14 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:52,000 Now consider how great this man was. Even Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth of the plunder to him. 15 00:01:52,000 --> 00:02:01,000 The sons of Levi, who received the priestly office, have a command according to the law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their brothers, 16 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:04,000 though they have also descended from Abraham. 17 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:12,000 But one without this lineage collected tenths from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises. 18 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:17,000 Without a doubt, the inferior is blessed by the superior. 19 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:25,000 In the one case, men who will die receive tenths, but in the other case, Scripture testifies that he lives. 20 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:39,000 And in a sense, Levi himself, who receives tenths, has paid tenths through Abraham, for he was still within his ancestor when Melchizedek met him. 21 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:40,000 Let's pray. 22 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:44,000 Father God, we come to you today and we thank you for the goodness of your word. 23 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:48,000 We thank you for the power that we see in this passage that we look at today. 24 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:52,000 Dear Lord, some of this stuff we look at today, we may kind of scratch our heads 25 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:59,000 and we kind of may wonder what it's got to do with anything, but dear Lord, it has to do with everything because it points us to Jesus. 26 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:03,000 And I pray that your word today would point us to Jesus and who he is. 27 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:07,000 God, I pray that you would help me to preach and teach in a way that brings glory and honor to you, 28 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:12,000 that you take away any pride that's in my heart, any fear that I have this morning, dear Lord, 29 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:17,000 that you would hide me behind the cross, that your Holy Spirit would open our hearts and open our ears, 30 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:24,000 that we would hear, that we would learn, that we would understand, that we would grow in you today, that we would trust in Jesus for those who do not 31 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:27,000 and for those who do, that we would trust in Jesus more. 32 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:31,000 God, I pray that you just bless this time we have and I thank you for your good word. 33 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:35,000 And I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. 34 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:39,000 We're going to have a little bit of a history lesson today. 35 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:43,000 We have been building up to Melchizedek. 36 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:48,000 Now, you listen and study about Melchizedek, you'll hear it pronounced a lot of different ways. 37 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:52,000 Melchizedek, Melchizedek, there's a lot of different ways in which it's pronounced. 38 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:54,000 I don't know which one is the correct. 39 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:59,000 I say Melchizedek because that's the one that I first heard when I was first learning about Melchizedek. 40 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:03,000 So call it what you want to, but I'm going to call him Melchizedek. 41 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:09,000 And the author of Hebrews has been wanting to talk about Melchizedek for a long time. 42 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:12,000 We saw this begin back in chapter five. 43 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:17,000 And in chapter six, there are three references to Melchizedek. 44 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:23,000 Referencing that Melchizedek is like Jesus, or Jesus is like Melchizedek. 45 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:27,000 And he quotes from some Old Testament passages. 46 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:33,000 He talks about the fact that Jesus is a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. 47 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:39,000 Now, when you look back in the Old Testament, you only see Melchizedek mentioned two times. 48 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:44,000 If you go back and you study Genesis chapter 14, you will see Melchizedek mentioned. 49 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:51,000 And then if you flip over to Psalm chapter 110, excuse me, verse four, you will see Melchizedek mentioned. 50 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:57,000 Now, two times you see him mentioned in the Old Testament, and there is not much at all said about him. 51 00:04:57,000 --> 00:04:58,000 Very little. 52 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:04,000 Pretty much what we know about Melchizedek is repeated here by the author of Hebrews. 53 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:07,000 And so Melchizedek is somebody in the Old Testament. 54 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:13,000 It's a name and a person that we may kind of pass over and not pay much attention to and not think much about. 55 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:20,000 But yet by the time we get to the book of Hebrews, the author of Hebrews is really serious about Melchizedek. 56 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:22,000 And he's wanted to tell them about Melchizedek. 57 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:25,000 And he keeps stopping because he's got to deal with other things. 58 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:33,000 And at the end of chapter five, he says, I want to tell you about this Melchizedek, but I can't because you're spiritually immature. 59 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:37,000 And so I got to go back and I got to kind of set you straight a little bit. 60 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:51,000 He gives them some strong warnings and in Hebrews chapter six warnings about standing firm in the faith and not not turning away from Jesus Christ, not falling away, but rather keeping their hope in Jesus Christ. 61 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:53,000 He says, look, God is a God who makes promises. 62 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:55,000 He made promises to Abraham. 63 00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:57,000 He swore those promises. 64 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:00,000 He swore an oath to him that he would keep those promises. 65 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:02,000 And God has kept his promises. 66 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:07,000 And through the promises of God have come Jesus Christ, who is our hope. 67 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:16,000 Now, we read those verses last week at the end of verse six that he was getting ready to finally talk about Melchizedek at the end of chapter six. 68 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:20,000 And we saw in those verses that it talks about our hope that is to come. 69 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:23,000 And that hope is gone behind the curtain. 70 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:27,000 That is to offer a sacrifice, to be the sacrifice on our behalf. 71 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:31,000 And Jesus is our hope, the author of Hebrews says. 72 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:38,000 And Jesus comes and is a high priest in the order of Melchizedek forever. 73 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:43,000 And now finally, in chapter seven, the author of Hebrews gets to talk about Melchizedek. 74 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:48,000 Now, when we talk about this today, it's kind of going to be a little bit of a history lesson. 75 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:53,000 But I think it's important for us to understand what's being said here. 76 00:06:53,000 --> 00:07:01,000 Now, what's being said about Melchizedek probably doesn't connect with us in the same way that it did with the original audience. 77 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:10,000 They would have had some knowledge about Melchizedek and probably some understanding about Melchizedek that is beyond most of us, 78 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:15,000 because we probably haven't ever spent much time talking about or studying Melchizedek. 79 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:26,000 But he uses this example of Melchizedek because this is an important example for his audience and is a good example for what they are going through. 80 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:33,000 Now, in Genesis chapter 14, what we see taking place is there are some kings that are battling against each other. 81 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:37,000 And one group of kings is able to defeat the other group of kings. 82 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:41,000 And so they go in and they take the land and they take what's there. 83 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:47,000 And one of the things that is there is Lot, the nephew of Abraham. 84 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:55,000 So these kings come in, they defeat these other kings, they take Lot, and word gets back to Abraham that Lot has been taken. 85 00:07:55,000 --> 00:08:02,000 So Abraham gathers up 318 guys and they go and they defeat these kings and he's able to rescue Lot. 86 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:07,000 Now, he gets all the plunder from being able to defeat these kings, Abraham does. 87 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:13,000 Abraham doesn't keep any of that plunder for himself, as you read through the text in Genesis 14. 88 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:22,000 But after he defeats these kings, he goes before the king of Salem, a guy by the name of Melchizedek. 89 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:27,000 And he gives Melchizedek a tent of the plunder that he received. 90 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:29,000 He gives the rest to the other kings. 91 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:33,000 And when he goes before Melchizedek, it tells us something that's important. 92 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:36,000 A, he is the king of Salem. 93 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:44,000 Now, we see in the text that we look at today that Melchizedek's name means the king of righteousness. 94 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:49,000 But he's also the king of Salem, and Salem means king of peace. 95 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:57,000 And so in Melchizedek, what we see is one who is a king of righteousness and a king of peace. 96 00:08:57,000 --> 00:09:04,000 And so Melchizedek was the king of Salem, but it also tells us something else that's of importance in Genesis 14. 97 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:10,000 It says that Melchizedek was the high priest of God. 98 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:17,000 And here was Abraham, the patriarch, the one that God made the promises through, 99 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:20,000 and Abraham was great in the eyes of the Jews. 100 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:25,000 And indeed he was, because the promise came through him, the promise of Abraham's seed. 101 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:28,000 That is Jesus Christ, who was to come. 102 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:31,000 So Abraham is a significant character in the Bible. 103 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:40,000 But yet Abraham goes before Melchizedek, and Melchizedek blesses Abraham. 104 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:43,000 And that's what we see referenced here in the book of Hebrews. 105 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:46,000 What does the author of Hebrews tell us here in chapter 7? 106 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:52,000 That the lesser, the inferior, is blessed by the superior. 107 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:56,000 That is to say that Melchizedek was greater than Abraham. 108 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:59,000 Now, this is significant for the original audience, 109 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:06,000 because the original audience, they really held Abraham to a high standard, but rightfully so. 110 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:13,000 But what the author of Hebrews wants the audience to know is that there is one greater than Abraham. 111 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:19,000 Now, we see this in the New Testament, that a lot of the times that the Pharisees and the Jewish people, 112 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:22,000 they're really concerned about the law of God. 113 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:25,000 That is the commands that we see God give his people in the Old Testament. 114 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:27,000 God gives them a lot of commands. 115 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:31,000 We may be familiar with the Ten Commandments, but there are lots of commands, 116 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:36,000 over 600 commands that God gives his people as to how to live, how to treat one another, 117 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:40,000 how the priesthood is supposed to take place, how the tabernacle is supposed to be built, 118 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:45,000 the role of the priest, the sacrifices for what sins, when sacrifices are to be made, 119 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:48,000 what feasts are to be held, and when they're to be held, 120 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:52,000 and all these commands that God gives to his people in the law. 121 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:57,000 And so the Jewish people held the law to a very high standard. 122 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:05,000 But even so, sometimes Abraham is referenced in saying that, look, okay, God used the law for a purpose, 123 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:08,000 but look, Abraham came before the law and he was justified by what? 124 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:12,000 He was justified by faith, not by the law. 125 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:16,000 And so sometimes we see this idea of whatever one holds to greatness, 126 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:20,000 the writers will point to one who is greater than come before. 127 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:23,000 Now, Abraham was certainly greater than the law. 128 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:24,000 He was saved by his faith. 129 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:28,000 But yet there's still one who is greater than Abraham. 130 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:33,000 And the author of Hebrews uses Melchizedek to make this example. 131 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:39,000 Now, there's something that is very, very unique about Melchizedek, and that is this. 132 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:45,000 Melchizedek was both a king and he was a high priest. 133 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:52,000 Now, that's very unique because in the law, God had spelled out specifically who were to be kings, 134 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:54,000 and they were to come from this bloodline. 135 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:56,000 And specifically who were to be priest. 136 00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:59,000 They were to come from another bloodline. 137 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:05,000 So you had the kings that were going to come from the line of David and all the way down to Jesus. 138 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:09,000 And then you had the priesthood that was going to come from the Levites. 139 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:13,000 And those two positions were exclusive to each other. 140 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:18,000 No priest would do the job of a king and no king would do the job of the priest. 141 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:22,000 It was the priest's job to offer sacrifices for the people, 142 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:27,000 to carry out the sacrifices and to sprinkle the blood and all those things that the law sped out. 143 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:32,000 This was the job of the priest and particularly the high priest. 144 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:36,000 It was the high priest who would once a year go into the inner sanctuary, 145 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:39,000 the most holy place where the Ark of the Covenant sat, 146 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:43,000 and would do what the law commanded and blood would be sprinkled. 147 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:45,000 And there were two goats. 148 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:48,000 There was one goat that would be sacrificed for the sins of the people. 149 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:53,000 There was another goat that hands would be placed on that goat by the high priest, 150 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:57,000 and all the people's sins would be cast out. 151 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:59,000 That was the scapegoat. 152 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:00,000 That goat would be let go. 153 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:02,000 He would run away carrying the people's sins away, 154 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:06,000 and the other goat's sacrifice would cover the sins that the people had done. 155 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:09,000 And this was part of what God had commanded in the Old Testament, 156 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:12,000 and this was the job of the high priest. 157 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:14,000 But the king didn't do that job. 158 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:15,000 The king had a job. 159 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:20,000 The king was to lead the people, to take care of the people, to protect the people, to provide for the people. 160 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:26,000 The king had a job and a responsibility, but the king and the priest were separate. 161 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:32,000 And so under the law that the audience of Hebrews knew, they had those two separate things. 162 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:37,000 But what the author of Hebrews is trying to tell his audience over and over 163 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:43,000 is that there is one better than the law, that there is one better than Abraham. 164 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:45,000 There is one better than everything you've known. 165 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:50,000 There's something better that has come, and it has come in Jesus Christ. 166 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:58,000 And this is where the comparison is appropriate, because Jesus Christ is like Melchizedek, 167 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:05,000 in that he serves as both our king of kings and our high priest. 168 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:07,000 This is what makes Jesus unique. 169 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:11,000 This is what the author of Hebrews wanted his audience to know. 170 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:14,000 Jesus is both your priest and your king. 171 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:17,000 Now, he probably realized that he was going to get some pushback. 172 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:19,000 Well, wait a minute. That's not what the law says. 173 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:23,000 These people are supposed to be kings, and these people are supposed to be priests. 174 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:26,000 And so that's why he brings up Melchizedek. 175 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:30,000 And he says, look, Jesus, as we see in Psalm 110 verse 4, 176 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:34,000 Jesus is a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. 177 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:41,000 That is to say, there is a priesthood that is before the priesthood of the Old Testament law. 178 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:47,000 It says here in Hebrews chapter 7 that Melchizedek is one without beginning and without end. 179 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:51,000 He's without genealogy. What does that mean? 180 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:55,000 Does it mean that Melchizedek has lived forever and that he never died? 181 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:58,000 Does it mean that we don't know where he come from? 182 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:01,000 He just appeared because he doesn't have any genealogy? 183 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:03,000 Well, I don't think that's what that means. 184 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:05,000 I think he's using this as an example. 185 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:10,000 That is to say, we don't know much about Melchizedek, and we don't. 186 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:13,000 Genesis chapter 14 doesn't tell us anything about Melchizedek 187 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:21,000 other than he was a priest and he was a king, and his priesthood is forever that we see in Scripture. 188 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:26,000 And so Melchizedek is this example here for who Jesus is. 189 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:32,000 Jesus has always been. He didn't have a beginning and he does not have an end. 190 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:34,000 Now, I believe Melchizedek did. 191 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:37,000 I believe Melchizedek was someone who was born by parents, 192 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:40,000 and he certainly had a family tree, and he died one day. 193 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:45,000 Certainly those things are true, I believe, but we don't have a record of those things. 194 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:49,000 And that's what makes this example an appropriate example, 195 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:54,000 because the people would have acknowledged that Melchizedek was someone special, 196 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:57,000 and they would have acknowledged the greatness of Melchizedek 197 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:04,000 because they acknowledged the greatness of Abraham, and Abraham came before Melchizedek, 198 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:08,000 and Melchizedek blessed Abraham. 199 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:14,000 And so this stuff's kind of strange to us or weird to us, or we're not familiar with these things, 200 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:19,000 but the original Hebrew audience here would have been somewhat familiar with these things. 201 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:24,000 They would have been familiar with Melchizedek and with Abraham. 202 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:29,000 And so what the author of Hebrews is saying is, look, you put a lot of focus on Abraham. 203 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:33,000 You put a lot of focus on the law. You put a lot of focus on the priesthood. 204 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:36,000 That's one of the things that this group wanted to go back to. 205 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:40,000 They were being tempted to go back to the old sacrificial system. 206 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:45,000 They wanted to go back to the temple and start offering sacrifices for the forgiveness of their sins. 207 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:49,000 And the author of Hebrews says Jesus has done that. 208 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:53,000 That's why at the end of chapter 6 when it says of Jesus that he's entered the inner sanctuary, 209 00:16:53,000 --> 00:17:00,000 that he's gone behind the curtain, what he's saying is Jesus is the high priest once and for all. 210 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:06,000 The priesthood has changed hands, and Jesus is the new high priest forever. 211 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:12,000 Now we'll talk more about that next week because the author of Hebrews for the next three chapters, 212 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:18,000 chapters 7, 8, 9, and 10, four chapters, he really focuses on what he's talking about. 213 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:25,000 So this passage today is introducing us to what the author of Hebrews is really trying to tell his audience. 214 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:30,000 And that is Jesus is greater than everyone. He's greater than Abraham. 215 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:37,000 He's greater than Melchizedek because he is both our king and he is our high priest. 216 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:42,000 Now there's a lot of stuff in this passage that talks about tents and the Levites and all this stuff. 217 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:47,000 And I don't think that the point of this passage in any way is about tithing or about tents. 218 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:52,000 I don't think that that is the point that the author of Hebrews is trying to make. 219 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:54,000 I don't think that's the point at all. 220 00:17:54,000 --> 00:18:02,000 He's making the point about the Levites and about the tents and about Abraham to say that, look, Melchizedek was before these things. 221 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:08,000 Before there was the law, there was Melchizedek. Before there was a law, there was a high priest of God. 222 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:14,000 And the focus is not even so much on Melchizedek and who he was because as the author of Hebrews says, 223 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:20,000 we don't know anything about him. But Jesus is like him in that Jesus is eternal. 224 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:26,000 Jesus has no beginning and he has no end. He is the son of God. He is the king of kings. 225 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:32,000 He is the Lord of Lord and he is the high priest of God's people. 226 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:39,000 And so he finally gets to talk about the greatness of Jesus, that Jesus is greater than Melchizedek. 227 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:45,000 We see this example alluded to in the Old Testament, this idea even back in the book of Zechariah, 228 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:49,000 that there would one day be one who would serve as priest and as king. 229 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:59,000 In Zechariah chapter 6, Zechariah chapter 6, verses 12 and 13, it says, 230 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:05,000 You are to tell him, this is what the Lord of hosts says. Here is a man whose name is Branch. 231 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:12,000 He will branch out from his place and build the Lord's temple. Yes, he will build the Lord's temple. 232 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:17,000 He will be clothed in splendor and will sit on his throne and rule. 233 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:26,000 There will also be a priest on his throne and there will be peaceful counsel between the two of them. 234 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:30,000 So this passage here that's speaking of something that's going to happen in the future, 235 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:34,000 it's speaking about Jesus who was going to come in the future. 236 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:39,000 Jesus is the branch who was spoken of here and Jesus did come. 237 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:44,000 Jesus is that branch who fulfilled this passage, but it's interesting language that we see here. 238 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:48,000 What does it say? It speaks of a priest who is to come 239 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:53,000 and it speaks of that priest who is to come as one who will sit on a throne. 240 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:55,000 Now that should have been a clue for the people. 241 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:58,000 That was a clue that's pointing us forward to Jesus Christ 242 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:04,000 because in the days of when this prophecy was given, there were no priests that sit on the throne. 243 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:07,000 It was the king who sit on the throne. 244 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:12,000 But what this passage is telling us about the branch to come, that is Jesus, 245 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:15,000 is that he will be both a priest and a king. 246 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:17,000 He is a priest who will do his job. 247 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:21,000 He is a priest who has given his life on the cross. 248 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:25,000 Jesus died. He shed his blood so that your sins could be covered. 249 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:29,000 He was the sacrificial lamb for you and I. 250 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:35,000 So Jesus as the high priest did not just offer any sacrifice, he offered himself. 251 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:38,000 And once Jesus did his job as a high priest, 252 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:42,000 we see at the beginning of the book of Hebrews that he is ascended on high 253 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:45,000 and that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God. 254 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:49,000 He is seated on his throne because he is the king. 255 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:51,000 And this is very important. 256 00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:53,000 And the author of Hebrews tells his audience, 257 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:58,000 you need to recognize that Jesus is greater than any king that has come before you. 258 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:01,000 Jesus is greater than any priest who has come before you. 259 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:07,000 Jesus has succeeded in both of those offices in ways that no man could. 260 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:09,000 And therefore he is a better king. 261 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:14,000 He is a better priest and he is better than Melchizedek. 262 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:17,000 There is a priesthood that has been established before the beginning of time 263 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:23,000 and it is through Jesus Christ and it is far better than the priesthood that came in the law. 264 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:28,000 Because the priesthood that came through the law could never give forgiveness of the people's sins, 265 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:30,000 only momentarily. 266 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:33,000 Certainly those sins would be forgiven when the high priest would do his job, 267 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:40,000 but the high priest had to continue day after day, year after year, to make sacrifices for the people. 268 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:44,000 But when Jesus made a sacrifice, it was once and for all. 269 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:51,000 The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross is good enough to cover your sins both now and forevermore. 270 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:58,000 And that is why Jesus is seated at the right hand of God because he has done his work today. 271 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:04,000 So the author goes through a whole bunch of stuff about Melchizedek and about the past to make that point, 272 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:11,000 that Jesus is better, that Jesus is a better king and he has established a better kingdom. 273 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:15,000 In the old days, the sacrificial system took place in the temple. 274 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:18,000 But what does it say of this branch here in Zechariah chapter 6? 275 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:21,000 It speaks of he was going to build a temple. 276 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:23,000 What kind of temple did Jesus build? 277 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:25,000 He built us. 278 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:29,000 In the New Testament, we see clearly that God's people are the temple of God, 279 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:32,000 that we are being built into a spiritual house, 280 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:37,000 that we are being built into a royal priesthood upon Jesus Christ. 281 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:42,000 We are the temple of God in which God indwells in the New Testament. 282 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:46,000 In the Old Testament and up to the time of Jesus, the temple is a physical building. 283 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:51,000 But after the time of Jesus in the New Testament, God's people are referred to as his temple. 284 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:54,000 God's people are referred to as his sanctuary. 285 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:59,000 And so this branch who is going to come, who is Jesus Christ, has built a temple, 286 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:04,000 and that is those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ today. 287 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:07,000 Now when we speak of the role of the priest and the role of the king, 288 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:12,000 the role of the priest was to offer sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins. 289 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:15,000 Jesus has accomplished that for you today. 290 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:20,000 The role of the king was to provide for and to protect his people. 291 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:23,000 And Jesus as our king has done that for us today. 292 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:26,000 Jesus offers us protection. He offers us provision. 293 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:31,000 He gives us all we need. It is found in Jesus Christ and Christ alone. 294 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:34,000 And that's important. That's important for his audience 295 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:38,000 because they were tempted to turn from Jesus Christ to other things. 296 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:43,000 Now you and I today in this room are not tempted to turn back to the old sacrificial system. 297 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:48,000 We don't want a temple to be resurrected and goats of blood and bulls to be sacrificed, 298 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:54,000 and we don't want to bring our goats and animals here today to sacrifice them 299 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:58,000 because we know that Jesus Christ is our sacrifice once and for all. 300 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:02,000 So that's not our temptation today is to go back to the old sacrificial system. 301 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:04,000 At least I hope it's not. 302 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:10,000 But there are certainly many temptations today that may tempt us to be pulled away from Jesus Christ, 303 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:16,000 things that may cause us to turn from Jesus Christ, things that we choose sins of the world, 304 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:22,000 things that may...we get into those things and we begin to drift away from God as we see in Hebrews chapter 2. 305 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:26,000 And what does he say to them? He says, be careful that you do not drift. 306 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:31,000 In chapter 6, be careful that you do not fall away. 307 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:35,000 So we need to be careful this morning. 308 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:42,000 We need to be careful that we are not those who fall into the same trap of the audience of the book of Hebrews. 309 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:46,000 Jesus has done his part. As priest, he has been a sacrifice for us. 310 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:48,000 As king, he has provided for us. 311 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:52,000 And as servants of the king, we have a role as well. 312 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:56,000 And that is to serve our priest and king, Jesus Christ. 313 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:58,000 That's to serve him. 314 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:03,000 Now the thing about Jesus being priest and king is maybe still today there's some part of us 315 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:07,000 that wants to separate those two offices, but they're not separate offices. 316 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:11,000 They're not held by separate people. They're held by the same person. 317 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:13,000 You can't follow one and not the other. 318 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:17,000 You can't say, I'm going to serve the priest, but I'm not going to serve the king. 319 00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:20,000 That's not the way it is. He's the same person. 320 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:27,000 Too many times in our lives, people want to serve Jesus and they want the priestly part of Jesus. 321 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:32,000 They want to serve Jesus as high priest because he forgives them of their sins. 322 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:34,000 And that's what we want is the easy way out. 323 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:40,000 Jesus, forgive me of my sins and let me go on and continue to sin because I know you'll forgive me for them. 324 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:46,000 And people like that part of Jesus, the one who died for our sins so that we could be forgiven, praise God. 325 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:49,000 But then as king, we are called to serve the king. 326 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:51,000 We are called to be obedient to the king. 327 00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:56,000 We are called to be submissive to the king and that part we don't really like. 328 00:25:56,000 --> 00:26:01,000 And so too many times people want to have it, well, I'll serve Jesus as my savior, 329 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:03,000 but I'm not going to serve him as my king. 330 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:08,000 Sometimes people even say that, well, Jesus was my savior for years, but he wasn't my king. 331 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:12,000 We need to make sure that Jesus is both our savior and our king. 332 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:16,000 We need to make sure that our sins are covered by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, 333 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:19,000 who is our priest, who gave himself as a sacrifice for us. 334 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:24,000 And we need to submit to him and say, Lord Jesus, you are the king of my life. 335 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:26,000 Lord Jesus, you are better than my career. 336 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:28,000 Lord Jesus, you are above my family. 337 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:31,000 Lord Jesus, you are above my wealth. 338 00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:34,000 Lord Jesus, you are above my fame and popularity. 339 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:37,000 Lord Jesus, you are above everything in my life. 340 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:41,000 You are the king of my life and I submit to you. 341 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:44,000 But that's hard for us to do. 342 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:47,000 Even if we really desire that in our heart, it's hard. 343 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:52,000 We have to pray. We have to seek God because we like to be the kings and queens of our own life. 344 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:55,000 We like to be the ones who are in control. 345 00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:59,000 We like to do what we want to do, when we want to do it, how we want to do it. 346 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:05,000 But when we become a Christian, we are submitting ourselves to Jesus Christ. 347 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:10,000 When we become a Christian, what we are saying is, Lord Jesus, I accept your sacrifice 348 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:14,000 and I praise you for it and I submit myself to you. 349 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:17,000 I submit to do what is right by you. 350 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:19,000 I submit to do by what you command. 351 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:24,000 I submit to do by what is good, by what you want, not what I want. 352 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:26,000 And that's a struggle sometimes. 353 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:32,000 Because sometimes the things that you and I want are not the things that God wants for us. 354 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:37,000 So when we look at this passage today, yeah, we talk about a lot of stuff about Melchizedek 355 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:40,000 and about the Old Testament and the way in Abraham. 356 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:45,000 But the point is this, is that Jesus is greater. 357 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:49,000 Jesus is greater than all that has come before Him. 358 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:53,000 And there are none greater coming after Him. 359 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:57,000 Jesus is in. Jesus is the beginning, He's the end. 360 00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:02,000 He is all things in between, all things were created through Him, for Him, and by Him. 361 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:06,000 He is the King of kings and Lord of lords, the high priest of His people, 362 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:08,000 and He is seated at the right hand of God. 363 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:14,000 And there is no other we can turn to in this world or in this life to Jesus Christ. 364 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:17,000 Jesus is better. 365 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:20,000 And that's the point that we've seen throughout the whole book of Hebrews, 366 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:23,000 again and again and again. 367 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:26,000 Jesus is better. 368 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:30,000 What is He better than? He's better than everything. 369 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:34,000 You fill in the blank. Jesus is better. 370 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:38,000 Now the people here in the book of Hebrews, they were in difficult times. 371 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:43,000 They were experiencing hard times and they were tempted to give up on God. 372 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:47,000 But we must trust in God even in the midst of those hard times, 373 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:51,000 to know that God has not left us or forsaken us. 374 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:55,000 Times are difficult and they are painful and they are hard. 375 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:59,000 Sometimes we wonder where God is. Is He listening? Does He care? Is He coming? 376 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:01,000 Yes, He cares. Yes, He's listening. 377 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:06,000 And one day He will come to your aid and maybe in this life or maybe in the life to come. 378 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:12,000 But God has not forgotten you. God will bless you. God will deliver you. 379 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:16,000 We see that in Genesis chapter 14 when Melchizedek blesses Abraham. 380 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:21,000 Melchizedek praises God. And he says to Abraham, he says of God, he says, 381 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:26,000 I praise God because He has delivered you. 382 00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:30,000 And there is one who has come to us who is greater than Melchizedek 383 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:34,000 who gives us that same hope and that is Jesus Christ. 384 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:38,000 He is the one who has come and He has delivered us. 385 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:41,000 It doesn't mean that your life is going to be perfect. 386 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:43,000 It does not mean that you're not going to have hard times today. 387 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:48,000 It does not mean that you're not going to struggle this week and next month and next year. 388 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:52,000 There are going to be hard times and struggles that are going to come in your life. 389 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:55,000 But we have a deliverer in Jesus Christ. 390 00:29:55,000 --> 00:30:00,000 And even if we don't see the light at the end of the tunnel, it is there in Jesus Christ. 391 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:03,000 Perhaps we don't see the light because we're not looking in the right place. 392 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:08,000 Perhaps we need to refocus today. We need to refocus on Jesus Christ. 393 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:12,000 We need to be reminded that Jesus is better than the things of this world. 394 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:17,000 And we need to be reminded that Jesus Christ is seated on the throne because He is victorious. 395 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:20,000 I hope you've put your faith and trust in Him today. 396 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:24,000 And if you have not, I pray that you will. Let's pray. 397 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:27,000 Father God, we come to you today. We thank you for this word, dear Lord. 398 00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:31,000 It's a lot to think about with Melchizedek and all this stuff, dear Lord. 399 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:34,000 But let us not miss the forest for the trees, dear Lord. 400 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:37,000 Let us not fail to see what your word is pointing us to here, 401 00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:41,000 and that is the greatness of who Jesus is. 402 00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:45,000 God, I pray that perhaps today we will be reminded of the greatness of Jesus Christ, 403 00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:50,000 for those who know Him. Sometimes we need to be reminded of Him, dear Lord. 404 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:54,000 We need to be reminded of His sacrifice and Your grace, God. 405 00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:58,000 Maybe there are some today and they've never known the greatness of Jesus Christ, 406 00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:01,000 but maybe today through these words they have. 407 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:07,000 Maybe today, God, they have made that decision to put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. 408 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:12,000 God, you call us to repent of our sins, that is to turn away, to stop what we're doing. 409 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:17,000 To turn to You, to turn from our sin and to turn to Jesus Christ. 410 00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:22,000 God, you call us to stop being the King of our own life and to trust Jesus as our King. 411 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:26,000 So, God, maybe we need to lay down our crowns today, 412 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:29,000 and we need to worship the one who is seated on the throne in Jesus Christ. 413 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:32,000 God, maybe there are some today who do not know Jesus Christ. 414 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:36,000 Maybe they've been searching and seeking, and maybe they've tried everything in the world. 415 00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:40,000 But, God, I pray today that they would know that Jesus is better, 416 00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:43,000 that they would trust Him and seek Him this morning. 417 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:46,000 God, maybe there are some here today and they're yours. 418 00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:50,000 And maybe they're just in the midst of a really difficult time. 419 00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:53,000 I pray today that they would not give up on you, dear Lord, 420 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:57,000 that they would not lose hope, that they would continue to put trust in Jesus Christ, 421 00:31:57,000 --> 00:32:02,000 that they would today be reminded of the greatness of the power of who Jesus is. 422 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:07,000 God, we thank You that Jesus has come to give His life on the cross so that we may be forgiven. 423 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:12,000 But we must ask for that forgiveness, and we must put our faith in Jesus Christ to receive it. 424 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:15,000 So, I pray today, God, that we would do that this morning. 425 00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:18,000 God, I thank You for who Jesus is. 426 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:21,000 God, I thank You for the fact that He is seated on the throne as King, 427 00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:24,000 because, God, that tells us that He is victorious. 428 00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:27,000 His work is done, dear Lord. 429 00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:29,000 And one day He will come back for us, God. 430 00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:33,000 But until that day comes, let us be found faithful to be a servant to You. 431 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:38,000 Let us be found a faithful people, dear Lord, that never question You, never doubt You, 432 00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:42,000 but know that You are our deliverer, no matter what we are up against. 433 00:32:42,000 --> 00:33:10,000 And I ask these things in Jesus' name, Amen.