Good morning. How are you all doing today?
Awesome, it's good to hear. I'm doing great. Thank you so much
If you are joining us here at Hosanna for the first time here in the sanctuary or if you're watching online for the first time
We want to say welcome. We're so glad you're here to worship with us today at Hosanna. I
Am pastor Nathan and today we're gonna be taking a very short topical break from Genesis to
Answer the question who is Melchizedek?
You know, this is a very mysterious figure that suddenly appears on the pages of Genesis in Genesis 14
And then just as suddenly he vanishes
Scholars for years have been debating his identity and who he is
And you know for any reader of Genesis says you read through these these
Verses and you come upon this character. One of the natural questions is who is this guy? He seems important
He seems to have a major
Place in the story, but he just comes and goes and we almost never hear from him again
And so, you know in Genesis 14 as we studied through that last week
We pointed out some of the details about this guy Melchizedek and you know
There are very few very few details, but those details give rise to a lot of potential theories about who
He is and to make the issue even more unclear
Is this man Melchizedek is only mentioned directly in four places in the entire Bible?
Genesis 14 as we saw is the only historical reference to Melchizedek
Him as a man living doing something but then there's no mention of him again until we get to Psalm 110 in
Psalm 110 is a
Prophetical Psalm written by King David that mentions the name Melchizedek and then nothing else
Until we get to Hebrews chapter 5 and Hebrews 7
Where the writer of Hebrews is is connecting the dots between this man Melchizedek and
Jesus Christ
And then of course, he's indirectly referenced in Matthew Mark Luke and Acts
Where there's often conversations where Psalm 110 is quoted
specifically in identifying the identity of the Messiah and so
If you just had Genesis and just read the book of Genesis and that was it
I don't think we would think too much about Melchizedek
We would go who's this interesting character?
But we never hear about him again and so we might move on from that he's just a real small detail in the overall story
Of Abram's life just some king priest who knew
God most high the same God that Abram worshipped
But when we consider the other places in scripture where his name comes up, we find out that what he is
What that means and then by secondary reference who he might be
That information is an incredible value to our faith
What it all means what he points to what he represents is all very important to our faith
And it teaches us a very important truth that from the very very beginning
Before the law existed
Before the temple existed before the Jewish people even existed
God was already speaking to the world about who he was
Already speaking to the world about who the savior of the world would be
And really that nobody would ever have an excuse to say that they didn't know who he was when he arrived
So we'll be dealing through the dealing with that today
And and really just answering that question
There's a lot of people that have been asking well, who do you think he is?
And and what do you think he is? And that's what we're going to go through today
But first we're going to worship God
Because as we study God's word, we have these wonderful opportunities to dig into these treasures
And to dig deep and and just really enjoy the the discovery that is in God's word
And what it ultimately reveals is him
Him our savior him our God him our love him our everything
And so we want to worship him as we start out today praising his name
And just letting him know that we love him so very much
Let's pray father we thank you God for who you are
Lord we thank you so much that that we have these opportunities to dig into your word and
Really deal with these interesting topics Lord
God sometimes you don't reveal details to us because well, they're really not that important in the big picture
But God every single part of your word is a is a treasure to be mined to be dug into and developed and
Thought about and chewed on and Lord we want to do that today
So we ask that you would just encourage us as we dig into this question Lord who this
This man Melchizedek might be and what it means to our faith today
But Lord we want to start by praising your name because you are holy you are worthy
You are Lord our God our salvation you are our king you are our peace you are everything
And so Lord we thank you for the opportunity to to come together
We thank you for the opportunity to praise you and we thank you for the opportunity to study your word
Bless us Lord and we bless you as well in Jesus name we pray. Amen
We are going to be in a few places this morning as we
Try and answer this question. Who is Melchizedek? Obviously we we saw him last week. We were introduced to him
In Genesis 14 that was the context where we were introduced to him
And we're going to be looking at that again, but we're also going to be in psalm chapter 110
We're going to spend a little time in Hebrews chapter 5 and a little bit more time in Hebrews chapter 7
And so there's going to be a lot of information. I pray that it doesn't just hit you like like a tsunami
But if there's information you miss we are live streaming the video will be online
And so I encourage you to go back and and and watch it from there
But to recap the context of where we're introduced to this very mysterious figure Melchizedek
It was in Genesis 14 and the background was that this king named Chetoleomer and three other kings from the east
Came to battle with Sodom and Gomorrah and the three other towns that were a part of that little confederation
Because they had rebelled against the rule of Chetoleomer and these other kings
Well, obviously the army of these four kings defeated Sodom and all the people that were there
and actually took all the people and all the material goods as
As the spoils of war and so they went back north on the way back to their their lands and then Abram
was
Informed by a survivor of the battle that they had done this but more importantly that in taking all the people
They had taken Abram's nephew Lot and so Abram rallied his people his 318
Trained troops along with some help from the three other canaanites that he was living close to and they went up
To defeat this army and they did they defeated the entire army of the four kings
They recovered all the people that were taking captive. They recovered all the spoils of war, which is significant
five cities worth of riches and goods
And as Abram was on his way back home to Hebron
We are then introduced to this man
Melchizedek that he ran through the city of Hebron
Melchizedek that he ran into outside of what would become known as the city of Jerusalem
This is where they meet and so let's read the story again in genesis 14 starting in verse 17
It says after abram returned from defeating chedoleomer and the kings who were with him
The king of Sodom went out to meet him in the shavev valley. That is the king's valley
Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was a priest to god most high
He blessed him and said abram is blessed by god most high
creator of heaven and earth and blessed be god most high who is handed over your enemies to you and
Abram gave him a tenth of everything
so
This is where we get the the the primary details of who this man is
One of the important details that will be pointed out in hebrus later on is the meaning of his name
Melchizedek. This is an important starting point when we try and
Just determine who is this man?
In the scriptures now Melchizedek is a combination of two hebru words. The first word is melek
Which means king and the second part is sedek
So you got Melchizedek the second part means righteousness. And so what his name literally means is king of righteousness
We also find here that he is called the king of the
City of Jerusalem. Now that city of Jerusalem is called the king of the city of Jerusalem
And it's a city of Jerusalem. So we find that he is called the king of
Salem now that city Salem is come to be comes to be known as
Jerusalem later on it is a holy city and we get this understanding from psalm chapter 76 verse two
Where it tells us speaking of god it says his tent is in Salem
And that the city of Salem is Jerusalem
Well the place name Zion
Initially referred to the hill that Salem was founded on
Salem was conquered by David at some point and became known as the city of David. Well the hill that this
City was on was called Mount Zion
That name Zion eventually over time came to came to refer to the entire city of Jerusalem and then by extension
The entire nation of the Jewish people Israel and so Salem and Zion
are
the same place
And Salem we know became the city Jerusalem later on but what's interesting is the word Salem
means peace
So this man Melchizedek is the king of righteousness by name and the king of peace by position
very interesting
We also read here that when he came out to meet Abraham, he brought out bread and wine and that should immediately remind all of us
Of the last supper as Jesus gave the bread and wine to his apostles
We're told that he is priest to god most high
A priest is simply somebody who performs religious duties and ceremonies, right?
We call those people pastors today, but in the catholic church, there's priests and in other places
They might call him reverend or whatever, but it's that person who does and performs those religious duties
But he is priest of a very special name god most high
We talked about that last week. That's that hebrew phrase el elion, right that refers to god in the almighty sense
Right god in the eternal transcendent
Beyond our comprehension huge holds the entire universe in the palm of his hand god
The one true god above everything that's this name that we're called that we're told that he is a priest of and that's the only
Descriptor of who Melchizedek is a priest of god most high
How he became a priest of god most high. We don't know we're not told it just says that he is
But these details tell us that this Melchizedek was more than just a worshiper of god
More than just a believer in god that he was an honored representative
of this god most high
Now we see him pronounce a blessing from god most high upon abraham
That's the function of a priest, right?
He pronounces a blessing that that that you are being blessed by god and as god's representative
He does that and then he pronounces a blessing on god most high, which is worship
When you proclaim the name of god, it's worship and also the function of a priest and every believer
And then the last detail we get here in genesis 14 is abraham gave a tenth to him
That word tenth means tithe
So as abraham was was um met by this guy Melchizedek
Melchizedek blesses him in the name of god. It doesn't tell us how but apparently they recognize that they worship the same one true and living god
And in response of that recognition that this priest is a representative of the god. He knows
abraham then gives a tenth of the spoils which
um ancient times and biblically is always seen as
Somebody honoring one who is superior to them. So abraham recognized that Melchizedek was
uh spiritually superior to him as a priest of god most high
And then that's it
Melchizedek is gone no mention of him ever again at least historically
But when we get to psalms chapter 110
We see his name again now psalms chapter 110 was written by king david hundreds of years after this story with
Melchizedek and we're going to read that to see how his name comes up again
Verse one. This is the declaration of the lord to my lord
Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool
The lord will extend your mighty scepter from zion
Rule over your surrounding enemies
Your people will volunteer on your day of battle in holy splendor from the womb of the dawn
The dew of your youth belongs to you
The lord has sworn sworn an oath and will not take it back. You are a priest forever
According to the pattern of Melchizedek
The lord is at your right hand. He will crush kings on the day of his anger
He will judge the nations heaping up corpses. He will crush leaders of the entire world
He will drink from the brook by the road. Therefore. He will lift up his head
So that's a happy warm and fuzzy psalm
That is written by david
Now it's it's it's considered a messianic psalm because it was prophetic of the messiah that israel was expecting to come
Now this psalm incidentally is the most quoted old testament scripture in the new testament
Out of all the old testament this is quoted more than any other old testament scripture in the new testament
Specifically verse one where it says the declaration of the lord to my lord
There's 27 or so direct or indirect allusions to this and the reason the new testament quotes this psalm so much
Is because it establishes very important details about who the messiah is going to be who the savior world is going to be
Now the big part that's quoted often is the very beginning where it says this is the declaration of the lord to my lord
Now if you got your bible in front of you your bible app you'll notice
That the first lord there is in all capital letters. The second lord is not
David is writing this and david is saying the declaration of the lord to my lord. The question is is who is david talking about?
What is he talking about?
Now this was an issue that came up later on in the new testament when the Pharisees were trying to talk to jesus about his identity
And jesus quotes this verse
But the lord in capital letters is the word yawai. We've talked about that word. That's that covenant name of god, right?
El elion is the big mighty god out there yawai is the big mighty god who knows me
Who loves me and has a relationship with me and so what it's talking about is
Yawai spoke to someone that david is calling lord lowercase letters
That word lord is adonai
Which simply means a person that is greater than the one speaking
So david says here yawai is speaking to someone greater than me making a declaration to him
That doesn't make it any less confusing, right?
Now in scripture when we have the declaration of the lord
Now in scripture when we have this word yawai and there's no specific connection to the son or the spirit
It's generally assumed that it's referring to god the father right who is spirit
He is the the the part of the trinity there and so
What we have here incidentally is god the father declaring something to another personage that is greater than david
Someone that david calls lord and so you go. Well, who is it?
Well if we go through all the new testament places where psalm 110 is quoted
We're going to see that it's quoted over and over and over saying that these things apply to jesus christ
Matthew 22 43 was the first example I gave you where jesus quotes psalm 110
When the pharisees are arguing with him about who the messiah is
And they're saying look he goes who do you think the messiah is they go the son of david he's a descendant of david
And then jesus responds by quoting psalm 110 here and he goes well if he's a descendant of david why is david calling him lord?
And so he walks through this whole little argument here that says look the messiah is a descendant of david
And he existed before david and he is greater than david by david's own word right so
Whole point of that is that psalm 110 is being used by jesus to say that jesus is the one being talked about
Acts chapter 2 verse 34 when peter is prophesying about the deity of the messiah and the ascension
Of jesus he quotes psalm 110 so again we see that the psalm 110 here is speaking of jesus
first corinthians 15
hebrews 113 hebrews 1013
These are all quoting the psalm in the new testament referring to the dominion of the messiah
The rule of the messiah and the superiority of jesus christ as the messiah
so psalm 110 we understand that this psalm is quoted always
To refer to the identity of the messiah to say who jesus is as the messiah that he's not an angel
That he's greater than david and so on and so forth
So what we have here in psalm chapter 110 verse 1 is god the father
Declaring to god the son these things
Throughout psalms 110
Now one of those things is that he will be holding a mighty scepter
That is a symbol of kingly rule like the kings would have a scepter and it would be like the symbol of their office and so
What god the father is saying to god the son
Is that you're going to be a king
And then later on down in the psalm 110
God the father makes this oath to the son in verse 4
The lord has sworn an oath and will not take it back
You are a priest forever according to the pattern of melchizedek
Well, we've heard nothing about melchizedek since genesis 14
Right. This is hundreds and hundreds of years later. What does that mean? What is the connection there?
well off the
On the very surface of it. We have the
The the um on the very surface of it. We understand from genesis 14 that melchizedek was both a king
And a priest at the same time. He held both offices, which is something that wasn't allowed in the jewish law
And so what we see here in psalm 110 is that this coming messiah is going to be both a king and a priest
So now we jump to hebrews chapter 5 where we start to get a little more
More commentary more description on what this all means
In hebrews chapter 5 the writer says this
For every high priest taken from among men is appointed in matters pertaining to god for the people
to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins
He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray since he is also clothed with weakness
Because of this he must make an offering for his own sin
as well as the people
Now no one takes this honor on himself instead a person is called by god
Just as erin was erin was the first high priest
of the of the jewish people
In the same way verse 5 says christ did not exalt himself to become a high priest
But god who said to him you are my son today. I've become your father
It also says in another place you are a priest forever according to the order of melchizedek
So it's quoting psalm 110 here
During his earthly life jesus offered prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death
And he was heard because of his reverence
Although he was the son speaking of his place as god in the trinity he learned obedience from what he suffered
After he was perfected he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him
And he was declared by god a high priest according to the order of melchizedek
So genesis 14 is the first mention psalm 110 is the second place
We see this word melchizedek and now we're here in hebrus 5 and this same psalm 110 is being quoted
Now the book of hebrews just as a quick background the whole book of hebrews was written to jewish people
Who had become believers in jesus christ so they were jewish christians
So they were jewish christians
But due to all kinds of things persecution and whatnot they were being tempted to say
You know what trusting in jesus alone isn't enough. We need to go back to the old ways
We need to go back to the temple and the sacrifices where the high priest made we need to go back to that because
That's where our security in christ is going to be they were being tempted to do this
And so the writer of hebrews is writing this whole book to say that's dumb
Jesus is all you need paraphrase of the whole book. Okay
So
As he's developing his thought he starts out the book of hebrews by saying jesus is greater than the angels
He's not an angel, right?
And then he goes on to develop other thoughts and he gets here to chapter 5 where he starts talking about the high priest
The person in the jewish temple who is called to to do all the religious duties
And one of them mainly talks about here was to offer sacrifices for sin
That the high priest in the jewish temple was the mediator between god and people right?
And so what he's saying here is all the way since the beginning when levi was born the original 12 tribes
Levi and the people of his line were designated to be high priests
They were designated to be the people who worshiped god
Back when all of israel got to the promised land everybody got some land that was theirs, right judah. This is for you
Benjamin this is for you dan. This is for you levi you get nothing
No, you get to serve god most high in the temple. You're going to be the tribe that that officiates all of the religious
Observances you're going to be the people who are the bridge between god and god's people
You are the ones doing all the rights and ordinances
You are the ones that are set apart for that that special work
But because you're set apart for that special work, you don't get any land
That you have to go work instead you're going to be taken care of by the people with land
So that you could be the priests for them in your culture
Now the high priest of
These priests was always from the tribe of levi
He was a descendant of aron
Who is the very first high priest?
And so although they offered atonement for people's sins. He's saying look in this old system
That guy that's offering sin for or offering sacrifices for your sin to make atonement to god. He himself is a sinner
So keep that in mind guys, so he's developing this thought here
And then he says look there's there's a lot of depth to this argument in the rest of hebrews 5
And then he says but you guys are too like spiritually lazy to understand it all and then through all of chapter
Six he's talking about how they're lazy, right?
And then in the end of chapter six he gets back to his topic about melchizedek and jesus
So starting with the idea that aron and all the high priest and all the priests after him were
Called by god because god said this is the tribe of the priest
Just like aron was called jesus was called
to be a high priest but not after the order that aron and the levites were called from he's called from a different order altogether
The order or the pattern of melchizedek so hebrews chapter 6 verse 19
The writer goes on to say we have this hope
As an anchor for the soul firm and secure
It enters the sanctuary behind the curtain
That is a reference to what the levitical priests got to do
Or the high priest got to do once a year where he went behind the veil
Into the holy of holies to make atonement for the sins of the people
He would go in there with the blood that was
Shed from the sacrifice and he would sprinkle that blood all over the the mercy seat
Which was the lid over the ark of the covenant he only got to do that once a year
Here the writer of hebrews is saying we have a different hope
And it's a hope that enters the sanctuary behind the curtain
Jesus has entered there on our behalf as a forerunner
Because he has become a high priest forever according to the order of melchizedek
So again we're connecting jesus to melchizedek here
Now the primary function of a priest as I said was mediation between god and man due to the guilt of sin
And what we're being told here is jesus does that now
But not in the same way that we're being told
That now but not after the order of levi after the pattern or example of this man melchizedek
So then we get to chapter seven you guys still following me here, okay
For this melchizedek
King of salem priest of god most high
Met abraham and blessed him as he returned from defeating the kings. That's what we read in genesis 14
And abraham abraham gave him a tenth of everything
First his name means king of righteousness and then also king of salem meaning king of peace
So that's where we get the confirmation on that
Meaning of melchizedek's name
So this chapter seven is where the writer starts connecting all these dots between melchizedek and jesus christ
One he tells us his name means king of righteousness
Well first john chapter two verse one it's written we have an advocate with the father jesus christ the righteous one
connection
Then it says he's king of salem which means king of peace
Isiah 9 6 told us that there was a child born who was the prince of peace
Romans 5 1 says we have peace with god through jesus
So he is the mediator of peace
Let's go on in hebra seven
without father
mother
Genealogy having neither beginning of days nor end of life but resembling the son of man
But resembling the son of god he remains a priest forever
Now considering how great this man was even abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of his plunder to him
So what it's telling us here now about this man melchizedek we read about in genesis 14
Is that he's without father without mother without genealogy no beginning of days no end of life
And he remains a priest forever
And abraham ties to him
So this verse is where all the conversation about who melchizedek comes from
There's a bunch of different ideas on who he might be
Um and what that means but one of the the popular ideas
One of the two biggest uh most popular ideas is that melchizedek is what we call a christophany
An appearance of jesus an appearance of god the son in the old testament
In the old testament right now in the old testament when we have an appearance of god just god in his in his totality
Appearing we call that a theophany
but when there's a specific thing in the old testament it's like wow that that looks like
Jesus the messiah god the son appearing in the old testament we call it a christophany
And there's a lot of connections here that that that are drawn that support that idea one
And then well it said melchizedek is without father jesus had no earthly father. We know he had a heavenly father
Skip the mother part
But jesus always existed he had no beginning of days
Jesus
Had no end right he's alive and lives forever more
We talked about the same titles melchizedek means king of righteousness jesus is king of kings lord of lords
And he is the righteous one
Melchizedek is the king of salem jesus is is king of kings again, and he's the one that brings ultimate peace
Melchizedek brought bread and wine to abram
Well jesus brought bread and wine to his his disciples during communion the last supper
abram recognized that melchizedek was
Superior to him and that was seen in his tithing his giving to melchizedek
Well later on in hebraeus chapter 7 when when he's specifically talking about tithing
He says that abram tithed to the one whose scripture testifies that he lives
Who does scripture testify that is alive today jesus christ?
So those are the major support points for this there's there's a bunch of others, but we'd be here all day so
Now that it's very possible it's very likely
That that there's truth to this right?
But that's just one of the major interpretations
And these all these elements that we just walked through are the things that that refute other ideas about who melchizedek is so
The first idea is that melchizedek was actually god the sun
bodily here on earth
Ruling and reigning in jerusalem and he met abram on the road and abram realized who he was okay
There's other suggested interpretations on who melchizedek is one of them is that he's a
Jesus one of them is that he's shem noah's son
Now of course if he's noah's son and he knew noah and noah knew god of course shem would be a priest of god most high
Right problem is is there's no evidence for that. It's just jewish tradition ancient jewish tradition
Some people say melchizedek was an angel
And and there's some supports for that that that I don't think really hold
Uh any merit but one of the things against that is it tells us that this melchizedek
Had no beginning of days
Well angels were created
They had a beginning of days. So that is a big refutation of that
and then the next one the the
The second of the two biggest interpretations is that melchizedek wasn't jesus. He wasn't an angel. He wasn't shem
He was just a human dude
He was a canaanite who happened to be king and priest
And he lived in a real place called salem and he existed for a time
Just like every human does and he was just the guy that came out as abram went past salem and said hey
I recognize that you worship the same god. I do and blessed him
that interpretation
follows the line that
Melchizedek is not jesus, but he's a type
Of jesus you guys may have heard that word in bible study that he's a type of christ
When you hear something referenced in the old testament as a type
It simply means a person place or thing in the old testament that represents pre-figures or anticipates a corresponding reality in the new testament
For example
the ark
We say is a type of christ why?
Because the ark was this thing that people were hidden inside and they were protected from wrath protected from judgment
And they were saved and let out the other side
Saved from judgment right?
That's what the new testament tells us about jesus that we are in christ and because we are in christ clothed with his righteousness
We are saved from judgment. The ark is a type of christ
If you've read the book of ruth, there's a guy in that book named boaz
Who's known as the kinsman redeemer?
He is a type of christ
He's an old testament example and you go I see characteristics in him that speak of who this jesus is in the new testament, right?
now
The type of christ interpretation has its own critiques of the christophany and i'm going to walk through those real quick
Obviously, we read hebra's 110 and hebra's 620
Both of those places it says that it references the messiah who we know to be jesus is going to be a high priest forever according to the
pattern of melchizedek
Older translations say according to the order like fashioned after the order of melchizedek
If jesus was melchizedek
It would make more sense to say you are a high priest forever melchizedek
Who is jesus right? There's there's a different way to say that that wouldn't imply they're two different things
hebra's chapter 7 verse 3 we read that this melchizedek is
resembling the son of god
This one is a pretty substantial
Proof text for me anyways because I was looking up that word resembling. What does that mean? Right?
In every instance that word is used in the bible. It's always assuming two distinct separate identities
I looked for places where it was referring to the same person, but it's always used to say a
resembles b
Not that a is a does that make sense?
okay
That word resembling there is is the idea of a becomes or is the same
Becomes the same or is similar to b
In characteristics, that's what that word resembling means there
So that is one that you look at and you go. Well, that doesn't say that jesus is melchizedek. It says melchizedek
Is similar to or like or resembling?
Hebrews chapter 7 verse 4
When it told us now consider how great this man is that abram tithed to him
It says now consider how great this man was
past tense
If jesus is melchizedek, it would have made more sense to say consider how great this man is
right
And then herews 7 15 talks about another priest like melchizedek coming on the scene
Melchizedek coming on the scene
So there's there's these things that seem to imply that they're not the same person
But one looked like one resembled one was a type of the other
And then these are just a couple thoughts that that crossed my mind if melchizedek is christ
Then what that means is that jesus christ or god the son was physically bodily ruling on earth as priest and king
He was being from jerusalem already
The new testament seems to indicate that that doesn't happen until the millennial kingdom
Where jesus is ruling and reigning bodily on the earth from jerusalem?
And then the tithing thing this is what the author of hebrews gets into here. Um the fact that abraham tithed to him
Now some people go abraham tithed to him that that that proves that it was jesus right he was he was tithing to that
Which was spiritually superior to him now. That's a possibility
however
We know tithing doesn't
Go straight to god like when you guys tithe here in the church
Like it's not going straight to god. Does that make sense?
You're tithing to the lord you're giving to him of of what he's commanded you to give but
But what you're giving it to is actually the church the
representatives of god and then they are to steward those funds in pursuing the work of god's kingdom
And so that's what the writer of hebrews gets into right here and back in hebrews chapter 7 verse 4
So after he makes these really interesting points about melchizedek
He goes now consider how great this man was
Even abraham gave him a tenth of plunder
Here 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 their brothers and sisters
Though they have descended from abraham
The idea there is he's going levi is one of the 12 brothers
But the 11 brothers were commanded to give tithes to levi
So in a way that that that kind of signifies that levi was was superior spiritually in that sense
Not like he was better than them, but he was at a at a more
higher level of responsibility
So he goes though they have also descended from abraham
But one without this lineage collected a tenth from abraham and blessed the one who had the promises
Hold on to that phrase. Okay without lineage
Without a doubt the inferior is blessed by the superior
In the one case speaking of the levi's taking tithes from the people men who die
I receive a tenth
Right those priests they live a life they die, but they're receiving this tithe from the people
but in the other case
Speaking of this melchizedek situation
scripture to but in the other case scripture testifies that he lives meaning that when abraham tithed to melchizedek
It was like he was tithing directly to jesus
verse 9 in a sense
Levi himself
Who receives a tenth has paid a tenth through abraham for he was still within his ancestor when melchizedek met him
so what he's developing here is the fact that
abraham tithes to melchizedek speaks volumes of of the spiritual authority in the spiritual position of melchizedek
And what he's telling these people that are writing this is is jesus is a priest after the order of melchizedek
And so when when they tithed to melchizedek they were in a sense tithing directly to jesus who is the right high priest
Not the levitical high priests you guys following
Wow less enthusiastic that time, okay
This section regarding the whole tithing thing because again some people go abraham tithed to melchizedek that means melchizedek is jesus
So what this is saying here is that the melchizedekian priesthood is greater than the levitical priesthood
It's greater. It's superior to and then the example or the the reasoning he uses is because look
Levi who didn't exist yet but was still within the genetic code of abraham
Who would eventually be born since abraham tithed to melchizedek in a sense levi was tithing to melchizedek
And that makes melchizedek in his priestly order superior to the order of levi
And so and that ties back into that idea that we're reminded here that it was people who collected tithes
It was people who tithed to these earthly priests
And so melchizedek receiving the tithe as a priest and a representative of god that doesn't necessarily mean that he was jesus
It means that he was a priest
Of god who received the offering to god from one of god's people?
And that's just the same thing when we do today right when we give our offering we're giving to the lord
But it's going to the church you're a part of who stewards that on god's behalf. So
If melchizedek is not a christophany
If he's not shem
If he's not an angel, but he is a type
of jesus
Then what does melchizedek was without father without mother without genealogy having either beginning of end
Beginning of days end of life. He remains a priest forever. What does that mean?
Right is is that telling us?
um
What we think it's telling us
I'm glad you're asking because i'm going to explain it to you. Okay
Let's go back and read a couple things
Hebrews chapter 7 verse 6
The writer said but one without this lineage speaking of melchizedek
He didn't have the lineage of a levitical priest because levi didn't exist yet
He collected a tenth from abraham and blessed the one who had the promises
Now jump down to verse 11
The writer of hebrew says if perfection came through the levitical priesthood
For on the basis of it people received the law what further need was there for another priest to appear
Said to be according to the order of melchizedek and not according to the order of erin
For when there is a change in priesthood, there must be a change of law as well
For the one these things are spoken about belong to a different tribe
He's saying this jesus who were who were saying is of the order of melchizedek
Jesus who is the messiah who was prophesied in psalm 110 to be a priest forever after the order of melchizedek
Says he belonged to a different tribe meaning he wasn't a levite
No one from that tribe is served at the altar
Only the levitical priests were allowed to serve at the altar in the temple verse 14
Now it is evident that our lord came from juda
And moses said nothing about that tribe concerning priests
And this becomes clearer if another priest like melchizedek appears
Who did not become a priest based on a legal regulation about physical descent but based on the power of an indestructible life
For it has been testified you are a priest forever according to the order of melchizedek
This section clarifies verse 3 when it says without father without mother without genealogy without all of that
Verse 3 when it says melchizedek didn't have any of that
What it's telling us is melchizedek wasn't a priest of high god most god most high based on the legal regulations of physical descent
What do I mean by that to be a priest
In jerusalem to be a priest in judaism in the temple
You had to be able to prove your lineage
You had to be able to prove that you were of the tribe of levi
You had to be able to prove you were a descendant of erin who was the very first
High priest you had to be able to prove that guess how you proved that
With your genealogical records
We've all seen genealogical records, right?
The afternoon will say father born died mother born died offspring born died
And you see this whole list my mom used to be really into that stuff
And and found out some really cool things about our background and has nothing to do with this
So i'm not going to go into it, but but we've seen genealogies, right? We've seen those types of lists
So when it says in verse three that melchizedek was without father without mother without genealogy no birth no death
It's about whether or not melchizedek was a priest based upon the legal regulations about physical descent
It's not about whether he was really ever born or really ever died
It's not about the fact that he didn't actually have a physical father mother what it's saying is that we have no record
of melchizedek's father
We have no record
Of melchizedek's qualifications to be a priest based upon the levitical thing you guys want to go back to
So according to the levitical law melchizedek couldn't have been a priest. He doesn't qualify
And so
We have no record of his genealogy
We have no record of his birth or death, right?
Go back to genesis 14. Does it tell us when melchizedek was born?
No, he just showed up. Does it tell us when he died?
No, he just it didn't even tell us he went home. It just moves on
So there's no record of his birth. There's no record of his death
There's a record of who his mom is who his dad is. There's no record of his genealogy. It means there's no
Demonstratable record yet melchizedek was still a priest of god most high
And so what the writer of hebrews is saying here
Or at least his point
Isn't melchizedek was never born never died jesus never born never died. They're the same person
What he's saying here is that melchizedek's
Qualifications to be a priest were not based on the levitical qualifications of the law and neither are jesus's
He's a high priest declared by god of a completely different order
Jesus doesn't need to come and prove your lineage even though he doesn't have a priest
Your lineage even though he did it we have it in the gospels, right? Here's his lineage of the king of david
Here's his lineage here, but he didn't need any of that
He's qualified on a completely different set of qualifications. In fact, he was from the tribe of juda. He wasn't even a levite
And that's the point
That like melchizedek was a priest of god most high
Outside of the levitical law that they so desperately wanted to cling to
Jesus is a high priest
Not after the pattern of levi not after the pattern of erin, but he's a priest after the pattern of melchizedek
And then another thing that people point to to say jesus
Can't be the same as melchizedek, but melchizedek is a type of jesus is if you follow things chronologically
Melchizedek was here in genesis 14
And then hundreds of years later you get to psalm 110
Now david is writing the psalm the commentary of the bible says he was writing this under the inspiration of the holy spirit
Which all scripture is?
And as he's writing that he says the lord has sworn an oath and he will not take it back
You are a priest forever according to the order of melchizedek
That was when it was declared that the messiah was going to be a priest according to the order of melchizedek
According to the order of melchizedek not before there's no record of it
So people go if if if the messiah was declared there to be after the order of melchizedek
He couldn't be melchizedek because melchizedek existed hundreds of years later. Make sense
Okay, good
I'm waiting for everybody. Just go. Oh, we don't get it. Okay
Moving on we're almost done
Hebrews chapter 7 verse 18 we're moving on through the argument of the author
So the previous command is annulled because it was weak and unprofitable for the law perfected nothing
But a better hope is introduced through which we draw near to god
What he's saying is all those never-ending sacrifices under that levitical system
With those levitical high priests who are sinners themselves. Anyways, all of that stuff is no more
You don't have to do any of that anymore because jesus who came after a different order who has declared a high priest by god himself
Is the once for all atoning sacrifice?
Let's go on verse 20
None of this happened without an oath
That's what we read in psalm 110 for others became priests without an oath
But he jesus became a priest with an oath made by the one who said to him
The lord has sworn and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever
Because of this oath jesus has also become a guarantee of a better covenant
again
Levitical priests qualified based upon the the jewish law
They had to prove their lineage. They had to prove mom and dad. They had to prove all this stuff
but jesus qualified
Based on the power of an instruct indestructible life that word indestructible means unending
How did jesus qualify to be a high priest for all mankind according to the order of melchizedek
Because he came he died and he rose again and he's alive forever
That's how he qualified put that on your resume
I rose from the dead
Right. I mean, it's pretty powerful so
verse 23
Now many have become levitical priests
Since they are prevented by death from remaining in office
But because he jesus became a priest
But because he jesus remains forever. He holds his priesthood permanently
Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to god through him since he always lives to intercede for them
For this is the kind of high priest we need holy innocent undefiled separated from sinners
Unlike the levitical priest and exalted above the heavens
He doesn't need to offer sacrifices every day like the high priests do first for their own sins and then for the people
He did this once for all time when he offered himself for the law appoints his high priests men who are weak humans
But the promise of the oath which came after the law psalm psalm 110 came after the law of moses was instituted
The promise of the oath appoints a son who has been perfected forever
So like we have no record of melchizedek's death
And so technically his priesthood never ended
Jesus has a priesthood that never ends
Because he's alive
You guys get that connection
So jesus who lives always has lived will live forever is our high priest permanently
See the problem with the levitical system is hey, that's the high priest. Oh he died
Right, and then they would say once a year when he died
Right, and then they would say once a year when he would go in there to make the sacrifice for people
He had to wear bells on the end of his thing because if he wasn't prayed up and ready
Boom, he was killed
They tied a rope around his ankle because when they heard thump they'd go. Well, we need a new high priest
Because he was a weak man
He was a sinful man, right?
He was atoning for his own sin as well as the people's sin when he went in to make the sacrifice but jesus
Sinless
Jesus qualified to be a priest by the order of milk is a deck
after the pattern of
meaning
It wasn't based on genealogy
It wasn't based on who his mom and dad was
We have no record of his birth and death
All we know is that milk is a deck was a priest and then he was gone and so technically his priesthood is forever
Well like
That jesus we know who is alive his priesthood will be forever. He will be interceding for us for all time
Unlike the levitical system now
So does one does what one might believe about whom elkiz adik is affect anything important in our faith and salvation
No
You're like, why do we just spend a whole day then on that?
People argue people are concerned people want to make hard stances
I've been yelled at once because I was like, I'm not sure it's a christophany
I I think it kind of there's a lot of evidence the other ways and and
Someone just looked at me and said you're wrong. Okay, sorry, you know
Now I do acknowledge that that the fact that it's a christophany that that's possible. There's there's there's possible support support for that
But there's also kind of more holes in that argument than the fact that melkiz adik was just a real canine
I priest who was a type of christ that's kind of where I stand on it
The idea is don't divide over this. Okay, it's an interesting topical thing to walk through
We're blessed that the word is infinitely deep that we can mine and mine and mine forever to connect things, but
It's not a salvational issue
Whether you believe melkiz adik is a christophany or he's a type of christophany
If you think he's an angel or shim, that's a whole nother conversation we need to have but
Whether you think it's christ or not what melkiz adik for sure shows us
Is that our god your god my god loved us so much
That all the way back in the beginning
He made sure to give us at least glimpses
To give us pictures to give us hints to give us time to think about
To give us pictures to give us hints to give us types of who the messiah would be
So that when he got here, we wouldn't miss it
Instead we be able to look back and go man god's been talking about this from the very beginning
He's been showing us that this person in this person all these people who are examples of who our savior would be
And then when you take that and you couple that with all the prophecies of the messiah that were fulfilled by jesus
We simply walk away with something that is is so powerful. We can rest assured that our hope
Rests in the one true and living god
The god who who came to this earth who lived and died for us who died on the cross for our sins
He was our atoning sacrifice once and for all time that we would be able to stand before god forever pure and forgiven
That our relationship with god wouldn't be one based upon the old system of i gotta keep coming back
I messed up. I messed up. I messed up which is how a lot of people want to live their faith today
And god's like you don't have to do that
No, I messed up yesterday. I have to pay the price for it today. Jesus already paid the price
And so knowing these things knowing that we're going to be with him forever because of what he did
Allows us to live free not shackled to the law
But free from the law saying god I could live a life in obedience to you to glorify your name
Without having it to be about performance and it happened to be about earning points and then no
God I can live for you and endeavor to to glorify you just because you're you
And knowing you're gonna stumble
Along the way jesus is like I knew that too. That's why I died for that already
You see the freedom in that that's a completely different relationship
The fact that malchysidic was a priest without any of the
qualifications that the law said were so important
Proves that the law was temporary
It's not the foundation. It's not the end-all
In fact the bible tells us very clearly the law existed for one and all time
In fact, the bible tells us very clearly the law existed for one reason
To drive you to christ
It says it was a school master, right?
The law wasn't anything we were ever to look at and go I could follow those rules. I'm righteous
No, what the law said is you can't
No matter how hard you try
That's why you got to keep coming back to the priest you get it
Blood needs to be shed to pay the price for our disobedience to god
That's what those sacrifices are reminding for generation after generation
And jesus
Who came on the scene from the tribe of juda the lion?
Not of the tribe of levi
God said
You're a high priest
In fact, you're the high priest who will intercede forever because you live forever
Forever and then while we're here on this earth, right?
We are blessed by jesus
Just like abram was blessed by malchistak
We respond to jesus and honor him through our obedience and our offering and our worship and given given
Giving to him what's due him because he's he's god
Because he's so much far above us we give in in in with needs and we give in our church and we give on these things
What why?
It's an example of what abraham did with malchistak. I recognize who you represent and I serve that same god
And i'm gonna give to you in faith to honor him
And we do all that knowing that we're in interceded for always
Because jesus's priesthood
After the pattern of malchistak
Has no end
Amen, let's pray
Father
Again lord, we're grateful that your word is
Is a mine we could mine infinitely
And pull out gems and treasures of truth
But god, I think there was a reason why malchistak came on the scene and then left
Is because it's not about malchistak it's about jesus
Lord there's so much you did in the old testament with your people israel that pointed to jesus
And so god why it's can be fun and interesting to dig into these things and to answer these questions lord
God just remind us that as fun as that is lord to not lose focus on the real goal the real mission
To be like jesus
To preach jesus
To be able to answer people who jesus is and what it means in their lives
To be able to crack open the bible and say see everything's about jesus
But god at the same time we know you bless us in our study and you know you bless us when we see a detail in here
And we go chase it like a rabbit trail
Because god every detail of your word reveals to us who you are
And we are so thankful that jesus you are our king
You are our king by right
And that you are our high priest you are our high priest by calling and ordination from the father himself
That god we would understand that our relationship with you is not about laws and rules and regulation
But that from the very beginning god you wanted to give us pictures and and and show us
That our relationship with you was always meant to be what originally was in the garden
Just blessing and freedom
And so god we're so thankful and grateful that jesus sets us free
From the bondage of sin and death
We're so grateful that in our in our self-righteousness
And the bondage of sin and death we're so grateful that in our in our salvation our faith that we put in jesus what is granted to us by you
Allows us to live a life free from the worries about having to appease you
But lord instead we could live a life just thinking of ways to glorify you and to honor you
We're so grateful god that you forgive us when we sin
That you already forgive us for all of our sin
Help us to live lives that are just in honor of that lord the way abram lived his life
Not that he was a perfect man, but wow
He made choices to glorify your name at great cost in many different ways
And so lord help us to be people like that
People that would be like a milk is a deck lord
Just a person who honors you in all ways in all things god
Not that we are the king of righteousness or the king of peace far from it
But that we are representatives of the king of righteousness and the king of peace
Lord help us to reflect you in every way
At all times that others would come to know you as well. We love you so much. We thank you jesus. It's in your name. We pray
Amen. All right guys, let's worship