Week 3
READ Hebrews 7:1-28 “Christ’s Priesthood Like Melchizedek”
QUESTIONS:
I’d like to offer a quick word of warning before going into this passage. Melchizedek (Mel-kez-i-dek) is one of the most mysterious and awe-inspiring characters in the Bible. Little is known about him, and what we do know about him gets our curiosity really boiling. Melchizedek shows up in Genesis 14 and talks to Abraham. Psalm 110:4 also makes mention of him which is quoted in Hebrews. Everything else we know about him is found here in Hebrews. Now, here comes the warning. If you approach Hebrews 7 trying to figure out all the details of who Melchizedek is, you’ve already missed the entire point of this passage and what the author truly is trying to have you learn and understand. So, with that said, I want to give you a list of details about Melchizedek, and allow that to be our launching point for discussion and study today.
MELCHIZEDEK FACTS:
Melchizedek means “King of Righteousness” and he was the Ruler of the city of Salem. Salem comes from the word Shalom which means “peace”. This makes him the King of Righteousness & Prince of Peace. (You can see some interesting similarities surfacing already between him & a pretty important character in the Bible)
Hebrews 7:2 & Genesis 14:20 state that Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth of all his possessions as a tithe.
Hebrews 7:3 states that Melchizedek had no father, mother, or genealogy that all other priests had. He had neither beginning of days nor end of days.
Hebrews 7:3 also says he resembled the Son of God and is a priest forever.
It is also implied in Hebrews 7:4-10 that the Melchizedekian priesthood is greater than the Levitical priesthood of Aaron. Since all the priests of the OT were Levities, they can trace their ancestry back directly to Jacob, Isaac, and then Abraham. Abraham was considered the father of the whole nation of Israel. And Abraham, being greater than all the Levities and priests, gave a tenth of all he had to Melchizedek making him greater than Abraham, and therefore greater than all the priests of the OT.
Now, the question that many have asked is this, “Was Melchizedek an appearance of Jesus Christ in the OT?” That is a good question. Let me address it before we go on.
A simple reading at the surface level of Hebrews 7:1-25 never makes an explicit claim that Jesus and Melchizedek is the same person. Actually, it could be argued he does just the opposite in v. 3 when he says Melchizedek came “resembling the Son of God”. If there was a time to say they were the same person, that was it, but he didn’t. So a new question arises,
“What was the purpose of Melchizedek in the OT and why mention him here in Hebrews?”
This is a much better question! The basic reason Melchizedek is mentioned in this passage is to show how far he exceeded all the priests of the OT and by doing so, show how exceedingly greater Jesus is as a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek than all the OT priests. Let’s now build the case for why Jesus is the Great High Priest after the order of Melchizedek and how far superior he is to all other priests.
Do some research and write out what the basic purpose of the high priest was in the OT.
Now having an idea of what a high priest’s purpose was, let’s see 5 reasons why Jesus is a superior High Priest to all others.
REASON ONE:
Read v. 26. What is one reason this verse tells us Jesus is superior to other high priests?
REASON TWO:
Read v. 27. What is another reason this verse tells us Jesus is superior to other high priests?
Since Jesus didn’t have to offer a sacrifice for himself, what was he able to do that no other priest could do?
REASON THREE:
Again in v. 27, it says at the end that he “did this once for all”. How did Jesus’ sacrifice differ from sacrifices in the OT?
REASON FOUR:
Read v. 28. How were priests chosen in the OT?
How was Christ chosen to be high priest? (v. 16-17 & 28)
Was the Law that Moses introduced, in existence at the time of Abraham? How was Melchizedek chosen to be priest?
Psalm 110 is a Messianic Psalm written by David pointing towards Christ. In verse 4 it says speaking of Christ that “you are forever a priest after the order of Melchizedek”. Not a priest after the order of the Levites or Aaron but Melchizedek. What does that mean?
REASON FIVE:
What happened when a High Priest died? What had to happen
What had to happen when that one died?
No priest in the OT could continually and eternally intercede for Israel. Melchizedek was said to have no beginning or end of days, which was pointing to a priest to come that would have no beginning or end of days.
Read v. 22-24 and the end of v. 28. What can Jesus do now that no other priest could do?
Jesus was sinless, and could offer the perfect sacrifice, that will last forever, he was appointed by God, not the law, and he will continue forever!
Let’s take a look at what the heart of the passage 1-28 is all about. Read v. 25. This is the center point of the entire passage! 3 important points!!!
You will find verse 25 written below. There are lines separating this verse into three important sections.
He is able to save to the uttermost ||| those who draw near to God through him, ||| since he always lives to make intercession for them.
1) What is Jesus able to do? __________________________________________________________
2) What must those do to be saved? ___________________________________________________
3) What will Jesus be able to always do for us? _________________________________________
Never think of being saved as something that happened to you in the past. It is not. It is something that happens every day and at this very moment. If you base your faith in a decision you made in the past or some prayer you prayed in the past you are sadly unbiblical. If you think the only reason you are saved is because Jesus died on a cross, you are not thinking biblically. Salvation is something you trusted Jesus for in the past and treasure Jesus for presently. Salvation is something Jesus did in the past and something he continually does every day. We are able to be saved to the uttermost if we draw near to God and treasure him above everything. We know we will be saved because the eternal Jesus is continually interceding on our behalf. This verse explicitly says that we are saved, because Jesus is continually interceding for us. If Jesus did not earn the right to sit at the right hand of God by being the perfect sacrifice, being cursed, and defeating sin and if Jesus wasn’t eternal and able to eternally sit at the right hand of God interceding as a Great High Priest on our behalf, we would not be able to gain salvation!
We have a great reason to TREASURE CHRIST ABOVE EVERYTHING! He is our great high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. He has no beginning or end of days! He is greater than our father Abraham! God, not the Law, appointed him as High Priest! He is eternally able to present our righteousness, given to us by Christ, to God for salvation and the right to approach his Holy of Holies in prayer! He is the Great King of Righteousness! He is the Great Prince of Peace! He is Jesus and he has made a way of salvation, a way to be forgiven of sin, and a way to God!
Write a prayer attempting to tell Jesus how thankful you are for him and how you treasure him above all other things!