High Priest

Speaking of Melchizedek (Part 6) Hebrews 7:23-28

POST OVERVIEW. This sixth and final post in our series on Melchizedek from Hebrews 7 explains why Jesus is superior to any Levitical high priest who served under the first covenant established at Sinai. (See post #574, #575, #576, #577, and #580 for previous posts in this series.)

The objective of this series of posts is to explore and interpret Hebrews 7, which is devoted almost exclusively to a discussion about how Melchizedek relates to Jesus Christ. This sixth post concludes the author’s arguments about how our High Priest, Jesus, is far superior to any old covenant Levitical priest and is therefore a fitting high priest for the new covenant that He has ushered in.

REVIEW OF PREVIOUS POSTS

As we have seen in the previous posts, the author has been comparing the Levitical priesthood established under the Law with the priesthood of Melchizedek established in eternity past (Psalm 110:4). The Levitical priesthood has been shown to be weak and inferior at every point, not only by comparison with the priesthood of Melchizedek, but in many cases weak in absolute terms.

Melchizedek himself, the king of righteousness and king of peace, was greater than Abraham and so was greater than Levi, the head of the entire priestly tribe (7:1-10). The Levitical priesthood was always temporary and was always going to be replaced by the permanent priesthood of Melchizedek (7:11-12). Jesus is a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek based on an oath from the LORD (YHWH), while the old covenant priests were of the order of Aaron based on the Law’s commandment of physical descent (7:13-22). The Levitical priests were appointed by a commandment of the Law, but Jesus was appointed a priest forever according to an oath from God and so brings in a better hope as the guarantee of a better covenant (7:17-22).

Now, in 7:23-28, the author will make his final points of comparison and draw this portion of his argument to a conclusion. (As we have said before, have your Bible open beside you as you read these comments.)

THE CONCLUDING COMPARISON

7:23. Again we see the weakness of the Levitical priests highlighted because the former priests of the first covenant, died. This is a weakness so obvious that it might go unnoticed. These priests were mortal and were therefore “prevented by death from continuing.” Thus the Levitical priests were appointed by a commandment in the Law, their ministry did not accomplish anything “for the Law made nothing perfect” (7:19), and they were subject to death. This is on the one hand.

7:24. But on the other hand, Jesus is “a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (7:17, 21). Therefore, Jesus “holds His priesthood permanently.” This High Priest was appointed by divine oath, has brought in a better hope as the guarantee of a better covenant, and continues as a priest permanently.

7:25. “Therefore, Jesus is able to save forever (save to the uttermost (ESV); save completely; save at all times) those who draw near to God through Him.” Unlike the Levitical priests, Jesus is a High Priest who is able to save. If you draw near to God in the name of Jesus, you will find Him to be a High Priest mighty to save. And Jesus is able to save forever and to the uttermost. In the original Greek, this phrase is “εἰς τὸ παντελὲς,” which means both “to the farthest extent” and “for all time.” The author is expressing both the physical and the temporal completeness of the salvation that Jesus brings to all those who draw near to God through Him. As our High Priest, Jesus always lives to make intercession for us. If we will embrace Jesus fully and unreservedly trust Him, then He will save us to the uttermost.

7:26. Our High Priest, the Lord Jesus, is holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. That is, the High Priest of the new covenant is completely different from the old covenant priests.

So first, Jesus is holy. We are counted as holy by imputation of Christ’s righteousness to us, but Jesus is essentially and eternally holy. He has always been and always will be holy, because His is a divine holiness.

Our High Priest is innocent, meaning that there is no evil in Him or associated with Him. In Psalm 92:15, the psalmist declares, “There is no unrighteousness (evil) in Him (YHWH).” Thus Jesus is incapable of evil or malice or harm. In His earthly ministry, Jesus “took our infirmities and carried away our diseases” (Matt. 8:17). Jesus healed multitudes, yet He never harmed any.

The Son of God is undefiled. In His incarnation, Jesus spent more than thirty years among sinners and at least once spent time being tempted by Satan, the father of lies (Matt. 4; Luke 4), yet He remained pure and utterly unstained by sin. The old covenant priests were tainted by Adam’s sin at birth (Romans 5:12) and increased in defilement as they progressed through life, but Jesus died on the cross as our once-for-all-time, undefiled, perfect sacrifice.

Jesus was separated from sinners. It is obvious that this quality does not refer to a physical isolation from sinners, for Jesus was among sinners His entire life. He was “separated from sinners” in the sense that He was completely unlike them. Jesus entered the world as one of a kind. He was the God-Man, the second Adam, the unique, only begotten “un-sinner.” Every other person who ever lives on this planet (including that Levitical priests) is in the group called “sinners,” but Jesus is in a separate group as the One who never sinned.

Finally, Jesus is exalted above the heavens. Our High Priest has perfectly completed His priestly work of atonement (John 17:4; 19:30) and so He has been “exalted above the heavens.” He is now the victorious Lamb, once again the theme of all heaven’s praises (Revelation 5:6ff). Having humbled Himself to death on a cross (Phil. 2:8), God has now highly exalted Him (2:9). “When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3) where He now awaits the time when all His enemies will be a footstool for His feet (Psalm 110:1).

7:27. Even in the nature and the efficacy of His sacrifice, our Lord is far superior to the Levitical priests. For, because of the weakness and uselessness (7:18) of their sacrifices, those priests offered up sacrifices daily, morning and evening, year in and year out, the same sacrifices that could never take away sins (Hebrews 10:11). And not only did the Law require that these daily sacrifices be offered, but the priest had to offer sacrifice first for his own sins, then for the sins of the people. But Jesus, being sinless, had no need to offer sacrifice for His own sins, but instead He offered one perfect sacrifice for all time for all the sins of His people.

7:28. The author concludes this chapter by driving home his main point: Everything about the old covenant priests appointed under the Law revealed them to be weak and temporary, but the word of God’s oath, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek,” appoints as high priest the Son of God, who is made perfect forever.

CONCLUSION

Throughout the letter of Hebrews, the author has been demonstrating the superiority of Jesus and of the new covenant which He has ushered in. Jesus is superior to any and all angels (chapters 1-2). He is superior to Moses (3:1-6). True belief in Jesus will allow you to enter into the Lord’s rest (3:7-4:16). Jesus is a perfect priest according to the order of Melchizedek- Part 1 (5:1-10). Now in chapter 7, we have seen that Jesus is in every way a superior high priest to the priests of the Levitical order.

SDG                 rmb                 11/2/2022                   #584

Speaking of Melchizedek (Part 3A) Hebrews 7:11-22

POST OVERVIEW. This third post in our series on Melchizedek from Hebrews 7 begins to dive into the heart of the passage as we explore why the priesthood of Melchizedek is superior to the Levitical priesthood established by the first covenant at Sinai. (See post #574 and #575 for previous posts in this series.)

The objective of this series of posts is to explore and interpret Hebrews 7, which is devoted almost exclusively to a discussion about how Melchizedek relates to Jesus Christ. Our third post will begin to unpack the author’s argument about how our High Priest, Jesus, is far superior to any old covenant priest and how the priesthood of Melchizedek is far better than the weak Levitical priesthood created by the Law. This post will cover only Hebrews 7:11.

Now that the author has discussed the person of Melchizedek and described his priestly order (Hebrews 7:1-10, see post #575), he turns to consider the significance of there being a permanent priesthood which is better than the priesthood of Aaron. The author’s main purpose for presenting Melchizedek in such detail is to give us a clear picture of his “likeness” (see Hebrews 7:15). This “likeness” defines the characteristics of his priesthood and thus shows us the nature of the High Priest of that order.  

In addition to the “likeness” of Melchizedek, the author’s argument will also draw on the profound truths revealed by Psalm 110:4, in which the LORD (YHWH) makes an oath to Adonai.

The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind,
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.” – Psalm 110:4

In this study, I will not generally be quoting the verses from the biblical text, so I am assuming that the reader has an open Bible as they go through this post. I use the NAS as my study Bible, but an ESV Bible should also work well.

Hebrews 7:11. It is evident that perfection (completion, finality, fulfillment) was never possible from the Levitical priesthood, because Psalm 110:4 speaks about another priesthood, the order of Melchizedek, in which the priest abides forever. This logical conclusion establishes the point that the Levitical priesthood under the first covenant was a temporary priesthood and was in place only until “another priest arose according to the order of Melchizedek” (7:11).

But there is more here than merely realizing the temporary nature of the Levitical priesthood. Notice the author states that “perfection” (Greek  τελείωσις) was not through the Levitical priesthood. Because perfection was not through the Levitical priesthood, it was necessary that another priesthood arise which was perfect. This would be the answer to the question, “Why did we need another priesthood?” But that leads to another question: “What was imperfect or incomplete about the priesthood under the first covenant and how is Christ’s priesthood better?” It is the answering of this second question that constitutes the rest of the chapter and that reveals the glory of our great High Priest, Jesus Christ.

But, before we go on in the verse-by-verse interpretation of this passage, we should pause to make a preliminary list of answers to this second question. This will give us a good idea of where we are headed as we proceed through the rest of the chapter. To repeat the question,

“What was imperfect or incomplete about the priesthood under the first covenant? “

  • The Levitical priesthood was temporary, not permanent
  • Priests were appointed solely based on a law of physical descent from Aaron
  • The Levitical priests all died
  • The Levitical priests were all sinners
  • The priest under the first covenant could not offer forgiveness or salvation

“and how is Christ’s priesthood better?”

  • Because Jesus is a priest forever (Ps. 110:4), He holds His priesthood permanently
  • Jesus was appointed a priest forever by an oath from the LORD (YHWH)
  • Jesus never dies, but lives forever
  • Jesus is “holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners”
  • Jesus is able to save completely and entirely because He lives forever

Now everything is in place to proceed through the rest of the chapter verse-by-verse. That is what we will do when we pick up our study in the next post.

SDG                 rmb                 9/26/2022                   #576

Speaking of Melchizedek (Part 2) Hebrews 7:1-10

POST OVERVIEW. This second post in our series on Melchizedek studies the scant biblical material about him and then examines Hebrews 7:1-10 where the author tells “how great this man was” (Heb. 7:4) and rehearses the characteristics which make up his “likeness.” (See post #574 for the introductory post of this series.)

The objective of this series of posts is to explore and interpret Hebrews 7, which is devoted almost exclusively to a discussion about how Melchizedek relates to Jesus Christ. This post will quickly explore the other biblical references to Melchizedek (both of them!) and then piece the evidence together to create a likeness for this mysterious figure.

MELCHIZEDEK OUTSIDE OF HEBREWS

Outside of the book of Hebrews, the biblical information about Melchizedek is limited to only four verses, and these verses are thoroughly covered by the writer of this epistle. The first reference is when Melchizedek appears out of nowhere in Genesis 14:18-20 to meet Abram as he is returning with his nephew Lot, and then he is mentioned again in Psalm 110:4, a mysterious verse in a mysterious psalm about the second advent of Christ, a verse that we met in our previous post (#574) about Hebrews 5:5-6.

GREATNESS AND “LIKENESS”

GREATNESS. As the writer begins Hebrews 7, his purposes are to establish “how great this man was” (7:4) and to present his characteristics so that we have a picture of his “likeness” (7:15). He will accomplish both purposes by reviewing the description of Melchizedek given in Gen. 14:18-20.

The greatness of this man is shown by comparing him to the patriarch Abraham and noting that, first, Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek and second, that Melchizedek blessed Abraham (7:6).

ABRAHAM PAID TITHES

The author’s argument about the tithes is a little hard to follow. The writer is comparing the tithes given to the Levitical priests with the tithes that Abraham gave to Melchizedek. In the Law, all the people are required to pay tithes to the Levitical priests. We also know that all the Levitical priests are descended from Abraham (through Isaac and Jacob and Levi, etc.). But Melchizedek received tithes from Abraham, who is the ancestor of all the Levitical priests. The author goes on to say that, since all the Levitical priests were still in the loins of Abraham when he paid tithes to Melchizedek, essentially the Levitical priests, who were supposed to receive tithes, actually paid tithes to Melchizedek. Thus, by this payment of tithes, Melchizedek is superior.

MELCHIZEDEK BLESSED ABRAHAM

Fortunately, the point about Melchizedek blessing Abraham is much easier to follow. At their meeting, Melchizedek blessed Abraham (7:1, 6), then, “But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater” (7:7). The author’s point is clear: Melchizedek is greater than Abraham.

Now that we have established Melchizedek’s greatness, we need to understand his “likeness” (7:15). Therefore, the author of Hebrews will gather together the characteristics of Melchizedek given to us in Genesis 14:18-20 to form his “likeness.”

LIKENESS. He is priest of Most High God (7:1). Also, he is king of righteousness (the translation of his name) and king of peace (7:2 – king of Salem). These are remarkable characteristics but are easy to see in the text.

But the next verse, Hebrews 7:3, is a bit harder to understand.

3 Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually. – Hebrews 7:3

The author is not suggesting that Melchizedek did not have a human birth and lives forever, although that may be our first thought. Rather, the author is saying that, in the inspired text of Scripture, and especially in a book of beginnings like Genesis, we expect to see a person’s genealogy. Yet in the inspired text, Melchizedek has no father, no mother, no ancestors or descendants at all. Scripture is silent about his birth and gives no evidence of his death. And since the Scripture makes no mention of his death, the author speaks of him AS IF he lives on. This is a rhetorical device the author uses to create a more complete “likeness” of Melchizedek. And legally, since there is no death certificate, it is permitted to assume that “he remains a priest perpetually” (7:3). Thus, we have a very impressive “likeness” for Melchizedek.

NOT A THEOPHANY

But, just how impressive is this “likeness?” For if Melchizedek was king of righteousness, king of peace, and priest of Most High God in a land where Abraham was the only one who knew anything about God; if he was greater than Abraham and blessed Abraham; if he had no beginning and he had no end and he remains a priest perpetually, is it possible that he is divine? This sure sounds like it may be a theophany. Is Melchizedek a pre-incarnate Christ?

Well, no, this is not a theophany, and that for several reasons. First, it is not a theophany because we know Melchizedek’s name. In Old Testament theophanies, like Genesis 16, 22, Numbers 22, Joshua 5, and Judges 6, the divine figure is never named, and in Genesis 32:29 and in Judges 13:17-18, the heavenly being refuses to give a name when asked. Since we know Melchizedek’s name, this is not a theophany. This one feature is conclusive.

But there are other reasons we know this is not a theophany. For example, there is nothing in the encounter in Genesis 14 to suggest that Melchizedek is divine. Abraham does not bow down to him and Melchizedek does no signs or wonders. The blessing that Melchizedek gives to Abraham is not prophetic, and so contains no display of divinity. Thus, while the characteristics attributed to Melchizedek point unerringly to Jesus Christ, this man who meets Abraham “as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings” (Heb. 7:1) is not the pre-incarnate Jesus. So this is certainly not a theophany.

. . . BUT A “TYPE” OF CHRIST

Instead, Melchizedek is perhaps the most stunning “type” of Christ in the Scriptures. In the Scriptures, a “type” refers to an Old Testament person or event which foreshadows some aspect of Jesus Christ or of His first or second advent. The “type” presents features that Jesus will fulfill when He comes. “Type” is different from prophecy, for a prophecy is a verbal expression about the coming Messiah, whereas a “type” is a picture or a representation of what the Messiah will be or do. Thus, Melchizedek is a remarkably clear picture of the coming Messiah. When you see someone who is king of righteousness, king of peace, priest of God Most High, who appears to be from eternity past and seems to live forever, there is a good chance that you have found the Messiah.

But now we read in Hebrews 7:15:

15 And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek.

As we consider this verse, the truth emerges that Jesus is that “another priest.” In other words, in Genesis 14:18-20, Melchizedek established the characteristics of the priesthood, that is, the “likeness” of the priesthood, and Jesus, when He appears, is “according to the likeness of Melchizedek.” Because Jesus fulfills the “type,” that is, because He is “another priest (who) arises according to the order of Melchizedek,” we know that Jesus is our High Priest, not of the order of Aaron (Levi), but of the order of Melchizedek.

SUMMARY

Having established the existence of the eternal priesthood of Melchizedek and having shown that Jesus is the High Priest of that order, we are prepared to see how Christ has replaced the Levitical priesthood. This is what we will explore in our next post.

SDG                 rmb                 9/23/2022                   #575

Speaking of Melchizedek (Part 1) Hebrews 5:5-6

POST OVERVIEW. This post is a study of Hebrews 5:5-6 where the author introduces the shadowy biblical figure of Melchizedek. This is the first in a series on Melchizedek.

The objective of this series of posts is to explore and interpret Hebrews 7, which is devoted almost exclusively to a discussion about how Melchizedek relates to Jesus Christ. We will do a deep dive into that chapter, but before we turn to chapter 7 of Hebrews, I wanted to look at how the author brings Melchizedek into his overall argument. So, this post will focus on Hebrews 5:5-6.

5 So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him,

“You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You;”

6 just as He says also in another passage,

“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”

Notice that in this two-verse passage, the author carefully selects two quotes from the book of Psalms. He mentions these quotes together, back-to-back, because he wants to show that each quote is an oath, wherein God the Father is speaking to God the Son in eternity past. But we still wonder why the author mentions the quote from Psalm 2, since that psalm is unrelated to his current teaching about Jesus as being a High Priest.

Here is why he does this. In the first century, it was generally accepted among Jewish scholars that Psalm 2 was Messianic and that 2:7 was an address from the LORD (YHWH) to the Messiah. That interpretation was settled and was not controversial. Every serious scholar would admit this point. On the other hand, there was considerable controversy over the interpretation of Psalm 110, and verse 4 of Psalm 110 was especially opaque. How in the world Melchizedek related to the Messiah and how or why the Messiah would be of the order of Melchizedek was beyond confusing.

Therefore, what the author of Hebrews does here in 5:5-6 is pure rhetorical genius. By presenting these two verses together, he demonstrates that the quotes are oaths of the same form. Next, by associating the controversial verse in Psalm 110:4 with the generally understood verse in Psalm 2:7, the writer succeeds in getting 110:4 accepted as also portraying the LORD (YHWH) speaking to Messiah with an oath of promise. This is key. By itself, Psalm 110:4 was too obscure to be discussed, but by placing it on the “coattails” of the “friendly,” well-understood Psalm 2:7, 110:4 is admitted into the discussion. And with Psalm 110:4 admitted into the discussion, Melchizedek has also entered the picture. Thus, we see that, by his brilliant use of quotes from the psalms, the author has managed to bring Melchizedek into the middle of the conversation. This is necessary, because Melchizedek and the priesthood he represents are going to prove crucial in the author’s theological argument about the obsolescence of the Levitical priesthood and the permanence and significance of Christ being a High Priest of the order of Melchizedek.

“Concerning him we have much to say” (Hebrews 5:11). Indeed, the author of Hebrews has much to say about Melchizedek, and in the next few posts we will attempt to understand the teaching of Hebrews 7 about him.

SDG                 rmb                 9/22/2022                   #574