I. Introduction
A. Chapter 6 of Hebrews ended by referring to Jesus “having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
1. And now in chapter 7, the author of Hebrews dives into Melchizedek.
B. Review
1. Hebrews was written to Jews who had come to Christ but were now feeling the persecution and pressure of their fellow Jews trying to get them to leave Christ and return to Judaism.
a. And so the book of Hebrews is devoted to showing the superiority of Christ over Judaism.
2. The specific issue the author is dealing with here is a challenge regarding the priesthood of Jesus.
a. Even to call Jesus the high priest was to insult the Jews. The Jewish high priest was at the center of Jewish identity.
b. This provoked a strong reaction from the Jews. In Israel the priests came from the tribe of Levi. The high priests came from one family in the tribe of Levi, the family of Aaron. Well, everyone knew that Jesus was a son of David, which meant He was from the tribe of Judah, not Levi.
c. You can’t be both the king of the Jews and the high priest. You can’t be both of Judah & of Levi. How in the world can you claim that Jesus is both king and priest?
C. In chapter 7 the author says the things he had wanted to say at the end of chapter 5 but got frustrated.
1. After he began talking about this issue of Jesus being a high priest after the order of Melchizedek in Hebrews 5:10–14, he wanted to continue talking about Melchizedek, but instead he stopped and expressed frustration at the fact that they were not ready to hear what he had to say: “About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God.”
2. The things he talks about in chapter 7 are the things he had in mind in 5:11 when he said “about this we have much to say.”
3. Hopefully we have heard his exhortations and are ready and eager to hear what he has to say.
D. Tell story from Gen.14:18-20.
1. Remember when Abraham and his nephew Lot separated and Lot went east to live in the area of Sodom and Gomorrah?
2. Well, a war broke out in the region and one of the armies captured Lot and his family and took all their stuff. When Abraham got wind of this he gathered his men and was able to go rescue Lot.
3. On their way back home, Abram (he hadn’t been renamed Abraham yet) had a strange encounter with Melchizedek. In this encounter, three things happened: Melchizedek brought out bread and wine. Melchizedek blessed Abraham. And Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.
E. Then, 1000 years later, a psalm of David contains this strange reference to the order of Melchizedek. In the context of talking about the coming messiah (verse one of the psalm is quoted more in the NT than any other OT verse), comes this statement about this coming savior: “The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.’ ” – Psalm 110:4
II. Explanation of Hebrews 7:1–10
A. Remember, the author is explaining what the order of Melchizedek is. And he starts by remembering who Melchizedek was.
B. 1-2a For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2a and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything.
1. He doesn’t appeal to the Rabbinic tradition. He goes right to their Bible. He doesn’t even quote Jesus or the apostles but reasons with them from the Scriptures, just like Jesus did.
a. He’s using arguments which are sound even for a Jew.
2. He reviews the story from Gen.14:18-20.
3. Melchizedek is first priest mentioned in the Bible
4. Then he begins to point out things from the story...
C. 2b He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace.
1. MELEK (king) + TZADDIQ (righteousness) = Melchizedek — “He is, by translation of his name, king of righteousness.”
2. As he explains what is meant by the order of Melchizedek, showing how Jesus follows the same pattern, he shows that Melchizedek was not only a priest but also a king, just like Jesus.
3. Secondly, he says that Melchizedek was both the king of righteousness and the king of peace, just like Jesus (we could go through many Bible verses about Jesus which say this).
4. (Melchizedek was also apparently the king of Jerusalem. The only other time Salem is mentioned in the Bible, it seems to be the same as Jerusalem. “In Judah God is known; his name is great in Israel. His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.” Psalm 76:1–2)
D. 3 He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.
1. He’s not saying that Melchizedek was never born or never died. The point is that in a book (Genesis) filled with births and deaths, in a book which meticulously tells us where everybody comes from and how old they were when they died, this man’s birth and death are never recorded.
2. And, as Bruce says, to the author "the silences of Scripture were as much due to divine inspiration as were its statements."
3. All of a sudden this Melchizedek shows up out of nowhere, with no record of where he came from and no record of him dying. It was as if he’d always been there. It was as if he was there perpetually, like a son of God.
4. In spite of the fact that there is no priestly heritage in Melchizedek's case, the OT clearly recognizes him as a priest. The point is that the order of Melchizedek is not a dynastic priesthood. It is by divine call, like the call of a prophet. This explains how Jesus could be a high priest without Levitical lineage.
5. “A priest forever”? In other words, there is no term limit like the Levitical priesthood, which mandating retirement at 50 years of age (Numb.8:25).
6. “but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.” Is it not clear that the whole reason Melchizedek appeared in the first place was as a living prophecy of the coming messiah?
E. 4-7 See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! 5 And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham. 6 But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 (It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.)
1. In the mind of the Jews, there was no one greater than Abraham. And yet Melchizedek was even greater, and Abraham recognized him as greater!
2. There are several things here which prove that Melchizedek was greater than Abraham.
a. Abraham gave his tithe to Melchizedek. (This is the first tithing in the Bible.)
b. Melchizedek blessed Abraham.
3. Not only is Jesus a legitimate priest, but His priesthood is actually superior to the Jewish priesthood! Not only does the challenge of Jesus’ priesthood not stand up under scrutiny, but the scrutiny proves that Jesus is superior to the priesthood of Judaism.
F. 8 In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives.
1. He continues to mine Melchizedek to find things that point forward to Jesus.
2. The Hebrew priests received tithes as mortal men, but the one who a priest according to the order of Melchizedek receives tithes as one who always lives. Rev.1:8 “I am the Living One.”
3. When we put our tithes in the offering plate, we present them to Jesus, the high priest, just as Abraham presented his tithe to Melchizedek.
G. 9-10 One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, 10 for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.
1. In one sense, Levi himself paid tithes to Melchizedek, since he was in the loins of his great-grandfather Abraham who did so.
III. Application
A. This passage demonstrates the nature of Scripture.
1. First there is this little piece of Scripture in Gen.14 about something which happened to Abraham 4000 years ago with this strange man Melchizedek.
2. Then 1000 years later, there’s a cryptic reference in Ps.110, which says the messiah is to be a priest after the order of Melchizedek.
3. And then all of a sudden, the Hebrew Christians are being challenged by their Jewish friends about how Jesus could be a priest since He didn’t come from the tribe of Levi, and the author goes back to these passages with a perfectly sound explanation of the nature of Christ’s priesthood, as if that’s why it was there all along.
4. My friends, this book isn’t a random collection of ancient writings. This book is God’s word.
5. People who deny it are a dime a dozen. Even churches which deny it are a dime a dozen. If you’re looking for an excuse to not listen to it as the word of God, there are plenty around. But God sent Jesus and spoke to us out of heaven saying, “Listen to Him.” And in the end, you will be judged on whether or not you did so. And the Scriptures are the main way we have to listen to Him.
B. There are many comparisons in the book of Hebrews. Jesus is shown to be greater than angels, greater than Moses, greater than the Jewish high priest.
1. And the comparisons continue: the superiority of the new covenant over the old, the superiority of the new sanctuary over the old, the superiority of Christ’s sacrifice over the animal sacrifices of the OT.
2. The Hebrew Christians are being tempted to leave Jesus and go back to these things, and in this epistle the author demonstrates from the Bible how Jesus is better.
C. “But I'm not struggling with OT Judaism! The things I’m struggling with are completely different.”
1. If you think this, then you don't understand! If anything can compete with Jesus, it is OT Judaism. If Jesus is superior to OT Judaism, He is superior to everything. Let me explain why.
2. The things God makes are better than the things man makes.
3. OT religion was beautiful, it was powerful, it was glorious. Until Christ came it was the finest revelation of God which ever existed. It fills two thirds of the Bible.
4. OT Judaism was not perfect, it was not complete. But there is only one thing better, and that’s Jesus.
5. The book of Hebrews is a long proof that the #1 thing is better than the #2 thing. And if #1 is better than #2, it’s better than everything else.
D. There’s another dynamic going on here. Most likely, the pressure from the fellow Jews was not the only thing driving these Jewish Christians back to Judaism. There were things about OT Judaism which still appealed to these believers, things like the high priest.
1. Unlike Jesus, the Jewish high priest was tangible and touchable. He wore resplendent robes and performed impressive ceremonies, while Jesus was gone to heaven and therefore invisible.
2. This is true for many. After we come to Christ, there are tempting things from our old life which come back to haunt us.
3. This is why Lance asked us to pray for his strength last week when he gave his testimony.
4. I remember it happening to me. When I was in high school, whenever there was something hard required in school I would cheat to get by. I remember when I first came to Christ out of atheism, it was very hard for me to stop cheating. So many things in my life we so much happier, but in terms of homework, following Christ meant doing a lot more hard work. And I was allergic to hard work.
5. The author of Hebrews is trying to convince his readers that even though it may involve more suffering, Christ is superior to every other way of living.