As we move into chapter 7 of Hebrews, we are going to dig into this high priest name Melchizedek – he was mentioned beginning in chapter 5 with no explanation, then the writer paused and chastised the people, end of chapter 5 through first half of 6 that they needed to grow up in their faith, and then last week, last few verses of chapter 6, encouraged theses early believers to stay anchored and committed to Jesus, and mentioned for the third time this priest named Melchizedek.

Melchizedek is a fascinating character in the Bible, mainly because we know so little about him, yet Jesus is identified with him here in the book of Hebrews, again showing that Jesus is a BETTER PRIEST. We will see a couple of things take place here – first, we will see the power of story. Jesus used this technique throughout the gospels. “The Kingdom of God is like…” Think about Luke 15 as an example, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a lost sheep that the shepherd leaves the 99 to go after the one, a lost coin that a woman turns her house upside down to find, a lost son that takes his inheritance and wastes it on “loose living”, goes broke and comes to his father hat in hand, and the Father kills the fattened calf just because the son comes home, no questions asked. This is the power of the bigger story.

Second, we will see scripture prove scripture. Two very obscure places in scripture only related by the name Melchizedek, are used to prove the writer’s point that Jesus is a new order of priest. Make no mistake, Melchizedek is not related directly to Jesus, but represents Jesus all the way back in the beginning of this complete story that we call the Bible.  Look quickly at Genesis 14:18-20 as our jumping off point.

Abram has just gone into battle and rescued Lot from captivity and runs into the king/priest named Melchizedek.  Melchizedek did two things, he gave him bread and wine, strength and sustenance, and he blessed Abram. What was Abram’s response? He tithed to him, gave him a tenth of everything he had (which is a symbol of everything), and SCENE,  that’s it! Three verses in Genesis. What’s weird here is that we get no context for this king/priest, no lineage, no ancestry, no explanation, other than one other mention in Psalm 110:4. The writer mentioned Psalm 110 at the beginning of the book, now he is working his way through proving that JESUS IS BETTER by showing that he is a BETTER PRIEST and BETTER than ABRAHAM, who the original hearers, Jewish believers revered. With that, let’s jump into the text – open your  Bibles to Hebrews 7:1-28

Verses 1-2: The author here is using both of the texts just mentioned to paint a picture of the KING/PRIEST. He tells us the entire story in these two verses, meaning the author knew his stuff, but now he’s going to tie it all together and bring it current. First, the name Melchizedek means “King of righteousness”, and the King of Salem, synonymous with Shalom, or peace, means “King of Peace.” Abraham, the Patriarch of patriarchs, the one from whom every nation and person in the Jewish faith was blessed, came in contact with the King of Righteousness and the King of Peace, and was offered BREAD and WINE, remember that from the text? I mean, come on, I can’t make this stuff up! The one who God would call the Father of many Nations would not give but RECEIVE a blessing from this King/Priest, and would give 10% of his spoils to Melchizedek, showing him honor and deference, right here in the beginning of the Bible, just as the nation of Israel is being formed, a picture of Jesus shows up. If you blink, you miss it.

Verses 3-4:  The writer is not saying that Melchizedek is a part of the godhead, only that it is abnormal that we don’t know anything about him, where he came from, no mother or father, how long he lived, only that he looks a lot like Jesus, “resembling the Son of God,” in that he must have been great for the one who is the one from whom all descended to have RECEIVED blessing. It is so fascinating that the idea of Jesus shows up throughout the Old Testament, and is ultimately fulfilled, and the author here is weaving it all together with the thread of continuity.

Verses 5-10:  Now the author is fast-forwarding and showing that Melchizedek is from a different order than the Levitical priesthood. Remember, in Genesis, the office of priest didn’t yet exist, but the author is painting a picture of the descendants of Levi, great grandson of Abraham, is the lineage from whom the priests came, who were the ones whom the Hebrews would give offerings as sacrifices. Look at what he says in Verse 8: the tenth is collected from people who die, the Levitical priests had a shelf life, but Melchizedek, in type, was eternal. Not that he WAS eternal, but he represented someone eternal. He was GREATER than their definition of a HIGH PRIEST, and in Verses 9-10, the Levites came through Abraham, but Melchizedek came from a different order.

Here is why this matters:
Verse 11:  Perfection could not be attained by the law. We have said this over and over again, if you could be righteous just by following the law, then there would have been no reason for Jesus to come. The LAW doesn’t change you, it was merely a placeholder for Jesus. The author says it here: there was a need for another ORDER of PREIST to come.

Look at it this way: Liken a priest in that day to a counselor or life coach today. If you are struggling with a behavior or stronghold that needs to be changed, and you go to the priest to explain how you are failing, and he would give you advice on how to think and act differently, and then make a sacrifice on your behalf. But, a priest couldn’t change your heart, only help with behavior modification

Verses 12-13: When the priesthood changed, the law changed also. What does that mean? Jesus talked about it constantly: it wasn’t really the law that changed, but the heart behind it – “You have heard it said…” – EYE FOR AN EYE, “But I say…” LOVE YOUR ENEMIES – Adultery/lust, murder/anger – he is setting a new standard, not based on your ability to keep the law, but his ability to change your heart.

Verses 14-17:  Jesus was from a different tribe, the tribe of Judah, so, again, he is painting a picture of sameness with Melchizedek, not from the traditional tribe that the Hebrews would respect, but from a new and different tribe, not of the law, but, I LOVE THIS: “The power of an INDESTRUCTIBLE LIFE” – this is another way of saying that JESUS IS ETERNAL, and again, quotes Psalm 110:4.

Verses 18-19:  The law is weak and useless – WHY? Because it made NOTHING PERFECT – Here the author is telling them that retreating back to an old way of life, going back to an old broken system is USELESS – YOU CAN’T FIX YOURSELF BY DOING RIGHT THINGS – Could he be any more clear here? The writer is taking them back to their beginnings, to their heritage – maybe they were saying, “Maybe things weren’t so bad before.” Don’t we all suffer from revisionist history? We go through self-inflicted pain, God rescues, we get to the other side, and then convince ourselves, “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” And slide back into old, bad patterns – Just like the Hebrews, the author is painting a compelling picture that the OLD ORDER OF THINGS is DEAD and USELESS now that JESUS has come – HE MAKES ALL THINGS NEW.

Verses 20-22: the old order of priests were priests by heritage, but this priest, Jesus, became a priest because God made an oath, a promise – and now Jesus is the guarantor of a BETTER COVENANT, a COMPLETED COVENANT – the first blessing came through and oath God made to Abraham, but not the FINAL and COMPLETED COVENANT has been INSTITUTED through JESUS. This is a picture of the cross, broken body, shed blood – Melchizedek gave Abraham bread and wine which represented strength and sustenance and blessing.  Jesus gave his disciples bread and wine that represented his body and blood, payment for all sin for all time to complete the work of a BETTER PRIEST offering a BETTER and COMPLETE SACRIFICE.

Verses 23-25:  The old covenant priesthood was bound by the days they lived, but Jesus is an eternal priesthood because he conquered death, and he saves COMPLETELY once and for all those who come to God through him.  John 14:6

Verses 26-28: the old order of priests had to make sacrifice for their sins first, then for the sins of the people. But Jesus, who is HOLY, BLAMELESS, PURE, SET APART, EXALTED, FULLY GOD, FULLY MAN, made PERFECT SACRIFICE once and for all when he offered himself – “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world…”  John 1:29 

What does this mean to you and me this morning?
1. You can’t fix yourself. Behavior modification isn’t the goal. In fact, you can’t hold it together on your own. If you could fix yourself, you would’ve done it already. For the original hearers, the priests would make a sacrifice for their imperfection, because they couldn’t fix themselves, and you are no different.

2. The law was simply a placeholder for Jesus. The writer said it: The law is WEAK and USELESS. It is not sustainable, and it doesn’t transform the heart. You may conform to the law, but you can’t consistently keep it,  you need heart transformation, only available through the BETTER PRIEST, JESUS.

3. Jesus offers an alternative to a life of futility. Just like the original hearers, you need an alternative to the shame of consistently falling short, and the fear that causes you to hide. Jesus, the BETTER PRIEST, offers an alternative, a life for a life. (see Galatians 2:20) When you couldn’t, Jesus did it.

4. An encounter with the King of Righteousness, the King of Peace changes EVERYTHING. You are Abraham, Melchizedek is Jesus, and only proper response is giving him everything (demand my life).