SERMON MANUSCRIPT
I don’t really understand how the engine of my vehicle works. I’m glad someone does and I know it’d be good if I did but, for now, I just enjoy the magic and mystery. I’m dependent upon and benefit from the reality of auto mechanics without comprehending auto mechanics.
For most Christians, the same could be said about the Melchizedekian priesthood of Christ. (See, I already lost some of you!) We’re thankful someone understands it and we’re sure it’d probably be helpful if we did too but, for now, we’re okay with being dependent upon and benefiting from those realities without fully grasping them ourselves.
The author of Hebrews wants to help his readers look under the hood and understand what’s going on there. Inspired by God’s Spirit, he thinks it’s important for those who belong to Christ to examine Christ, his current role as advocate and the priestly lineage in which he sits.
Why? Because the more you understand someone, the more you can appreciate them, be thankful for them, and speak adoringly about them. And isn’t that our goal when it comes to our Lord and Saviour? Of course it is, so grab your tools and turn to Hebrews 7.
MELCHIZEDEK: GREATER THAN LEVI
The chapter begins talking about Melchizedek, a priest who appears briefly in Genesis 14 and is mentioned even more briefly in Psalm 110. Yet, as obscure as he is, Hebrews is going to show that his priesthood is greater than Levi’s priesthood, the one at the centre of Israel’s religious life, the one referenced through most of Scripture, and the one to which these readers were thinking about returning.
[7:1–2] Here’s the background: Abraham’s nephew, Lot, had been captured. Believing that Lot was his responsibility, the patriarch went on a rescue mission, one that proved successful. On his way home from battle a “priest of the Most High God”came out of his city to greet and bless Abraham. It’s important to note that this priest is also a king, an authority and power never given to the levitical priests.
Abraham sees this priest/king and what does he do? He “apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils” of war to Melchizedek. He gave him a tithe, acknowledging that the victory was God’s and not his. “To the victor go the spoils” and the ultimate Victor is Yahweh.
Why would the author of Hebrews bring up up this random event? [7:4] Abraham not only gave Melchizedek a tithe but gave him “the choicest spoils”—the best stuff—because he knew he was in the presence of greatness, of significance, of weightiness.
Now, it’s true, Melchizedek isn’t the only priest to receive tithes. [7:5–6] The Levites also received tithes but theirs were legally required—a “commandment in the Law”—whereas the tithe given to Melchizedek, a non-Levite, was voluntary, highlighting to the latter’s superiority.
His greatness is also seen in that Melchizedek blesses Abraham, the patriarch chosen by God and who carried the promises of God. So, the author concludes, [7:7]. In the military, command flows in one direction—from higher rank to lower. Similarly, blessings move from the highest rank, God himself, unto those of lower status, people like us. Here, the blessing flowed from priest to patriarch, the greater to the lesser.
But weren’t we comparing priesthoods? We are! [7:9–10] The Levitical priests, who would one day receive tithes from God’s people, were, in a sense, paying a tithe to Melchizedek in Abraham their representative forefather. Levi was honouring Melchizedek, “so to speak.”
Let’s summarize. Melchizedek is greater than Levi because of his power (he was a king, Levites were not), his position (he received tithes from Abraham and, in Abraham, from Levi), and his performance (he blessed Abraham, the forefather of Levi). Power, position, and performance.
But there’s one more reason that Melchizedek is greater than Levi, and that’s his permanence. [7:3, 8] This language has prompted many to wonder if Melchizedek was the pre-incarnate Christ. That could be true but I think it’s more likely that the author is using Scripture’s silence regarding his origins. Melchizedek is, literally, “without genealogy” in the Bible. In a sense, he just appears. What a contrast with the levitical priests who had to prove their lineage to serve. Melchizedek is a priest with no reported “beginning of days.”
In the same way, there’s no reported “end of life.” The Bible doesn’t record where he came from or where he goes. It’s as though he “lives on” and “remains a priest perpetually,” “being made like the Son of God,” resembling and predicting the eternality that would characterize Christ’s priesthood.
So, Melchizedek and Levi: both high priests representing different priesthoods. But Melchizedek’s is greater because of his power, position, performance, and permanence.
Now, before we move on, notice how the author of Hebrews treats even the most obscure account from the OT. It’s referenced as history, handled as authority, curated as beauty, and revered as necessary.
There are many Christians today who see everything before Matthew as untenable, ignorable, and disposable. But that’s not how Jesus and the Apostles looked at it. They cherished, studied, protected, and prized the OT, Genesis to Malachi, because, as they said so many times, it is the word of God, breathed out by him and useful—all of it—for our good. We are deficient if we neglect any part of Scripture.
JESUS: ACCORDING TO MELCHIZEDEK
By looking to the OT, the author of Hebrews shows Melchizedek to be greater than Levi. Now he shifts to who he really wants to talk about, which is Jesus, and demonstrates that Christ is a priest according to Melchizedek, not Levi.
[7:11–19] A greater priesthood was needed because Levi’s never brought perfection to the people. And that’s exactly what we need to have a relationship with a perfect God—perfection. And, to go a step further, the Mosaic Law under which the Levitical priesthood operated and to which they were beholden, couldn’t solve the sin problem either.“For the Law made nothing perfect.” Why? Because people’s problem isn’t external but internal.
God’s people needed a different type of priest associated with a different type of Law. And that’s what God provided in Jesus.
Jesus is a different type of priest one who “belongs to another tribe,” Judah not Levi, one “from which no one has officiated at the alter” and “to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests.” He serves not because he met “a law of physical requirement,” a particular genealogy, but “according to the power of an indestructible life.” He’s a different type of priest, “a priest forever,” because he lives forever “according to the order of Melchizedek.”
And when a priesthood is changed, “of necessity there takes place a change of law also” because they’re inseparably linked. Jesus’s law, unlike the “former commandment” characterized by “weakness and uselessness,” offers a “better hope, through which we we draw near to God.” The Levitical priesthood and its Mosaic Covenant couldn’t and didn’t solve our sin problem. The Melchizedekian priesthood and its New Covenant can and does.
Religiosity solves nothing. Morality doesn’t remove guilt. People can work to “be a good person,” live “a clean life,” and “stay on God’s good side” and still end up eternally separated from him. They can have Christian grandparents, praying friends, and a loving pastor and still end up in hell. Why? Because they’re depending on a deficient priesthood associated with a deficient law. Only Jesus, his priesthood and the covenant in his blood, make us perfect in God’s sight.
Melchizedek is greater than Levi and Jesus is a priest according to the order of Melchizedek. He was always needed, totally anticipated, necessarily different, and immeasurably greater.
US: LIBERATED IN JESUS
But what about us? Practically, what difference does this make for you and me? Well, what happens next is that the author shows how, because of his unique priesthood, believers are liberated in Jesus. We are free in Christ for at least five reasons.
First, we’re represented by an eternal advocate. As we saw (vv. 3, 8), the appearance of eternality in Melchizedek predicted the actual eternality of his priestly successor, Jesus Christ. [7:15–17] He’s forever.
[7:23–24] One Jewish historian wrote that eighty-three high priests held office from Aaron to the destruction of the temple in ad 70. They keep dying because they’re mortal men, un-glorified and under the curse of sin. Now, however, we have a permanent High Priest with an indestructible life, permanently advocating for us.
[7:25] We sin, he’s paid for it. We stray, he offers cleansing. We’re weak, he gives strength. We’re needy, he’s always there to help. We’re lonely, he grants access to God. We’re powerless, he has it all. We shrink back, he calls us forward. We regress, he empowers progress. Nothing you can do changes any of that. For those who have placed their faith in the person, work, and promise of Jesus Christ, we are represented by an eternal advocate, never to be without.
Secondly, we’re recipients of a better covenant. [7:20–22] Anyone here want to go back to the Old Covenant and the Mosaic Law? Me neither! Not only does it seems bloody and inconvenient, but it could never do what humanity needed it to do—remove sin.
So, a better covenant was promised. [Jer 31:31–34] Fast forward and God sends his Son into the world, a Son that willingly died for us. Tragic, no? But wait! In God’s incredible wisdom it was the spilling of the Son’s eternal blood that ratified that New Covenant, a covenant he would then mediate as its resurrected High Priest, not after Levi but after Melchizedek. Because of him, we have the law, not written on stone but on our hearts by the indwelling Spirit. We’re his people and our sins he remembers no more. What liberty!
Third, we’re freed from an insufficient law. [7:18–19] A better priesthood replaced a deficient priesthood. Likewise, a better Law replaced a deficient Law. [7:26–28]
Brothers and sisters, we are no more under the Mosaic Law than we are under the Levitical priesthood because the two go together. That was a yoke Israel could not bear and, praise God, we don’t have to. Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt 11:29–30).
Fourth, and related, we are empowered by a greater hope. [7:19, 25] Because of our High Priest, we can look forward, anticipating our future holiness, confident in our total forgiveness, and longing for our unhindered access to God’s presence. These are things that the Old Covenant, the Old Law, the Old Priesthood could not offer.
We don’t have to continually sacrifice because one sacrifice has been made for us. We don’t have to tremble at approaching the throne because our Advocate gives us perfect access, “always living to make intercession for us.” What great hope we have! Shouldn’t that empower us to obedience, service, and joy in freedom? We know what lays ahead because of Jesus.
Fifth, we are kept by a perfect Son. [7:26–27] A perfect high priest, perfectly representing us in God’s perfect presence, perfectly offered his perfect self as a perfect sacrifice for our many imperfections. And because of all of that perfection, we are perfectly kept in his perfect grasp. Like a home security system offers freedom for a family, so God’s security system offers freedom for his family.
Run With Liberty Toward Maturity!
One day I’ll learn how a car engine works, but today, I’ll settle for a deeper understanding of the Melchizedekian priesthood of my Lord, a priesthood far superior to that of Levi’s, and one that prompts thanksgiving and offers freedom. It’s because of the reality of Christ’s priesthood that you and I can run with liberty toward maturity!
That’s what Hebrews is about, after all: staying the course and growing up in Christ Jesus. And, because of our High Priest, we can do that with freedom. Brother, take your guilt and shame to your eternal advocate today and receive cleansing. Don’t run with it. Sister, relish the forgiveness of sin you have in the new covenant secured in his blood. Church, resist the faux-security of religious law-keeping and embrace the grace of perfect hope. Let’s be a church that runs with liberty toward maturity.
Josiah has served the Oakridge Bible Chapel family as one of its elders and one of its pastoral staff members since September 2018, before which he ministered as an associate pastor to a local congregation in the Canadian prairies. Josiah's desire is to be used by God to help equip the church for ministry, both while gathered (edification) and while scattered (evangelization). He is married to Patricia, and together they have five children—Jonah, Henry, Nathaniel, Josephine, and Benjamin.
