The Melchizedek Problem
Hebrews 7:1-10
August 30, 2015
Well I hope this morning you came ready to eat a little meat.
If you will remember a little over a month ago
The writer approached the subject of Christ being a great high priest.
He said:
Hebrews 5:9-10 “And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.”
The writer had been starting to explain how Jesus
Was far superior in His priesthood to anything the Jews had ever known.
And his argument was this:
Jesus is greater because He’s not a priest like Aaron,
He’s a priest like Melchizedek.
But after making that statement the writer paused for over a chapter.
He introduced Melchizedek but did not immediately explain his reasoning.
Do you remember the reason?
Hebrews 5:11-12 “Concerning him 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 have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.”
Very simply put the conversation about Melchizedek is “meat”
That it is to say, it is truth designed for the mature.
It is truth designed for discerning people who discern truth.
So, I hope you came ready for meat,
Because with the parenthetical section behind him,
The writer is now ready to return to the subject of Melchizedek.
It is a subject of such importance
That the writer refused to enter it casually or carelessly.
He was not about to give you this truth until he was certain you were ready to hear it.
In fact, this truth (this picture) is his main point.
Hebrews 7 is the climax of the book.
One key to effective Bible study is to identify the author’s inspiration.
(that one thing that inspired him to write)
And the inspiration to Hebrews is clearly Melchizedek.
It’s not hard to imagine the writer of Hebrews preaching his heart out
Trying to show these Jews that Jesus is worth it all,
And yet feeling as though he is getting nowhere.
And then one day he’s just reading through the Old Testament
And he comes across Psalms 110:4
Psalms 110:4 “The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
And as he reads that verse – BOOM!!! – it hits him like a ton of bricks.
In his mind that verse proves the supremacy of Jesus
Over Judaism like no other point he has ever preached.
And so he wants you to get it.
Psalms 110:4 crushes Judaism in favor of Jesus.
Of course the writer already focused on the oath part of that verse.
We saw that last week.
NOW the writer wants to show you
Why it is such an amazing promise.
But before you and I can really jump into chapter 7,
We have to level the playing field.
See, you aren’t Jewish
You didn’t grow up in Judaism
You probably aren’t familiar with all the subtleties
So I need bring you up to speed.
There is no doubt one aspect of Judaism was valued over every other.
One aspect of Judaism was more important than any other aspect.
And that was the priesthood
WHY?
Because the priesthood was your security.
The priesthood was your safety net. (your assurance)
Oh sure the Jews held the Law in high esteem.
• We hear them making reference to Moses and the Law all the time.
• They understood that the Law was God’s word, God’s standard, and they understood that it was important.
But I’ll tell you what else they understood;
It was impossible to keep it.
It didn’t take them very long at all to realize that
NO ONE COULD OBEY THE WHOLE LAW.
And that spelled disaster for the Jews.
Especially when they read verses from the Law like this:
Deuteronomy 28:15-19 “But it shall come about, if you do not obey the LORD your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: “Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country. “Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. “Cursed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock. “Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.”
And I hope you noticed that one little word in the middle of that text
That carries so much weight.
It is the word “all”
You must obey “all His commandments”
Any slip up regarding any command at any point in your life
Puts you on the wrong side of the holiness of God
And marks you as one deserving of God’s curse.
That is the harsh reality of the Law.
So yes the Jews did love and revere it,
But they all knew that no one could keep it.
In short, they all knew they were in trouble.
BUT THEY WEREN’T WITHOUT A SOLUTION.
God gave a command, and then they broke it, thus incurring God’s wrath.
What would they do?
They would go to the priest.
The priest would then take their sacrifice and present it to God
As a means of propitiation and atonement.
And at that moment the sinning Jew
Would once again be square with the house.
That means that Judaism rises and falls with the priesthood.
The priesthood was hands down
The most important aspect of their religion.
YOU HAVE TO REALIZE THAT.
And because the priesthood was so important,
The people were quite serious about who they would allow to be a priest.
And if you read the Old Testament you learn a few basics about the priesthood that it is important you understand.
(In fact, some of these basics were also the reason that
The people were not willing to accept Jesus as a priest)
1) THE SERVICE OF A PRIEST
Numbers 8:19 “I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the sons of Israel, to perform the service of the sons of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement on behalf of the sons of Israel, so that there will be no plague among the sons of Israel by their coming near to the sanctuary.”
Hopefully you remember that the priest’s role
Was to serve before God on behalf of man.
It was their job to take the sacrifice to God.
You should also know that every priest served in a temporary capacity.
Numbers 8:24-25 “This is what applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall enter to perform service in the work of the tent of meeting. “But at the age of fifty years they shall retire from service in the work and not work any more.”
No priest served for more than 25 years.
It was a temporary service.
2) THE SELECTION OF A PRIEST
Numbers 8:14-16 “Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the sons of Israel, and the Levites shall be Mine. “Then after that the Levites may go in to serve the tent of meeting. But you shall cleanse them and present them as a wave offering; for they are wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself instead of every first issue of the womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel.”
Very simply put nothing mattered as much as pedigree.
In the New Testament we can read 1 Timothy 3 or Titus 1 and see that the people who lead the church must fit character based qualifications.
But in Judaism, character wasn’t even considered.
Only one thing mattered, and that was your pedigree.
You had to be from the tribe of Levi to be eligible.
Ezra 2:61-63 “Of the sons of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and he was called by their name. These searched among their ancestral registration, but they could not be located; therefore they were considered unclean and excluded from the priesthood. The governor said to them that they should not eat from the most holy things until a priest stood up with Urim and Thummim.”
It wasn’t about their character, it was about their lineage.
(since Christ was from the tribe of Judah
You can see why some Jews would have difficulty accepting Him as a priest)
Another important thing:
3) THE SALARY OF A PRIEST
Numbers 18:20-21 “Then the LORD said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land nor own any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the sons of Israel. “To the sons of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they perform, the service of the tent of meeting.”
Priests were given no portion in the Promised Land.
Their salary, their reward was the tithe of the people.
God’s command was that the priest received 10% of your income,
And he performed his work by atoning for you before God.
Now those are just some basics about the priesthood
That you need to understand.
That is a good way to actually sum up the priesthood according to the order of Aaron.
• It was pedigree based
• It was temporary (both in tenure and effect)
• It was rewarded with a tithe
All Israel understood this.
And all of these realities had served as evidence
As to why they didn’t think they needed Jesus.
They wouldn’t come to Jesus because He wasn’t a Levite.
And furthermore they didn’t think they had to.
They already had a priest.
And you can sort of imagine the preacher’s frustration.
Every time he tried to push them to Jesus, they just stood behind those verses in Numbers and used them as an excuse to reject Jesus.
They were stubborn about it.
They were dug in.
They had an iron-clad argument and wouldn’t budge.
Well, on the day that the writer read Psalms 110:4,
He realized THE HAMMER that would break down their argument.
That hammer would be “The Melchizedek Problem”
Melchizedek (and particularly Psalms 110:4)
Poses a major problem for anyone
Who wants to stay in Judaism with that old priestly system.
Now first, let’s look at Melchizedek
And then I show you why he is such a problem for Judaism.
Three points
#1 HIS SERVICE
Hebrews 7:1-2a
“For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils,”
Very simply here the writer reminds you about the only appearance
That Melchizedek every made in the Bible.
(You might remember this from our study of Genesis 14)
• Abraham and Lot had moved into Canaan,
• They had parted company because the land couldn’t support them both.
• Lot moved close to Sodom, Abraham moved toward Hebron.
• A war arose in Sodom and the short version is that Lot was kidnapped.
• Abraham took his men and went and rescued Lot, defeating his kidnappers and also taking the spoil.
This was actually a pivotal moment for Abraham
Because we were going to find out what Abraham’s truest desire was.
Would he want to keep the money or would he want to trust God?
• When Abraham returned we are introduced to Melchizedek
• He is both a priest and a king and he blesses Abraham.
• Abraham then in turn pays a tithe to Melchizedek.
Genesis 14:17-20 “Then after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” He gave him a tenth of all.”
And that is the only time Melchizedek shows up in the Bible.
It is one little exchange.
• We don’t know where he come from.
• We don’t know where he went.
• He just shows up, blesses Abraham, receives a tithe, and disappears from the pages of Scripture.
And we really wouldn’t ever concern ourselves with him again
Were it not for Psalms 110:4.
Psalms 110:4 “The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
The Psalmist (under inspiration of the Holy Spirit)
Recognized something in Melchizedek and wrote about him.
And that makes Melchizedek very important to understand.
So you see his service.
#2 HIS SPECIFICS
Hebrews 7:2b-3
Now in looking at that verse and a half we actually see three specifics about Melchizedek that we need to grasp.
1) HIS TITLE (2b)
We already saw that he was
“king of Salem” and “priest of the Most High God”
But here we learn a little more.
He “was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace.”
There are a couple of very important things there.
One is that Melchizedek was both a king and a priest.
And incidentally, this never happened in Israel.
• You could read about Saul being rejected by God for offering a sacrifice.
• You could read about Uzziah being turned into a leper for trying to offer sacrifices.
It just wasn’t permitted.
Kings couldn’t be priests.
And yet Melchizedek was both.
We also learn of his character because of the translation of his name.
He was “king of righteousness” and “king of peace”
So Melchizedek was the righteous and peaceful king
Who also served as priest.
That’s his character and his service.
Another specific we see:
2) HIS TRIBE (3a)
“Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life,”
So what tribe was Melchizedek from?
– we don’t know
We have absolutely no clue about his pedigree at all.
And incidentally
The phrase “having neither beginning of days nor end of life”
Does not mean that he was eternal,
It simply means we don’t know anything about it.
From a knowledge or historical standpoint,
We don’t have a clue where he came from, or where he went.
No one does.
So we see his character which was good
And we see his pedigree which was unknown.
3) HIS TENURE (3b)
“but make like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually.”
Now here the writer actually gives you his first clue
As to where he is headed.
He is making a comparison isn’t he?
Who is he comparing Melchizedek to?
– Jesus
(Melchizedek was a “type” of Jesus – which we’ll get into later in Hebrews)
And the main similarity he wants to make
Between Jesus and Melchizedek is that
“he remains a priest perpetually”
Since we don’t know where Melchizedek came from or where he went,
Or when he started as priest or when he ended.
All we can assume is that Melchizedek was always a priest.
He never retired.
He was never bumped out of office.
He never quit.
He just stayed a priest forever.
And the writer is clear that Jesus is a priest like Melchizedek is a priest.
Jesus served based on character not pedigree.
Jesus served as both king and priest
Jesus served permanently, not temporarily.
Everyone can see that.
• Jesus is clearly not a priest like Aaron.
• Jesus is a priest like Melchizedek.
Now, every Jew would willingly consent to that point.
There’s nothing controversial going on there.
They would have had no problem with the comparison.
They would just say, “Sure Jesus is like Melchizedek, but the Law clearly states that our priests have to come from Levi.”
“So regardless of what kind of priest Jesus is,
He still can’t be our priest because He’s not from the tribe of Levi.”
Well, that leads to the writer’s third point about Melchizedek.
His Service, His Specifics
#3 HIS SUPERIORITY
Hebrews 7:4-10
Here the writer wants you to understand something about Melchizedek
1) WHAT HE RECEIVED (4)
“Now observe how great this man was to whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth of the choicest spoils.”
Very simply, what did Melchizedek receive?
“a tenth of the choicest spoils.”
What is the point?
Well, whatever Melchizedek did for Abraham,
Abraham thought it was worth paying a tithe. (And a tithe of the best)
Why does that matter?
2) WHY HE RECEIVED IT (5-8)
Now when you read those verses, let me ask you a question.
Why did the Jews pay tithes to their priests?
Answer: They were commanded to.
“those indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest’s office have commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people.”
• It didn’t matter if they were good or bad.
• It didn’t matter if they were effective or ineffective.
• It didn’t matter if they were faithful or unfaithful.
You had to pay them because God commanded it.
But why did Abraham pay Melchizedek?
It certainly wasn’t commanded.
The answer is because Melchizedek was greater than Abraham.
(6-7) “But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises. But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater.”
You understand the natural order of things.
The greater blesses the lesser.
So if Melchizedek blessed Abraham, who is greater?
– Melchizedek
And who is lesser?
– Abraham
And since Melchizedek was greater than Abraham, what did Abraham do?
He paid him a tithe.
So if you’re keeping score we have now learned two things.
One is that Abraham paid a tithe to Melchizedek.
The other is that he did so because Melchizedek was greater.
One more point here
What He Received, Why He Received it
3) WHO HE RECEIVED IT FROM (9-10)
Now of course we know it was Abraham,
But the writer wants to extend your thinking a little.
When Abraham gave that tithe to Melchizedek,
It wasn’t just Abraham who did it.
Who was it?
All of Israel.
(9-10) “And, so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.”
Since all Jews came from Abraham,
Then all Jews through Abraham paid a tithe to Melchizedek.
This is some of that “meat” stuff we were talking about.
(It’s like in Romans 5 were Paul said we all sinned “in Adam”)
One of the great grandsons of Abraham was Levi, the father of the priests.
That means (according to this writer) that
If Melchizedek is greater than Abraham, then he is also greater than who?
-Levi
And if Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, who else paid tithes?
-Levi
Do you know what that makes Melchizedek?
The priest of the priests.
So let me ask you, who is superior the priest or the priest’s priest?
You get the answer and hopefully you get the point.
• Melchizedek is a priest based on character not pedigree.
• Melchizedek is a priest who is also a king.
• Melchizedek is a priest who never leaves office.
• Melchizedek is a priest superior to every Jewish priest who ever lived.
And Jesus is a priest like Melchizedek.
Is everybody with me up to that point?
BUT PREACHER YOU SAID THAT MELCHIZEDEK WAS THE PROBLEM
FOR ANYONE WHO WANTED TO STAY IN JUDAISM.
Well look, he may have been a better priest,
But it still doesn’t change the fact that he wasn’t a Levite,
Or that God clearly said that a priest could only serve 25 years.
He may have been a better priest,
But he would have not been able to be a priest in Israel
Because he wasn’t a Levite and he was also a king.
So Jesus may have been a priest like Melchizedek,
But that still doesn’t qualify Him to be our priest.
Can you follow that line of thinking?
“Good, bad, or otherwise, we still aren’t following Jesus. God said our priest couldn’t be a king, had to be a Levite, and could only serve for 25 years.”
Sounds like a solid argument doesn’t it?
HERE IS THE HAMMER THAT CRACKS THAT ARGUMENT.
Look at verse 11.
Hebrews 7:11 “Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron?”
Listen to what he just said.
“if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood”
That is to say,
• If God was so pleased with the Levitical priesthood…
• If God was so willing to accept their service…
• If those priests could make you perfect before God…
“what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron?”
Did you catch that?
If God was so happy and content with the Levitical priesthood,
Then why did God abandon it to
Appoint a priest according to Melchizedek?
Because in Psalms 110:4 that is clearly what God did.
Psalms 110:4 “The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
See, all along the Jews tried to stick with their Levitical priest
Under the belief that God only accepted the Levites.
(after all, if God won’t accept your priest, he doesn’t do you much good)
So if God only accepted Levites,
Then it is pointless to have any other priest.
But obviously that is not the case.
• Years after the Law was established.
• After many years of service from the Levites.
• After many years of failure and disobedience.
In Psalms 110:4 God ordained that He was going a different a direction.
• No more Levites, they aren’t working.
• No more priests based on pedigree.
• No more priests who only serve temporarily
It’s time My people have an effective priest, so I’m appointing a new one.
• I’m appointing one that is priest based on His righteousness.
• I’m appointing one that is priest based on His ability to bring peace.
• I’m appointing one that is priest who will also rule as king.
• I’m appointing one that is priest who will be priest forever.
My new and better priest will not be like Aaron.
If you need an example, My priest will be like Melchizedek.
Do you see the point?
As long as God was appointing Levites as priest,
Then you’d for sure better use a Levite.
But if God Himself changes direction and determines that now
He will no longer use Levites but will instead use a priest like Melchizedek,
WHAT HAD YOU BETTER DO?
You had better find the priest like Melchizedek
So that you are using the priest God will accept.
And if you will recall we already said that
No one has any problem recognizing that Jesus is that priest.
• Jesus is righteous
• Jesus is brings peace
• Jesus rules as King
• Jesus is priest forever
But even more than that, Jesus is the only priest that God will accept.
Are you getting the point?
• This writer is not trying to get you to add Jesus to your list of acceptable priests.
• This writer is telling you that if you have any other priest than Jesus, God won’t accept him.
And that was the hammer blow that cracks the Jewish argument.
God has selected a new priest,
And if you try to use anyone but Him,
You will not be accepted.
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”
FRIENDS, IT IS ONLY JESUS.
Now, the writer is just getting started on the Melchizedek argument, and there is much more to learn.
But for now you need to know in Psalms 110
God made a decision
And that was to fire the Levites and appoint a new priest.
And remember that “the Lord has sworn and will not change His mind”
That priest is Jesus and without Him,
There will be no forgiveness before God.
