The Letter To The Hebrews
Jesus Saves Completely those Who Draw Near to Him
Hebrews 7:1-25a
Intro on myself
Good morning, Mercy Hill. My name is Ian. My wife, Maria, and I lead one of the home groups. This is my second time preaching.
Pray
Context
My aim this morning is to point you to what the scripture says, not to what I think. As such, it is vital that you have the words of the scripture in front of you so you can not only follow along, but also so you can see for yourself what God is saying. If you don’t have your own Bible this morning, please raise your hand and an usher will give one to use.
This morning we will be studying Hebrews 7:1 – 25a, which is found on page 1004 in the Bibles being handed out. This is a deep passage that will require your attention this morning. We don’t often talk about Melchizedek, but this is foundational. As I studied this passage and it became clearer to me that Jesus is our perfect high priest, my spirit was refreshed and my heart was renewed. I pray that the same happens for you.
Introduction
Let me start by briefly recapping what we have learned so far in Hebrews. Chapters 1 – 4 give us a stern warning to continue in obedience to Jesus lest we drift away from Him. Why? Because drifting away is the natural current of our hearts.
Chapters 4 – 5 go on to say that we have an appointed high priest who is sinless and can rightly stand before God, unlike the sinful high priests that came before Christ. It is Jesus, not our obedience, but Jesus that is “the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.”
At this point, the author of Hebrews wants to tell his readers more about Melchizedek, but stops the argument flow. “About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.” He then explains that to fight that dullness we must be eager to pursue good works in faith and patience until we do receive our inheritance.
This is where the author of Hebrews picks back up the argument flow to talk about Jesus being our high priest in the order of Melchizedek. He has been patiently building up to this critical truth and is eager for his readers to understand its importance to their faith. Let’s look at why a whole chapter in Hebrews is dedicated to this truth.
Who is Melchizedek? (7:1-3)
He is King of Righteousness, King of Peace, and Priest of God.
“For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. 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.”
Verses 1-3 refer back to Genesis 14. Here, Abraham rescues his nephew, Lot, from a band of raiding kings that came from Babylon and had just sacked multiple towns in the Jordan Valley. Upon Abraham’s return, he is greeted and blessed by a mysterious character, Melchizedek, who is king of a town called Salem – likely pre-Israel Jerusalem. Even though Abraham had just defeated several powerful kings that had authority over the territory, including Salem, Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils to Melchizedek.
But who is Melchizedek? The literal translation is “Melek” – king and “tsedeq” – righteousness; he is “king of righteousness”. But what is righteousness? Deuteronomy 9:5 describes righteousness as “uprightness of heart” and 1 Samuel 26:23 describes it as “faithfulness.” Melchizedek is a king that is upright, faithful, holy, perfect, and pure.
Secondly, he is also King of Salem. Salem is related to the Hebrew word “shalom”, which means peace. He is the King of Peace.
Thirdly, Melchizedek was a priest of the Most High God. Today, in 2013, the idea of a priest is generally quite foreign. It should be more familiar to us than it is. You see, we all need a priest to come to God. As Hebrews 5:1 says, “For every high priest … is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God.” All of us, if we were to stand before God today, on our own, would be condemned to eternal judgment and suffering. And rightly so. We have all chosen to willfully disobey God the Father. It is because of our high priest acting on our behalf, standing between us and God the Father that we are able to come to God. The priest intercedes for us who are not perfect so that we can stand before Him who is perfect. This story of Melchizedek is only several chapters into Genesis and God already has a high priest to intercede on behalf of the people. It is part of God’s plan.
This passage goes on to say in v3 that Melchizedek doesn’t have known parents or a known death. While there is plenty of speculation about who Melchizedek is, we can say that he “resembles”, points to or foreshadows Christ, who is the Son of God. And Jesus “continues a priest forever.”
Why did Abraham give tithes to Melchizedek? (7:4-10)
Because he was superior.
“See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! 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. But this man (Melchizedek) who does not have his descent from them (Levites) received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. It is beyond dispute that the inferior (Abraham) is blessed by the superior (Melchizedek). 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. One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.”
This passage compares the tithes paid to the Levites, or Jewish priests, to the tithe paid to Melchizedek. The Levites take a tithe, or 10% of the crops, from their brothers to support the temple services. The Levites are on equal footing with their brothers, since they are of the same descent - from Abraham. Melchizedek, though, is not descended from Abraham and yet received a tithe from Abraham. In fact, the author clearly lays out who has the higher rank: “the inferior (Abraham) is blessed by the superior (Melchizedek).” To further build on the superiority of Melchizedek, the author says in v9-10 that Levi, though not yet born, paid the tithe to Melchizedek through Abraham. Therefore, Melchizedek is superior to Abraham and Levi.
Comparison of priesthood (7:11-24)
The author of Hebrews continues the comparison of Levi to Melchizedek by telling us in versus 11-12 why the priesthood of Levi was inadequate. He says:
“Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.”
In short, he says the problem is that the Levitical priesthood cannot make us perfect.
The author goes on to describe in detail how Jesus, in the order of Melchizedek, is better than the Levitical priesthood and can make us perfect. Follow along with me:
- Verses 13-14 compare the tribe of Levi, which served at the temple altar, to the tribe of Judah, which never served at the altar
“For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord (Jesus) was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.” - Verses 15-17 describe how the basis for the Levitical order is physical, bodily lineage whereas Melchizedek is immortal life
“This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. For it is witnessed of him, ‘You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.’”
It is instructive to take a pause here to notice that the author of Hebrews quotes Ps 110:4. Here, David prophesizes many centuries before Jesus that there will be a new priest of the order of Melchizedek who will reign forever. Meaning, the old Levitical order would go away and someone else from the order of Melchizedek would rise. The author of Hebrews is not polling out a random verse from Genesis and making more out of it than he should. Psalm 110 tells us to look for a new priest in the order of Melchizedek who will reign eternally. Hebrews 7 says that priest is Jesus. - Verses 18-19 drive home the point how weak the law is because it made nothing perfect, but Jesus is a better hope because by Him we are credited perfection and can draw near to God.
“For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.”
Did you notice the strong language about the law - useless! The law showed us how we should behave, but it did not make perfect and therefore we could not stand before God. Jesus, as the perfect priest, mediates between us and God, and through Jesus’ perfection, we can draw near to God. Notice in v19 that the purpose of Christ’s work, our hope, is not material abundance or comfort in this life, but rather intimacy with God – we “draw near to God.” - Verses 20-22 go on to describe how the covenant of Jesus comes with an oath from God confirming Christ’s priesthood while the Levitical priesthood had no such oath.
“And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, but this one (Jesus) was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him: ‘The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever.’” This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.”
Notice again how Ps 110 is quoted. This is an important promise for us to hold on to in our life. Christ will reign forever. - Verses 23-24 finish out the detailed comparison highlighting the many priests who served in the Levitical priesthood until they died while Jesus is the one priest who serves permanently for all eternity.
“The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he (Jesus) holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.”
Why is this important to me? (7:25)
At this point, you are probably wondering why you should care about all these details comparing Melchizedek to Levi. I certainly did when I first read this passage. The answer is right there for us in verse 25. Look at that first word: consequently. Oh, how I love that word! It’s saying that because of all those details we just went through, that sets the foundation for something really good. Let’s see what that goodness is.
“Consequently, he (Jesus) is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him...”
The author of Hebrews is saying that because of who Jesus is, that he is (1) the king of righteousness and peace, and (2) superior to the Levitical priests because (3) he is able to make us perfect – because of who Jesus is, He can save us completely. Jesus is the only priest that can save completely, entirely, and to the full extent. He saves us from hell into an inheritance with Him.
Remember, the author of Hebrews spent the first four chapters of this book warning his readers about falling away from Christ. Why? Because there is a great risk of falling away, which includes us. Each of us runs the danger of falling away from Christ and rightfully deserving eternal punishment in hell. But, Christ is able to entirely save us. No amount of our performance is enough; we can rest in Jesus’ ability to fully save us from hell based on who he is as our high priest and his justifying death on the cross. It’s not that our works aren’t important – they are gravely serious. But, our obedience is not enough to make us perfect, which is why we go to Jesus as our perfect high priest.
Jesus can and will save you entirely if you draw near to Him. Notice that this is a conditional promise. Jesus does not save everyone. This is not unconditional grace for all. This is conditional grace for those that draw near. That’s why it’s important for us to draw near: humble, surrender, repent, submit, believe, trust, and rely on Christ.
This drawing near is regular activity, not a one-time event. This isn’t one and done; we come daily.
Nor is drawing near a superficial exterior action. It is not sufficient to merely show up at church, to open up the Bible, or turn on the Christian radio station. Drawing near means we come to church eager to meet with God, we read the scriptures intently to know not just about him but truly know him through his revealed word, and it means worshipping him with our full heart.
To clarify, this doesn’t mean we do it perfectly. On the contrary, we do it very much imperfectly. We draw near with lingering sin, bad attitudes, pain, hurt, frustrations, anger, and the like. In short, we come broken, but we come.
Notice that the drawing near is through Jesus. This is because Christ is our high priest who intercedes for us. It’s not our righteousness, it’s his. We are sinners saved by Jesus. The only reason God in his holiness will allow us to draw near is because we enter under the covering of our high priest who makes us holy.
Let this truth sink in as deep encouragement for your soul: Jesus “is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him.” Yes, we get incredibly discouraged, heart-broken, and frustrated with our indwelling sin. It feels hopeless. There is life changing and liberating hope! Jesus is able to save us completely. He will do it. We draw near and he saves.
On my own, I am a highly anxious person. I worry about making the right decisions, I stress about what people think of me, and I fear the unknown of the future. This is at its core a lack of trust in God and a desire to control my own destiny – or in other words, sin. I am daily, often times quite literately hourly, stepping aside from my day to lay down my rebellious heart to my high priest, Jesus, and asking him to subdue me. I draw near to him and surrender my anxiety to him. And Jesus clothes me in righteousness – daily.
Application
Four implications for us today:
(1) Ask God to draw you. You may not have the strength to come, but ask Him for the strength to come in submission to Him. “I don’t desire you, but I want to desire you.”
(2) Daily come to Him. Don’t wait for times when you feel good; come to Him broken, messed-up, arrogant, bitter, frustrated, prideful, and angry. Come to come in prayer and intently reading the scriptures. He will meet you. And lay your sinful feelings at His feet in prayer; humble and submit yourself.
(3) Thank God for your perfect high priest, Jesus. Let your heart be stirred to feelings of thankfulness and deep affections of gratitude for what He has done.
(4) Trust Jesus completely. As Hebrews 10:22 says “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.” Jesus can save you to the uttermost: yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Believe, trust, and rely on Christ daily.
What prevents you from drawing near to him? What is the Lord asking you to do? Do it. Don’t let it pass. Draw near to Him and He will utterly redeem you.
If you need prayer this morning, come up front and we will have people available to pray for you. We will keep all prayers confidential.
Pray