Part 10, Maintaining The Course of Faith, Hebrews 7
What does it mean to hold tightly on Him? It means that we have a fundamental choice between the world and God. One cannot make God the priority if we cling tight to this world. We need to realize we need Jesus every day, to have a conscious connection with our Father in heaven. And that’s the role of Jesus as our High Priest. He gets us non-stop connection to His Father. And it’s good to note here, that Jesus entered heaven very different than he first came to earth. He was purely divine before he entered our world. And when he ascended to heaven, he gained another nature - man. And thus, Jesus is the Man from eternity who serves us our high priest. Let me give you some assertions to His priesthood.
1. He holds the greatest titles of all time.
“This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, 2 and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” 3 Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever. 4 Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder!” Hebrews 7:1-4
· Melchizedek’s dual role as king and high priest, is a metaphor to Jesus’ high priesthood ministry.
· The Greek word for resemble (aphomoioo) literally means “made to be like”.
· Chapter 7 points to the superiority of Melchizedek to Abraham and the Levitical Priesthood.
· The Old Testament separates the line between kings and priests, but Melchizedek held them together.
· He served way ahead of the establishment of the Levitical priesthood, and thus, greater than it.
· The old priesthood system was a big thing in Israel, as it identified them as God’s people and defined their way of living.
· Abraham gave his tithe to Melchizedek, as an acknowledgement that Melchizedek is God’s representative on earth, a metaphor for Jesus’ eternal ministry.
· The Bible holds no record of Melchizedek’s genealogy, which points to the eternality of Jesus.
2. His “indestructible life” guarantees arrival at our destiny.
“15 And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears,16 one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. 17 For it is declared: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” 18 The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless 19 (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.
· The greatness of Christ’s priesthood brought so much encouragement to the Hebrew Christians who made the decision to hold tight on Jesus.
· In Jesus, they have a better hope of accessing God and have more freedom from religious activities.
· Compared with the old system wherein they have to perform many ceremonies before they can have limited access to God, Jesus is way better.
· It was said to be around 84 high priests, and of course the lesser priests’ number were even larger. In other words, all of them died and ended their priestly duties but Jesus priestly ministry has no end.
· Jesus ended the sacrificial ceremonies on the cross so that all believers may come before God’s presence.
3. His eternal priesthood grants us continual access to God.
26 Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.”
· Humans were designed to connect to the divine.
· Jesus made the access of God available, not just during religious activities, but for all times.
· Access to God begins with Jesus.
· Jews, Gentiles, men, women, slaves, or masters, who trusted in Jesus, can now enter, not the physical temple, but the heavenly temple, which is more secure and eternal.
Comentarios