Hebrews 7

Bible study with Pastor Terry Gray

Hebrews 7
THE BETTER PRIESTHOOD

Genesis 14:18-20
This passage is the only passage describing Melchizedek. His name shows up again in Psalm 110. This was a Messianic psalm, given to David about the coming Messiah.

Hebrews 6:20
1000 years later, the author of Hebrews links the prophecy of Psalm 110 to Jesus!

Descendants of Abraham grew into the 12 Tribes of Israel. God commanded them to initiate a priesthood on the order of Levite or Aaron. All Israelite priests thus came from the Levite Tribe. Levitical priests received tithes from other Israelite tribes.

Aaron was the very first high priest. Thereafter, one high priest, from the Levite Tribe, would be chosen to minister for life, to be replaced by another elected high priest when the previous one passes.

For hundreds of years, Israelites followed the spiritual guidance of Levitical high priests. Thus, to devout Jews, there was nothing more sacred than the Levitical priesthood.

However, with the arrival of Jesus, the Levitical priesthood was abolished. Because of Jesus, there was no more need for a human priesthood, or animal sacrifices, or any of the rituals defined in the Book of Leviticus to be carried out in the Temple. Jesus replaced it all! Sadly, this was a very hard truth for the Israelites to perceive.

Remember that the audience of this letter were 1st century Jewish Christians who were severely persecuted by non-Christian and Jews who had just nailed Jesus to the Cross. It is not hard to imagine them conflicted: They were God's people who grew up on Levitical Laws, given to them by God. When Jesus came, many were witnesses of Jesus, and that's why they followed Him, embracing Jesus as THE Word of God. However, upon His resurrection, He ascended into Heaven, and now, all of a sudden, they are forced to face their adversaries based solely on their faith in Jesus.

The reality these Jewish Christians faced from then on can be confusing. What they knew was the Levitical Laws. Jesus taught them better, but now, Jesus was not with them, and persecutions awaited. To make things even more confusing, Temple worships led by the Levitical priesthood was still carried out back then. Their brains may have known that Jesus made the Law obsolete and meaningless, that those Temple worships had no real meaning, but when facing persecutions, it is very easy to fall back on what was once comfortable. And so, many Jewish Christians wanted to revert back to the rituals and tradition they had become accustomed to. They wanted to conform just to avoid persecution. However, as we learned in Hebrews 6, apostasy is not a viable solution.

In Hebrews 7, the author hammers home how Jesus is the better priest from a better priesthood.

Clearly, Melchizedek was a priest outside the circle of the Levitical priesthood. Melchizedek foreshadowed Jesus. He was both a King and Priest. Jesus was declared a king and priest in the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4). In the Old Testament, these two positions were separated. One cannot be both a king and a priest. Kings came from the line of Judah, whereas priest came from the line of Levites. This separation, however, did not apply to Melchizedek.

Melchizedek was a king of righteousness and of peace, and so is Jesus

Melchizedek = king of righteousness

King of Salem = king of peace

Melchizedek foreshadowed Jesus

Hebrews 7:3
Melchizedek was "without father or mother, without genealogy."

Some scholars believe this is saying that although he was a real person, there was no record of Melchizedek's

genealogy or who his parents were. They thus take that phrase to allegorically mean that he would live forever.

Other scholars believe Melchizedek was not "just" a man. He was divine. Scriptural passages about him suggest he was special. Some believe he was an appearance of Christ in the Old Testament.

Regardless of the theories, at the very least, Melchizedek foreshadowed Jesus.

In Genesis 14:18-20, Melchizedek welcomed Abraham with with bread and wine. Jesus also offered his disciples bread and wine. We partake communion with bread and wine in remembrance of Jesus. The bread and wine uniquely symbolize Jesus and are clues that suggest Melchizedek foreshadowed Jesus.

Melchizedek was greater than any Levite priest

Hebrews 7:4-5, 8-10
Abraham, father of Levites, tithed to Melchizedek. In so doing, so did the Levites! That is, the entire Levitical priesthood tithed to Melchizedek, because they tithed through Abraham!

Melchizedek was greater than the Levitical priesthood, and Jesus came from the order of Melchizedek. To the Jewish Christians who were having a tough time leaving the Levitical priesthood to follow Jesus, the author of Hebrews pointed out, using Old Testament scriptures, that Jesus was greater than the Levitical priesthood that they had been following.

Hebrews 7:6-7
Melchizedek blessed Abraham, not the other way around. Again this shows that Melchizedek is the greater order, because only the greater blesses the lesser.

Hebrews 7:11-12
"If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the law was given to the people), why was there still need for another priest to come--one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron?"


The Levitical priesthood and the Law were not good enough. If it were, why would it be prophesied that there would be a change in the priesthood, a change in the Law? The Law does not redeem but condemns. The Law merely points out how imperfect we are, and how impossible it is for us to fulfill it perfectly. The Law teaches us that only the blood of an innocent substitute can atone for our sins. Shedding the blood of innocent animals, a Levitical ritual, was not good enough because animals are not equal substitutes for humans. This was why this ritual needed to be done on a yearly basis. It was not a permanent solution. It was a horribly ineffective band-aid.

With the coming of Jesus, all the rules changed. As the perfect man, He was our perfect substitute. This is why Jesus is our permanent solution. This is why His blood is good enough to wash away our sins forever.

The Law itself does not redeem us. However, it teaches us that we are sinners and a perfect sacrifice must take our place to redeem us. The Law therefore points to Jesus, our savior who fulfills the Law perfectly and redeems us so that when we are in Jesus, we no longer stand under the Law.

Hebrews 7:13-14 The order and rules changed with Jesus. He was born of the tribe of Judah, a tribe that was NOT a tribe of priesthood, and yet He is a priest. The rules clearly have completely changed.

Hebrews 7:15-17
The Levitical priesthood was made based on flesh, on ancestry, on bloodline. When one Levitical priest dies, his duties are passed on to the next Levitical priest. Jesus, however, has eternal life. He therefore remains our High Priest forever.

The Law pointed to Jesus

Hebrews 7:18-28

The Law was abolished because it was weak and unprofitable. It could not make anyone perfect. It could not bring people into presence of God.

Jesus, however, can bring people into the presence of God.

Why then, if the Law does not fix anything, did God give it to the Jews? As explained above, the Law was a preparatory thing pointing to Jesus. The Law prepared us for the coming of the Messiah. The Law taught lessons and painted pictures that all point to the need of Christ.

Since the author of Hebrews kept hammering this message home, I believe it is important enough for me to repeat myself as well: All the Law does, and all it can do, is to prove to us that we are sinners and that there was no way we can ever live up to the perfect standards of God.

The Levitical priesthood was given to the Jews to teach them that they needed a mediator between them and God because sin separated them from God. (And the rest of the world would learn about God through the Jews, God's selected people. This is why it was so important for the Jews to stay true to the Word of God. But since they failed, the responsibility to produce fruit has been shifted to the Gentiles.)

The animal sacrifices taught the Jews that sin could only be atoned for through the blood of an innocent substitute. Jesus, the Lamb of God, came and provided the ultimate sacrifice: Himself.

All Old Testament laws point to Jesus. The Law couldn't save anybody. It couldn't make anyone perfect. It is like a mirror, reflecting and exposing our flaws to us so that we can see them. A mirror can't do anything else but reflect what is there. A mirror cannot fix the problem. This is why we all need Jesus. This is why the author of Hebrews earnestly told the Jewish Christians that once they have Jesus, there is no going back to the Law! Why in the world would anyone let go of the real thing for a cheap replica?

Jesus is our High Priest forever

Hebrews 7:20-22
Jesus was sworn in by God as a priest forever. No Levitical priest was sworn in by God, and no Levitical priest was a priest forever.

Hebrews 7:23-24
The Levitical priesthood has to be transferred from priest to priest because they were human, and their lives were numbered. This inevitably resulted in changes between offices. And as with all human affairs, this often led to more problems than solutions.

With Jesus, His priesthood is immutable and permanent because He does not die. His priesthood will never be transferred.

Jesus is our savior and perfect intercessor!


Hebrews 7:25
Jesus saves us and keeps us safe. Jesus intercedes for us! That is, when God looks at us, and if we have Jesus in us, God sees Jesus because Jesus hold us up on our behalf.

We pray for others, but we sometimes forget or get lazy about it. Jesus doesn't do that.

We pray for others, and we may not pray for the thing they really need. Jesus knows perfectly and prays for the things that best suit our needs.

Jesus is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens--He is a High Priest who meets our need!

Hebrews 7:26-28
See the supreme superiority of Jesus! Don't go back to the Law or to any old traditions or rituals! Keep our eyes on Jesus!