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"And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him: 'The LORD has sworn and will not relent: 'You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek' ')."
(Hebrews 7:20-21)
Today and the rest of the week, we will turn our focus to Jesus. So many in our country are still stunned, shocked, and saddened by Charlie Kirk's murder. But we must press on in Jesus' name and be faithful to our King and High Priest, Jesus Christ! So, join me in this journey of Christology as we look at how awesome Jesus is.
Hebrews is a wonderful Book that teaches about the supremacy of Christ; He is indeed unique and above all others. Jesus came to provide a better way or new covenant. He saves by His death on the cross, and He as our High Priest saves completely, to the uttermost, and He lives to intercede for us His children.
The oath that God pronounced over His Son, Jesus, is recorded for us in Psalm 110:4, quoted verbatim in Hebrews 7:21. The Levitical priesthood, however, did not have this divine oath proclaimed over them. Notice Jesus is a priest forever, this speaks to us of God's unchanging commitment to Jesus' priesthood. This is the new and better covenant that the writer of Hebrews says has come. Christ's priesthood, unlike the Levitical one, will not be replaced or supplanted because it is God's pronouncement and His doing. It is permanent!
Jesus' priesthood resembles and is linked with this Old Testament figure named Melchizedek. Jesus' priestly order is born out of God's sovereign purposes, order, and nature. "Like Melchizedek, Jesus did not take the honor of priest upon himself; he was sovereignly appointed. And in his appointment and service as high priest, he was exalted above all others." (Source: Mohler, R. A., Jr. (2017). Exalting Jesus in Hebrews (p. 74). Holman Reference)
An interesting biblical figure is Melchizedek, whose name means righteous king. He was the king of Salem, modern day Jerusalem, and also a priest. He came to Abram after he defeated the 5 pagan kings in Genesis 14:18-19, and he blessed Abram. Then Abram gave him a tithe of all he had obtained. He is a mysterious figure. Some say he is a type of Christ, meaning, he resembles Jesus Christ, like when Scripture says of Melchizedek in Hebrews 7:3: "Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually." Others argue that he is actually the preincarnate Christ. I lean toward the former interpretation, that he is a type of Christ, or someone resembling Jesus and points us to Him.
Tomorrow we will continue in Hebrews 7 and discuss how Jesus is better!
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