Jesus Christ, Our High Priest

I spent some time here this last week going through at least a portion of the book of Hebrews. To me, Hebrews is quite a remarkable book, and it's quite fascinating because it's a book of contrasts. Hebrews contrasts many elements of the Old Covenant system alongside elements of the New Covenant. So you read through Hebrews and you understand what it was that God set up as a type, and then what it was then that he is established as the greater spiritual fulfillment of that type. Hebrews takes the physical sacrificial system in which there were bulls and goats and animals which were offered under various sacrifices, and they show how now Jesus Christ under the New Covenant is the sacrifice for sin.

He is the complete sacrifice. He is the perfect sacrifice. Hebrews contrasts the mediator of the Old Covenant, which was Moses at Sinai with Jesus Christ, the mediator of the New Covenant. It also explores the topic of Jesus Christ as the high priest of the New Covenant. What I'd like to do today, brethren, is basically walk through a portion of the book of Hebrews and look at what it says about the high priesthood of Jesus Christ, how it compares to the Old Covenant system, what it is that God is fulfilling through the priesthood of Jesus Christ, and what it means to us as God's people today to have such a high priest who is seated at the right hand of God.

Again, that is Jesus Christ. So today, what we're going to do, this is going to be a little more of a Bible study, I would say. We're going to go through, in complete fashion, Hebrews chapters 7, 8, and 9. And we're going to take a couple of detours along the way as well, but it's more of a Bible study of these three chapters, and I want to walk through what it expresses in terms of Jesus Christ as our high priest.

Under the terms of the Old Covenant system, the office of the high priest was held by a physical individual. Aaron of the tribe of Levi was the first high priest, and that line of high priests then followed down through his family lineage as that went forward. And the book of Leviticus gives a number of details showing the high priest's responsibilities under the Old Covenant, how they functioned, and what it was that God gave them to do in terms of the duties that they were to fulfill.

Now, the high priest's responsibilities included overseeing all the other subordinate priests and their responsibilities. As the high priest, he was a major figure in the religious system of the day, at least in terms of teaching the people and helping to guide and direct and point them to God. The high priest oversaw the function of the tabernacle in the wilderness and later the temple of God that was built. They worked there to offer up sacrifices to oversee the duties and the responsibilities that took place at the house of God.

The high priest, again, as I said, offered sacrifices on behalf of the sins of the people, but you see, because he was a physical human being as well, he was flawed. He also had to offer sacrifice on behalf of himself as well. So we'll see some of these things as we walk through Hebrews and come to understand the difference between the high priestly line of Aaron and the high priesthood of Jesus Christ.

Most notably, once a year and on the day of atonement, and it's a process that we often read through on the day of atonement ourselves, the high priest would enter through the veil. The tabernacle, later the temple, was divided into two rooms. You had the holy place, you had the veil, and then behind the veil was another room, which was the holy of holies, where God's presence dwelled.

And the high priest, once a year, went behind the veil, through the veil, into the holy holies, to offer sacrifice on behalf of himself and the people. And that was a function that only the high priest could conduct. Nobody else could fulfill that responsibility. High priest alone, not without blood, no other day but the day of atonement.

Hebrews covers the detail of the superiority of Jesus Christ's high priesthood and why his sacrifice was so much of a better sacrifice, and why his priesthood is so much more of a complete and a superior priesthood than that of the line of Aaron. It shows us that he is the high priest, now exalted as the Son of God, sitting at the right hand of God, making intercession on behalf of the people of God. And as the Messiah, as the mediator of the new covenant, he is uniquely qualified to fulfill that position.

So that's sort of an overview of what we'll look at today as we walk through these chapters of Hebrews. So I'm going to begin in Hebrews chapter 8, actually. We'll jump into the middle of the string of three chapters and kind of work our way out. Hebrews chapter 8, it's a chapter basically covering the superiority of the priesthood of Jesus Christ.

Hebrews chapter 8, verse 1, the author of Hebrews is thought to perhaps be the apostle Paul, although the author is not named within the book. The Hebrews 8, verse 1, it says, now this is the main point of the things we are saying. So up to this point, he's been building up, walking through the priesthood of Jesus Christ and the importance of it. He says, now this is the main point of what we're saying. We have such a high priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens. So to begin with, the high priest that you and I have serving on our behalf is not a physical being with limitations as such. The physical high priesthood were fallible. They were physical.

They were subject to sin. They were subject to their own hang-ups and difficulties and pulls of the flesh that perhaps they stumbled over into sin. The high priest that we have sitting at the right hand of God is different than that. Verse 2, it says, a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected and not men. So what is the true sanctuary? What's that tabernacle that the Lord erected?

Well, you recall under the Old Covenant and in the Old Testament, there was a physical tabernacle that was erected that the priesthood served at, conducted its duties with, and that was made with hands. He ministered at the physical tabernacle. He offered physical animal sacrifices day by day and year by year. And so those were physical structures. But now Jesus Christ as our high priest ministers to a spiritual tabernacle. What is that tabernacle?

That is a church. It's a church of God. The church now takes precedence over the physical structure as the temple of God. We recall Jesus Christ said, I will build my church and the gates of the grave will not prevail against it. That's Matthew 16, verse 18. And so the church of God is the body of Jesus Christ, and it's the sanctuary. It is the tabernacle, the spiritual tabernacle, over which Jesus Christ as high priest ministers.

That's what this is saying. Verse 3, it says, for every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore, it is necessary that this one, Christ, also have something to offer. For if he were on earth, he would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law. And so the earthly priests functioned according to the words of the law. And what we're going to see as we walk through Hebrews is the law is addressed, and certain elements of the law that are changed or done away with. And what we need to understand, the law that is being referenced, is the law pertaining to the priesthood. So there was a physical priesthood that functioned according to the law, which meant priesthood had to be of the tribe of Levi. High priest, according to the law, was from the tribe of Aaron, line of Aaron. The high priest had to offer the sacrifice, specific sacrifices for specific offenses in specific ways. Again, those were elements of the law under that Old Covenant and priestly system. These things have changed under the high priest of Jesus Christ. Verse 5, it says, who, being the priest of the Old Covenant, serve the copy and the shadow of the heavenly things. As Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle, for he said, See that you make all things according to the pattern shown to you on the mountain. And so it's saying that the physical tabernacle, the design, the way it was laid out, that veil and the holy of holies behind it, and the items that were in the holy of holies, the caribim that were behind the curtain, that were embroidered even on the curtain. All this design that was put into it, given by God, was a reflection and it was a type of a heavenly reality. It was a type of God's throne here on earth. And the instruction was, you make these things specifically and according to this manner. Verse 6, it says, But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as he is also mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. So the new covenant is called a better covenant. It's called better promises that it's established on. Better promises because eternal life in the kingdom of God as members and sons and daughters of the family of God was not a promise under the old covenant.

That's something that was established under the new through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. God's Holy Spirit was not poured out en masse on his faithful people, all right, under the old covenant. That was not a promise of the old covenant. It was a promise of the new, of which you would have a new heart and a new mind, of God dwelling in us. And so the new covenant had a better mediator, a better high priest, better promises. It was a better covenant. Again, Jesus Christ presiding as mediator over that covenant. Verse 7, it says, for if the first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. But finding fault with them, and here's the issue, the problem wasn't the covenant.

It wasn't like it was such a terrible covenant that nobody could possibly obey it. The fault was with the people, not with the covenant, but God did then institute a change. Verse 8 says, Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Not according to the covenant I made with their fathers on the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord.

He says, For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, after those days, says the Lord, I will put my laws into their mind, I will write them on their hearts, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none of them his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest.

For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds, I will remember no more. And so the ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy, at least for the vast majority of mankind, and the nation of Israel, is yet future. But brethren, it has been fulfilled today in the church. Those who God has called out of the world, who have responded to him through repentance and baptism, and God has given them the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we are under this covenant today, is the covenant of the new covenant, which you and I live under today, Jesus Christ, as our high priest.

Verse 13, in that he says, a new covenant, he has made the first obsolete, now what is becoming obsolete is old, and is ready to vanish away. And so basically, Hebrews chapter 8 describes superior, in terms of the covenant, superior priesthood of that covenant, the superior mediator of that covenant, and frankly, the superior blessings for those who would respond and come under the blood of the sacrifice. Truly blessing to have this book laid out for us that so succinctly, as we'll see, lays out what it was that was done under the old, and what it foreshadowed, and what it was a type of, ultimately fulfilled in the reality of Jesus Christ.

Now the priestly line of Aaron could never claim such things. There was a promise of sin to the degree that we have under Jesus Christ. There was ceremonial cleansing. There was ceremonial rituals that were conducted that would bring about purity and cleansing, and being right in the eyes of God. But under Jesus Christ, it was a more complete and a more fulfilling sacrifice, and it was a true sacrifice. Those things pointed out in that way. Now Hebrews chapter 9 shows a direct contrast in the function of these two high priests between the Old Covenant and the New.

So Hebrews chapter 9 beginning in verse 1, it says, Then indeed even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary. For a tabernacle was prepared, the first part in which was the lampstand, the table, the shortbread, which is called the sanctuary, and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle, which is called the holiest of all, which had the golden censer, the Ark of the Covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the Covenant.

Verse 5, and above it were the caribim of glory, overshadowing the mercy seat of these things we cannot now speak in detail. It says, Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services, but into the second part, the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the people's sins committed in ignorance.

So Leviticus walks through, and it shows how this function was completed by the high priest, again once a year on the Day of Atonement, and we often go and read those passages on the Day of Atonement. We're actually going to go look at it today as well, so keep your finger here in Hebrews 9.

We'll be coming back, but let's go to Leviticus chapter 16. We want to see the Old Covenant fulfillment to this, if you will, and then come back to Hebrews and see the fulfillment that is today through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Leviticus chapter 16. We'll pick it up in verse 1.

Leviticus 16.1. Now the Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered profane fire before the Lord and died. Recall Aaron's sons, Nate, Ab and Abihu, came in before God in terms of service at the tabernacle, and they did not fulfill their service in the prescribed manner, and God killed them. God said, this is a holy service you're conducting, and it needs to be done according to my instructions exactly. Verse 2, it says, And the Lord said to Moses, Tell your brother, Aaron, not to come at just any time into the holy place inside the veil before the mercy seat, which is on the ark, lest he die, for I will appear in a cloud above the mercy seat. He says, And thus Aaron shall come into the holy place with the blood of a young bull, as a sin offering, and of a ram, as a burnt offering, and he shall put on the holy linen, the tunic, and the linen trousers on his body. He shall be girded with the linen sash, and with the linen turban he shall be attired. It says, These are holy garments. Therefore he shall wash his body in water, and he shall put them on. And so clearly, the high priest couldn't just wander in to the presence of God any time he desired to in any old manner that seemed fine to him. God had a specific standard that needed to be adhered to if he is going to come into his presence at the prescribed time. All the ceremonial washings, all the garments, the white garments, the garments and the tunic, all these things were symbolic. The washings, the cleansings, they were all symbolic of being purified and holy and righteous, because now this high priest was going to come into the presence of a holy God. So this is what he had to walk through, Aaron, before he conducted this service. Verse 5, And he shall take from the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats as a sin offering, one ram as a burnt offering, and Aaron should offer the bowl as a sin offering, which is for himself. And he shall make atonement for himself and for his house. And so Aaron himself was a flawed and a sinful human being. In the course of the past year, he had stumbled, he had made mistakes, probably in the course of the last days or hours, even before walking in into the conduct of the service. And God said, you're going to offer a sacrifice for your own sin before you'll be cleansed in my sight and be qualified then to go on to offer the sacrifice on behalf of the people. So this was a process that Aaron, as a physical human being in the office of high priest, had to go through. How does that compare to Jesus Christ?

Well, Jesus Christ was perfect. He lived his life apart from sin. There was no sacrifice that needed to be made for Christ to cleanse him before he could offer himself to cleanse all of mankind.

This is the distinction between the physical high priest and the high priest that we have sitting at the right hand of the majesty on high. Carrying on verse 7, it says, Aaron, he shall take two goats and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord, the other lot for the scapegoat. The correct term would be Azazel. We won't go into that today. It's not my point.

Verse 9, it says, And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord's lot fell and offer it as a sin offering. But on the goat which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement upon it and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness. And Aaron shall bring the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, make atonement for himself and for his house. He shall kill the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself. And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the Lord with his hands full of sweet incense, beaten fine, and shall bring it inside the veil. Verse 13 says, And he shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the testimony lest he die. And so he would walk in with the fire, and walk in with the incense, and you throw the incense under those coals, and it puts up this cloud of smoke. Number one, it would be a sweet smelling aroma, but it would appear also the point of the cloud was to obscure to a degree the mercy seat so that Aaron himself did not gaze directly upon the presence of God. Verse 14 says, And he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side, and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

What the Bible here calls the mercy seat was the lid, the Ark of the Covenant, and as the Ark sat behind the veil, you had the Ark of the Covenant there, you had the caribim on both sides with their wings outstretched, overshadowing the Ark of the Covenant. God's presence was above the mercy seat between the caribim. Again, as Hebrews says, this was a copy and a shadow of the true. It was a copy of God's true throne in heaven. This is what is portrayed here in the Holy of Holies. Verse 15, it says, Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering which is for the people, bring his blood inside the veil, and do with the blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat, and so he shall make atonement for the holy place because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions for all their sins. And so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness. Verse 17, he shall be no man in the tabernacle of meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the holy place, and until he comes out that he may make atonement for himself and for his household and for the whole assembly of Israel. And so, brethren, what we come to understand when we combine these passages with what we're going to look at in Hebrews, again here shortly, is that Aaron, as the high priest, was a type of Jesus Christ. He entered into the holy of holies behind that veil coming into the presence of God, bringing the blood of the sacrifice, and so what we recognize is that the high priest fulfilled the function pointing to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was the high priest coming into the true holy of holies. The high priest came in with the blood of the sacrifice. Jesus Christ is also the sacrifice, and he is the blood of the sacrifice that is brought in and presented before God and the throne of God put on the mercy seat for the remission of the sins of the people. And that's what we see as we walk through, again now back in Hebrews chapter 9, the fulfillment in the actions of our high priest Jesus Christ. So let's turn back to Hebrews 9.

We'll pick it up where we left off, verse 7. Hebrews chapter 9, verse 7, says, But into the second part the high priest went alone, once a year, not without blood which he offered for himself, and for the people sins committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was standing. In other ways, there wasn't a means provided yet under that old covenant by which you could approach the throne of God, but which you could yourself go behind that veil, so to speak, and approach God's throne. Apart from, symbolically, the high priest doing that on the day of Atonement, there was no one who could do that. And the way being made manifest for just anybody to do that had not yet been provided. And so that's what verse 8 is saying. The Holy Spirit indicating that the way into the holiest of all, which is actually God's throne in heaven, was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. It says, In which both gifts and sacrifices were offered, which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience, concerned only with foods and drinks and various washings and fleshly ordinances, imposed until the time of Reformation. And so the physical temple, the activities surrounding it, the physical animal sacrifices, what the priest had to go through to be even prepared to go and offer those things, the cleansings, the garments, all of those things were a ceremonial and figurative system of worship. And it was temporary because it pointed to a greater fulfillment. Again, it said it was at the end of verse 10, imposed until the time of Reformation. The time of Reformation began with Jesus Christ's first appearance as the Messiah.

The need to conduct the physical ordinances continued until that time, but the law was reformed upon his death to be now a spiritual relationship through the blood of his sacrifice under the terms of the new covenant. The Bible never describes a change in the law as it pertains to what constitutes sin, what establishes righteousness for us. In other words, the Ten Commandments are never done away. Scripture never indicates a change in that law. What it indicates is a change in the law in regard to the priesthood and the ceremonial aspects of it which were temporary, later fulfilled in the life and the death and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as he now stands as our High Priest. Verse 11, continuing on, it said, but Christ came as High Priest of good things to come with a greater, more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood. He entered the most holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. And so Jesus Christ fulfilled literally what we saw the High Priest walking through ritually on the day of atonement.

Jesus Christ literally at his death opened the way into the Holy of Holies. You recall when Jesus Christ died, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, exposing the Holy of Holies. That was symbolic of the fact that the old covenant system of sacrifice and priesthood and the ability to come before God under that system was now over. Now the new covenant, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, had begun in which access directly to the throne of grace was made available by his sacrifice.

So again, the actions of the priesthood under the old covenant was symbolic, appointed to the fulfillment of the better covenant, the better mediation, the better promises, the more complete High Priest in Jesus Christ.

Verse 13 says, Again, the physical sacrifices, the animals, those things that were killed and offered on the behalf of the people, they were symbolic. They could be made ceremonially clean in the eyes of God, but it didn't clean the conscience. When you and I repent before God of our sins, we can be assured that God has forgiven us. And that should lead to spiritual healing in our lives, and the cleansing of the conscience in our lives as well. The fact that we now need to let go of these things through true repentance because God himself has forgiven us. But that cleansing doesn't come apart from coming under the blood of Jesus Christ. Verse 15, There must also of necessity be the death of a testator. For the Testament is enforced after a man is dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. You know, you make out a last will and testament when I die. This is what I want to occur with my possessions. That's not an effect, and enforced while you're alive. It requires your death. Jesus Christ died. His blood was the blood of the covenant which brought these things into existence. Verse 17, For a testament again enforces after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. Verse 18, Therefore, not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood. For when Moses has spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you. It says, Then he likewise sprinkled the blood both the tabernacle and the vessels of the ministry, and according to the law, it says, Almost all things are purified with blood. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission. Therefore, it was necessary that the copies of these things in the heavens, the copies of the true, those articles of their physical service which God had directed them to design, should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. So again, the physical design and the implements on the Old Covenant tabernacle system pointed to a greater reality, greater fulfillment which lied yet ahead. Verse 24 says, For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, not the physical temple behind the veil, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us, or on our behalf. So just as the high priest entered into the holy of holies on the day of atonement to offer up blood for the sins of the people, Jesus Christ entered into the true holy place as our high priest, offering up blood of the sacrifice as well, but it wasn't an animal, it was his own blood by which he offered before his father on our account.

Brethren, it's an incredible blessing for us to consider these things, for us to consider that we have such a great high priest who laid down his life in service to us, who died for us and shed his own blood and presented himself before the father as the perfect sacrifice on our behalf. I hope we never take that for granted. Verse 25 says, Not that he should offer himself often, as the high priest enters the most holy place every year with the blood of another, he then would have to suffer often since the foundation of the world, but now once at the end of the ages he has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And that is, it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for him, he will appear a second time apart from sin for salvation. And so the sacrifices for the people under the Old Covenant system was continuous. There were daily sacrifices, day after day, year after year, atonement after atonement. These things had to be offered often and continually.

The fact was, Jesus Christ, as he came, fulfilled what all sacrifices represented.

And it was a single sacrifice for all people, for all time. So the physical system is repetitive over and over of Jesus Christ, a single sacrifice by the perfect sacrificial lamb.

The book of Hebrews also describes the priesthood of Jesus Christ as a continual priesthood.

When that's described according to the order of Melchizedek. Let's take a look at that. Let's go back to the very end of Hebrews chapter 6 and merging into Hebrews 7. Hebrews chapter 6 and verse 19. And breaking into the thought here, Hebrews 6, 19, it says, This hope we have is an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become the high priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. What was the order of Melchizedek? Well, we'll examine that here as we go forward. Chapter 7, verse 1, it says, For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, whom had Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated king of righteousness, then also king of Salem, meaning king of peace, 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. This is describing an eternal being here, brother, and it's not, well, it's a physical being that we kind of lost his birth certificate somewhere. No genealogy, no beginning of, it says, no beginning of days or end of life. He existed at the time of Abraham, and it says he remains a priest continually.

So who is this being? Who is Melchizedek? And what is the order of Melchizedek as it pertains to the priesthood of Jesus Christ? Let's go back to Hebrew, or I'm sorry Genesis chapter 14, and we'll look at the account that took place as Melchizedek encountered Abraham.

Genesis chapter 14, it's important we understand because Jesus Christ is our high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. Genesis chapter 14, and we're going to begin in verse 17. You'll recall basically in a nutshell Lot was kidnapped among others, and Abraham took his army of men and went out and pursued those that had kidnapped them and reclaimed the people that had been taken, and there was spoil and booty and everything else that came with that. Abraham returns, and now in verse 17 it says, the king of Sodom went out to meet him, went out to meet Abraham in the valley of Sheva, which is the king's valley, after his return from the defeat, and you know, goes through either the kings or others who were involved in this, but verse 18, it says, then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. He was the priest of God, most high. So verse 18 gives us insight into who this being was. It says he was the priest of God, most high. So clearly, Jesus Melchizedek, and I jumped to the end here, clearly Melchizedek was not God, most high, because as he was priest of God, most high. As an eternal being, there could only be one other option of one who would be without lineage, without beginning of life or end of days, one other option of an eternal being besides God, most high, who could be this Melchizedek, the priest. What's interesting as well is, in this encounter, he brings out bread and wine.

Melchizedek. Well, what's significant about bread and wine?

Unleavened bread and wine are the symbols of the covenant of the new Passover, which our high priests instituted. So here, Abraham is meeting with the one who became Jesus Christ, who is serving in this office of high priest, priest of the most high God. This is Melchizedek. In verse 19, it says, and he blessed him. Melchizedek blessed Abraham, and said, Bless be Abram of God most high, possessor of heaven and earth. And he blessed God most high, it says, who has delivered your enemies into your hand. I want to read to you a couple of quotes from one of our booklets produced by the United Church of God. It's the booklet titled Who is God? And I want to read specifically from a sub-article, which is titled A Mystery Solved, The Identity of Melchizedek. And it says, it's interesting to note that Melchizedek greeted Abraham with bread and wine, later to become the symbols of Jesus Christ's Passover sacrifice of his body and blood. It says, also Melchizedek addressed God as possessor of heaven and earth. Around 2,000 years later, Jesus addressed the Father as Lord of heaven and earth. End quote. So, brethren, the point of the quote points to the identity of who Melchizedek was. God Most High is identified as the Father here, and Melchizedek was the priest of God Most High, that eternal being none other than Jesus Christ. Another quote from the same article says, quote, Melchizedek couldn't have been the Father because he was the priest of God, of the Most High God. He could only have been the eternal pre-existent Word who later became Jesus Christ, the Son of God. So, we have the identity laid out here, and as we have both beings described, it helps us to understand the role and the position of Melchizedek. Continuing in verse 21, it says, now the king of Sodom said to Abram, give me the persons and take the goods for yourself.

But Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have raised my hand to the Lord God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, that I would take nothing from a thread of a sandal strap, and I would not take anything that is yours, lest you should say I've made Abraham rich. Only what the young men have eaten, and that portion of the men who all went with me, you know, they would get their portion. And so, I think it's interesting to note while we're here that Abraham, who was a man with God's Holy Spirit, had a understanding and a relationship with these two eternal beings.

One who was God Most High, it says he took an oath, he raised his hand, took an oath to God Most High, verse 22. That was one being, and the other being functioning as the priest of God Most High, who is the one who became Jesus Christ. Melchizedek here, the one who put out the bread and the wine, and accepted the tithe from Abraham. So now let's go back to Hebrews chapter 7.

Hebrews 7, again following up on this groundwork, verse 1, for this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham, returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated king of righteousness, then also king of Salem, meaning king of peace, 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. We've established, again, who that being is. Verse 4, it says, and consider now how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. And indeed those who are the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people. The Levitical priesthood was who the people of Israel tithed to, according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham. Verse 6, it says, but he whose genealogy is not derived from them, received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. Now beyond all contradiction, the lesser is blessed by the better. Melchizedek was blessed Abraham. Okay. Verse 8, here mortal men received tithes, but there he received them of whom it is witness that he lives. So this is a being who truly lived. Who lives? Who is self-existent? Who is eternal in this way? Verse 9, even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak. For he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him. Therefore, verse 11, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood, for under it the people received the law, what further need was there that another priest should arise according to the order of Melchizedek and not called according to the order of Aaron? And so the point here is that perfection was not of the Levitical priesthood.

The perfection in terms of the sacrifice and the completeness of forgiveness could only come through the priesthood of Jesus Christ. The priesthood, according to the order of Aaron, was a line of priests that came from Aaron, physical descendants of Aaron. They were physical beings. They had physical flaws. They were subject to sin. They had to offer up sacrifice for their own sins before they could help the people out with their sacrifices in that way. They lived their physical lives serving as high priests, and then they died, and they were replaced by another who lived a physical life as a high priest and then died. So that's the order of Aaron. That's the priesthood under the Old Covenant. The order of Melchizedek is different. The order of Melchizedek is referring to one who is an eternal being but is not the father. He's one without beginning of days or end of life. He's referred to as the king of righteousness and the king of peace, and that is the title that does not belong to a physical man. It belongs to the king of peace, the prince of peace, Jesus Christ. And that is the priesthood according to Melchizedek.

And so what's interesting as we consider the scripture, our high priest Jesus Christ rose according to the order of Melchizedek. He was also Melchizedek, and as such he has been the true high priest of God all the way back to the time of Abraham, and he will remain the priest continually according to the order of Melchizedek. Continuing on in verse 12, it said, for the priesthood being changed of necessity, there is also a change of the law. And so we come back into again the law being modified. What law was it? Not the Ten Commandments, not regulating sin, but the law regulating the priesthood, who it would be, how they would function, the sacrifices, the ceremonial aspects. Those are the things that were changed. Verse 13, for he whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe from which no man has ever officiated at the altar, for it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, and not a tribe which Moses had nothing to say concerning the priesthood. You know, the priesthood was of Levi. Christ came, at least in his physical birth, through the lineage of the tribe of Judah.

Verse 15, and it is yet far more evident if in the likeness of Melchizedek there arises another priest who has come, not according to the law of the fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. For he testifies, and this is a quote now, you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and its unprofitiveness. So this is referring to the fact that the sacrificial system, the physical sacrifices, again the ordinances under the old covenant, were weak. They were flawed in terms of not bringing perfection. That could only come through the high priest in the service of Jesus Christ. Verse 19 says, For the law made nothing perfect. On the other hand, there is the bringing of a better hope through which we draw near to God. And as much as he was not made a 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 is sworn and will not relent. You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. And so it's important for us to realize here that Jesus Christ's appointment to the position of high priest was not a self-appointment.

Jesus Christ did not establish himself in that office. His father did. Hold your finger here for a second. We'll go back to Hebrews chapter 5. Hebrews chapter 5, the first couple three verses talk about the physical high priests that can relate to the people because they themselves have weaknesses. Hebrews 5 verse 4 says, And no man takes this honor to himself, the priesthood, but he who is called of God just as Aaron was. Then it says in verse 5, So also Christ did not glorify himself to become high priest, but it was he who said to him, You are my son, today I've begotten you. As he also says in another place, You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek, who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplication with vehement cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death was heard because of his godly fear. It was God the Father who was able to resurrect Jesus Christ and did so from the dead.

Verse 8, Though he was a son, yet he learned obedience by the things which he suffered.

And having been perfected, he became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him, called by God as high priest according to the order of Melchizedek, of whom we have much to say and hard to explain since you have become dull of hearing. So again, Jesus Christ's position as high priest was not a self-appointment. It was upon the resurrection from his father and instilled in that position by his father, clearly as the scripture says. So back now to Hebrews chapter 7. Let's finish out the chapter here. Verse 22, Hebrews 7, 22. By so much more Jesus has become a surity of a better covenant. He says, Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. But he, because he continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore he is able to save to the utmost those who come to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. So Jesus Christ will not cease from being our high priest. He won't retire.

He won't step aside. He won't be removed from that position. He is our high priest continually at the right hand of God, at the throne of God, making intercession on our behalf. Verse 26 says, For such a high priest was fitting for us, who was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens, who does not need daily as those high priests to offer up sacrifices first for his own sins, and then for the peoples. For this he did once for all when he offered up himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who have weaknesses, but the word of the oath which came after the law appoints the son who has been perfected forever.

And so, brethren, Jesus Christ is our high priest. He came and lived this physical life apart from sin. He did not offer any sacrifice for himself before his sacrifice was made on our behalf. He was perfect. It was without spot, in blemish. And he laid down his life for us. He now sits at the right hand of the majesty on high, at the throne of God, making intercession for you and I.

So what should our response be?

Let the true high priest pass through the heavens into the true holy of holies, his own blood. What should our response be? Let's conclude, brethren, in Hebrews chapter 4, verse 14. Hebrews chapter 4, verse 14. Seeing then that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

Let's hold fast our calling, our faith, the confession that we made at baptism that, yes, I have accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. I have repented as my sins, of my sins. I am reconciled to my Father in heaven, and his kingdom is coming. That is our confession. Let us hold fast our confession. Verse 15, for we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Christ lived this physical life. He understands the struggles. He understands the temptations.

He was without sin, which doesn't mean he walked right up to the line and almost crossed, okay? It means the temptation was always there. Not that he was tempted, but there was always opportunity for sin. Should he allow himself to go down that path?

Somebody asked me recently, could Jesus Christ have sinned?

And my answer was, well, of course, Jesus Christ could have sinned if he chose to.

But Jesus Christ was the Son of God with the Spirit of God, and his character was such that he would not sin. He would not go there. He elevated the law to say it's not just a physical thing. This is even a matter of your spirit and your mind and your character. And Christ would not sin, and he was perfect. So verse 16 says, Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in our time of need. 16. Rather than through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we now have direct access to the throne of grace, direct access to the throne of our Father in heaven. He is our high priest, Jesus Christ, at his right hand, but we have access to God any time. Not once a year, not under the blood of a physical animal sacrifice, but under the blood of the eternal sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He says, Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace. Let's never take that blessing for granted. Let us never fail to appreciate the personal advocacy and the ongoing commitment and the intercession of our high priest and our elder brother, Jesus Christ.