Out With the Old, In With the New
(11) Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need [was there] that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron? (12) For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. (13) For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar. (14) For [it is] evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. (15) And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest (16) who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. (17) For He testifies: "You [are] a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek." (18) For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, (19) for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, [there is the] bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.
Psalm 110:1-7
(1) A Psalm of David. The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool." (2) The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! (3) Your people [shall be] volunteers In the day of Your power; In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth. (4) The LORD has sworn And will not relent, "You [are] a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek." (5) The Lord [is] at Your right hand; He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath. (6) He shall judge among the nations, He shall fill [the places] with dead bodies, He shall execute the heads of many countries. (7) He shall drink of the brook by the wayside; Therefore He shall lift up the head.
Context
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What is a priest?
- One who represents the people on behalf of God.
- They did many other things in Israel - judges, teachers, leaders - but this was the core.
- Levitical priesthood also known as "Order of Aaron"
- Aaron was Moses' older brother, of tribe of Levi in Israel. (Hence the term "levitical")
- Line of high priests followed Aaron's children, grandchildren, and so on.
- One who represents the people on behalf of God.
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Masterclass in exposition. The author of Hebrews is continuing to flesh out observations and conclusions from the statement in Psalm 110 - "The LORD has sworn and will not relent, "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek".
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For this message we'll go verse by verse and follow the logical flow.
Exposition
Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need [was there] that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron?
- "You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizadek". Why would the inspired scriptures say that if the order of Aaron was sufficient?
- Put yourself in my shoes for a moment. I grew up vegan, and had a lot of meat substitutes, including tofu burgers. Tofu burgers were all that I knew, and I enjoyed them! I grilled them in the summertime, and put all the fixings on them - ketchup, pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, etc. They were delicious, and I enjoyed the taste. It was all I knew. Now imagine that I receive a blessing or prophecy - "One day your grill always be blessed with savory crackle of BEEF burgers". By prophesying a "new" burger, what does that tell me about the old tofu burger? By explicitly saying "beef burger", he is making a statement about the tofu burger - it is not the better thing.
- Similarly, Psalm 110 proves that the order of Aaron is insufficient - not perfect. It is a shadow of the good things to come.
- Is it bad? Is a shadow bad? A shadow gives you the basic shape and form. It is not bad - it's just insufficient, and we discard it once we have the substance. Like tofu burgers. :)
For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law.
- What does he mean by "the law"?
- Don't think of the law as just a bunch of rules and sacrifices. We're talking about the entire covenant; the system by which God's people were to worship and live in God's presence and under His blessing. This is the entirety of the old covenant.
- The priesthood is central to old covenant.
- Ministering to the Lord in the tabernacle
- Day of atonement - entering into the Holy of Holies.
- Daily sacrifices - a "perpetual" sacrifice
- Bears the names of the children of Israel on his heart. Their representative.
- If you asked a devout Israelite, "How do you have confidence that your worship and sacrifices are accepted? How do you know that your sins are covered?" He would respond, "God, in His mercy, has given us a priesthood. I do not approach God without a consecrated (holy) priest, a son of Aaron."
- If the priesthood changes, that means that the entire covenant changes.
For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar. (14) For [it is] evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.
- Jesus was of the line of Judah. The tribe of Judah had nothing spoken about it in the law or prophets regarding priesthood. Judah was the line of kings, not of priests.
- Thus, this is another reason why the law/covenant needs to change. Jesus would be in violation of the law if he were a priest according to the law. He would be breaking the law of God, offering "strange fire" as it were. (Remember Nadab and Abihu). Jesus could NEVER be a legitimate Levitical priest in the order of Aaron, because he was not of the blood line.
- Jesus' priesthood only makes sense if there is a new order entirely.
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 a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. For He testifies: "You [are] a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek."
- Likeness of Melchizedek - review.
- Character in the Bible who blessed Abraham, and to whom Abraham gave a tenth of all that he had.
- Greater than Abraham. (Established earlier in chapter 7)
- No lineage given in Scripture, no descendants described. As far as the Bible is concerned, he is "without mother or father" (Heb 7:3). "Argument from silence".
- He is a King (royalty)
- His name means "righteousness" or "justice"
- of Salem (shalom, peace).
- Priest of God
- Main difference between the order of Aaron and the order of Melchizedek - time and endurance. How long does it last?
- "Fleshly" in this context doesn't mean bad or wicked. It's simply "of the flesh", or "of the mortal body".
- Each Levitical priest served for a time, and then died. After he died, another took his place. The priesthood continued, but the priests themselves died.
- It was a big deal when the high priest died - everyone knew about it.
- Example: Cities of refuge
- In contrast, the priesthood of Jesus in the order of Melchizedek is in the power of an endless (some translations say indestructible) life. The priest continues forever, and thus the priesthood continues forever.
- How do we know this? Psalm 110. "You are a priest forever."
- Yet another reason why the resurrection of Christ is foundational to our faith. Hebrews is going to drive this point further as we progress.
For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, for the law made nothing perfect;
- What does this all mean? Here the author gets to his conclusion of this section
- Annulling - Putting away, rejection, removal
- The old covenant is put away, replaced. The two systems do not run concurrently.
- We do not call Christianity a "re-newed" covenant. It is a NEW covenant. Jesus said, this is the "NEW covenant in my blood"
- Description of the law: Weak, unprofitable, and imperfect (incomplete)
- The same way that we would say that a shadow is weak, unprofitable, and imperfect.
- Hebrews is going to support this claim in multiple ways in upcoming passages.
- Preview: Weak in the quality of its priests, weak in its endurance, weak in its effectiveness upon the conscience and the spiritual man, weak in its ultimate outcomes.
on the other hand, [there is the] bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.
- Follow the logic
- New priest --> new priesthood
- New priesthood --> new covenant/law
- New covenant/law --> better hope (Hebrews will support this more soon)
- Hope - "confident expectation of good". Not a wishy-washy dream.
- Better hope --> we draw near to God
"Out with the old, in with the new."
In Hebrews 10, the author continues this theme by expositing Psalm 40.
Hebrews 10:5-9
(5) Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: "Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. (6) In burnt offerings and [sacrifices] for sin You had no pleasure. (7) Then I said, 'Behold, I have come--In the volume of the book it is written of Me--To do Your will, O God.' " (8) Previously saying, "Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and [offerings] for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure [in them]" (which are offered according to the law), (9) then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God." He takes away the first that He may establish the second.
Drawing Near
- This is extraordinary - drawing near to God
- How can we draw near to the Holy, Holy, Holy God?
Exodus 3:4-5
(4) So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." (5) Then He said, "Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand [is] holy ground."
Exodus 19:11-12
(11) "And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. (12) "You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, 'Take heed to yourselves [that] you do [not] go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.
- The presence of God is the ultimate blessing that was promised. There is no greater blessing than God himself.
- Because of this better hope, the way has been completely opened through the priesthood of Jesus. The curtain has been torn in two.
Matthew 27:50-51
And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split,
- Because of the Gospel, we have peace with God. We have been brought near to God in a covenant sense. We are justified past tense by faith. We have been given the Holy Spirit.
Romans 5:1
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
- We are also encouraged to draw near in an experiential sense. The author is speaking to the believers - true believers, those who have already entered in the new covenant. And yet he says to them, "draw near".
Hebrews 10:22
let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Application
(11) Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need [was there] that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron? (12) For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. (13) For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar. (14) For [it is] evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. (15) And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest (16) who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. (17) For He testifies: "You [are] a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek." (18) For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, (19) for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, [there is the] bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.
- Do not confuse the shadow of the law for the real thing of Christ
- "Draw near". What are some practical ways of doing that?
- Ultimately, drawing near is a disposition of the heart.
- Give thanks for the priesthood of Christ
- Purposefully acknowledge and live in the loving presence of God with full assurance. Access has been purchased for you!
- Prioritize personal prayer and meditation on God's word. People of all kinds of religions pray, but we pray to a God who has made a way for us to draw near.
- Prioritize the public gatherings of God's people for prayer and worship.