The King Of Righteousness (Hebrews 7:1-3)

What this episode covers

When a writer for a Christian magazine asked N.T. Wright which books were the most important in his thinking and work, he told them it was the reference works that he always keeps near his desk. He noted how the dictionaries and encyclopedias, especially those dealing with the original languages, help bring the darkness of another world to light. I probably would not have answered that way, but I think he makes a great point. I might miss those reference works more than anything else when studying God’s Word because they take the whole counsel of God’s revelation about a particular person or topic and distill it into a few summary insights. Wright: “Again and again I am rewarded for my efforts as the text springs to life. What started off as a small puzzle in the middle of my work has turned into a lighthouse sending rays of light flashing over the rest of the subject.” As you turn to Hebrews 7, you might see how the author is drawing our attention to a proper understanding of Melchizedek. However, in this case, there are only two references to him in all of the Old Testament. The author takes what many considered an obscure reference to an insignificant figure, and shows us just how significant he is—and it magnifies our appreciation for Jesus Christ. In other words, he’s following the example of Jesus who taught us to read all the Scriptures as pointing to himself (Lk 24:27). The author of Hebrews has already referred to Melchizedek in the previous two chapters (Heb 5:6, 10; 6:20). It’s apparent that his audience needed to gain a greater appreciation for the typology of this particular OT figure. It’s been several weeks since we were last in Hebrews so let me begin with a brief summary of where we are in this letter/sermon. • Jesus is superior to angels (chs 1-2). > Listen to him! • Jesus is superior to Moses (chs 3-4). > Rest in him! • Jesus is our great high priest (ch 5). > Go to him! • Warning followed by hopeful encouragement (ch 6). > Learn from him! Now, the author of Hebrews returns to the subject of Jesus as our great high priest (ch 7). The Greek word occurs 17 times throughout Hebrews, making this one of the central themes of the letter. This author argues that the shadow of Melchizedek proves that Christ is from a superior order of priesthood. Over the next several chapters we will see that Christ’s sacrifice is of a superior sufficiency—able to actually take away our sin (Heb 10:4). So Christ’s priestly office as well as his sacrifice is superior to that of the Levitical system. There’s another warning implied by this text: We can become so intrigued by the Old Testament shadows that we never take refuge in the substance. Jesus taught us a better way to understand Scripture (Lk 24). Every Old Testament shadow is meant to enrich the communion we have with our Redeemer. Pray & Read Hebrews 7:1-10. The Preface to Melchizedek (Hebrews 1-6) We have already learned that Jesus was made like us in order to become our faithful high priest (Heb 2:14-18). Jesus is an apostle and high priest of our confession who is worthy of more glory than Moses (Heb 3:1-3). Jesus is a high priest who came from the true holy of holies — having “passed through the heavens” — and entered into humanity that he might “sympathize with our weaknesses” (Heb 4:14-16). In Hebrews 5:1-4, the author noted four aspects of high priestly ministry: 1. Mediates — “act on behalf of men in relation to God” 2. Sacrifices — “offer gifts and sacrifices for sins” 3. Counsels — “deal gently with the wayward” 4. Appointed — “called by God” In the previous section, Jesus is the one who serves as an anchor of the soul, enters into the inner place behind the curtain, and becomes our high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek (Heb 6:19-20). Here in chapter seven, the author will show that Melchizedek is superior to Abraham. If that is true, then he’s also superior to the Levites who descen

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