“Greater Than Abraham”
[Hebrews 7:4-10]
September 16, 2012 Second Reformed Church
One of the difficulties in reading
the book of Hebrews is that we do not normally use the language of the
sacrificial system anymore – we don't normally consider sacrificing animals as a
way that people would be made right with God – or even that those sacrifices of
animals was a foreshadowing of the way that people would eternally be made
right with God through the Savior He would send.
As
civilized Americans, we rarely slaughter animals as part of our religious
beliefs – now religion is clean and free of blood – and so we miss the central
problem in the book of Hebrews: which sacrificial system is best? Is Jesus
really the Savior that God sent? Is He really God in the flesh? Is He really
the perfect high priest who is able to offer up Himself to save all those who
would believe in Him by dying for our debt and crediting us with His Righteousness?
Or, is it too risky to believe in Jesus? Is it too risky to believe that He is
the One that God had promised 6000 years ago? Would we be safer following the sacrificial
system that God instituted through Moses and Aaron and Levi?
That's where this group of Hebrew
Christians was in their thinking 2000 years ago, when the author of Hebrews
wrote to them. They were suffering persecution and wondered if it might be
safer – wiser – to go back to the sacrificial system that they had known all of
their lives – to the sacrificial system that would bring peace between them and
the other Jews – as well as their Roman rulers – or should they continue to
stand firm in what they had confessed and believed about Jesus, the Son of God?
Last week we began to look at
chapter seven of the book of Hebrews, and we noted the chapter seven is really
the linchpin of the book of Hebrews – chapter seven addresses the central
question or problem of the whole letter – and the author of Hebrews introduces
us – or reintroduces us – to the high priest of God Most High, and the King of
Salem, who was Melchizedek.
And
we saw that there are reasons to believe that Melchizedek was a real human
being who foreshadowed Jesus, the Savior, in many ways. We considered the first
point of chapter seven – that being that the line of Aaron and the Levites are
not the only line of priests that God authorized – there is also the priestly
line of Melchizedek. And here's the difference between the two: the line of priests
in the Levitical priesthood was a line of succession from father to son,
whereas the line of the priesthood of Melchizedek was not one of succession,
but was of God calling individuals to be high priest eternally.
And
we considered, then, that if the priesthood of
the Levites was one that only lasted for a term, and the priesthood of
Melchizedek is one that lasts eternally, then the priesthood of Melchizedek is
greater than the priesthood of Aaron and the Levites by virtue of its eternally
– of its lasting nature.
In this next section, the author of
Hebrews argues that the priesthood of Melchizedek is of a higher order than the
priesthood of Abram, Aaron, and the Levites. And the argument of the author of
Hebrews is really quite simple: people of lesser rank give respect to those of
higher rank. So let's see how this works out:
“See how great this man was to whom
Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! And those descendants of Levi
who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes
from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended
from Abraham. But this man who does not have his descent from them received
tithes from Abraham”
First, the author of Hebrews points
out – as we saw in the book of Genesis last week – when Abram and Melchizedek
met after the slaughter of the Kings, Abram, who was the father of Aaron and
the Levites and the Levitical priesthood, and Melchizedek of the priesthood of
Melchizedek, stood before each other – they each represented a priesthood
authorized by God – yet without hesitation, Abram gave the tithe – 10% of all
of his profits from the war – to Melchizedek for him to offer to God. As we read: “And Abram gave him a tenth of everything” (Genesis
14:20b, ESV).
Both men and their priestly lines
had received the command from God to receive 10% of the income of all the
people of God and to offer it to God for His Work on earth. There was no
discussion. There was no quarrel. Abram recognized that Melchizedek’s
priesthood was of a higher order than the priesthood of Abram, Aaron, and Levi,
and that is why Abram gave the tithe to Melchizedek.
Does
that make sense?
Let’s
pretend you are a cashier at a store that you do not own. During the day, people make purchases and
give you money, which you put in your drawer.
The money is to go to the owner of the store, but your manager comes
along and collects the money instead of your giving it directly to the store
owner. Both you and your manager work
for the store owner, but your manager is of a higher order within the store,
so, if he or she comes, you would defer to him or her and hand over your money
drawer.
OK?
Similarly,
Abram and Melchizedek, both represented priestly lines authorized by God. But
Abram recognized that Melchizedek's line was of a higher order, so Abram
offered the tithes to Melchizedek for him to offer to God.
Here,
we are considering the relative position – or the order – of the two priestly
lines. We are not considering the
character or the morality of Abram and Melchizedek, only that one line is
greater and one line is lesser – one line is a higher order of priesthood – Melchizedek’s
– and one line – Abram’s – is lower. And
the proof that Melchizedek’s order is the higher order of the two is that
although both priesthoods were commanded to collect the tithes, Abram turned
the tithes over to Melchizedek when he met him.
“And
blessed him who had the promises. It is beyond dispute that the inferior is
blessed by the superior.”
As
we read last week: “And [Melchizedek]
blessed [Abram] and said, ‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of
heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies
into your hand!’” (Genesis 14:19-20a, ESV).
Second,
Melchizedek blessed Abram, and the author of Hebrews argues it is beyond
dispute – everyone agrees – that the superior person blesses the inferior
person – and not the other way around. The person who holds a superior position
blesses the person who holds an inferior position. In other words, the ability
to bless someone indicates authority or power.
We
frequently see, in Scripture, fathers blessing their sons (or grandsons) before
they die. For example, we read: “By
faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship
over the head of his staff” (Hebrews 11:21, ESV). In
this case the father is superior to the child – he has authority and power that
the child does not. This makes parents of a higher order than the child – both
of them are humans but because the father holds a higher position in the
family, the father blesses the child and not vice versa.
In
the Scripture, we see Jesus, priests, and the apostles pronouncing blessings on
the people – we do not see the laity pronouncing a blessing on Jesus or the
priests or the apostles. Jesus answered
Peter and said, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not
revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:17, ESV). Aaron
blessed the people of Israel by saying, “The LORD bless you and keep you; the
LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up
his countenance upon you and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26, ESV). And so forth.
The
reason a pastor gives the benediction – the “good word” – a blessing – at the
end of the service is because of the position he holds as the pastor. The
priests, the apostles, and pastors are not better or holier than anyone else,
but they are of a higher order as far as giving blessings in the worship order is concerned. So, the blessing is given by the
apostle, the priest, or the pastor to the laity – or by Jesus to His Church – and
not vice versa.
“In
the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one
of whom it is testified that he lives.”
And
here we have a sentence that may cause us to reconsider what we said about
Melchizedek last week. Last week we said there are really only two possible
explanations for who Melchizedek is – either he is a Christophany – a pre-incarnate
visible appearing of the Son of God – or he is a man, named Melchizedek, who,
in many ways, foreshadowed Jesus, the Son of God. Last week I argued that the
better understanding is that Melchizedek was a real human being and not a
Christophany.
So
then what are we to do with this verse that tells us that that tithes are
received by mortal man, but in “the other case” – in the case of Melchizedek –
the tithes were received by someone who lives – who is eternal? Is the author
of Hebrews giving more support now to the idea of Melchizedek being a Christophany?
The answer is “no.”
We need to remember that the most
important thing in the comparison between Abram, Aaron, and Levi and Melchizedek
is not the men, themselves, but their priesthood – the nature of the office
that they held – the rank of the priesthood they held in regards to the other
priesthood.
We will remember the priesthood of
Abram, Aaron, and the Levites, was for a term, and, at the most, a person
served until his death, and then his son would take over. That was not the case
in the priesthood of Melchizedek: the priesthood of Melchizedek was an eternal
priesthood – in this sense: the priesthood was given by God to Melchizedek and
it was never taken away – it was never given to his descendant – it was his
eternally. It is in this way we understand that the priesthood of Abram, Aaron,
and the Levites, was a mortal priesthood:
The priest died, and he did not hold his office after he died – it
passed on to his descendants, whereas the priesthood of Melchizedek is a living
priesthood – an eternal priesthood – it was unending even though Melchizedek
died – the office of the high priest of God Most High never ended and never
will end – it is never taken away, never passed on, it is eternal. (Remember, the point the author of Hebrews is
making here is about the office of the priesthood and not about any particular
priest.)
So the third argument for the
priesthood of Melchizedek being of a higher order than that of Abram, Aaron, and
the Levites is that the priesthood of Abram, Aaron, and the Levites ended with
death – it was a finite priesthood. But the priesthood of Melchizedek is
eternal. And that which never dies is greater than that which does die. So the
priesthood of Melchizedek is of a higher order than the priesthood of Abram, Aaron,
and the Levites.
“One
might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through
Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met
him.”
The author of Hebrews ends this
section by addressing one argument: that argument is: Levi was not present when
Abram met Melchizedek, so it is unfair to say that Levi is of a lower order
than Melchizedek. Abram may have been of a lower order that Melchizedek, one
could argue, but that does not prove that Levi would be of a lower order than
that of the Melchizedek.
But the author of Hebrews answers, “Yes,
it really does mean that. If the
priesthood of Abram was of a lower order than Melchizedek, so was the order of Levi
lower than the order of Melchizedek.”
We know that some generations after
Abram, Levi was born. So there is a direct connection biologically between
Abram and Levi. Abram had children who
had children who had children who gave birth to Levi. So we can say that Levi –
though he was not yet born – was in the loins of Abram – he was part of the
biological generation of the people that would occur – Levi would be born
somewhere down the line. The fact that Levi was not there in person does not
make a difference, because he was part of the line of priests from Abram to Aaron
to Levi – there is no disruption of the line – Levi was born into the line of
the finite priesthood, which became the whole sacrificial system of the Old
Testament.
In fact, we can say, symbolically,
that since Abram and Levi were of the same line in the same priesthood that
when Abram paid tithes to Melchizedek, Levi also paid tithes to Melchizedek.
This is the idea of federal headship – and the idea of representative
government. Just as Adam was the representative of humanity before God in the
Garden, and all of mere humanity inherited the results his sin, so when Abram
paid tithes to Melchizedek, as part of that priestly order that followed out from
him, all of the priests, including Levi after him, also took their place in
submission to Melchizedek, as though they had paid their tithes to him.
And so we see that the priesthood of
Melchizedek was of a higher order than the priesthood of Abram, Aaron, and the
Levites – for these reasons: First, Abram gave tithes to Melchizedek, showing
his submission to Melchizedek's priesthood. Second, Melchizedek blessed Abram,
showing his authority over Abram. Third, Melchizedek's priesthood is eternal,
and therefore greater than the priesthood of Abram, Aaron, and the Levites,
because their priesthood was finite. And
fourth, Abram acted as the representative head of the whole priestly line,
which included the Levites, and since he acted as representative, everything he
did applied to his descendants. And since he submitted himself and offered
tithes to Melchizedek, symbolically, all of his descendants submitted and
offered tithes to Melchizedek, and in fact, this shows that the priesthood of
Melchizedek is of a higher order than the priesthood of Abram, Aaron, and the
Levites.
So how does this help answer the
question of whether the Hebrews should turn back to the Old Testament
sacrifices, or whether they should continue to stand for and confess and
believe in the high priesthood, and Atoning Sacrifice of Jesus, the Son of God?
The
answer is found in the promise that God made in the Psalms to the Savior He
would send: “The LORD has sworn and will
not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek’”
(Psalm 110:4, ESV).
Jesus is a high priest after the
order of Melchizedek. Therefore, Jesus is superior – He is greater – He is of a
higher order – than the priesthood of Abram, Aaron, and the Levites. Since
Jesus is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, His Priestly Work is
greater than the Old Testament sacrificial system. Therefore, it doesn't make
sense to go back – Jesus fulfills and ends the Levitical priesthood. How does He
do that? He does that by being the Only Priest after the order of Melchizedek, Whose
office is not only eternal, but He Himself is eternal – being not merely a
human being, but also the Eternal God. Lord willing, we'll talk more about this
in a couple of weeks.
For now, we prepare to turn to the
Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper – that celebration that Jesus has given us in
place of sacrificial system of the Old Testament. Since Jesus has already accomplished salvation
through His Work as Priest and Sacrifice, we need not and ought not to offer
any other blood sacrifice. Nor does
Jesus need to be offered again – His Work of Salvation is finished.
We receive the bread and the wine neither
to earn salvation nor to make Jesus’ Sacrifice complete, but to meet with Jesus
Himself, remembering and having hope in the Gospel. As we receive the bread and the cup, Jesus is
here, and He gifts us with the grace we need to be His people.
So let us pray:
Almighty God, we thank You for the
symbols of the Old Testament sacrifices and the Levitical priesthood which
pointed to Jesus and shows all those who have ears to hear and eyes to see,
that Jesus is of a higher order of priesthood, and He Alone can save us from
our sin and make us righteous in Your Sight.
We give You thanks and ask that You would continue to work in us and
through us and make us into the Image of Your Son. For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
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