This is from A Sunday Morning Message delivered on 05/06/2018. It is broken down into sections so that it can be read in three days. This is day #2.
Jesus Is Priest
In 2 Chronicles 26 we find Uzziah, the legitimate successor of David struck with leprosy. Why? Because he attempted to offer incense to God which was a job that was to be done only by priests.
Jesus is, however, both king and priest. God did not permit the blending of these two offices. How then is it that Jesus could be both our King and our Priest. The psalmist here answers that question for us over a thousand years before Jesus came to Earth.
4 The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” (Psalm 110:4 ESV)
If you are just reading the Book of Genesis, the account with Melchizedek just seems weird. It seems like a brief and unimportant pause in the action in Genesis 14, right after the description of a battle and this guy we’ve never heard of is a priest of God Most High. And this guy is King of Salem. This King of Salem who is also a priest of God Most High brings bread and wine out, blesses Abraham. Then Abraham gives a tithe to Melchizedek. Then, we don’t hear about Melchizedek until Psalm 110. And then eight times in the Book of Hebrews.
Why does this meeting with Melchizedek seem so unimportant in the Book of Genesis and then is of massive importance to the future, so much so that it is mentioned 8 times in the Book of Hebrews?
Abram was God’s man, chosen from the land of Ur. God would make a covenant with Abram and the Messiah would come through that lineage. And here you have this chosen man of God being blessed by this man and Abram paying him a tithe. Both of these actions indicate that Melchizedek is himself of higher standing than Abram.
Jesus was not going to be a priest after the order of Aaron. Jesus was going to be a priest after the order of Melchizedek. And, the writer of the Book of Hebrews spends about four chapters discussing how much better Jesus’ priesthood is than that of Aaron and the importance of Jesus being after the order of Melchizedek. Jesus is able “to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him” (Hebrews 7:25 ESV). And this is because,
24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”—Hebrews 9:24-28 ESV
Why is Jesus’s sacrifice better than what had gone on for many, many years before him? Because they were dealing in shadows. Jesus was the reality that they were only images. Because They sacrificed day in and day out with not even a place to sit and do you know what our Great High Priest did after He offered Himself. He ascended into Heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
It is finished. It is over. There is no more sacrifice for sin. There is not more need for blood to be spilled. Christ accomplished it all.
God the Son was born of the Virgin Mary and lived a perfect life. He then went to the cross, sinless and perfect, bearing the sins of all who would ever believe upon Himself and died there bearing God’s wrath and justice. This He did once, whereas Old Testament Sacrifices were done constantly. This never-ending priesthood and His once-for-all-time sacrifice is superior to that of Aaron. And here is something that makes it better. God swears that it will be forever.
I try to keep my promises to my children. I hope that we all do so. But there are times when unexpected things get in the way. Unexpected bills or a car not working will effectively keep a family from doing what Mom and Dad has promised that they would do. But here we have God, all powerful God, swearing that this will occur and He “will not change His mind”.
This King, who rules over all things is the one whom we are rebelling against. We have all offended God. And His Son, Jesus Christ has come to Earth and paid the punishment that is due for all who believe. If you are here today and not a believer then the message for you is to lay down your arms. Repent and believe in the Great King-Priest who offers you complete redemption. His superior priesthood covers over the worst of sins. And He will be priest forever.
Christian, this eternal priesthood brings great assurance to you. The King who rules all things is your Priest who accomplished salvation for you.
Is there ever coming a day when the sacrifice of Christ will be null and void? No, God the Son is the priest who offered Himself on your behalf. And God Himself declares with a promise that this priesthood will last forever.
Is there coming a day when the power of His sacrifice will be ineffective? No. Christ’s one-time sacrifice is for all time. He saves to the uttermost those who lived in the past as well as those who will believe in the future.
We are the people of God, who this priesthood has touched. We are those whose sins have been forgiven. We are there clothed in the holiness of this Great High Priest with our sins washed white as snow. Understand this and know it well. He has accomplished our salvation for us completely.
Why is it that we are standing there around the throne? We are there because He has cleansed us. He has sacrificed Himself for us. He has accomplished our salvation for us. Now, we serve Him, willingly. He has brought us from death to life. Why would we not serve Him? He has given us eternal life? He has given us a good relationship with God. Why would we not serve Him?
But here is the interesting thing. We are quick to jump on what we do and overlook what Christ has done. We are quick to think about how we are to serve Him and slow to consider His priesthood on our behalf.
We spend a lot of time thinking about how we can improve ourselves and being weighed down by the guilt and weight of our sins. We can be slow to consider what God has done for us and turn to self-help to make ourselves better. And if this is the path we take, then the feeling of guilt will overcome us.
And then, one of the saddest illustration of this that I have seen in ministry. I have been in church ministry for 10, almost 11 years. And this makes me so very sad. We come to the Lord’s Supper and there are people who will not partake of it for years because so much has been made of examining ourselves. Are we to examine ourselves? Yes, of course we are that’s what it says. But the Lord’s Supper is not about examining ourselves it’s about God holding out to us a picture of the redemption that He accomplished for us through this priest.
Trust in this King-Priest. It will be to your eternal joy that you did.
This King-Priest will not forever be One who rules inivisibly seated on His throne forever. He is also conqueror. He will rule openly and visibly to the ends of the Earth.
R. Dwain Minor