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GEN 14:18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he [was] the priest of the most high God.
GEN 14:19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed [be] Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
GEN 14:20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
PSA 110:4 The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou [art] a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
I. THE POINTS BROUGHT OUT CONCERNING MELCHIZEDEK DECLARED IN THE STORY IN GENESIS.
A. King of Salem or peace.
B. Priest of the most high God.
C. His name means king of righteousness. In the future, one of the names of Jehovah was to be Jehovah Tsidneku (The Lord our righteousness).
D. He blessed Abraham.
E. Abraham paid tithes to him.
II. THINGS THAT ARE DRAWN OUT THAT WERE NOT ACTUALLY STATED.
A. He is without geneology. "Without Father or mother or descent."
1. Genesis is a book of geneologies.
2. It traces the descents of the characters.
B. Nothing is told of his birth or death.
1. Again one of the features of Genesis.
2. Gives us the birth, and his descendants, "And he died and was buried with his fathers."
3. Consider the greatness of this man.
C. Abraham paid tithes to him.
1. The sons of Levi who take the office of priesthood are commanded to take tithes from the people.
2. The sons of Levi came out of the loins of Abraham.
D. This man who was not a descendant of Abraham received tithes from Abraham.
E. He then blessed Abraham. The lesser is blessed by the greater. So this Melchizedek was greater than Abraham.
F. The priest of the Levitical order who receive tithes, die.
G. Melchizedek received tithes and it is recorded of him that he lives.
1. "You are a priest forever."
H. Levi who receives tithes, actually paid tithes to Abraham.
1. For Levi's genes were in the gene pool within Abraham at the time that Abraham paid the tithes to Melchizedek.
III. CONCLUSION:
A. Now if the Levitical priesthood was complete, why would there be a necessity for another priesthood to arise that was after the order of Melchizedek? Why not after the order of Aaron?
B. The change of the priesthood necessitates a change of the law.
C. The One of whom these things are spoken came from another tribe.
1. The declaration "You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek," was spoken of Jesus."
2. Jesus was obviously from the tribe of Judah.
3. Nothing was spoken concerning priesthood to those who were from the tribe of Judah.
4. Judah was spoken of as the kingly tribe. Jacob prophesied on his death bed concerning Judah, "The sceptor shall not depart from Judah, until Shiloh come."
D. It is evident that the new priest should come after the likeness of Melchizedek.
1. He is not to be made a priest after the law or carnal commandments.
2. He will be a priest of endless life. "Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek."
E. This means that the old commandment is disannuled because of its weakness and unprofitableness.
F. For the law made nothing perfect.
1. The law could not make you righteous. It could only show how unrighteous you were (By the law is the knowledge of sin).
2. The sacrifices could not take away your sins, only cover them.
3. Under the law, you were still distant from God; the priest drew near to God for you.
4. Through the better hope, we can draw near to God.
G. "By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament." The way that God has provided for us through Jesus is in every way better than the old covenant that God made through Moses. Jesus is just better.
HEB 1:4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
HEB 7:7 And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.
HEB 7:19 For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope [did]; by the which we draw nigh unto God.
HEB 7:22 By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.
HEB 8:6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
HEB 9:23 [It was] therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
HEB 10:34 For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.
HEB 11:16 But now they desire a better [country], that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
HEB 11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
HEB 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
HEB 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than [that of] Abel.
H. The Levitical priests did not have a continuing ministry because they died. Thus, there were many who served in the office of high priest.
I. Jesus, because He lives forever, has an unchanging priesthood.
J. This is why He is able to save to the uttermost all who will come to God by Him.
1. The uttermost being people from all nations.
2. The uttermost means from the most dire circumstances.
3. The uttermost means from the deepest depths of sin and defilement.
4. The uttermost means for all of eternity. It is the ultimate.
K. The requirement, "All who will come to God by Him."
1. Jesus said, "I am the way the truth and the life, no man cometh to the Father but by Me."
2. Jesus said that He was the door to the sheepfold and he that seeks to enter by any other way is a thief and a robber.
L. Jesus ever lives to make intercession for us.
1. That was a part of the ministry of the priest.
2. We find Moses making intercession for the people.
3. Jesus is interceeding for us.
4. "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ who has died, ye rather is risen again and is at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us."
M. Our high priest is:
1. Holy.
2. Harmless.
3. Undefiled.
4. Separate from sinners.
5. Made higher than the heavens.
N. He did not have to offer up a sacrifice for His own sin as did the Levitical priests.
LEV 4:3 If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering.
LEV 4:4 And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD; and shall lay his hand upon the bullock's head, and kill the bullock before the LORD.
LEV 4:5 And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock's blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation:
LEV 4:6 And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD, before the veil of the sanctuary.
1. Aaron was commanded not to come at any time into the Holy of Holies at any time but just one day of the year. He was to come first with an offering for his own sin.
LEV 16:5 And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.
LEV 16:6 And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which [is] for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house.
LEV 16:11 And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which [is] for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which [is] for himself:
LEV 16:12 And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring [it] within the veil:
LEV 16:13 And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that [is] upon the testimony, that he die not:
LEV 16:14 And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle [it] with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.
LEV 16:15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that [is] for the people, and bring his blood within the veil, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:
O. Our high priest offered Himself once as a perfect sacrifice. Because His was a complete sacrifice, there is no need of any other sacrifices being offered.
P. The law ordained men as high priests which had weaknesses. They were sinners.
Q. The high priest who was declared by God with an oath to be a high priest after the order of Melchizedek was the Son of God and is a priest forever.
R. It is thought by many scholars that perhaps Melchizedek was one of the many theophanies of the Old Testament. That is the appearance of God to man in the person of Jesus Christ. As Jesus was one day disputing with the Jews, he said,
JOH 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw [it], and was glad.
JOH 8:57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, an hast thou seen Abraham?
JOH 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
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Square — [Jhn 1:1 KJV]
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