 Good morning everyone. Welcome to our study in the book of Hebrews. Let's pray and begin. I'll just lead us in a word of prayer. Heavenly Father we thank you that God, Jesus is our redemption of God. Thank you that the Lord Jesus, Father God has become that perfect sacrifice and Lord our High Priest. Lord we thank you for all that we are learning about the fulfillment Lord that you brought about Father through your son Jesus Christ. Father as we meditate on the scriptures in the book of Hebrews help us Lord to truly take in all that Jesus has become all that he has done for us Father and help us so Father God to walk in the blessings, walk in the covenant promises and Lord to live that victorious and overcoming life that you are calling us to. We thank you Lord. We thank you for this opportunity to meditate on your word. Father we speak blessings upon all the students, the faculty and their families. Submit all things into your hands in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Okay this morning we will go back to Hebrews chapter 7. I know that we just completed Hebrews 6 where there was an introduction to the life of Melchizedek or the name called Melchizedek and I had mentioned saying we are going to discuss more about Melchizedek going forward. So today we will get to Hebrews 7 where the passage talks about Melchizedek and how Jesus became a High Priest of the order of Melchizedek. Let's start off by reading a few verses. I want to request one of us to please read the first three verses and then we will discuss about it. So this Melchizedek, King of Salem, Priest of the High, the Most High God who made Abraham returning from the slaughter of the King, of the King's unblessed King to whom also Abraham gave a serious part of all first being translated the King of righteousness and then also King of Salem meaning King of Peace without father, without mother, without genealogy having made the beginning of days no end of life but middle life the Son of God remains a Priest continuously. Amen. Thank you, Alubega. As we can see here there is the introduction of an individual. You may even call this person as a mysterious individual about whom we read in the book of Genesis. There is a passage in Genesis 14 verses 1 through 17 that records Abraham coming in contact with this priest called us Melchizedek and offering a tithe to Melchizedek after Abraham had won a battle. So that is the context. Now Melchizedek is the King of Salem and a priest of the Most High God. That's how those terms describe who he really was. So who was he? He was a king and he was a priest. He was a priest of the Most High God. A couple of other things that we see that Melchizedek blessed Abraham and as we read on we see in verse 2 it mentions that Melchizedek is the King of righteousness and also the King of Peace. So the more we learn about Melchizedek seems like he is a really unique personality. He was a King of Salem. He was a high priest of the Most High God. He also blessed Abraham and we recognize that his name it means King of righteousness and King of Peace. We can make a comparison with our Lord Jesus and also say that some of these terms that are being used King of righteousness, King of peace we say that about Christ. So let's read on verse 3. There is a little more information about Melchizedek and it says without father, without mother, without genealogy. So how can a human being be without father or mother or not have any form of connection to others like parents or grandparents. It says without genealogy and it also goes on to state neither beginning of days nor end of life but made like the Son of God remains a priest continually. So there is a priesthood of a person Melchizedek which is a continuous priesthood. There is no end to that priesthood and we also notice that he did not come from the line of Aaron. So the Levitical priesthood is from the line of Aaron but Melchizedek does not seem to be from the line of Aaron. So one conclusion that we can come to is that Melchizedek was probably a heavenly being and that is why all this description no father, no mother, no genealogy made like the Son of God priests continually. So there is the appearance of a heavenly being who is a picture of Christ or a picture of God right in the book of Genesis and we stated that the Son of God, the Lord Jesus is a priest according to the order of this heavenly being Melchizedek. For the Jewish people it was hard to accept a high priest who did not come from a certain line ordained by God and for whatever reason God is helping us recognize that Jesus is from the line of heavenly being called as Melchizedek. So even though he was born of the tribe of Judah and not really confined to what was spoken to Moses about the Aaronic priesthood he still is a part of something ordained by God from the line of Melchizedek. So let's continue. Let's read from verse 4. We'll read till verse 10. Could somebody else pick it up and read please. Verse 4, Jewish 10. Now consider how great this man was to whom even the Patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils and indeed those who are of the sons of Levy who received the priesthood have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law. That is from their brethren though they have come from the sons of Abraham but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. Here mortal men receive tithes but there he receives them off home it is with witness that he lives. Even Levi who received tithes paid tithes through Abraham so to speak for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him. Amen. So in this section once again the greatness of this priest is established. We noticed that the priest Melchizedek was also a king. We noticed that he did not have a lineage so he was a heavenly being. Now another greatness about Melchizedek is he is the priest of the most high God. The God you serve is so very important and in the case of Melchizedek we understand that he was the priest of the most high God. Which also gave him credibility as a priest. So these were some markers of the greatness of Melchizedek. Now let's continue to see other things. We are seeing that Abraham gave a tithe to Melchizedek so whatever he won in the battle a tenth of that he gave it to Melchizedek. So as we consider what actually had happened it is like Levi or Levi whichever way you pronounce. So Levi gave tithes to a better priest or a higher priest. But how did Levi give this tithe? Because Abraham gave the tithe and this passage that we read states that Levi was in the loins of Abraham. Now we know as we see the life of Abraham unfold and later on the generations of Jacob coming into the picture God calling him as Israel and out of one of the tribes came Levi. But all this was in the future. So in the passage we see that the writer of the Hebrews is stating that where is Levi? He is in the loins of Abraham meaning he is going to be one of those sons who will arise later on. So keeping that in mind the writer is saying that from this perspective it is as if Levi has given tithes already to Melchizedek. So I hope you all understood what we are trying to state here. But why is this important? It's important because we recognize the priesthood of Aaron and his sons. Now if Aaron and his sons are giving tithes not in actuality but we see how this has actually happened through the tithe which Abraham gave. Then the priesthood of Melchizedek is greater than the priesthood of Aaron. So that's the implication or the conclusion. So the existing or the earthly priesthood has recognized and even honored this priesthood that God is talking about out of which comes the priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ. So the greatness of Melchizedek and the greatness of the priesthood of Melchizedek is established in what this passage has to say that even Levi who was in the loins of Abraham has paid tithes to Melchizedek. So that establishes the greatness of Melchizedek. It's as simple as that. Now another statement there which we noticed was that Melchizedek has blessed Abraham. So when Abraham gave tithes what happened? Melchizedek blessed Abraham. So the way blessings flow is from someone who has the ability to bless to the one who is going to receive the blessing. Even when we keep that as our measuring stick we find that it was Melchizedek who blessed Abraham. So again it gives an elevated position or a greater honor to Melchizedek. So in all aspects it seems like Melchizedek is someone great and someone honored, someone respected by Abraham and by the descendants of Abraham who are to come later. So Melchizedek is great in that sense and we've established that by the 10 verses that we just read. Now let's move on to the passage from verse 11 to verse 17. Could another one of us please pick it up and read aloud. According to the order of man, it would be changed. Of necessity there is also a change of law. For a key of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe from which no man has officiated the order. For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood and it is yet far more evident even the likeness of Melchizedek there arises another priest who has come not according to the law of a freshly commandment but according to the power of an endless life. For he testifies you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. On the one hand there is an annuling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness. For the law made nothing perfect. On the other hand there is bringing in of a better hope. To which we draw near to God. Thank you. Thank you so much. So we've read the next section where we recognize that God did certain things under the old covenant which were but shadows. So the book of Hebrews shows us many such shadows. When we saw earlier we talked about Moses as the leader of the house of God and then the writer said the greatest leader, the son of God, the owner of the house is the Lord Jesus Christ. So Jesus is being exalted and the Jewish believers who are reading this text or are being spoken to are recognizing that the faith that they carry is so powerful. It's greater than whatever they had under the old covenant because something greater is here. Something new is here. The fulfillment of all the practices under the old covenant is finally here. So we saw that Jesus is greater than Moses and the author asks the people to put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. We also saw how Joshua brought people into the promised land. But then the writer said, look, if that was the ultimate rest coming into the promised land, there would be no question of any other kind of rest. But now we have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, faith in the work that he has done on the cross that brings us into the kind of the God kind of rest that God wants for us. There is always something greater that is being pointed to from the things that happened under the old covenant. Now talking about priesthood, we all know about worship, about the gifts that were offered, the sacrifices that were made. But all of that was just a shadow of the fulfillment of what God wanted to bring. And we know that the ultimate fulfillment of all things is through the Lord Jesus Christ. So here talking about priesthood and the way it was established through the law given to Moses. Now God is pointing to that and saying that it was but a shadow. Something greater is here, a greater kind of a priesthood which has greater credibility. The kind of credibility that the priesthood of Jesus has is such that the earlier priesthood through levy, literally honored or if you want to term it this way like bow down to the greater priesthood because it came through Melchizedek who is a picture of God in the book of Genesis for us. So we've already seen the greatness of Melchizedek and how Melchizedek blessed Abraham. And now we are being told that there is a perfect priesthood, a perfect priesthood that has come through Melchizedek. Now if the priesthood of Aaron was good enough, if the priesthood of levy was good enough, if the priesthood that came through the law of Moses was good enough, what would be the need for another priesthood to be spoken of? But there was a need and that is why God brings the new, God establishes the new. The old is done away with and there is an introduction of this new priesthood which is better. So in verse 12 it says for the priesthood being changed. Now something has changed, the priesthood has changed because we see of the necessity there is also a change of the law. So now things have come under grace. We read about that in the book of Romans. So not according to the law of Moses but there is something better which is operational now through grace and has been brought forth by the Lord Jesus Christ. So that's what we notice in this passage as well. So that is a greater priesthood that has arisen through Melchizedek and it's not according to the law of fleshly commandment. So it's simply referring to the laws of Moses. And this is something greater that has come in. So verse 17 talking about the Lord Jesus and his priesthood, it's God speaking about it and stating that you are a priest forever. Notice it says a priest forever. How is that different from the Levitical order? Because under the Levitical order there would be a change of priesthood every now and then. But it's only Jesus who's a priest forever. There's never going to be a need for him to be changed because he does not cease to exist. It's only when a priest dies that a new priest has to come in. But that's not going to happen because Jesus is eternal. And so there's going to be no need for the changing or the shifting of priests. So this priest that we have, the Lord Jesus Christ, he is a priest forever. He's according to a greater order of priesthood, the order of Melchizedek. And we see that in who the Lord Jesus is there is the fulfillment of the priesthood. So in verse 18 it says for on the one hand there is an unerling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness. So the old whatever was set in the past has been concluded or it has come to an end and something new has taken place. Verse 19 for the law made nothing perfect. On the other hand there is the bringing of a better hope through which we draw near to God. So it's just referring to the work of redemption on the cross. It's just referring to a new covenant which the Lord Jesus has established now and it's referring to salvation by grace, salvation through faith that Jesus has brought forth. Now when we look at the old priesthood and the law, we know that people failed under it because there were so many requirements but they were never able to meet it. But now finally we have a better covenant which is established through Jesus and it has been brought forth through grace. And we'll see later how this is different from the kind of covenant that Moses established with us. Now let's continue. We'll read from verse 20. Let's read till verse 25. I want to request one of us on the call to pick it up and read please. Last night as he was not made priest without an oath for they have become priests without an oath but he with an oath by him who said to him, the Lord has sworn and will not relent. You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. So by much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant. Also there were many priests because they were prevented by death from continuing but he because he continues forever has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore he is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him since he always lives to make indecision for them. This is fine John. Let's talk about this and then we can go ahead. Yeah, thank you. So we've understood that there is a better priest now for us and that he comes under the new covenant which is not about the law. Under the law that Moses established we know that people fail but now we have Jesus and this whatever he's established has come in through grace. Now we are continuing from verse 20 where it says inasmuch as he was not made priest without an oath. So what oath are we talking about? We've seen in the earlier passages that Jesus did not make himself a priest. He was appointed. Now if you recall we've said that God appointed Jesus as the priest. So that is the understanding though it mentions you know not without an oath. Basically what we are told is that directly Jesus was appointed and chosen as a high priest. When we look at the people who were chosen as high priests, human beings, we recognize that they came in the line of errand and they fulfilled some of the requirements. So they were chosen in that sense. They qualified and they were put in their position as high priest. But talking about Jesus it is like a direct selection. It's like a direct appointment. God himself picked Jesus and he has appointed him as the high priest. So that's the oath made priest. You know he was not made a priest without an oath. That's what it is referring to. So the Lord has sworn and will not relent. You are a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. God has directly appointed Jesus and that is not going to change. Now verse 22 it says by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant. We will talk about this covenant in chapter 8. There's a lot more that is spoken about this covenant. But for now this term surety of a better covenant. Let's talk about that. When we consider the old covenant, how did it come? It came through Moses. There are a couple of covenants but right now we are talking about the covenant that came to Moses. Which was the law that we quite often refer to. Now when we speak of a covenant, there's got to be two parties involved in making that covenant. So when God makes a covenant, it comes from him to the people or the recipients who are also part of the covenant. So at that point it was Moses who was on the other side of receiving the covenant. And he became the mediator who took the covenant out and who shared it with the people. But this time around we are told that not only is Jesus our high priest forever according to a greater order which is of the order of Melchizedek but he's also become a surety of a better covenant. So he's become a, you may want to use the word like the other party, the second party in the covenant or the co-signer of the covenant. It's not Moses anymore because Moses was part of the old covenant. But here is Jesus who is the co-signer of the new covenant and the better covenant. So notice Jesus is everywhere. He is the Son of God. He is the begotten of the Father. He is the high priest. He is a high priest, the order of Melchizedek. He is now the co-signer of the covenant. Now why is it better? Because you see the co-signer is better. Earlier it was a human being Moses who brought us the law and Moses by himself did not have any power to grant to the people. But this time around the co-signer that we have is Jesus and we will keep on reading that not only was the high priest but he also became the sacrifice and when he became the sacrifice what happened? Our sins were forgiven and there also came this aspect of us becoming the children of God and us being empowered. Now working from a position where sin is defeated, the power of sin is broken over our lives. So in the old covenant though people knew the promises that they had with God they had to do their part of living it out and being victorious but we know that time and again they failed. In the smallest of things people failed. They could not keep all the laws and so they were not walking in victory. But this time around Jesus being that co-signer he became the surety of the covenant but not only did he mediate the covenant for us but he empowered us to keep the covenant as well. So that is the good part and that is the great part of the new covenant and Jesus becoming the surety of the better covenant. So just a sneak peek if you want to call it. We can surely talk more about it later on but that's how we understand verse 22. Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant. Better covenant. Why better? So many reasons. One is that there is that empowering. The power of sin is broken because Jesus died on the cross for us as a believer. I can do my part empowered by what Jesus has done on the cross so that it becomes a better covenant. Verse 23. And there were many priests because they were prevented by death from continuing. Verse 24. But he because he continues forever has an unchangeable priesthood. Same thing. High priest forever. Unchangeable priesthood. How does this help us? One is that we know that we don't have to depend on any other high priest. We don't have to look for any other high priest or wonder whether someday another high priest will come and take Jesus's position. No way. He's eternal. He's a high priest forever. But the unchangeable priesthood of Jesus is precious to us because we've seen earlier that somebody who is a high priest is a representative of the people who knows what the people have been through and so he can represent them well. And we've talked about how Jesus aids those who are being tempted because he himself was tempted at all points yet without sin. And we also saw how he's a compassionate high priest. He can sympathize with those who go through weaknesses because he himself has borne those weaknesses and he has overcome. So the unchangeable priesthood of Jesus is very comforting because we know that he is that compassionate high priest who knows us, who knows our weaknesses, who knows our journey and we can depend on him. You know, when we have already journeyed with him so far and we are familiar with him. He's familiar with us. There's always that sense of strength and comfort that comes from there where we know, hey, Jesus knows me, he sees me, he understands me and so I don't have to be afraid of anything and no priest is going to suddenly come and then you have to start all over again with that new priest. That difficulty is never going to arise because he has an unchangeable priesthood. We have depended on him in the past and we are going to depend on him in the future and that's a really comforting thought that we have Jesus, somebody who knows us, who knows our weaknesses, who sympathizes with us, who helps us to overcome and along that those lines verse 25 says therefore because he's not going to change, because he understands us because he's such a compassionate high priest verse 25 therefore he's also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them. So now we have a high priest who has a greater priesthood who has overcome, who has become the surety of the covenant. Not only did he give us the covenant but he empowered us to live victorious through that covenant so that we can receive every promise of that covenant and now we are being told that we can put our trust in this great high priest because he'll not just be making our case before the Father for us but he has already empowered us. He's able, he's able to save us to the uttermost and because of what he has done, save us to the uttermost. Many people have preached sermons on this one scripture. It's a very powerful scripture, Hebrews 725. You may hear many sermons about it because it says that he's also able to save us, save to the uttermost meaning there is nothing that the work of the cross like there's no sin the work of the cross does not cover. It's so powerful, the blood that Jesus has shed for us and it is so powerful, it's able to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and bring us back into that position that God gave us as children of God and that's the powerful work that Jesus has done for us that he's able to save us to the uttermost. What can be the uttermost? What sin can take us to the uttermost? We can think of many things. All of us might state one-one thing and say if a person has reached this extent or if they are living in that sin which has taken them away from God they are in the uttermost but literally the work that Jesus has done on the cross is such that it can save the worst of sinners that's the power of the cross that's the power of the blood and that is the kind of covenant that God has now made with us he's able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him and he's saying those who approach God those who repent before God those who are seeking him for salvation he's able to save and any such sin or any such past is not a deterrent for God that he is able to bring them all into the fold because the work that has been done on the cross is so powerful and it also talks a little bit about the priesthood of our Lord Jesus it says since he always lives to make intercession for them so what kind of intercession does the Lord Jesus make for us we know primarily intercession of Jesus was an act that he did on the cross for us so him sacrificing himself on the cross was the greatest intercession that Jesus did for us as a high priest now of course he stands in the presence of the Father and he affirms he affirms all that he has done and all that the Word of God stands for before the Father and that's the form of intercession that our Lord Jesus makes for us so he's this amazing high priest whom we can depend on and who also empowers us the work that he has done on the cross is already the greatest intercession that he has made for us and he's also in the presence of the Father for us backing up all that the Word stands for all that he stands for and whenever we are in alignment we are in alignment to what the Bible says when we are in alignment to what the Word says if you go back to what we said earlier Hebrews chapter 3 verse 1 we said he's the apostle and high priest of our concession he backs it up whatever we stand for aligned to the Word he backs it up as our high priest he backs it up as our apostle so that is the work of the Lord Jesus as our high priest okay so many things to think about things like better covenant surety high priest forever his priesthood is unchangeable and of course the fact that he saves to the Atmos those who come to him right and he always stands to make intercession for us so that's the greatness of our Lord Jesus Christ any thoughts at this point or any questions or doubts you need clarity let's talk about that and then we can proceed yes Jeffyka so he said Mel heavenly be I don't remember you telling that so he took a form of human as far as I know because you said he was a king but don't we always say that Jesus is the only one heavenly was fully God from the heaven to the earth isn't he the only one so doesn't it tragic or is it is it actually Jesus who came in the old testament that's the question see the Lord Jesus is the fulfillment of all things okay now when we look at Melchizedek he was not an incarnation or it was not how do we put it it was like a momentary appearance okay so it was not necessarily an incarnation where we see Jesus take the form of a human being being born as a human being living as a human being and fulfilling the things that God called him to do but he was just a picture in the old testament that's how we take it so when we say he was a heavenly being he appeared to Abraham we don't have any more history to it so where did this person come from to whom was he born where did he grow up you don't have any of that it's like how you have some appearances of angels sometimes they appear and they are gone just momentarily for that purpose so it's somewhat like that somewhat like that there are many other things that we can talk about for example there is a phenomenon called as epiphany and it's not mentioned in scripture but it is recognized by some of the things that have happened where there is a manifestation of God in a way that can be perceived in the natural but it's not an incarnation so that's the difference so there is a manifestation which is momentary which can be perceived in the natural but it's not an incarnation so when we look at Melchizedek the appearance was somewhat like that we don't read anything more we don't have any major background about Melchizedek so Genesis we see a mention and I think only here in Hebrews again you read about Melchizedek so he was not a human being here it clearly states no father no mother how can a human being not have a father and a mother it was like an appearance of God to reveal something and we can see the pictures see king of king and priest right king and priest it's like a picture of Jesus isn't it we began in the book of Hebrews saying he's deity he's God he took the form of a human being and then now we're talking so much about the priesthood of Jesus so it's like God is presenting himself he's just giving us a glimpse through Melchizedek king of righteousness who's the king of righteousness and Jesus is the king of righteousness so that way it's just a picture or an image of God but it's not an incarnation I don't know if there's clarity or more confusion but we can move on any other thoughts yeah so epiphany I think even transfiguration is sometimes looked at as epiphany because Jesus up until that time like he was living as a human being but in those moments right when the disciples saw he's shown bright as a glorious being so there was a manifestation like a quick manifestation of who he really is and then gone so that's also sometimes considered no so that we won't consider as epiphany you're talking on the road to Emmaus when Jesus was talking to them and it says that it burned in their hearts after his resurrection yeah yeah so that we won't consider as epiphany because if God reveals his glorious heavenly nature right so then we would say that but in the case of the resurrection of Christ he was in a resurrected body so that's not like a heavenly how do I put it he was not really revealing his like a very different glory that he carried in heaven so he was not revealing that he was in his resurrected body you know Melchizedek is mysterious it really brings a lot of questions to our minds but it's good to just meditate and think through a little bit more about Melchizedek God's really presenting a picture of his greatness through Melchizedek and that's why he's mentioned here it's really so beautiful the high high priestly ministry of our Lord Jesus and as we began speaking today we said many of the things that were established under the old covenant many of the practices the temple worship the priesthood all the pictures the sacrifices the gifts the shed blood it was just a shadow and the book of Hebrews talks about the real deal it will refer back to those shadows and say hey you remember those things but here's the reality God was trying to explain this fulfillment through those practices through those established structures and other things that existed in the old covenant something new is here something greater something more powerful is here and the center of all this fulfillment and greatness is the Lord Jesus Christ and that's what is being established time and again chapter after chapter Jesus will be exalted that's the whole point of this the writing of the author here so I think we'll just stop with this let's pray together and then we can close off today's class I want to request one of us from the class to please lead in prayer Dear Heavenly Father I come to you under the name of Jesus I thank you for this day God when we look back at what you have said for us it's beyond imagination and understanding we are so thankful Jesus for saving us we are so thankful to have a high priest like you who knows exactly our weakness who's interceding for us who loves us without limits and God we are here though we don't deserve it it's because of your grace and kindness Jesus and we are so thankful God for learning for having an opportunity to learn all this we thank you for Pastor Nancy and God I pray that Jesus everything that we learn today will bring a transformation in our minds in our heart and our actions and words so we can be powerful ministers of the truth so that we can save the souls for you that they can know that they are not alone but there's a God who came down to this earth and he died for for them and he gave his life he resurrected and he's right now sitting in the I said of the Father interceding may this truth Jesus let us not just stay with this but make us bold and courageous so that we can step out and be a light on this dark world Jesus we love you we honor you we give you all the glory in Jesus name I pray amen amen thank you Jeffina thank you everyone God bless you and we shall meet tomorrow for the next class see you then