Well, please turn with me in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 7 for a meditation this evening, Hebrews chapter 7. Our focus will be on verses 20 to 28, but I'll begin reading in verse 11. A larger context, the apostle is dealing with the priestly office of our Lord Jesus. He begins in chapter 5 at verse 1, and then he ends that discussion concerning the priestly office of Christ in chapter 10 and verse 18.

He does take a couple of digressions once he starts his discussion in chapter 5. But he comes back here and highlights the reality that our Lord Jesus comes according to the order of Melchizedek. He is not connected to the Levitical priesthood. He is not of the tribe of Levi, but rather he is of the order of Melchizedek.

So I'll begin reading in chapter 7 at verse 11. Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood, for under it the people received the law, what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek and not be called according to the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. For he of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar.

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 if in the likeness of Melchizedek there arises another priest who has come. not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. For he testifies, you are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. For on the one hand, there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness.

For the law made nothing perfect. On the other hand, there is the bringing in a better hope, in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. And inasmuch 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.

By so 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 also able to save, to the uttermost, those who come to God through him,

Christ's Perpetual Intercession

since he always lives to make intercession for them. For such a high priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens, who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins and then for the people's. For this he did once for all when he offered up himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the son who has been perfected forever." Amen.

Well, let us pray. Father, we thank You for the written Word. We thank You for the priestly office of our Lord Jesus. We thank You that He is our King, that He is our Prophet.

We know, God, that we need a priest desperately. For apart, without the shedding of blood, there is no remission. And we have in this priest not only the offerer, but the one offered, the victim himself. And how we praise you, Lord God, that you sent him into this world to function in this capacity.

How we thank you for his finished work at Calvary, for that once-for-all sacrifice that was rendered to the Father. How we praise you for the benefits that have accrued to us as a result of his finished work. We thank you for the forgiveness of sins. We thank you for the imputation of righteousness.

We thank you that we have every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. We ask now that you would forgive, that you would cleanse, that you would wash us and fit us to listen, to receive the word of God, to celebrate the ordinance of the supper in a few minutes. And our Father, we just pray to this end that you would supply the Holy Spirit cause Him to guide, direct, and encourage our hearts, cause us to worship in spirit and in truth. And we pray these things through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen.

Introduction to Christ's Priesthood

Well, as I said, the apostle introduces the doctrine of Christ's priesthood, not introduces the doctrine, but discusses the doctrine in chapters 5 to 10. In chapter 5, very specifically, he highlights in verse 10 that Christ is according to the order of Melchizedek in terms of the priesthood. He then goes on a bit of a digression, as I mentioned, to deal with various practical issues affecting the people of God. He reproves them for spiritual immaturity in chapter 5, verses 12 to 14.

He then gives an exhortation to pursue maturity in chapter 6, verses 1 to 3. He then underscores the dangerous peril of apostasy in chapter 6, verses 4 to 8, and then he ends that section with an encouragement to persevere in chapter 6, verses 9 to 20, wherein, again, he highlights the reality that Christ is High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek, verse 20 of chapter 6. That then leads to this discussion concerning Melchizedek, and I leave that to you for your study later. We don't have the time to investigate all of those particulars involved with who Melchizedek was and how he relates to our Lord Jesus Christ.

But as I said, we're focusing on verses 20 to 28.

Christ Appointed by Divine Oath

In the first place, we ought to appreciate the appointment of Christ according to the divine oath in verses 20 to 22. Secondly, the permanent priesthood of Christ according to the divine plan in verses 23 to 25. And then the perfect priesthood of Christ according to His person and work in verses 26 to 28. Now, certainly, if you do not concentrate or focus upon or ever think about the priestly office of Christ, you are missing a world of benefit.

We need Christ as priest. We need one to intercede on our behalf. In fact, there are two-fold application of priesthood, or two-fold function of a priest, and one is oblation or sacrifice or offering, and the other is intercession. And here, particularly in this passage, we see us both ascribe to our Lord.

We need both. We need that intercession. We need his sacrifice on our behalf. But notice how Christ assumed office.

It was appointment by divine oath. Notice in verse 20. And inasmuch 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." Now essentially what is happening in the larger context is Aaron was the high priest. The Levitical order came about as a result of succession.

It wasn't divine appointment in terms of an oath-bound statement regarding their functioning as priests. The book of Exodus in chapter 28 highlights that it would be the tribe of Levi from whence the priests would come. So they were essentially born into it. That's why the author in the section that I read indicates that no one from the tribe of Judah ever officiated at the altar.

But Christ is of the tribe of Judah, therefore He is not one of the Aaronic priests. He is not connected to the Levitical priesthood. He is of the order of Melchizedek. So there is an absence of an oath with reference to the Levitical order.

But notice with reference to Christ, this is by divine oath. But he with an oath by him who said to him, now notice in verse 21, the Lord has sworn and will not relent, you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. That is Psalm 110. Pastor Porter read that at the outset of worship.

And we need to appreciate that Psalm 110 came in the context when there was a temple standing, when there was a Levitical priesthood officiating, when there were sacrifices being made. So that system, that structure, that particular covenantal arrangement, that priesthood, if you will, was always temporary in the plan of God. It was never viewed as the end-all, be-all. And that is what the apostle highlights several times in his discussion here.

But with reference to his citation, notice in verse 17, he quotes the relevant passage to Christ being of the order of Melchizedek. You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Here now he wants to solidify it and demonstrate that it is by divine oath. So he highlights that first part of Psalm 110.4 when he says, the Lord has sworn and will not relent.

The addition of that clause, and I will not relent, indicates something of the covenantal transaction between the Father and the Son. I think it harkens back to what we call the covenant of redemption. But notice that it was by divine oath that Christ assumed His particular office. And when it comes to God swearing, and when it comes to a statement that God will not relent, God cannot relent.

That language is for us. It is not describing a potential world wherein the living and the true God might actually change His mind or heart. When we see this language, it's appropriated to us, it's accommodated to us. This idea of God swearing an oath, if you look back in chapter 6 at verse 17, with reference to Abraham and the covenant with him. 617 says, thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath that by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.

In other words, when I take an oath, I am making a statement of my validity or my veracity. I am communicating to you that you can take me at my word. When God swears an oath, it is nothing to do with himself, but rather it is accommodated to us. Listen to Philip Hughes.

I think he explains this well, that God should bind himself by an oath is a reflection, not on the divine credibility. You see, God doesn't need to swear on a stack of Bibles. God doesn't need to affirm by oath. It is not a matter of, or not a reflection on the divine credibility, but on the perversion of the human situation.

God's oath indeed, though in itself redundant, since his word is absolute truth, is a condescension to human frailty. And I suspect that this language of oath, This language of God's swearing is a reflection of that covenantal act between the Father and the Son with reference to the salvation of His people. But for us, we can find great benefit and great comfort in this reality. God sanctioned Christ.

God swore Christ to activity. God installed Him for that particular function to do all that the Apostle highlights here with reference to our redemption. And note quickly, before we move on, the implication drawn by the Apostle here. Verse 22, he says, By so much more, Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.

Now this idea of surety is beautiful. The word was used in the papyri, those are great sort of slips of paper, if you will, and promissory documents to designate a guarantor or one who stands security. Jesus Himself is our security, that there will be no annulment of this new and better covenant. He is our surety.

He has sworn, and He has indeed undertaken by Himself. John Owen says, he undertook as the surety of the covenant to answer for all the sins of those who are to be and are made partakers of the benefits of it. That is to undergo the punishment due unto their sins, to make atonement for them by offering himself a propitiatory sacrifice for their expiation. redeeming them by the price of his blood from their state of misery and bondage under the law and the curse of it." He is the surety of a better covenant. And this is the first reference to better covenant in this particular book.

He's going to develop this theme over the next couple of chapters, but this better covenant is the new covenant, and notice it is founded on better promises, according to the context in chapter 8, verse 6, and then it affords a better hope. The reference recalls the better hope of verse 19, and it sets the stage for his discussion of the new covenant in chapter 8. So this covenant prophesied by Jeremiah in Jeremiah chapter 31, identified as the new covenant, is here in the book of Hebrews described as a second covenant, the new covenant, the better covenant, and ultimately in chapter 13 at verse 20, the eternal covenant. So we need to appreciate the reality that Christ's appointment to office was not because He was born into that tribe, but rather He was instituted, He was sworn in by God most high.

The Permanent Priesthood of Christ

Now notice secondly, the permanent priesthood of Christ according to that plan. Notice in verses 23 to 25, there was a succession of Levitical priests, right? I mean, they died and they were born and they lived and they functioned. Josephus said there were 83 high priests from the time of Aaron to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.

So there was a whole host of them. It says in verse 23, there were many priests because they were prevented by death from continuing. That makes sense, doesn't it? You can't continue to function as a priest if you die.

You can't continue to offer up oblation. You can't continue to intercede if you die. The contrast here is between the endless life of our Lord Jesus Christ and the death of these particular Aaronic priests. John Gill says death has a power to forbid a long continuance in this world.

We might call him the master of the obvious with that particular statement, wouldn't we? This is just the time to wake up, brethren, listen to what Brother John Gill says. Death has a power to forbid a long continuance in this world, and no man does continue long here. Death puts a stop to men's works and to exercise, and to the exercise of their several callings.

No office, even the most sacred, exempts from it. No, not the office of high priests. These were but men, sinful men, and so died. And their discontinuance by reason of death shows the imperfection of their priesthood.

You see the contrast between these many priests who died versus the one priest who lives forever. This indicates his superiority. It indicates his supremacy, which is a chief aim of the apostle throughout the book of Hebrews. Christ is superior to the prophets.

Christ is superior to the angels. Christ is superior to Moses. Christ is superior to Joshua. Christ is superior to Aaron.

Christ is superior in his person and in his word, and he accomplishes the task for which the Father sent him. Now notice, it highlights his unchangeable priesthood in verse 24. It says, but he, because he continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Isn't that good news?

Your priest isn't going to die. He isn't going to go the way of all flesh. He isn't going to be buried and contained by the tomb. Now certainly he did die, but he was raised the third day.

He is both God and man and one glorious person. Both natures functioning according to the divine mind, according to the divine will, for the redemption of His people from their sins. He continues forever, and then notice what He goes on to say in verse 24, He has an unchangeable priesthood. Now, let's just get real practical.

That means that if you close with Christ today, if you come to God through Christ today, you're not going to be lost on Thursday. You're not going to be cast off in two years. His is an unchangeable priesthood. Those for whom He died, those for whom He raised again, those will indeed be secure for all eternity.

His is an unchangeable priesthood. You may have gone to those Aaronic priesthood and got them on a good day or perhaps on a bad day. You may go to friends or persons that help you and find them on a good day or on a bad day. You may see that there is change in their character and the way that they conduct themselves with you, but you will never find that change with Christ.

You will never find that variation with Christ. You will never hear of Him. Abandoning any for whom He died, any for whom He sacrificed Himself, any for whom He continually makes intercession. It cannot be the case.

There is a world of encouragement in this specific statement in verse 24. But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Now the apostle, as he is wont to do in several places in his writings, draws out a salvific implication, an implication relative to salvation, and that's verse 35. Let's just take it apart.

Christ's Power to Save to the Uttermost

In the first place, he identifies his power. Notice in verse 25, Therefore, as an implication, therefore, as a conclusion, therefore, as an inference from what is followed, and it follows as a necessary consequence. Therefore, he is also able to save." Now, this idea of able is not like it is with us. Someone might say, I think I'm able to climb Mount Sham.

I may not be able to. There's almost a bit of contingency in the use of this word able, but it's not to be understood this way with reference to Christ here. It's not understood that way in the rest of the book of Hebrews, and it certainly is not used here in that manner. Notice, he is able to save.

This is what Christ does today at the hospital ministry. We looked at Luke chapter 19, and you'll remember therein, specifically at verse 10, the Lord Jesus describes his mission in very clear terms, not only for the benefit of Zacchaeus, of whom He just saved, but for that crowd, that notorious group of sinners that grumbled, whined, and complained. They were offended at the grace of God Most High when Jesus stood at the base of that sycamore tree and He told Zacchaeus to hurry down. What do the sinful people there do?

They grumble, they whine, they murmur, they complain. This is carnal man's reaction to the grace of God. He's going to be a guest at the house of a sinner. Well, Jesus defines his mission.

He says, the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. You see, we don't need in the first place a new religion. We don't need in the first place a political revolutionary. We don't need in the first place a social justice warrior.

We need in the first place the priestly office of our Lord Jesus Christ as specified in this particular passage with the grand and blessed implication that He is able to save. He is able and powerful to draw men unto Himself. in salvation. And it's based on this reality, this 725 reality, that he is also able to save to the uttermost that other blessed statements are made in the book of Hebrews. Notice in Hebrews chapter 2.

Hebrews chapter 2. And I love the way the New King James renders that. He saves to the uttermost. Certainly completely is a legitimate translation.

Certainly forever is a legitimate translation. But that idea of uttermost. He saves to the uttermost. He leaves nothing undone.

He leaves no stone unturned with reference to the redemption of his elect. He doesn't leave anything to chance, but rather he saves to the uttermost. It's another indicator why we know that Abel there doesn't have any degree of contingency whatsoever. because he is able to save to the uttermost. And because he is able to save to the uttermost, there are other blessed cordials that we find in the book of Hebrews that indicate the blessed connection we have with our high priest.

Notice in 2.17. Therefore, in all things, he had to be made like his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God to make propitiation for the sins of the people." Now, we shouldn't just run through that word, propitiation. I realize that a lot of people here have heard it defined in a multitude of ways or a multitude of times, rather, but we ought to just spend a moment to consider. Propitiation has to do with God's wrath.

You see, God is angry with the wicked every day. If you are not a Christian here this evening, you are under the wrath of God. This is the clear teaching of John 3.36. He that believeth a son hath everlasting life.

He that believeth not shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. This is a present, active, indicative situation. If you are an unbeliever, here now, the wrath of God abides on you. Well, this idea of propitiation means this, that Christ at the cross propitiates the wrath of God.

He doesn't deflect it, He doesn't send it away, but rather He absorbs it. He takes it in Himself. He drinks the cup of God's wrath to its dregs. He exhausts God's wrath on behalf of all those whom the Father has given Him.

So this word propitiation assumes God is wrathful. It assumes that we are sinful and under God's wrath and that justly. We are liable to all the curses of the wrath of God. But then notice what it goes on to say, for in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

You see, we have that benefit because He is able to save to the uttermost.

Christ as Sympathetic Mediator

Notice as well in Hebrews 4. Again, these are just blessed corollaries of the reality that He has saved us from our sins. We have one who is able to aid us when we are tempted. Maybe we shouldn't leave chapter two too quick.

You see, it can't be the case that you can't kill sin if you're a believer. This happens with us, doesn't it? Oh, I just can't get victory here. I just can't kill this sin.

Why not? Now, I'm not preaching perfectionism. I'm not suggesting that, you know, I'm John Wesley and I'm going to teach you all about, you know, higher life and second work of grace or second blessing and all that sort of thing. But brethren, we have divine aid.

We have divine resources. We have one who is able to aid all those who are tempted. See, I wonder if in the midst or in the crux, when we're about to choose that pathway to sin, are we crying out for our priest? Are we crying out for help from outside of ourselves?

Are we crying out to the one who is able to aid us when we are being tempted? Or do we reject or resist Him and just press on, pursuing our lusts with that old adage, well, sometimes it's better to ask for forgiveness than for help in this particular instance. Notice in chapter 4, another corollary connected to the reality that Christ saves to the uttermost. Chapter 4, verse 14, seeing then that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin." Have you ever contemplated verse 15?

We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses. I don't think he's just saying theoretically he can, but that he does. He has omnipotent compassion to utilize the language of John Murray. The apostle then draws out this implication or exhortation, let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

It's all connected to this reality in Hebrews 7 that he is able to save to the uttermost. And then notice the apostle highlights his particular office as mediator. He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him. You see, this is an important subject that we ought to give attention to with reference to our own apologetics in this world.

All religions do not lead to heaven. All religions do not lead to God. All religions ultimately lead to hell if they are Christ-less religions. Christ says this in the Upper Rome Discourse, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me. You see, Christians are oftentimes portrayed as being these bigoted persons, these prejudicial persons, these sorts of persons that are narrow-minded, these sorts of persons that are very exclusive. Exactly. We follow our Master, and our Master says that apart from Him, you will die in your sins, John 8.

If you do not believe that I am, Christ says, you will perish, you will die in your sins. But we have here an emphasis on the reality that if a sinner is to be saved, he must come to God through Christ. There is no true religion. There is no redemption.

There is no salvation apart from Jesus Christ. Now, I believe we all affirm that, and we certainly confess it in our London Confession of Faith, but do we live like that? Do we operate like that? I'm not suggesting we run all over the world and say, if you don't have Jesus, you're going to die in your sin, though that wouldn't be a bad thing.

But brethren, in our apologetic, in our witness, in our testimony, in our desire to see sinners saved, has it really affected us that apart from Christ, sinners go off to the pit? You know, I think that ought to affect us with reference to gospel missions. You know, there's a whole host of people that have never heard of Christ. What ought we to conclude from Hebrews 7.25?

Those who have not heard of Christ are going to perish without Christ. So it ought to cause us to pray for gospel missions. It ought to cause us to give as we are able to finance gospel missions. It ought to promote in us a concern for those who have not yet heard of Jesus Christ, because if He is the one alone who is able to save to the uttermost, and the means by which He does that is that those who come to God through Him are those who are saved, then we ought to be concerned with and interested in getting the gospel out there.

This is an emphasis in 1 Timothy chapter 2. You can turn there, passage dealing with salvation, 1 Timothy chapter 2, very specifically in verse 4. Well, let's just pick up in verse 1. You'll see how Paul applies it even to the civil government.

He says, therefore, I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. Now, I don't think Paul says, I want you to pray for them only that you may have these benefits. Certainly pray for their salvation. Certainly pray that God will work in their hearts.

I mean, I think as we pray for people, our chief concern ought to be to see them come to the Savior, right? Oh, no, not us. We just pray for peaceable and quiet lives. That's not his point.

That's not the emphasis. And he underscores this by verse 3, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved. Now, the old man there doesn't mean each and every man without exception, but I think it means men without without distinction. There's a particular category of men that Paul says we are to pray for.

Kings, governors, all who are in authority. And so when he says in verse 4, who desires all men, I don't think it means all men without exception, but all kinds of men, whether they're kings or paupers, whether they're black or they're white, whether they're Canadian or American, whether they're whatever. Notice in Acts 4. Acts, chapter 4, the early church believed this doctrine, that Christ was alone mediator.

And in Acts, chapter 4, at verse 12, it says, nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. So as we go back to Hebrews chapter 7, the apostle highlights Christ's power to save, His particular function as mediator, and then He underscores His intercession for His people. Notice verse 25, He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. since he always lives to make intercession for them." Again, the context feeds this whole idea. He's got the power of an endless life.

He is unchanging. He's not going to die. He's not of the order of Aaron. He's not a Levitical priest.

He's not going to breathe his last and go into the ground and we'll hear from him no more. No, he always lives to make intercession for us. And this whole idea of Christ making intercession for us probably would take, you know, several hours just at a brief glance. But there's a couple of passages we ought to consider.

In 1 John, chapter 2, verses 1 and 2, John says, my little children, I write these things so that you may not sin. It's a beautiful thing, isn't it? John writes what he's written up to that point so that the people of God will not sin. I'm not writing to you so that you'll go out and sin.

I'm not writing to you so that you'll go revel in the doctrine of justification by faith alone and draw out some ungodly implications that we can continue in sin that grace may abound. No, I write these things so that you may not sin. But, I love John, he's a realist. On one hand, he's an idealist.

I write these things so that you may not sin. Now, this isn't idealism and realism with reference to the philosophical schools of thought connected to those terms. It's just he's an idealist. I write these things so that you may not sin.

All you parents are idealists. I want you to go and clean your room, and I'm sure that in 15 minutes it's going to look spick and span. That's being an idealist. Being a realist is, I suspect that you're going to struggle with cleaning your room in 15 minutes.

So at about minute eight, I'm going to shout up from the bottom of the stairs and tell you to get a move on. That's realism. You see, what John says is, I write these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous.

It's beautiful, isn't it? Brethren, you're not supposed to sin, but when you sin, you have an advocate with the Father. We're not supposed to go out and violate the Decalogue. We're not supposed to go out and do things that are wicked.

We're not supposed to go out and break God's law. But if anyone does sin, he has an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous. Intriguingly, John uses the word propitiation in that context as well. It's a beautiful concept.

What our Lord Jesus affects for the good of His people. He always lives to make intercession for us. John Owen makes this observation concerning Christ's intercession. He says, this intercession of Christ is the great evidence of the continuance of His love and care, His pity and compassion toward His church.

Now think about it, Christ is king, Christ is prophet. We need him in each of these offices. We need him as a king to rule us, to defend us, to protect us, to legislate to us on how we are to march. We need Christ as prophet so that he communicates to us the word of the living God.

He does that through the written word by the power of His Holy Spirit. We need His prophetic ministry, don't we? But we need this priestly office of Christ to continue. And this is what Owen suggests.

This intercession of Christ is the great evidence of the continuance of His love and care, His pity and compassion toward His church. Had He only continued to rule the church as its King and Lord, He had manifested His glorious power, His righteousness and faithfulness. And that's all good stuff. The scepter of His kingdom is a scepter of righteousness.

But mercy and compassion, love and tenderness are constantly ascribed unto Him as our High Priest. It's beautiful, isn't it? I think we see those twin concepts in the passage we read from Hebrews chapter 4. Seeing then that we have a great high priest, Jesus who passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. The same idea is in 2.18, for in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to aid those who are tempted. You see, we have a kingly priest, and this is precisely what Psalm 110 specified. The Lord, Yahweh, said to my Lord, Christ, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool.

That's the kingly office of Jesus. That's his royal reign. But smack dab in the middle of the psalm, you are a priest of the order of Melchizedek. Our Jesus fulfills those offices of prophet, priest, and king for the benefit of His people, for the good of His church, for their encouragement, and so that they will go to Him on a regular basis.

The Perfect Priesthood of Christ

Now let's look finally at the perfect priesthood of Christ according to His person and work. In some sense, what we have here is a description of his character. It's a description of his qualification. It shows his fittingness for his task.

In fact, that's how it starts.

Christ's Personal Qualification

Notice in verse 26 where the apostle highlights his personal qualification. For such a high priest was fitting for us. I've always thought, you know, he goes on to say, holy, harmless, and undefiled. It's fitting for us to have him because we are unholy, we are harmful, and we are thoroughly defiled, aren't we?

Not only are we not separate from sinners, we're right there in the mix. We are right there busying ourselves with all of the ungodliness that sinners perpetuate. But this one is fitting for us because we're unholy, because we are harmful, and because we are thoroughly defiled. It was fitting that he would be such a high priest who is holy, harmless, undefiled.

This describes his sinlessness. This describes his perfect qualification for the function as priest. This goes along with the book of Leviticus. Remember when the sacrificial animal was chosen from the flock?

What were they forbidden from doing? They were forbidden from picking one that was disqualified. They were forbidden from taking one with a broken leg. They were forbidden from taking one that was blind or maimed in some other way.

They had to pick the best animal. This is the whole rationale for the prophet Malachi, because in Malachi's days the people were indeed offering up the worst of the animals in order to bypass, or probably in order to secure for themselves the good animals in their own flock. But you see, Christ is fit, Christ is qualified, Christ is indeed the man that answers to the particular focus of God in the salvation of His people. Now this idea of holy, it's personal piety, His obedience to the Father, the reality that He accomplishes the Father's will, the harmlessness of our Lord Jesus, free from all guile, His innocence, His moral qualification as High Priest.

Notice in our studies in the book of Matthew. I mentioned this morning how Jesus called or referred to that third slave as wicked and lazy. You see, it's not harmful to use such verbiage if it's true. So we're being pummeled in submission today.

We can't say anything that may sound unpolitically or unpolitically correct, I don't know if that's it, unpolitically correct, probably, because it might offend somebody. But if it's true, how is it harmful? Right? So Jesus is able to refer to Herod as a fox.

He's able to refer to the religious leaders of his day as hypocrites, as bags of snakes. And in all that, he is harmless. You see, I think that we have imbibed this political correctness and reinterpret Scripture in a way it was never intended to be. But notice, he is holy, harmless, undefiled.

O'Brien says, taken together, these three adjectives forcibly describe the sinlessness of the high priest. Notice it goes on to say, he is separate from sinners. Now, when it says that, it's not like the Pharisees were separate from sinners. It's not like some of us might be.

We're too pure and holy to get around anybody that's not like us. Those people do this in their homes, so we're not going to have any truck with them. Those people do this in their homes, so if they ever invite us over for dinner, we're busy. We can't have any association whatsoever with anybody that's not just like us.

That's not what it means. The separate from sinners here cannot mean he was away from sinners. Because in his earthly ministry, this was one of the chief complaints of the Pharisees, vis-a-vis Luke 15. This man receives sinners and he eats with them.

Remember what happens after he saves Matthew. What does Matthew do? Matthew throws a feast. Jesus is the star of the show, or the one who is honored at this particular feast.

And who does Matthew invite? All the rabble that he is associated with. All the sinners that he is associated with. Jesus doesn't run out of the house and say, oh, I can't be near them because I'm separate from sinners.

No, it was the Pharisees who said, why does the master or why does your rabbi, why does your teacher have truck with these sinners? And Jesus says, I didn't come to call the righteous, but I came to call the sinners to repentance. Being separate from sinners in this context must be according to the holiness, the harmlessness, and the undefiledness. He is separate from them in that he's never participated in their sin.

It underscores the reality of His holiness, harmlessness, and undefiledness. He is separate. Not that He doesn't draw nigh to us when we cry out and give us aid in our temptations. Not that He doesn't sympathize with us in our weaknesses.

Not that He doesn't save to the uttermost all that draw nigh unto God through Him. He's not separate in that sense. In fact, Christ is accessible. Christ is available as the high priest for his people.

The separateness has to do with him never having sinned. It's a beautiful thing. You see, He is indeed the Lamb of God. He is indeed the choice of the flock.

He is indeed the one that is without maiming, without laming, without blindness, without any defect whatsoever. When God dealt with sinners, He sent His Son. When God dealt with sinners, He sent the best.

Christ's Once-for-All Sacrifice

So His personal qualifications are indicated in verse 26, and that leads finally to the discharge of His sacrifice in verse 27. Notice, he does not need daily sacrifice. John Owen has a masterful section here on why the Roman priesthood is such an aberrant piece of theology or practice. Why in the world would we need priests to minister before God when we have a great high priest?

Why would we want to duplicate these sacrifices? Notice the emphasis, and it's not just here in Hebrews chapter 7. It's littered throughout the book of Hebrews. It's a once-for-all sacrifice. for a popish priest to stand up and say we're engaged in an unbloody sacrifice is blasphemous.

That's why Pastor Porter no doubt tonight will indicate that we're not doing transubstantiation. There is no change of bread and wine. They are not becoming something other to facilitate a priestly ritual wherein we offer up again the Son of God. That's not happening here.

That is not taking place here. That is abominable. That is wretched. That is against the scripture.

How the Roman priesthood has managed to stay intact in light of the book of Hebrews shows us something about the deceitfulness, not only of Roman Catholicism, but the duplicitousness of people. I mean, no one should read their Bibles and say, wow, we need a priest so that they can engage in an unbloody sacrifice. How could you get that from the book of Hebrews? How could you finish this book of Hebrews with its emphasis on this once-for-all sacrifice of a perfect sacrifice and say, hey, how about if we duplicate that in our worship services?

This is a non-duplicated thing. Notice, he does not need daily sacrifice and he does not need sacrifice for himself. Notice in verse 27, he does not need daily as those high priests to offer up sacrifices first for his own sins and then for the people's. Look back at 5.3. 5.3, what we have there is a bit of a contrast between Aaron and Jesus, and by Aaron I mean the Levitical priesthood.

But notice in 5.3, it says, because of this, he is required as for the people, so also for himself to offer sacrifices for sins. You see this in the book of Leviticus in chapter 16. When the priest goes about that ritual on the day of atonement, that one day a year, what's one of the aspects of the sacrifice? It is to cleanse the high priest.

He can't wander into the presence of God uncleansed or defiled. He needs cleansing. And that comes through the sacrifice that is offered. Not so with Christ.

He does not need to sacrifice for himself because he is sinless. And then notice, it says, for this he did once for all when he offered up himself. O'Brien makes this observation, by contrast with the Levitical priests, Christ offered the definitive and ultimate sacrifice of himself once for all. Now listen to this, he did not make an offering for himself, but of himself for the sake of others.

You see that subtle difference that's most powerful and reflects the theology taught here in this section. He did not make an offering for himself, but rather he made an offering of himself for the sake of others. John Owen, in a bit longer sentiment, as you'll read Owen on Hebrews and note for the, the faint-hearted, it's seven volumes on Hebrews. And it's not like reading, you know, the Chilliwack Progress, it's dense.

And it makes you feel dense after you've read, you know, a page. You don't just skim through Owen, but I want to read this because I think he captures something beautiful. He says, he died as a priest. They died from being priests.

He died as a priest because he was also to be a sacrifice. But he abode and continued not only vested with his office, but in the execution of it in the state of death. Through the indissolubleness of his person, his soul and body still subsisting in the person of the Son of God, he was a capable subject of his office." Now, we may not have all got that last sentence. Bandy that around at the next time we meet in our studies for Birkhoff.

But listen to what he says. Listen to what he says. He died as a priest. They died from being priests.

He died as a priest because he was also to be a sacrifice. But he abode and continued not only vested with his office, but in the execution of it in the state of death. He was raised, and He secured salvation. Notice in verse 28, it summarizes the argument up to this particular point.

It essentially says the law of the Levitical priesthood is contrasted with the divine oath by which Christ was appointed. It says the many Levitical priests are contrasted with the one priest of the order of Melchizedek, and then it contrasts the weak and sinful priests with the Son, who has been perfected forever.

Application and Conclusion

I want to conclude with two observations before we move on. In the first place, I think this passage does display to us the glory of our Savior, the glory of our high priest. Now, there's certainly a whole host of things that we can say from the scriptures concerning the kingly office and the prophetic office. Those are offices we desperately and we crucially need.

But we need this priestly office. We need one who is not only an intercessor for us, but he is also one who is the sacrifice. He sacrificed himself for us. He was the perfect offering unto God.

In chapter 10, verse 4, it'll tell us that the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin. That in the larger section dealing with the reality that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins. That doesn't mean those sacrifices in the Old Testament didn't have any effect. It doesn't mean they were useless.

It doesn't mean they were bad. It simply means they were typical. They pointed forward to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. What we see in the priestly office of Christ is His glory, His majesty, His excellence, His beauty, His purity, and His compassion, His mercy, His grace, His kindness, His desire, not desire, His willingness rather, to draw nigh unto His people. his ability with reference to the saving of sinners.

Brethren, we ought never to be ashamed. We ought never to be weary of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ because he alone is the one who is able to save to the uttermost all who draw near to God through him. That is good news. If you are not a believer here tonight, look at verse 25, appropriate verse 25.

The scripture says, if I come to the father through the son, he will not cast me out. I believe by the grace of God. I believe I want to hold on to Christ. I want to know something of his priestly office.

I want to know this mediator. I want to know what it is to be saved. This Christ is able to deliver the goods. This Christ is able to benefit all who draw nigh unto God through Him.

With reference to His intercession, as Owen said, it speaks to His mercy, His continued pity for the church, His continued compassion on our behalf. You see, I think at times when we consider who God is, we see Him as we ought, as this lofty, majestic being. Scripture calls Him the Holy One of Israel. He's referred at times as the Lofty One.

What do the Old Testament men often refer to God? God most high. All of these are appropriate and lovely and beautiful terms. But you know what it can tend toward in the lives of God's people is to highlight the distance between God and us.

And that's a good thing to highlight. God is creator. We are creature. There is a vast chasm.

He is not in the same order of our being. He is all together. He is transcendent. But He is not that at the sacrifice of His imminence, His presence, His nearness, His goodness, and that priestly office of Christ ought to remind the people of God of that access.

We have by grace come to the Father through Him and have known what it is to be saved to the uttermost. Let us every day come to the Father through Him. Let us in our worship come to the Father through Him. Let us live our lives coming to the Father through Him.

You see, this priestly office speaks great benefit to the people of God.

Use the High Priestly Office

And that's the second observation. We need to use this high priest. And I don't mean in a sinful, wicked way. But brethren, consider the passages that we've looked at tonight.

Those few in Hebrews 2 and 4, here in chapter 7, excuse me, and then in 1 John. You're going to sin. You may be sinning right now. I'm going to step out and say, you probably are.

Don't offend me, brother. What's the two greatest commandments? Love to God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Love to your neighbor as yourself.

If you've had a thought that wandered any time during the last half hour, you haven't loved me as yourself. Just kidding. You need his priestly office, don't you? My little children, I write these things so that you do not sin.

Wake up tomorrow with the resolution that I'm going to go out and I'm not going to sin. Now, when you're moving your legs off the bed, you'll realize, I've already sinned. Thank the Lord God most high. I have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous.

What is John telling us? John is telling us, I think at least by way of implication, maintain short accounts with God. See, I think this is destructive in marriage, when we sin against each other and we don't clean it up. I think it's destructive in interpersonal relationships, when we sin against each other and we don't clean it up.

We don't maintain short accounts. In other words, if I sin against you, I ought to seek to fix it. If you sin against me, you ought to seek to fix it. We ought to maintain short accounts with the ones whom we sin against.

Why do we forget that when it comes to our vertical dealings? Well, I think we actually forget it in our interpersonal dealings, but we certainly ought not to forget it with reference to God. What do you do when you sin? You engage in a form of evangelical penance.

You put ashes in your soup, you make yourself feel really bad, and then you'll work yourself up to going back to the Father. That's not what 1 John 2 says. My little children, I write these things so that you may not sin. And if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous.

What is that supposed to imply for us? When I'm conscious of the fact that I've sinned against God, I have to go to my God through the advocate. I ought to confess my sins, 1 John 1, 9. I ought to ask Him to forgive me of my sins, and I ought to trust that He is faithful and just to forgive me.

You see, brethren, you need to utilize the priestly office of Jesus Christ. I suspect that if you get your mind wrapped around 1 John 2, 1 and 2, you're going to be using that office very often. You know, apply to God through Christ very often because you sin very often, but as well, Not even with reference to sin, you're undergoing temptation. Maybe it's a particular challenge in your life.

Maybe you've tried, maybe you've failed. Have you tried the high priestly office of Jesus Christ? You cried out to him, was able to give aid. When you're tempted, you see brethren, when you're tempted, that's when you need divine aid.

When you're tempted, that's when you need to invoke the promises of God. When you are tempted, you are not to lay down passively and engage in sin. You see, we sing those hymns relative to the second coming of the Lord Jesus. We see these passages on how we ought to live in light of the second coming of our Lord Jesus.

And what do they envisage? They envisage a fighting people, a warring people, a battling people. They envisage a people that are described as the church militant. Not the church passive, not the people of God just falling prey to every wind of doctrine, falling prey to every sin that comes along.

Brethren, invoke the high priestly office of Jesus Christ when you're undergoing that particular temptation. Trust Christ to provide aid. That's what the scripture says. And as well, you need somebody to sympathize with you in your life.

I'd like to be that guy, but you know what? I'm not the most sympathetic fellow in the world. If you ask me to pray for you, I will try to pray for you. You cry out to Jesus and realize that he always lives to make intercession for you.

You ever told somebody I'm gonna pray for you and then you didn't? Let's try to make sure that if I tell somebody I'm gonna pray for them, I try to pray for them right away, because I know my memory. If I don't do that, then it's not good. But I think we do that in the church, don't we?

I'll pray for you. So I prayed for you. Did we really? I mean, I'm not sure that we need to tell everybody that we're praying for them.

I mean, Jesus says, when you pray, go into your secret room and pray. Don't tell everybody, hey, guess what? I prayed for you. Now, I think it can be a means of encouragement.

I prayed for you. I certainly appreciate it when people say, hey, I've been praying for you. Great. Wonderful.

Thank you. I appreciate that wholeheartedly. But you know, as men, as women, we are fallible. As men, as women, we forget.

As men, as women, especially as we get older, if we don't write things down right away, it's just going to pop right out the other side. Christ never forgets. Christ never falters, Christ never fails, Christ rather always lives to make intercession for his people. So if his people continue to founder, his people continue to wallow, his people continue in rebellion, it is no reflection upon his priestly office, it rather is a reflection on the fact that they don't utilize the priestly office that has been afforded to them in the person of Jesus Christ.

If we could summarize this section of the book of Hebrews, it would go like this. Christ is a wonderful high priest, and you people need to use him. You need to avail yourselves of the divine resources and the great riches that are wrapped up in the person and in the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Go to him, invoke his aid, invoke his sympathy, and invoke his advocacy when you sin against the Father.

Closing Prayer

Well, let us pray. Our God and our Father, we thank you for the word of truth. We thank you for the priestly office of our Lord Jesus. What a great high priest he is, not only as the one who offered the sacrifice, but as the very sacrifice himself.

I pray that this gospel would be proclaimed throughout the earth. I pray that many would come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. I pray for those here that are outside of Christ, that by your grace, they would come to God through the Son, and they would be saved to the uttermost. And bless those people at the Heritage Village as well.

God, we pray that you'd open their eyes and their hearts to the truth, many of them near the end of their lives, getting ready to cross into eternity. May they be clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And it's in his name that we pray. Amen.

Scripture References

• Exodus 28
• Leviticus 16
• Psalm 110:1; 110:4
• Jeremiah 31
• Luke 19:10
• John 3:36
• Acts 4:12
• 1 Timothy 2:1; 2:3-4
• Hebrews 2:17-18; 4:14; 5:1; 5:3; 5:12-14; 6:1-3; 6:4-8; 6:9-20; 7:11-28; 8:6; 10:4; 10:18; 13:20
• 1 John 1:9; 2:1-2