The Ultimate Priest, Part 2

If you got your Bible, turn with me to Hebrews chapter 7. Hebrews chapter 7, and we want to finish that chapter this morning before we move on to chapter 8.

And I love what the writer of Hebrews is doing. We know the ultimate writer is the Spirit of God, right? So everything is inspired by God. But whoever the author is outside the Spirit of God, we don't know who is actually pinning these words. And that's okay, we don't have to know that. Because we know it's inspired by God.

But what he does is so beautiful because it's what I love to do: to take one verse and milk it for all it has. And what he has done all through chapter 7, that he has begun already earlier on in the Hebrews, is take one verse from the Old Testament, just one verse. Because he's writing to a Jewish audience. And that Jewish audience needs to know who the Messiah is and what the Messiah does, what the Messiah did. Okay?

And so he is taking this one verse, Psalm 110, verse number 4, a messianic psalm. The psalm that's quoted more than any other psalm in the New Testament. He takes Psalm 110, verse number 4. He mentions it four times in Hebrews. And he milks it for all that it has. He squeezes it and squeezes it and squeezes it until he gets all the rich truth out of it so that this Jewish audience knows who Jesus Christ is and that he is the ultimate priest.

He knows that the old priesthood under Aaron, the Levitical priesthood, was not able to do what the ultimate priest can do. He knows that the Old Testament priesthood under Aaron was inadequate. Insufficient, incomplete, because it was all about foreshadowing that which the Messiah would do when he arrived.

And so, what he does is say, "Look, in verse 11 of chapter 7, now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood," but it wasn't, was it? And what do we say perfection was? Identified in verse number 19. It says, "For the law made nothing perfect. On the other hand, there is a bringing in of a better hope through which we draw near to God."

The perfection was drawing near to God. Very, very important. Because there was this veil in the temple, in the tabernacle, that separated the Jewish people from the presence of God. And so their access was limited. It was limited through a priest that would go in and offer sacrifices for the sins of the people. But that veil separated them.

And so that Aaronic priesthood was limited in terms of its perfection because it didn't give them full access into the presence of the living God. But the ultimate priest, the Messiah, he would do that. And so he would remind them of the inadequacies of the Levitical priesthood, and the complete adequacies of the unlimited priest, Jesus Christ.

They even understood the limits of the priesthood because there was this great passion and longing and desire to dwell in the presence of God. And all of that was moving them onward toward the arrival of what the Bible calls "the desire of the nations." Haggai 2, verse number 7. For he truly was the desire of the nations, the desire of the peoples, that they somehow would have all their longings and desires met in the one Messiah.

Who would come and rescue them from their sins? This ultimate priest, the Messiah. Would rip the temple in two, or the veil in two, in the temple at his death on Calvary's tree. That's one of the miracles that took place when Christ died. And that veil, as thick as a man's hand, hung from the ceiling to the floor, and yet it was ripped in two to show access now is available to all those who come to him by faith. The presence was open. You can now walk and access the presence of God.

And that presence now, listen, verse 25 of Hebrews 7, we get to it in a moment, saves you forever. It saves you to the uttermost. It saves you completely. See, perfection has two sides in the book of Hebrews. From our side, it's access into the presence of God. But from God's side, it's salvation because the only way you get into his presence is because of his righteousness.

So, perfection from the human side is: I have access into the presence of the living God. And the only way I can get there is because of the saving grace of Christ. Who clothes me in his righteousness? The Bible talks about the garments of God in Isaiah, talks about the robes of righteousness in Isaiah. It's all about the coming new covenant that was ratified by the blood of Jesus Christ on Calvary's Tree.

The book of Hebrews is so rich. So when you understand Judaism, which is the root, Christianity, which is the fruit, becomes so clearly obvious to us. And so he takes this psalm, he squeezes it, and says, "You know this psalm." Because they did. I mean, after all, it's a messianic psalm.

And so they would know about it because it was taught by their rabbis, and they would grow up with their parents teaching them. One day after all, or one day after another, about this Messiah who's going to come, this seed from Father Abraham. And so he uses this illustration because Father Abraham was the ultimate patriarch. He was their father. Everything is about, "We are of our father Abraham."

And yet, Abraham in Genesis 14 would pay tithes to Melchizedek. And when he came, Melchizedek met him and gave him wine and bread and blessed, blessed Abraham. And in blessing Abraham, this king, this king priest, this righteous king, this king of peace, this king of Salem, was a priest way before anybody had come forth from the loins of Abraham. Way back in Genesis 14.

And so when Melchizedek blessed him, he was blessing the nation as well, all those who had come through the loins of Abraham. When Abraham would pay tithes to Melchizedek in honor of his God, the whole Levitical system was submitting themselves to Melchizedek. Way back in Genesis chapter 14. So a thousand years later, the Lord God would use that as a pivotal verse. To say the Messiah will be in the order of Melchizedek. And that's what the writer of Hebrews is trying to explain to us, to make it real to us.

And so last week I gave you, how many points did I give you last week? You remember? Wow, man. I only gave you two. Two. That's all I gave you. You can't remember the two? Okay, this week I'm going to give you three. Three words, that's it. Three words as to why Christ is the ultimate priest. Number one, indemnity. Number two, immutability. Number three, impeccability. Do you get those? Of course not. That's okay. I'm going to repeat them for you as we go.

First of all, his indemnity. We're going to walk through these verses together. Verses 20 to 22 reads as follows: "And inasmuch as it was not without an oath, for they indeed became priests without an oath, but he with an oath. Through the one who said to him," here's Psalm 110:4 again, "the Lord has sworn and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever. So much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant."

This is his indemnity. He is our surety. He is our guarantee. Okay? That's what makes him the ultimate priest. He now becomes the guarantee because the Lord did something very unique when it comes to the Lord God of Israel. Our Lord swore an oath. That's very important. He swore an oath.

And you ask yourself this question: why would the Lord, who is the God of truth, who always speaks truth and never lies, never fudges anything. He's 100% true in everything he says, and all of us would agree with that. So, why would a God who speaks truth only swear by himself or swear to himself and make an oath. That's very important. Because it shows the uniqueness of the covenant. It shows the specialty of the covenant.

Because what the Lord did, what he didn't do for the Aaronic priesthood, he never swore an oath to Aaron that his priesthood would be forever. So the Jews knew that the priesthood was temporary, and that in 70 AD, when the whole temple came down and was destroyed by Rome, then that was an opportunity for them to realize the Levitical priesthood is done. There is no more sacrifices. It's over. Hasn't happened since. And yet, He wanted to make them understand this is just transitory. It's temporary.

But when he swore an oath, what he did is he swore an oath because it was an eternal transaction that would last forever. Put it this way: whenever God takes an oath in relation to a promise, it is always connected with Christ. Who is the eternal fulfillment of that promise? That's why he swears an oath.

He did it with Abraham. We talked about it in Hebrews chapter 6. Remember what it says in verse number 13? "For when God made the promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself, saying, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply you. And so having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation, is an end of every dispute. In the same way, God desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his purpose, interposed with an oath."

There was an oath that was taken. Why? Because it was an eternal transaction dealing with the Messiah. So God swore an oath to Abraham. That from you will be a seed that will bless the nations of the world forever. Because they will embrace him as their Messiah, and their Messiah is eternal, and therefore they will obtain eternal life. Same thing he does here. He swears to himself and will not change his mind. Why? Because the Messiah will come from the order of Melchizedek, meaning that now becomes a permanent deal. As opposed to that which was temporary, this becomes permanent. Because everything that was temporary pointed to that which would be ultimately permanent.

And the writer of Hebrews is saying, "You know this, you know, you know, because the Old Testament says it, and you know, Messianic Psalms, you know." That the priesthood that descended from Aaron was only for a while, not forever. That's why the Lord took an oath. He will not repent. He will not change his mind. That the Messiah will be in the order of Melchizedek, a priest in the order of Melchizedek. He will be an eternal priest forever.

Which is very important because in Psalm 89, he swore another oath to King David. He said, verse 3: "I have made a covenant with my chosen. I have sworn to David my servant, I will establish your seed forever, and build up your throne to all generations." In other words, he took an oath and swore to David that his seed will produce the eternal king. So when he was making an eternal transaction that dealt with the Christ himself, because in Christ all the promises are yes when it comes to the fulfillment of everything that God has designed. And so, therefore, he takes an oath and swears by it.

And so, this Jewish audience is listening to this. See, sometimes when you read the book of Hebrews, you got to think like a Jew. Can't think like a Gentile. You got to think like a Jewish person and say, "Well, if that's the case, and it's there in the Old Testament. The Lord gave it to us. We know what he said. He's saying, this priest, this Jesus, is the ultimate priest. Because he is in the order of Melchizedek. He's from the tribe of Judah, not from the tribe of Levi. And God made it very clear that the eternal priesthood would not come from Levi. But from the order of Melchizedek, or in the order of Melchizedek." How clear is that? How beautiful is that?

Now, a surety is a person who guarantees. That's why we call it his indemnity. He is the surety. Christ is the guarantee. Christ is the solid foundation. He is the rock. He is the one that gives us access. And because he gives us access into the presence of God. Hebrews 6 says that we are anchored there. That's why He's a better hope. That's why He's a better covenant because He's better than the old, He's the best. And therefore, he takes you into the presence of God and he anchors you there. You never have to leave. They can never get into the presence of God. But when he ripped the veil in two, access now is completely open.

So Christ himself is engaged as the one who is the guarantee, the surety of a better covenant. And Christ, who is not just our mediator, it's great that He's our mediator. There's one mediator between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus, right? But he's more than just a mediator. He is our guarantee, our surety. He is our assurance. That once we enter, listen, we never leave because we are permanently in the presence. He's the guarantee. And because he's eternal. He grants you eternal life, where that access remains perpetually.

What a beautiful picture for this Jewish audience who knew that they didn't have access because of the priesthood, the sacrificial system, the rituals that they went through. He says, "I want you to be satisfied with what Jesus has done. I want you to rest in what Jesus has done because he is the ultimate priest."

Number one, his indemnity. Number two, his immutability. He never changes. He's always the same. Listen to this. Verses 23 to 25 reads as follows: "The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing. But Jesus, on the other hand, because he continues forever, holds his priesthood permanently. Therefore, he is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them."

This is absolutely powerful. You see, our Lord never changes. The priesthood for Israel would change. Why? Because the priests would die. They would decay. They would ultimately pass on into eternity. One of the reasons God made Aaron's death in the book of Numbers, the 20th chapter, so public. He wanted Israel to be involved in it, is to show them and etch in their minds that this priesthood is temporary. It lasts only for a while. These men don't live forever. They are your bridge, your opportunity to receive or to have your sins covered, but they are only for a while.

And that's why he made Aaron's death so public, because they kept changing. After years, the high priest would die. The next one would come about. And you would get to know that priest, and you'd become a friend of that priest, and you would love that priest, but then he would die. And then maybe his son would become the priest. And maybe he didn't like him as well. But he would be your representative as he would gain access to God and he would offer sacrifices for your sins. And so you weren't necessarily hoping he'd pass off the scene so his brother could be the next priest. You were just, you know, dealing with that one priest. They kept changing. Over time, they changed.

But with Christ, He's immutable. He never changed. There's not a successor. He is supreme, the sovereign, supreme, sufficient God of the universe. There's no one going to follow him. He is everything. He is sufficient. He is supreme. So nothing is ever going to change. He says that he is unchangeable and that he is permanent. He continues forever. He will never change. You don't have to worry about someone coming behind him and being better than he is because he is the best.

Now, listen, just because he is better, it doesn't mean that the old covenant was bad. Don't think that way. The old covenant was good, it was really good. Because it was what God designed in his wisdom, in his knowledge. God designed it that way. Because he knew that this would help restrain them when it came to sin. He knew that this was a way that they could have their sins covered, which would cause them to live in anticipation of having their sins ultimately removed.

So, everything about the ceremonies, everything about the rituals, everything about the old covenant was really good because what it did was it kept pointing people to the ultimate reality, the ultimate priest that would come, that they would be able to sit back and say, "Finally, access into the presence of the living God. Finally, the forgiveness of sins. Finally, the assurance of eternity. Finally, everything I've longed for, now I have." It pointed them in that direction.

So the old covenant was good. It served its purpose. But it wasn't forever. It was only for a while. Because the ultimate priest would be forever because he's eternal. He is permanent. And so it says: "The former priests, on the one hand, existed in the greater numbers because they were prevented by death, for continuing. They couldn't continue. They died. They went off the scene. But Jesus, on the other hand, because he continues forever, holds his priesthood permanently. He continues."

So, therefore, because he does, listen to this, he is able to save. For how long? Forever. Those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them, He saves them. He is able to save, and every Jew would know what that meant. They understand the deliverer, they understood his memorial name from Exodus chapter 3.

That Jesus said, or the Lord God said, "I'm coming down." Remember, when God comes down, He comes down for three reasons. He comes down, number one, to discipline, number two, to destroy, or number three, to deliver. That's the only reason God comes down. And he was coming down to deliver them. This is my memorial name, etched it in stone. Always remember that I am Yave. I am the great Jehovah. I am the great I am that I am. And that's why Jesus said, "Unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins. Unless you believe that I am the God who is the deliverer of Israel. The Savior of man, the Redeemer of man, you will die in your sins because there's no other Redeemer. There is no other one, He's the only one."

And so he says, "This one is able to save. He's able to deliver." And that would take them right back to the Exodus. That would take them right back to the Old Testament. Because they knew the memorial name for God was that he was a deliverer, a savior, a redeemer. And this Jesus now is that deliverer. This Jesus is their Savior. And he is able to save them. Such an important term. Why? Because all the priests were unable to save them. They were willing to save them, but they were unable to save them. But this priest is not only willing, he is able to save them forever. Isn't that great?

Think of it this way: my sons, they're willing to wrestle with me, but they're unable to beat me. They think they can. They're willing to fight me. They're willing to wrestle with me. But they know they are unable to beat me because they're not able. Oh, they wish they were able. They will never be able. And our Lord, he's able to save to the uttermost forever. That's what he does.

And so he's driving this home for them because he is a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. He is an eternal priest. And while you had a temporary priest who went off the scene and died, you have an eternal priest who is there forever, and he will anchor you in the presence of the living God. Permanency. He says he is able to save forever those who draw near to God, those who come to him. The draw near to God, he will draw near to you, right?

He goes on to say these words. "Since he always lives to make intercession for them." That's just such a beautiful depiction of what Christ does. Listen. Our Lord, when Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes into the Father but by me." Listen, if there was another way to get to heaven, I would tell you. I would. I would let you know what it was. If there were multiple ways to get there, I'd list them all for you. There's not. There's just only one way. That's it. And it's only through Jesus Christ our Lord.

And so, why does Jesus keep saying, "Come, come, come unto me, all ye that labor and heavy laden? I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Learn from me," right? "For I am gentle and meek. Come to me." Revelation 22. The bride says, "Come." The Spirit says, "Come." Why? Come. It's that final invitation. I'll read it in Revelation 22. The Bible ends with an invitation. If you want to go back and listen to our series on Revelation, you realize that the end of Revelation is an invitation for man to come. To be redeemed, to be delivered from their sin, because Jesus is that bright morning star that saves you from your sin, and He is the only one who is able to do that.

The priests were willing, they just were not able. The ultimate priest, the eternal priest, is more than willing. And completely able to do exactly what he says. And so the writer of Hebrews is saying, "This is it. This is what you need to come to. This is who Jesus is." And he lives to make intercession for them.

You know what? He began his intercessory work as soon as that veil in the temple was torn in two. As soon as he gave his life, the intercession began. He was the intercessor for Paul. All the apostles, he intercedes for us continually. He is our advocate. He is the one who stands in the presence of the living God. And says, when we sin, "I've died for that sin. I've clothed them with my righteousness. Their condemnation has already been put on me." He is our intercessor. He is our advocate. He is our great God.

So you see, he never changes because he's eternal. He's forever. And so you see his indemnity. Because he's the guarantee, he's a surety. You see his immutability because he's not like the old priesthood. He never changes, he is forever, he is permanent, he continues on, he's unchangeable.

Okay, and now you see his impeccability. And this is the high point. This is why he is the ultimate priest. Because all the other priests had to offer sacrifices for themselves because they were sinners. But this one, he wasn't a sinner. The only sacrifice he offered was the sacrifice of himself. A one-time sacrifice that satisfied the wrath of God against man's sin. How beautiful is that?

So the Bible says these words. "For it is fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens, who does not need daily like those high priests to offer up sacrifices. First, for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this he did once for all." One time. That was it. It was sufficient. That's why the book of Hebrews is about the sufficiency and the supremacy of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. His sacrifice was sufficient.

Why? Well, the Bible tells us he's holy. That's what it says. He has such a high priest who is holy. Now you know the word Hagios, right? Hagios means to be separate, separated unto God for his purposes, right? That's what hagios means. That's not the word used here. Here, it's hosios. Hagios, you're separated unto God for service. But hosios means that you're separated in terms of your character, because your character is separate from all sin and holy. So he's hagios as well as hosios. He's both. He's separated unto God for his purposes because he is a holy one. In Luke 1, he's called the holy child. This holy child in you.

Why is he holy? Because he is completely undefiled. He is completely separate from all sin. He is innocent. Innocent. Not only is he innocent in terms of his character, but he never harmed anyone. He was innocent with everybody he came in contact with. And believe me, he was undefiled, the text says. Think about this: our Lord was undefiled, and he touched the lepers. Still undefiled. Why? Because when he touched the lepers, he made them clean. He touched the dead person. Can't touch a dead person. You'll be defiled. But when he touches them, They're raised. They come to life. See?

So, all the temptation that Satan threw his way. All the times he touched the lepers, all the times he touched the dead and raised them from the dead. He was undefiled. He was innocent. He was holy. He was holy in character. He was completely separate from any kind of sin because he is the holy God of the universe. That's why his sacrifice is the only one that works for your sin. That's why he became your substitute. That's why he died in your place. Because there was no animal. All the blood of all the bulls and all the goats could never take away your sin. But with Jesus, the one sacrifice. Satisfied the wrath of God against sin and cleanses you from all your sin. Opens the door into the presence of the living God. Anchors you there forever because he is the guarantee, he is the surety, he is your better hope. He is the living God. How great is that?

And the last verse is sort of like a summation where it says, verse 28: "For the law appoints men as high priests who are weak. But the word of the oath which came after the law appoints a son made perfect forever." You see, if I'm in the Old Testament priesthood. I am not strong enough to do what needs to be done. I am still frail. I'm still weak. I'm still a man. I'm still a sinner. But our Lord is not.

But if I'm a priest in the Old Testament and I go in as the high priest to offer sacrifices for the sins of the people, I'm going to wear two particular articles of clothing. One is a breastplate. And on that breastplate is a stone, or 12 different stones that represent the different tribes of Israel. And over my shoulder, there's going to be an ephod. And that ephod is going to have the names of all the tribes of Israel. And why is that? Because the high priest would enter that veil and go in to offer sacrifices for the people. He was going in to represent the people. His heart, that's why the breastplate is here. His heart was willing to offer sacrifices for the sins of the nation. And he bore on his shoulder the ephod, which would have the names of all the tribes, because the shoulders represent strength. And he was always reminded that although his heart was willing, he was never strong enough to do what the people actually needed to have happen for them. But Jesus is strong enough because he is the ultimate priest. He is able to save to the uttermost. He is able to save forever. See? And no priest could do that. That's why he's the ultimate priest.

And so I ask you this question: why would you not want to be in the presence of that priest? Why would you not want to be a part of that life? Why would you not want your soul anchored in that place? By the one who is the surety, the guarantee of a better hope, because he ushered in a better covenant so that you would be the kind of people God wants you to be. Wow, let's pray.

Father, thank you for today. You are so great. So great, so good. We thank you for the book of Hebrews. That helps us see things we might not have ever seen before. Because in you, everything comes to light. So, Lord, we thank you for the Spirit of God who's inspired this text that we might be able to understand our ultimate priest. And for anybody who is here today that does not know you, Lord, convict them of their sin. That they can come to the one who is able to save them. For no one else is able but you. And for that, we will forever, ever be grateful. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.