Author: Lamar Austin

The big idea of Hebrews 7 is that we can each draw near to God and be saved completely because of the superior priesthood of Jesus Christ.  We have seen that (1) the Levitical priesthood and the Law are inferior because they cannot make anyone perfect—that is, they cannot so cleanse a person’s life so that they are able to draw near to God.  We have also seen that (2) the New Covenant and the priesthood of Jesus are superior because they do provide a way for us to draw near to God.  Today we’re going to explore (3) the superiority of Jesus priesthood in that it provides for a complete salvation.

We see this in Hebrews 7, verses 20-28.

20 And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, 21 but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever.'” 22 This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant .23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. 26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. 28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

Jesus’ priesthood is superior because, unlike the Levitical priesthood, Jesus’ priesthood is backed by God’s oath (7:20-22).

In contrast, the Aaronic priests ascended to their position, not on the basis of divine oath, but rather because of divine instruction.  God said, “Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests” (Exodus 28:1).  This was followed by an extended ceremony, but there was no oath (cf. Exodus 28, 29; Leviticus 8, 9).  Certainly God did not swear to Aaron, or any other priest, that his priesthood would be forever.

But when it came to the priesthood of His Son, “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever.’” (7:21, citing Psalm 110:4).

We saw a similar thing back in Hebrews chapter 6, in vv. 13-18, regarding God’s promise to Abraham, that He swore by Himself to make the promise to Abraham that much more secure.  God’s bare word, of course, is enough to make His promise certain.  But when He adds His oath, it is like underlining the promise, highlighting it in bold print and putting it in brackets with multiple exclamation points after it!  And to this He adds, “and will not change his mind.”  God is emphasizing that this is a permanent priesthood.

An oath was not necessary, because God’s word is enough.  But because humanity is a race of liars, God accommodated himself within the sphere of human undependability (Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1977), p. 267). 

His oath is a double-assurance to fallen, duplicitous humanity of the eternality of Jesus’ Melchizedekian priesthood.  Whatever “God confirms by an oath becomes something so utterly unchangeable that it is woven into the very fibre of the universe and must remain forever” (William Barclay, The Letter to the Hebrews (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1957), p. 85).

On the basis of the fact that Jesus is a “priest forever,” he adds (7:22) “This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.”  In the Greek text, the name Jesus is placed last in the sentence to emphasize that this covenant depends upon his priesthood.  That name “Jesus” means “Yahweh saves.”  As the angel told Joseph, “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

Since the old priesthood was the heart of the Old Covenant, and God terminated both of them, the new priesthood must be connected to a new covenant that is superior to the Old Covenant.  Since the new Priest has come, so must the New Covenant have come (cf. Luke 22:20).  It is not only a new covenant, but a “better covenant.”  It is qualitatively better than the Old Covenant because the Old Covenant could not make mankind perfect, could not enable us to draw near and could not ultimately save us.  All of these things are now possible through the New Covenant.  Our author will expand upon this New Covenant in Hebrews 8:7-13.

This is the only time that the word “guarantee” is used in the New Testament.  Jesus, who offered Himself on the cross for our sins, is our surety or guarantee of this better covenant, assuring its effectiveness to do that is promised.  Also, this emphasizes to us that we are not the guarantor of our salvation, Jesus is.  It doesn’t depend upon our hold on Him, but His hold on us (John 10:28-30).

Philip Hughes (A  Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews [Eerdmans], p. 267] observes, “It is a matter of exceptional significance that the covenant with Abraham and the declaration concerning the priestly order of Melchizedek were both confirmed by God with an oath, for under these two heads all the gracious promises and prophecies which precede the coming of Christ are gathered, and with the coming of Christ both the evangelical covenant and the evangelical priesthood burst into fulfillment.”

In other words, God’s oath stands behind the two crucial prophecies and promises about Jesus Christ.  It’s like a double warranty from the God of truth Himself backing our salvation!  It therefore cannot fail.

John MacArthur puts it, “All of God’s promises in the New Covenant are guaranteed to us by Jesus Himself.  He guarantees to pay all the debts that our sins have incurred, or ever will incur, against us” (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Hebrews [Moody Press], p. 198).

Because Jesus still lives and will live forever, his priesthood provides a perpetual petition for our salvation before God.

Verses 23-24 reinforce the contrast between the human priests who live and die, and Jesus Christ, who lives forever.

23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.

A glance at the old Aaronic priesthood demonstrates its impermanence.  When Aaron, the first priest, had served his term, God took him and his son Eleazar to the peak of Mount Hor. And there, the Scriptures tell us, “Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son.  And Aaron died there on the top of the mountain.  Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain” (Numbers 20:28).  Later, when Eleazar died, his son Phinehas succeeded him (Joshua 24:33).  Aaron—Eleazar—Phinehas—the priestly succession continued on.  The concluding comment for every priest was inevitably, “and he died.”

Josephus reckoned that some eighty-three priests served from Aaron until the destruction of the second temple in AD 70 (Antiquities, 20.227). But the Talmud lists even more—eighteen during the first temple and over three hundred for the second (Yoma 9a).³

In marked contrast to this, the author asserts that Jesus “holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever” (v. 24).  The Greek word for “permanently” can have the sense of unchangeable or permanent as our translation has it, or it can mean that the priesthood is non-transferable.  Hebrews scholar Philip Hughes thinks that “The term is enhanced by its ambivalence: the priesthood of Christ does not pass to another precisely because it is a perpetual priesthood” (Hughes, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews , p. 268).  The word may, indeed, have both senses.

Some of the Levitical priests were good, some were bad, but Jesus remains the same forever, so we can expect to receive the same benefits from His perfect and perpetual priesthood.  We never need to worry about a “bad priest” replacing Him!

The high point of the benefits that we receive from Jesus as our high priest is found in verse 25.

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

First, notice that Jesus is “able to save.”  The angel promised Joseph, “He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).  Born spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1) and blinded to the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:4) and enslaved by Satan (2 Timothy 2:25-26), we could do nothing to save ourselves and need help from the outside.  According to John 3:19, we didn’t even want to be saved because we “loved the darkness” (cf. Ephesians 4:18-19).  On our side, salvation is an impossibility.

But thank God Jesus IS “able to save.”  In Ephesians 2:1-5 Paul writes…

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience–3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved—

That ability to save is put in the present tense.  Thus, it refers not just to the past act of justifying sinners, but also to the present process of sanctifying us.  Raymond Brown says, “He saves us, not only in the moment of initial commitment, but day by day and moment by moment” (Raymond Brown, The Message of Hebrews (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1982), p. 139)—through all time!  His perpetual saving work brings about our growing sanctification as we are made ever more like him.

Not only is Jesus “able to save” but He is “able to save to the uttermost.”  That word “uttermost” could have the connotation of “forever” (the ultimate in time) or “completely” (the ultimate in effectiveness).  Both are true but the context probably stresses the idea that our salvation has been completely accomplished.  There is nothing left for us to do.  Nothing that we can do; nothing even that He has to do else.  “It is finished” regarding our salvation.

Whoever we are, whatever we have done, no matter how heinous our sin—whether it is murder, infidelity, perversion, betrayal, embezzlement, lying, jealousy, hateful gossip, or whatever—Christ can save us completely and eternally.  We must take greatest pride in this gospel, “for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).

This salvation enables us to “draw near to God through Him.”  There is no salvation, no relationship with God as our Father, except through Jesus Christ.  There is no salvation apart from Jesus Christ.  “No one comes to the Father except through me” Jesus says in John 14:6.  And Peter preached, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

And that salvation comes to us because “He always lives to make intercession for [us].”  Jesus sits eternally at the right hand of the Father, petitioning the Father in our behalf.  John 17 and Luke 22:32 are good examples of this from his earthly life.  Peter would not have survived Satan’s attack if Jesus hadn’t prayed for him.  Peter didn’t realize how vulnerable he was to Satan and he didn’t realize how valuable He was to Jesus.  But Jesus prayed for him and he succeeded as an apostle.

In Romans 8 Paul says that God will work all things “together for good” for those who are His.  The good is to become conformed to His Son Jesus Christ (Romans 8:28-29).  Paul then gives the golden chain of salvation in verse 30.

And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

How can we be sure that God will do this, to glorify us together with Christ in heaven?  Paul presented it as absolutely sure by putting this future event in the past tense, “those whom he justified he also glorified.”

But also Paul gives four evidences of this sure salvation in vv. 31-39.  First, God shows that He is for us by doing the hardest thing imaginable, giving up His one and only Son (vv. 31-32).  Then, he says we don’t have to fear any charge against us, because the ultimate judge of the universe, God Himself, has already declared us righteous (Rom. 8:33).  Can anyone condemn us?  Listen to his answer:

Christ Jesus is the one who died–more than that, who was raised–who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Jesus doesn’t condemn us; He prays for us.

Finally, vv. 35-39 tells us that absolutely nothing in all time or space can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We also see the value of this present intercession for us in 1 John 2:1, where the apostle tells us, “But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”  Jesus Christ stands before the Father, showing the wounds in his hands, feet and side, that He received from paying for our sins.  They are already paid for and we cannot be charged with them!

By the way, notice that it is not the prayers of the saints that saves us, but the intercession of Jesus Christ.

Our author continues showing the superiority of Jesus’ priesthood by pointing out his sinless life.

26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. 28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

This kind of priest meets our need.  He, and He only, is suitable for our salvation.  He “answered exactly the requirements of the predicament” we were in as sinners. 

It is absolutely amazing, overwhelming marvelous, that after we have rebelled against God, spitting in His face, betraying Him with treachery after treachery, that He Himself provides the One—His only beloved Son—who accomplishes our salvation by being everything God intended us to be—totally and devotedly and joyfully obedient—so that we can now become what God intended us to be.  God gives us that kind of priest.  He truly treats us as precious in His sight!

The author here piles up five terms that emphasize the perfect purity of Jesus Christ.

First, he is “holy”, which points to His character and position as “set apart” to God, dedicated to His purpose.  He is uniquely God’s holy one.

Second, he is “innocent,” meaning that He is “entirely free from all that is evil and harmful, both in action and in motivation.”

Thirdly, “unstained” comes from the sacrificial system, in which animals had to be without blemish or injury.  It refers to “freedom from any moral or spiritual blemish.”  Although the Levitical priests may have been ritually pure, inwardly they were still defiled as sinners.  Jesus, however, was pure outside and inside.

And this is the unique thing about Jesus’ priesthood: not only does he make an offering for us, but He is the offering for us.  1 Peter 1:18 stresses the fact that we are not saved by material goods or religious traditions, but “with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”

The next quality “separated from sinners” does not mean that Jesus didn’t associate with sinners.  He wasn’t separated in a spatial sense, but in a spiritual sense.  Despite the fact that he was a “friend of sinners,” and touched unclean lepers (Mark 1:41) and even the dead (Luke 8:40-56), yet He was able to remain pure because of the power of His holiness.

He had to share our humanity to be our Savior, but He didn’t share our sinfulness (Heb. 4:15).

Finally, Jesus is now “exalted above the heavens,” referring to his resurrection, ascension and now present session in glory at the right hand of the Father.  Thus, He serves as our perpetual high priest in the heavenly temple.

In their weakness, the Levitical priests had to offer up sacrifices first for themselves.  Jesus didn’t need to do that, because He was without sin.  Therefore, the offering of His body for us means our sins are forgiven once for all.

We don’t need more sacrifices.  Everything has been done, through the death of Jesus Christ, for our salvation to be complete.  He saves us completely.

So God meets our need to become truly human by giving us the kind of priest we need, one who is sinless and eternal.

• The father wants us to draw near to Him and become like Him.
• The Son came that we might draw near, and askes the Father that He might enable us to do so.
• The Spirit moves in our hearts to move us closer to God.
• Every person of the Godhead is wanting and working for us to draw near.

What’s holding you back?  If there is any anxiety within you that maybe God doesn’t want you to draw near, this passage in Hebrews shatters that!  God definitely wants us to draw near.  God wants you to draw near!

Last week we began to explore three ways in which the Levitical priesthood was inferior to the priesthood of Jesus Christ, according to the order of Melchizedek.

We saw that first, if the Levitical priesthood would have accomplished its purpose, God would not have predicted a new order of priesthood according to Melchizedek (7:11).  But God did predict that new order in Psalm 110:4 and Jesus fulfills that prediction.  Second, any change in the priesthood necessitates a change of the law, for they are intertwined with one another.

Third, Melchizedek and Jesus were not of the Levitical bloodline, thus they represent a new, different priesthood.  We see this in vv. 13-14…

13 For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. 14 For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

Our author states what everyone knew—that Jesus descended from the tribe of Judah, not the tribe of Levi.  The tribe of Judah has no one that has ever served at the altar.  The word translated “was descended from” is literally, “has arisen from” and is a Messianic reference (see Luke 1:78 where Simeon calls Jesus the “sunrise from on high” and Malachi 4:2 where he is called the “sun of righteousness,” also 2 Peter 1:19 where Peter speaks of “the morning star arises,” in reference to Jesus).  Verses 11 and 15 speak of another priest arising, and the Greek word means “another of a different kind.”  Jesus is thus legitimately a priest, just of a different order, and He is the only priest of that order.

Again, as Philip Hughes pointed out (p. 260), if the author is countering the false concept of a Dead Sea sect—that there would be two Messiahs, one from the priestly tribe of Levi and another from the kingly tribe of Judah—then his point here corrects that error.  In one person, Jesus is both our king and our priest according to the order of Melchizedek.  The old Levitical order has been set aside.  There is no longer the need for a Levitical priest to function for the people in offering sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins.

Note also that our author calls Jesus “our Lord” in v. 14, a title that he uses only again in 13:20 (in 2:3 he is “the Lord”).  He wants us to recognize that Jesus isn’t just another human priest, but God in the flesh.  He is the exalted Lord.

Having established the inferiority of the Levitical priesthood, our author now turns to establishing the superiority of Jesus’ priesthood.

The New Covenant and the Priesthood of Jesus are Superior Because They Provide the Way for Us to Draw Near to God (Hebrews 7:15-19).

15 This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, 16 who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. 17 For it is witnessed of him, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”

Again, the argument proceeds in three steps:

First, Jesus is superior because, unlike the Levitical priesthood, Jesus’ priesthood is eternal.

The qualifications for being a Levitical priest were all external—chosen by physical lineage (Lev. 21:6-23).

The qualifications for the Levitical priesthood were patently external.  A priestly candidate had to be: (1) legitimate, (2) a Levite (meaning that his mother had to be an Israelite and his father a priest before him), and (3) having no physical defects.  There were 142 physical blemishes listed that could disqualify him, some of which are recorded in Leviticus 21:16–23.  His ordination ceremony was painstakingly external regarding how he was to be bathed, clothed, anointed with oil, and marked with blood.  After his ordination he had to observe specified washings, anointings, and hair-cutting.  The focus was external throughout.

Jesus, however, has become a priest, like Melchizedek, based on one internal power–the “power of an indestructible life” (Heb. 7:16).  Melchizedek was a type of this quality, “having neither beginning of days nor end of life” (7:3), but Jesus is truly eternal.  John 1:4 says “in Him was life.”

This does not mean that he never died.  It means that our priest died a death that could not hold him; the grave couldn’t hold him—a death that was followed by resurrection!  Therefore, to say that Jesus is high priest on the basis of “an indestructible life” is to say that he is high priest on the basis of the Resurrection.  This is implicit in the words of the Father to the Son: “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek” (v. 17).  Thus, the Resurrection not only declared Jesus to be the Son (Romans 1:4), but it also marks the inauguration of Christ as our high priest.

This thought will be continued in vv. 23-24…

23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.

The Levitical priests existed in greater numbers because they all died and had to be replaced by the next generation.

• The Jewish historian Josephus says that there were 83 high priests from Aaron to the destruction of the temple in A. D. 70.
• The Talmud says that there were 18 during the first temple and more than 300 during the second (Leon Morris, Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed. by Frank Gaebelein [Zondervan], 12:71).

However many there were, the point is that they were not perpetual.  They all died and were replaced.  But Jesus, “holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.”

No one else was needed to step in and take His place because He still lives.

Matthew 27:1 tells us about the priests who conspired in the death of Jesus.

When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.

Although they accomplished this, Jesus lives today and they are all dead!  He became a permanent high priest after His ascension, because He would never die again.

Jesus’ priesthood was based on the life that was in Him, not His physical descent from anyone.  His was a life that could not be overcome by either sin or death.  What’s more, He had the power to transmit this life to those who believed in Him.  Thus, He could do what no Jewish priest could ever do–give a life to people that neither sin nor death could overcome.  And since His life is not limited by time, His priesthood continues forever.  (C. S. Lovett, Lovett’s Lights on Hebrews, 153)

Second, the old covenant and Levitical priesthood are set aside (7:18-19a).

18 For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness 19 (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

The “former commandment” in v. 18 is a reference to the law by which the Levitical priesthood and its succession were regulated.  It had to be “set aside” or abrogated because it was unable to bring us to God and unable to secure full and final forgiveness of sins.

The word used for “set aside” is athetēsis (NIV – set aside); that is the word used for annulling a treaty, for abrogating a promise, for scoring a man’s name off the register, for rendering a law or regulation inoperative. The whole paraphernalia of the ceremonial law was wiped out in the priesthood of Jesus.  (William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible Series, Hebrews, 79)

It was set aside because of “its weakness and uselessness.”  It was always weak, but formerly useful.  It was useful precisely in that it anticipated the advent of a superior priest, it pointed to the need of a better sacrifice and priesthood.  Now that the superior priest has arrived, the “former commandment” is now useless.  Therefore, it is set aside.

The weakness and uselessness of the Law was not inherent in the law itself.  As Paul explains (Romans 7:12), “So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.” Rather, the problem was in the weakness of our sinful flesh that made it impossible for us to keep the law (Romans 7:13-14; 8:3).  The law made demands we could not keep; grace supplies what the law demands.

One reason that God instituted the Law was to show us the utter sinfulness of our hearts (Rom. 5:20; 7:13).  As such, it was never designed to bring sinners near to God.  This is what the author means by “for the law made nothing perfect (Heb. 7:19).  Sinners were prevented from entering the Holy of Holies.  And, the sacrifices prescribed by the Law could never completely cleanse the sinner’s conscience or take away his sins (Heb. 10:1-4).

The first statement of verse 19, “for the law made nothing perfect” is the issue.  If we are not made perfect before God, our efforts and service and worship are worthless.  The law did not make us perfect, therefore, it is worthless.

Now, the Law itself can be summed up in two words: be perfect.  The problem is, we cannot be perfect.  This kind of attitude still exists today.  We have lowered our standard.  When they are asked, people routinely say that they will get to heaven by “being good” or by “doing the best I can.”  But if we could get to heave by our own efforts, we would have to be perfect.  Not just “good” but perfect.  Not “doing the best I can” but “living without any sin whatsoever.”  And that is impossible!

“The law made nothing perfect,” let all legalists mark this.  Let all who think they can be perfect, realize that we “all fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

The law provides expert diagnosis of our sin problem, which is absolutely essential. But the law does not provide the cure to our sin problem. Only Jesus can save us from our sin problem.

“Although the law performed a valuable function, its essential weakness was that it could not give life and vitality even to those who kept it, let alone to those who did not.  In fact, its function was not to provide strength, but to provide a standard by which man could measure his own moral status.  Its uselessness must not be regarded in the sense of being totally worthless, but in the sense of being ineffective in providing a constant means of approach to God based on a totally adequate sacrifice.” (Donald Guthrie)

The writer came to the same conclusion about the law as Paul did in Galatians 3:19-25, but he got there in a totally different way.  In Galatians, Paul showed the law as a tutor that brings us to Jesus.  In Hebrews the law is associated with a priesthood that has been made obsolete by a superior priesthood.

Third, the new covenant and the priesthood of Jesus provide a better hope through which we draw near to God (Hebrews 7:19b).  The rest of verse 19 says, “but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.”

We have a better hope, and that better hope comes through the priesthood of Jesus.  The “former command” is replaced by a “better hope.”  What is this “better hope”?  It is connected with a “better covenant” (Heb. 7:22) that involves “better promises” (Heb. 8:6) of a “better country, that is a heavenly one” (Heb. 11:16).  Hope, as we have already seen in our study of Hebrews, looks forward to this better country, where we will worship the Lord in sinless bodies and serve him in his creation (Heb. 3:6; 6:11).  It is the priesthood of Jesus that allows for this hope.

That “better hope” is the New Covenant, which we will unpack later in Hebrews 8:6-13.

The author’s point is, if you’ve got something better, why go back to something “weak and useless”?  Maybe they were nostalgically thinking of “the good old days,” but they were losing sight of the fact that what they presently had in Christ was far better than anything that they had under Judaism.  What the Old Testament saints looked forward to, we have received!  We have full forgiveness of sins through Christ’s better sacrifice.  We don’t have to stand out in the courtyard while a priest represents us in the Holy of Holies.  Instead, we have a high priest within the veil, and He invites us to draw near to the very throne of God, which is the throne of grace, to receive grace to help in our times of need!

We should revel in the fact that we can be brought near to God, not through anything we do, but simply because of what our high priest did.

During his student days in France, Donald Grey Barnhouse was pastor of a little Evangelical Reformed Church in the French Alps.  Once a week he went to a neighboring village for an instruction class.  Each time he made the trip he passed the local priest, going on a similar errand in the opposite direction.  They became good friends and often chatted together for ten minutes or so before they went their separate ways.

On one occasion the priest asked him why we Protestants do not pray to the saints. “Why should we?”  Barnhouse asked.  The priest launched an illustration of the way one might get an interview with the president of the French Republic.  One could go to the Ministry of Agriculture or to the Department of the Interior, etc.; any one of the cabinet members might succeed in opening the door of the president’s office so that Barnhouse might see him.  The priest’s triumphant smile implied that the simplicity and clarity of the argument were such as to preclude any reply.

At that time Raymond Poincare was president of the Republic; he lived in the Palace of the Elysee in Paris—the equivalent of the White House.  Barnhouse said to his friend, “But, Monsieur le Cure, suppose that I were the son of Monsieur Poincare?  I am living in the Elysee with him.  I get up from the breakfast table and kiss him good-bye as he goes off to his office.  Then I go down to the Ministry of the Interior and ask the fourth secretary of the second assistant if it is possible for me to see the Minister of the Interior.  If I succeed in reaching his office, my request is for an interview with my papa.”

The absurdity of a son’s having to go through a father’s assistants to reach him was at once apparent.  The priest was thunderstruck as Barnhouse added that he was a child of God, an heir of God and joint-heir with Christ, and that he had been saved through the death of the Savior and thus had become a son with immediate access to the Father.

What “a better hope” (v. 19) is ours through the eternal priesthood of Christ.  It was a hope the psalmists longed for and the prophets predicted.

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul gives the essence of the mature, spiritually fulfilled Christian life.  “so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith–that you, being rooted and grounded in love,may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Eph 3:17-19).  This is Christianity–“the fullness of God.”

That is the basic goal of the gospel.  Judaism brought a man into the presence of God, but not in the purest and fullest sense.  The veil was always there.  Only in the New Covenant is complete entrance possible.  Only by the blood of Jesus Christ, only by His priestly intercession at the right hand of God, based on His perfect sacrifice on Calvary, was access to God opened.  These are the great recurring themes in Hebrews.  (John MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur NT Commentary: Hebrews, 184)

Today, perfection —access—is ours through Jesus Christ.  The veil has been rent asunder, inviting us into the Holy of Holies.

Let us come with joyful boldness to our constant priest and Savior and Lord!

In Hebrews 10 we read…

19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

What a privilege we have!  Don’t hesitate now to take it.  Jesus Christ has made the way for you to have free and full access to God by believing in Jesus Christ.  The better hope that Christians have is the assurance that this special, eternal, and intimate relationship with God is now possible for us to experience thanks to our Great High Priest.

How does this relate to you today?  Well, make sure that you understand revel in the fact that you have been made acceptable to God totally through what Jesus has done and not at all through anything you have done.  Second, make sure that you are utilizing and enjoying the great privilege of drawing near to God through the blood of Jesus Christ every day.

In 1903, someone noticed a Russian sentry standing guard at a post with no apparent reason for his being there.  When asked why he was standing guard there, he answered, “I’m just following order.”  The question was then asked of the captain of the guard, but he also didn’t know why a sentry was posted there.  The inquiry eventually went all the way up the chain of command to the czar, but he didn’t know either!  So he asked someone to track down the answer.  Finally, it was discovered in 1776, that Catherine the Great had planted a rose bush there, and posted a sentry to guard it.  The bush had been dead for over 80 years now, but the sentry was still standing guard.  Traditions are hard to change!

Religious traditions are especially hard to change and that is because people insist that God, not man, ordained them.  The Jews rightly believed that God had ordained the traditions and practices of the Mosaic law almost 15 centuries before the time of Christ.  The Law was the very center of the Jewish culture.  They ordered their lives around the Sabbath worship and the yearly feasts.  The priest and Levites oversaw and regulated the worship at the temple.  The sacrifices and rules for ceremonial cleansing were all spelled out in the law.  These laws and traditions were deeply entrenched!

To challenge the validity of these laws could cost you your life!  The opponents of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, charged, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the Law; for we have heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth, will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses delivered to us” (Acts 6:13-14).  Paul’s opponents shouted, “This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place” (Acts 21:28).  Even many Jews who had professed faith in Christ were still “zealous for the law” (Acts 21:20).

So the author of Hebrews faces the formidable task of trying to convince his Jewish readers and that Law (having to do with ceremonies) and the Levitical priesthood that was inextricably linked to the Law was now obsolete and set aside because of the far better New Covenant and priesthood of Jesus Christ.

He will make some radical statements about the law: it was weak and useless; it made nothing perfect (7:18, 19).  Because of these problems, it has been changed and set aside (7:12, 18).  He is drawing a distinct dividing line between Judaism and Christianity here.  You cannot blend the two into a homogenous hybrid.  He doesn’t want his readers to go back to the old Jewish way, as if it were “good enough.”  Even if they must suffer persecution for their faith in Jesus Christ, they must persevere, because Jesus has provided “a better hope…through which we draw near to God” (Hebrews 7:19).

That statement was radical, too.  Every Jew knew that you couldn’t just stroll into the Holy of Holies and have a little chat with God!  Emphasizing the holiness of God, the Levitical system was designed to keep uncleanness and sin at a distance from God, lest He destroy them.  Only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and that once a year on the Day of Atonement after purification and offerings for his own sins.  But the key phrase of this passage is that “we draw near to God” (v. 19; cf. 4:14-16; 6:19-20; 10:19-22).  This was a staggering concept for those from a Jewish background!

At the end of this passage we find the author arguing that our salvation is complete and secure precisely because of Jesus’ superior priesthood.  Since He lives to make intercession for us, He saves us “completely” (Heb. 7:25).  Thus, we can dare to draw near to God and be saved completely because of the superior priesthood of Jesus Christ.

Let me read Hebrews 7:11-28…

11 Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? 12 For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. 13 For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. 14 For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. 15 This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, 16 who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. 17 For it is witnessed of him, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” 18 For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness 19 (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God. 20 And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, 21 but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever.'” 22 This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. 23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. 26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. 28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

In our last study of in Hebrews 7 we saw that our author was establishing the superiority of Jesus’ priesthood because it is based upon the order of Melchizedek.  Now, in vv. 11-14 our author will explain the insufficiency of the Aaronic priesthood and in vv. 15-19 the sufficiency of Melchizedek’s priesthood.

Both sections are based on the author’s brilliant and original understanding of Psalm 110:4, “The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek,’” which the author saw as a solemn decree of appointment spoken by God to God the Son that would establish him as our eternal priest.

The Levitical priesthood and the Law are inferior because they cannot make anyone perfect.  Verses 11 and 12 say…

11 Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? 12 For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.

Notice how the author is concerned with this concept of perfection.  It does not mean being without any flaw or defect, but rather it refers to “the condition in which men are acceptable to God” (Leon Morris, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed. by Frank Gaebelein [Zondervan], 12:66). Often in Scripture the word “perfection” has the meaning of “maturity” or “completeness.”  So, some assume “perfection” here means “completeness in relation to God.”  But actually the meaning here is more specialized and means “to put someone in the position in which he can come, or stand, before God”— access to God.  This is also the meaning of “perfect” in verse 19, which says, “(for the Law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.”  It is also the meaning in two other Hebrews texts—10:1, 14.  So again, “perfection” here in verse 11 refers to access to God and a right relationship to him.

Our author is arguing that the Levitical priesthood did not give someone access to God and a right relationship with Him.

This right relationship is precisely what the old covenant Law and priesthood could not provide.  The Law, of course, was not useless.  After all, it came from God and was mediated by angels (cf. 2:2), and it provided important services.  The Law marvelously served to enhance one’s awareness of sin.  Paul tells us in Romans 7:7, 8 that the Law’s command not to covet made him aware that all he did was covet.  The Law helped him see how spiritually dead he was (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:7ff.).  The Law also programmed God’s people regarding the necessity of an atonement, as seen in the repeated demand of a blood sacrifice.  Sin necessitated the shedding of blood.  Sin . . . blood, sin . . . blood, sin . . . blood—this developed a conditioned reflex regarding the need for atonement. Indeed, the whole system provided a type of Christ, so that John the Baptist would cry out as Jesus passed by, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” (John 1:36).  The Law was, in effect, a teacher, as Paul explained in Galatians 3:24, “The Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith” (NASB).

In reality, the Law was an excellent institution. The real problem was that man was sinful. “God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do . . . the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot” (Romans 8:3, 7).

As to the crucial matter of access, F. F. Bruce says, “The whole apparatus of worship associated with sacrifice and ritual and priesthood was calculated rather to keep men at a distance from God than to bring them near.”

Our author then argues for the inferiority of the Levitical priesthood in three ways:

First, if the Levitical priesthood would have accomplished its purpose, God would not have predicted a new order of priesthood according to Melchizedek (7:11).

Notice here that the priesthood is the basis of the law, not the other way around.  Without that priesthood it would be impossible for the law to operate in its fullness (Frank E. Gæbelein, Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 12, 66).

But at the height of the Levitical priesthood, in the Golden Age of Israel, David predicted that another priest would arise according to a different order—the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4).  The simple fact that God describes a priest… according to the order of Melchizedek in Psalm 110:4 shows there is something lacking in the priesthood according to the order of Aaron.  God would never establish an unnecessary priesthood.  And He would not introduce an inferior priesthood.

The writer’s point was that since God promised in Psalm 110:4 that the coming Messiah would be a priest after Melchizedek’s order, He intended to terminate and replace the Levitical priesthood, because it was inadequate.  If the Levitical priesthood had been adequate, the Messiah would have functioned as a Levitical priest.

What he’s saying is that, for all its beauty and truth, the OT Levitical priesthood could never bring men and women into the presence of God or offer a sacrifice that would forever cleanse them from the guilt of sin.  Furthermore, if that OT priesthood had been perfect, why would King David have announced hundreds of years later in Psalm 110 that God has appointed a new priesthood, not after the order of Aaron but after the order of Melchizedek?  Whatever is “perfect” and permanent doesn’t need to be replaced.  His point, then, is that years after the Levitical priesthood was established God speaks of yet another, superior, and abiding priesthood, namely, that of Jesus Christ, not in the line of Aaron but in the line of Melchizedek.

Philip Hughes (A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews [Eerdmans], pp. 255-256) points out that the first century Jewish Dead Sea sect “looked for the appearance of two Messianic figures, one priestly, ‘the Messiah of Aaron,’ and the other lay and kingly, ‘the Messiah of Israel’…”  The priestly Messiah would be the head of the nation, with the kingly Messiah, from the line of David, subordinate to him.  Hughes suggests that if the original readers of Hebrews had been influenced by this or similar teaching, then the author’s point that Jesus fulfills both roles in his one person, according to the superior order of Melchizedek, is quite relevant.

Second, our author argues that a change of priesthood necessitates a change of law, for they are intertwined.  Verse 12 says “For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.”

Imagine how unthinkable this would be to a Jew!  The Law of Moses was the bedrock of the Jewish religion and culture.  How could you even talk about changing the Law?  But the author is arguing that the Law and the Levitical priesthood were so closely linked that you could not change the priesthood without changing the Law.

The Mosaic Law was given in order to validate the Levitical priesthood.  If the Levitical priesthood is taken out of the Mosaic Law, nothing of meaning is left.  Why?  Because the whole purpose of having a religious system is to bring people into fellowship with the living God.  If there are no priests to represent the people, then there is no reason to have a religious system.

This is certainly a pivotal concept in Scripture!  If the priesthood is changing—with Jesus’ priesthood replacing that of the Levitical priesthood, then the law is no longer operative in a way that brought about a completion of its purpose.  He is at least arguing that the ceremonial part of the Law (dealing with sacrifices and the temple) had been fulfilled and changed by the death of Jesus Christ as the Passover Lamb.

So, is the Law now null and void?  Do we have no responsibilities to keep the law under the New Covenant?  Actually, Ezekiel’s revelation of the New Covenant includes the idea that God gives us His Spirit to “cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” and Jeremiah’s explanation of the New Covenant includes this statement about the law: “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts.”  There would be no purpose in doing that if the Law has no lasting value to us today.

But in what sense?  It seems obvious that Christ fulfilled, through his death, the ceremonial aspects of the law—what the sacrifices signified.  The civil laws, which regulated life under the nation of Israel, seem to be incorporated largely into our own civil laws, without some of the strict penalties attached.  It is the expression of the law of God contained in the Ten Commandments for which we have obligation to fulfill today.  These Ten Commandments flesh out what it means to love God and love our neighbor.

But it is primarily the sacrificial system and priesthood that the writer of Hebrews says has been replaced.  The New Covenant (Hebrews 8) and Christ as the great high priest according to the new order of Melchizedek, replace the Mosaic Covenant and Levitical priesthood.

The New Covenant, with this new high priest, offers us everything that the Old Covenant could not provide.

Atonement: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.  By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24). 

Life: Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25, 26). 

Conscience: “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (9:14). 

Access: Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

We are in Hebrews 7 and talking about this mysterious man Melchizedek.  We noted last week that he is mentioned only in three places in Scripture—in Genesis 14, Psalm 110 and here in Hebrews several times.  Thus, he is an important figure to the author of Hebrews, a key person in establishing that Jesus as our high priest is not from the tribe of Levi, but is a better and more significant (and thus more valuable to us) high priest according to another order, the order of Melchizedek.

Let me read Hebrews 7:1-10 again and then we will go back to Genesis 14.

1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. 3 He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever. 4 See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! 5 And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham. 6 But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. 8 In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives. 9 One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, 10 for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

We noted last time how the author of Hebrews uses the silence of Scripture in pointing out that Melchizedek is “without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.”

His priesthood did not derive from being from the tribe of Levi.  In fact, he existed in history before Levi was even born (see vv. 9-10).  Jesus also was not a priest from the tribe of Levi.

How, then, could Jesus be our great high priest?  Because he was from a different order of priests; he was from the order of Melchizedek.

The author of Hebrews is building an argument from the strange silence of Genesis.  That book which so emphasizes genealogies and the number of years that the patriarchs lived, says nothing about the genealogy or lifespan of Melchizedek.  His family lineage is never mentioned, nor does Genesis say anything about the length of his life or his death.  The author is saying that the Holy Spirit deliberately omitted these facts from the book that emphasizes such facts, in order to make Melchizedek an appropriate type of Jesus Christ.  That’s why he says that Melchizedek was “resembling the Son of God” (8:3), rather than “Jesus was made like Melchizedek.”  It is not that Melchizedek never died, but rather in what Genesis omits, that he “continues a priest forever.”

Our writer has already said about the Son of God that his years “will have no end” (Heb. 1:12).  Jesus, being the true king of righteousness and peace, and being eternal, brings an “everlasting righteousness” (Daniel 9:24) and the “everlasting covenant” that God makes with us through Jesus is a “covenant of peace” (Ezekiel 37:26).  The writer will have much more to say about the everlasting nature of Christ’s priesthood, but for now it’s enough for us to note that Jesus not only relates us to God, but relates us to God forever.

Jesus’ human lineage is given to us in Scripture.  He did not come from the priestly tribe of Levi, but from Judah (Heb. 7:14).  So how could Jesus legitimately function as our high priest?  To be our high priest, Jesus had to be of a different priestly order.  So our author establishes that He is from the order of Melchizedek.  As the “Son of God” (the title deliberately used in v. 3 to focus on Jesus’ deity), Jesus has no human lineage, and thus fulfills the type of Melchizedek as reported in Genesis.  Also, the Levitical priests lived and died and had to be replaced, while Jesus lives on in his high priesthood (Heb. 7:23-24).  So, both in the derivation and the duration of his priesthood, Melchizedek functions as the type of Jesus Christ.

The emphasis here is on the eternal duration of Jesus’ priesthood.  Unlike the Levitical priests who came and went generation after generation, Jesus lives on forever and functions faithfully as our high priest forever.

There is thus an intentional contrast with the temporary, ineffective nature of the Aaronic priesthood (or Levitical priesthood), and the eternal, perpetual effectiveness of the priesthood of Christ.  He asserts of Christ as prefigured by Melchizedek, “He remains a priest forever.”  Later, he will speak of the continual intercession of Christ, and how that truth should give us great assurance of our salvation (cf. Heb. 7:23-25).

In verse 4 we see that Melchizedek functions as a type of Christ in the demonstration of his superior priesthood.  Melchizedek was not only a priest superior to any in the line of Levi, but Genesis 14 showed how he was considered by Abraham to be a superior person.

Going back to verse 2 for a moment we see that Melchizedek “met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him.”  Melchizedek blessed Abraham, which throughout Genesis is something a superior does to an inferior person.  Melchizedek blessed Abraham.

This is reemphasized in verse 6 and Hebrews 7:7 makes it clear that “the inferior is blessed by the superior.”  Thus, in this case, Melchizedek is the superior because he blessed Abraham, the inferior. 

After his [i.e., Abraham’s] return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) And he [Melchizedek] blessed him [Abraham] and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him [Melchizedek] a tenth of everything (Genesis 14:17-20).

Verse 4 begins the illustration of the Melchizedekian priesthood being superior to that of the Levitical priesthood, demonstrating that the only functional priesthood that exists today is that of Jesus Christ.

“See how great this man was” doesn’t quite get across the emphasis of the command here.  It literally means “observe,” “pay close attention to.”

And why is that?  Why do we need to pay close attention to how great Melchizedek was?  So that we will recognize and appreciate how great Jesus is!

The Greek emphasizes Abraham as the patriarch, that is, the primary or greatest one.  This is a reminder that all Israel traces its lineage through Abraham (see Heb. 7:9–10).  To the Jewish mind, no one could be greater than father Abraham.  Yet, Abraham acknowledge that Melchizedek, by Abraham receiving a blessing from him and then giving tithes to him, was even greater than Abraham, superior to Abraham.

So the first demonstration of the superiority of Melchizedek is that he was the one who blessed Abraham.  The second demonstration of his superiority over Abraham is that Abraham paid him tithes.

So what?  Well, look at verses 5 and 6.

5 And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham. 6 But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.

The Law (Num. 18:21, 26; Lev. 27:30, 32) recorded the fact that the Levitical priests were to collect a tenth of the incomes of the people for their own support.  But the stress of Hebrews 7:4-6 is that the Levitical priests collected from “their brothers.”  They were not superior to them.

They collected tithes because God commanded it to be done, but Abraham voluntarily pays tithes to Melchizedek.  This makes Abraham’s giving to Melchizedek greater than Israel’s payment of tithes to the priesthood instituted by Moses. 

But why would Abraham do this?  Melchizedek had no legal rights to receive tithes from Abraham.  It was because Abraham recognized Melchizedek’s superiority and wanted to honor him.  This is the second demonstration of Melchizedek’s superiority to the Levitical priesthood.

7 It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. 8 In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives.

Not only it is axiomatic that blessing always flow from the superior to the inferior, thus Melchizedek is the superior person, having blessed Abraham, but since Melchizedek “lives” this is proof that his blessing was even more significant.

The sons of Levi, who received tithes from their brethren, died. But Melchizedek, who received tithes from Abraham, lived on.  Melchizedek is a “priest forever” (Ps. 110:4; cf. Heb. 7:3), hence the Melchizedek priesthood, being eternal, is superior to the mortal Levitical priesthood (vv. 23–25).

The author is probably not arguing that Melchizedek never died, but that he is a type of Christ in that nothing is stated in the biblical text about his death (see note on v. 3), and so the figure of Melchizedek forecasts the risen Jesus, ever-living Jesus.

Not only did Abraham pay tithes to Melchizedek, but Levi himself paid tithes to Melchizedek.  But how could that be, for Levi wasn’t even born yet?

Verses 9-10 explain.

9 One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, 10 for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

Our writer admits that he is speaking in a way that most people would not immediately assume when he says “one might even say.”

Levi wouldn’t be born for three generations, but he was “in the loins of” Abraham when Melchizedek met him and since Abraham recognized his greatness, Levi recognized Melchizedek’s greatness.

Melchizedek was greater than both Abraham and Levi, since he received tithes from both of these great men.  Abraham spontaneously recognized that this man represented the true God, God Most High, and so he gave him a tenth of his choicest spoils as an act of worship and gratitude towards God for granting him victory over the four kings.  Levi, who was Abraham’s great-grandson, gave tithes to Melchizedek through Abraham’s tithes, in that he was still in Abraham’s loins (a descendant), when this took place.

In the ancient Near Eastern view of things, people regarded a descendant as in one sense participating in the actions of his ancestors (Gen. 25:23; Mal. 1:2-3; Rom. 9:11-13).

In Hebrew thought, an ancestor contained in him all his descendants.  Thus, Paul argues that when Adam sinned, the entire human race sinned (cf. Rom. 5:12).  So here, the author says, “one might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham.”  Thus, anyone who came from Abraham automatically recognizes the superiority of Melchizedek, even Levi.

When Melchizedek “met him” in the person of Abraham, the whole Jewish law, its ordinances and priesthood, are regarded as potentially in Abraham.  Thus when Abraham paid tithes, Levi paid tithes.  When Abraham was blessed, Israel was blessed.  It is the kind of reasoning which would appeal to the Hebrews, who so strongly emphasized the solidarity of their race.

You might recall in the previous chapter how the pastoral writer had encouraged this church to see the hope that is in Christ alone, a hope that is “an anchor of the soul,” one that is certain for eternity, having entered “behind the curtain”—the veil separating the Holy of Holies from the Holy place (Heb. 6:19).  It is in reference to the eternal priesthood of Jesus Christ, “having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek,” that he now argues for the sufficiency of Christ’s priesthood over against the Levitical priesthood that the Hebrews were being told they must return to.

No one else can take away your sin.  No one else can mediate for you before the throne of God with perfect satisfaction.  No one else can eternally intercede for you and rule over your life to bring you through the dark waters safely to heaven’s bright shore.  None but our high priest and king, Jesus Christ, can give us a sure and steadfast hope that will be an anchor for the soul!

Larry Crabb tells this story: “An 84-year-old man wanted to speak with me after I preached at a Bible conference.  I saw him waiting while I chatted with a group that had gathered.  When the folks left, I quickly made my way over to this short, elderly man.  He put both hands on my shoulders and told me a story: ‘Dr. Crabb, I am 84 years old.  Five years ago my wife died after 51 years of a good marriage.  I cannot express the pain that I feel every morning as I drink my coffee at the kitchen table alone.  I have begged God to relieve the terrible loneliness that I feel.  He has not answered my prayer.  The ache in my heart has not gone away.  But…’ and here the gentleman paused and looked past me as he continued, ‘…God has given me something far better than relief of my pain.  Dr. Crabb, he has given me a glimpse of Christ.  And it’s worth it all.  Whenever you preach, make much of Christ!’  He turned and walked away.

That is what the author of Hebrews is doing—making much of Christ.  And he wants us to make much of Christ.

There is only one command in this whole passage:  “Observe,” “pay attention.”  Recognize and appreciate the greatness of Jesus Christ.

If Melchizedek, a type of Christ, could bless Abraham, how much more is the Son of God ready and able to bless all those who draw near to God through Him by faith!

If we want God’s blessings, we must seek them in Christ, because “all the promises of God find their Yes in him,” in Him, in Jesus Christ.  Nowhere else do we get God’s promises than in Jesus Christ.  He is the mediator of all God’s promises.

What do you need from God?

• Eternal life? Yes!
• Forgiveness of sins? Yes!
• Inner peace? Yes!
• Hope? Yes!
• Joy in the midst of trials? Yes!
• Grace to persevere? Yes!
• Victory over sin? Yes!
• Healing from past wounds? Yes!

Jesus is the perfect high priest who dispenses all of God’s blessings through His promises.  Draw near to Him!  Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.

The point of all this is that our author is laboring to establish the greater and superior high priestly office of Jesus Christ above that of Aaron and all the Levitical priests of the old covenant. And because of the greater, better, far superior priesthood of Jesus, we know and have confidence and rejoice in the fact that “he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him” (v. 25a).  Unlike all other OT priests, Jesus never ceases to serve in this capacity; although he died, he rose again to eternal life and therefore “always lives to make intercession” for us (v. 25b).

Do you remember the incident where Peter denied Jesus three times?  Before it ever occurred, Jesus said to Peter: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.  And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31-32).

What we are being told in Hebrews 7:25 is that Jesus continues to fulfill this same role for you and me.  He always lives to pray for us and to intercede on our behalf and to supply us with the strength to endure the temptation of the enemy and to repent when we fail.  The reason I have hope and assurance that my sin will never cut me off from Christ is because Christ himself is seated at the right hand of the Father interceding on my behalf, pouring out on me and into me whatever strength of will I need to continue to believe in him for everlasting life.

• To the weary and worn out, draw near to God through Jesus Christ that you may find strength to endure.
• To the shame-filled and downtrodden, draw near to God through Jesus Christ that he may cleanse you of all guilt and turn your shame into shouts of joy.
• To the broken-hearted, whose dreams and desires never seem to come to pass, draw near to God through Jesus that he may fill your heart with his presence and satisfy your heart’s deepest desires.
• To those who have lost hope, draw near to God through Jesus Christ that he may restore hope in his promises and his purposes for your life.
• To those who are broken and weak in body, draw near to God through Jesus Christ that he may touch your physical frame with his healing power.
• To those who are filled with anxiety and worry about things you can’t control, draw near to God through Jesus Christ that he may impart his peace that passes all understanding
• To those who have been deeply wounded or abused, whether by a parent, a spouse, or someone you thought was your friend, draw near to God through Jesus Christ to find a friend who can be trusted and who can heal those wounds and love you in the way your heart was meant to be loved.
• To any man, woman, young or old, who has believed the lie that nothing will ever change and that life simply isn’t worth living, draw near to God through Jesus Christ who makes all things new.
• To anyone else whose pain or problem I haven’t mentioned, draw near to God through Jesus Christ and find the God-man who knows your pain and understands your problem and stands ready and able to help.

Draw near to Jesus Christ, He lives forever to intercede at the throne of God in heaven for you!

We are in Hebrews 7 and talking about this mysterious man Melchizedek.  We noted last week that he is mentioned only in three places in Scripture—in Genesis 14, Psalm 110 and here in Hebrews several times.  Thus, he is an important figure to the author of Hebrews, a key person in establishing that Jesus as our high priest is not from the tribe of Levi, but is a better and more significant (and thus more valuable to us) high priest according to another order, the order of Melchizedek.

Let me read Hebrews 7:1-10 again and then we will go back to Genesis 14.

1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. 3 He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever. 4 See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! 5 And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham. 6 But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. 8 In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives. 9 One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, 10 for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

Now let’s go back to Genesis 14 for a moment.  Abraham has just pulled off a rather remarkable feat, defeated a coalition of the day’s superpowers with only 318 men!  He has released many prominent citizens who had been captured by these invaders and was likely returning home with wagons loaded with the treasures of Sodom which he had recovered.  The grateful king of Sodom wished to reward him by making him (more) rich and giving him a position of honor in the lascivious lifestyle of Sodom.  What would Abraham say?  To whom would he turn for counsel?

Before he arrives at Sodom, Abraham is met at Salem (now Jerusalem) by its king and priest, Melchizedek.  There he is refreshed physically and spiritually by the ministry of Melchizedek, who greatly strengthens Abraham enabling him to resist the subtle appeal of the king of Sodom.  In gratitude, Abraham gives Melchizedek a tenth of the plunder he won, and when the king of Sodom makes his offer, Abraham is fully prepared to say “no!”

Just like Abraham was ministered to by Melchizedek, so we find help from Jesus Christ in our battle against the temptations of the world.

Here are some important facts about Melchizedek from Genesis 14:

First, he is “Melchizedek, king of Salem,” which Psalm 76:2 tells us is Jerusalem, which would be David’s city and Jesus will return in the end times to Jerusalem and set up his kingdom there.

Second, he “brought bread and wine,” a fact that the writer of Hebrews does not mention, but for us under the new covenant it is obvious that Christ is the one who serves us bread and wine in communion.  This refreshed Abraham.  Likewise, Jesus strengthens and refreshes those who come to his table and his throne of grace (Heb. 4:16).

Third, Hebrews mentions that Melchizedek went out to “meet” Abraham, just as Jesus came into this world to “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10).  He takes the initiative to come after us and minister to us.

Fourth, he is identified as a “priest of God most high,” El Elyon, a name for the true God which signified that he wasn’t Jewish.  He wasn’t known as a priest of Yahweh, but of El Elyon.

Fifth, he “blessed Abraham” and “blessed God Most High.”  He obviously worshipped the same God Abraham did.

Sixth, Abraham gave Melchizedek a tithe, one tenth of the spoils.

Early readers of Genesis did not know what to make of Melchizedek.  Then came David, setting forth one of the several Messianic prophecies in the Psalms, making the rather odd statement of a divine oath, “The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.’” (Psalm 110:4).  Even the readers of that day would probably say, “Huh?  What does that mean?”

For another thousand years this psalm was sung in worship of Yahweh by the Israelites in both their liberty and their captivity.  What did it mean?  Why would the Messiah be declared a priest according to the order of Melchizedek?  That is what the author of Hebrews is getting to!

We see in verse 1 of Hebrews 7 that Melchizedek is a type of the dignity of Christ’s superior person.

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God

Melchizedek bore the title of “king,” and this is mentioned four times in verses 1, 2.

Melchizedek held two of the Old Testament offices—king and priest (7:1), which was highly irregular in the Old Testament.  Typically, one could be a priest, or king, but one person could not hold both offices.

History reveals the danger of combining religious and civic authority.  Therefore, God forbade the kings of Israel to function as kings and priests.  Saul tried that once.  Thus, Melchizedek, who was king of Salem and priest of the Most High God was a unique exception.

John Calvin (Calvin’s Commentaries, Hebrews, p. 155) points out that it is remarkable that Melchizedek lived with Sodom on one side and the Canaanites on the other, and yet he was a righteous king and priest.  This shows that God can raise up a godly witness for himself, when and where He pleases. 

Again, Melchizedek is a type of Jesus Christ, illustrating that he holds both offices.  In fact, Jesus Christ is prophet, priest and king.

Zecharaiah predicted of one who would be both king and priest (Zechariah 6:12-13):

12 And say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD. 13 It is he who shall build the temple of the LORD and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne.  And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”‘

So, in the future a king would “sit and rule on this throne” and “there shall be a priest on his throne.”  That is one and the same person, Jesus Christ.  Jesus is, of course, the ultimate “King of kings and Lord of lords,” as will be written both on his robe and thigh when he returns (Revelation 19:16).

The writer of Hebrews has already laid the foundation of the prophetic office of Jesus Christ.  He is the one through whom God “in these last days has spoken” (1:1-2).  He is also the One who proclaims the name of the Lord to the elect and leads them in worship (2:11-12).  And, this writer also establishes the priestly office of Jesus Christ, calling him “…a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God…(Hebrews 4:14).  His priestly office is also by divine oath, and it is exercised in perfection of character (Heb. 5:5-10).  Now the writer chooses to bring the priestly and kingly offices of Christ together, so that we have the threefold offices of our Redeemer as Prophet, Priest and King.  The greatness of the priesthood of Christ is grounded in the supremacy of his rule as king, and undergirded by His prophetic word.

Christ’s threefold offices are necessary for us.  Because of our ignorance we stand in need of His prophetical office; because of our estrangement from God and the imperfection of our services at their best, we need His priestly office to reconcile us to God and render us acceptable to Him; because we have turned away from God and are utterly unable to return to Him, and also because we need to be rescued and rendered secure from our spiritual adversaries, we need His kingly office to convince, subdue, deliver and preserve us, until we finally enter His heavenly kingdom.

The very name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness.”  Literally “my king of righteousness.”  Then he is also identified as “king of Salem,” which means “peace.”  So four times in two verses he is called a “king.”

It is clear that Melchizedek, the king of righteousness and peace, who ruled over Jerusalem before it became the city of David, prefigured the One who ultimately will rule of Jerusalem– who is righteous and peace—Jesus Christ.  Melchizedek was a prototype of Jesus Christ in two respects: (1) He was both a king and a priest, and (2) what characterized him was righteousness and peace (cf. 12:10-11; Ps. 85:10; Isa. 32:17; Rom. 5:1; James 3:17-18).

Jesus is called “Jesus Christ the righteous” by the apostle John (1 John 2:1).  He not only imputes and imparts righteousness to believers; He is righteous in His very being.  He never sinned, nor could any guilt be found in Him.  He is the Lamb of God, unblemished and spotless (1 Pet. 1:19).  He is “holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners” (Heb. 7:26).  He did “no violence, nor was there any deceit in his mouth” (Isa. 53:9).  He has become for us “righteousness” (1 Cor. 1:30) and we receive His imputed righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21).

When He comes again to reign, “in righteousness,” He will wage war against the wicked (Rev. 19:11).  “Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this” (Isa. 9:7)

There is great comfort in this truth as we realize that Jesus Christ will never contradict His character or violate the will of God in the way He works in our lives or in the universe.  We need never fear His rule over us.

History records a multitude of kings and dictators and presidents who lacked the righteous character in their reigns, and thus terrorized their people.  But our Lord is never like that!  We are secure under His righteous rule.  For a people under the strain of persecution, it was vital that they knew that their Sovereign rules in righteousness.

He is also the “king of peace” (Heb. 7:2).  In Isaiah 9:6 there is the prediction of the coming “prince of peace.”  Paul declared Christ to be our peace who through His own death delivered us from being at enmity with God (Eph. 2:14-16).  The need for peace has never changed.  Circumstances may be different, but the struggle of humanity to live at peace with God has existed since the time of Adam.  It is only through the justification (declared righteousness) that is in Christ, received by faith, that we “have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1).

For these first century Christians and those curious about Christ, pursuing Christ was a hazard.  Their peace was being threatened by earthly rulers.  Our writer knows that they needed a deeper understanding of Christ as their king of peace.

I know in my own life lately I’ve needed the king of peace to settle my heart and remind me that He is in perfect control.

The order is significant in these titles.  He is first king of righteousness and secondly king of peace.  A king cannot have true peace in his kingdom unless both he and his citizens live in righteousness.  Sin always brings discord and strife.  Righteousness is the foundation for peace.

Righteousness is the only true path to peace.  People look for that peace in escape, in evasion, or in compromise, but they will only ever truly find it in righteousness.  Spurgeon warns, “Peace without righteousness is like the smooth surface of the stream ere it takes its awful Niagara plunge.”

And there was no permanent righteousness or peace under Aaron’s priesthood, just like there is no permanent righteousness or peace for us if we try to please God through our own efforts.

Jesus is the sovereign possessor of both righteousness and peace, and He can give them freely and graciously to those whom He wishes.  We cannot earn them; we can only receive them as freely given gifts.  It is only through the justification (declared righteousness) that is in Christ, received by faith that we have “peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1).

If you know Jesus Christ as your King of righteousness and peace, you possess the righteousness of Christ (1 Cor. 1:30) and peace with God (Rom. 5:1) and you will grow in righteousness behavior and you will pursue peace with others (Rom. 14:17, 19).  Of course I’m not talking about being perfect.  But you will be growing in conformity to your King gradually and consistently.

One other thing to note about Melchizedek is that he was not Jewish.  His priesthood and kingship went beyond the ethnic-cultural limitations of Judaism and stretched to those outside of Judaism.  He was a Gentile, and prefigured the spreading of the Gospel to Gentiles that is promised in the Abrahamic covenant (Gen. 12:1-3) and promoted by Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:19-20).  Aaron’s priesthood was strictly Judaistic, for the Jews.  Jesus Christ came for us.

Jesus is not the Messiah of Israel only, but also of the world; so it is very important to establish Melchizedek’s priesthood as universal if you’re going to say Jesus is the priest after the order of Melchizedek.

This is emphasized by the apostle John in 1 John 2:1b-2, “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”

Although he was not a Hebrew, Melchizedek was a priest “of the Most High God,” a title that for Abraham indicated the same God that he worshiped (Gen. 14:22) and a title by which other biblical writers describe the supremacy of the one true God above all others (Num. 24:16; Dan. 7:25, 27; Mark 5:7; Acts 7:48; 16:17).  In some way, Melchizedek, although he was outside the strict line of redemptive history, was a believer in the true God and helped related people to the true God.

In verse 3 we see that Melchizedek is a type of Christ in the derivation and duration of his superior priesthood.

Verse 3 says, “He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life…”

The primary emphasis of Hebrews 7 is upon Jesus Christ being a better mediator than the Aaronic priests.  They served for hundreds of years, lived and died, and none of them adequately mediated the way to God for their people.  Their priestly duties were temporary, serving for 30 years if spared an early death, and then being replaced by someone else.  They offered sacrifices that could not take away sin (Heb. 10:4) based upon a covenant that could not make people righteous (Heb. 8:6-7).

Being a priest in Israel was totally dependent upon your family lineage.  All priests came from the tribe of Levi.  No one else need apply.  If one hoped to be a priest in the Old Testament, it was necessary for him to show, according to his ancestry, that he was of the line of Levi.  If you could not establish that as your family heritage, you were excluded from the priesthood (cf. Neh. 7:61-64; Ezra 2:61-62).  However, Melchizedek was “without father or mother or genealogy” (Heb. 7:3) yet he was “priest of the Most High God.”

Since genealogy is so important in establishing a legitimate priesthood, this indicates that a different type of priesthood is also legitimate.  Jesus, although from the tribe of Judah, is a legitimate priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

John Calvin comments on this silence concerning Melchizedek, “It must not be thought to be an omission either by accident or by any lack of thought that he is given no family connection, and that there is no word of his death.  The truth is that the Spirit has done this purposely so as to elevate him for us above the herd of men” (quoted by Philip Hughes, The Epistle to the Hebrews, p. 249, fn. 3).

It’s not that Melchizedek is some sort of biological anomaly, but that he functions as a type of the only eternal priest, Jesus Christ.  The fact that there is no record of his genealogy or his birth or death enables the writer of Hebrews to use him as an alternative priest to Aaron, a better priest than Aaron, an eternal priest who ever lives to make intercession for us.

Our author of Hebrews has been trying to talk about Melchizedek since chapter 5.  There he had said,

And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.  About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. (Hebrews 5:9-11).

Now that we’ve come to chapter 7, our author can dive into that subject matter. But most of us would probably admit that we aren’t that highly motivated to learn about Melchizedek either.  You might have tuned into their broadcast because you’ve got marriage problems, problems with your kids, financial concerns, mental health issues and other practical needs.  Why in the world should you be interested in learning about some obscure figure from many centuries ago by the name of Melchizedek?

Well, I believe that learning about Melchizedek and about how Jesus’ priesthood is of a higher order than the Jewish priesthood (through Aaron) is exactly what you need—what you need to resolve your problems and be a better father, wife, or whatever.

Remember that the original audience were Jews, exploring Christianity.  Some of them had become Christians and needed to persevere in their hope.  Others were curious and had learned some important truths and maybe adopted a better moral lifestyle, but they were in danger because they might move back into legalistic Judaism due to the persecution that were facing.

The author of Hebrews was trying to convince people that a religious system of sacrifices, rituals and rules that had been in place for over 1,400 years had now been replaced by a better way.  He focuses therefore on the supremacy of Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment of all that was written by Moses and the Jewish prophets.  He is the substance and the sacrificial system was merely the shadow.  So our writer reintroduces the idea that Jesus is our much better high priest.

And the way that our author proves that Jesus is a better high priest is by introducing us to the man named Melchizedek.  Our writer presents Melchizedek as a type of Christ in order to show how Jesus Christ is a better high priest than any Levitical priest.

Jesus is not the best example of the Levitical priesthood, but something higher and better.  He is something more, a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.  To view him on par with the Levitical priests is to make a spiritually fatal mistake.  That entire old system was designed to point ahead to Jesus Christ, who superseded and fulfilled it.  Thus, to go back to the old way would be to abandon God’s only way of entrance into His holy presence.  It would be to turn from the only one who really can save us from our sins and to go back to the drudgery and frustration of an inferior system of righteousness.

But does that have anything to do with us today?  Do we need a better high priest?

We might think we need other things to salve our consciences or better our lives.  We travel to seminars, attend zoom meetings, listen to podcasts, go on mission trips, all to experience something new and better.

What we must remember is that Jesus Christ is the answer to our deepest needs and highest goals.

You do need to know about Melchezedek because he is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ, and you desperately need to know Jesus Christ.

Remember that this key word “better” is found consistently throughout the book of Hebrews.  At the center is the idea that Jesus is a better high priest.

The idea that Jesus is a high priest had been first introduced back in 2:17.

Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

To us, the idea of the priesthood is not very relevant.  But to the Jews of the first century, the priesthood was very exalted and central to Judaism, the religion they had grown up with.  The priests really were the ones who connected them to God and the high priest was the only one allowed into the Holy of Holies once a year to represent them before God and atone for their sins.

They couldn’t imagine a relationship with God that didn’t involve a priesthood.

We must remember how central and controlling and all-consuming the Aaronic priesthood was to the lives of first-century Jewish men and women.  Everything they knew about God and their relationship to him and how they could be forgiven of their sins was based on the priestly system of the old covenant.   To give that up seemed ludicrous.

4:14 picks up on this theme again:

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

Then, in 5:9-10, he introduces the idea that His priesthood was according to the “order of Melchizedek” rather than through Aaron.

And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. 

The emphasis of these verses is on a salvation that is eternal, and provided by Jesus Christ, who functions as a Melchizedekian priest.  We cannot have one without the other.  In order for us to understand our salvation well, we must also understand something of the Melchizedekian priesthood.

So our author is picking up where he left off in 5:10, before his exhortation found in 5:11-6:20.  He wanted to discuss the significance of Melchizedek, but he could not do so because these people had become dull of hearing.  They preferred to listen to some other teaching.

But he wants them to understand Melchizedek so that they can gain a deeper understanding of Jesus Christ.  But Christ does not reveal Himself to those who are spiritually lazy or apathetic.  I hope that we could not be accused of being “spiritually lazy” because we have no interest in Melchizedek.

Jesus always reveals himself to those who diligently seek after him.  That is the kind of faith that pleases God (Heb. 11:6).

We ended last week with these verses (6:19-20).

19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

This idea of Christ being a better high priest is the theme of 5:10-10:18, thus it is by far the major theme of this book.  In Hebrews 7, the writer argued that Christ’s priesthood, like Melchizedek’s, is superior in its order.  In Hebrews 8, the emphasis is on Christ’s better covenant.  In Hebrews 9, it is His better sanctuary; and Hebrews 10 concludes the section by arguing for Christ’s better sacrifice.

Let’s briefly identify two verses which sum up this section well.

Hebrews 7:25 says, “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”

The primary point of our author proving that Jesus is a better high priest is that Jesus provides the most effective and eternal salvation for us, much greater than the temporal relief from guilt provided by the Levitical sacrificial system.

Hebrews 8:1-2 summarizes this section well:

1 Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.

Okay, there is a lot that is said in these two verses and we will ultimately get to that, but notice that this high priest is now seated at God’s right hand, eternally ministering in the heavenly tabernacle, the real tabernacle to which the earthly tabernacle was but a shadow.

Now, to Hebrews 7.

1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. 3 He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever. 4 See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! 5 And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham. 6 But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. 8 In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives. 9 One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, 10 for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

The only command in our text is, “observe how great this man [Melchizedek] was” (7:4).  The Greek word means to “gaze at” or “discern through careful observation.”  We get our word “theater” from this Greek word.

In other words, Melchizedek deserves more than a passing glance and a yawn.  We are to observe Melchizedek because he was a type of Jesus Christ, and we desire to see the beauty and glory of Jesus Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and revelation (Col. 2:3).  To see Him as He is, will ultimately be a transforming experience for us (1 John 3:2). 

Even now, the solution to every problem that you face is to know Jesus Christ more accurately and intimately, to fully appreciate all that He is for you before God.

Chapter 7 of Hebrews is devoted to demonstrating the role of Jesus Christ as a priest after the order of Melchizedek.  The writer shows that Christ is superior to the Levitical priesthood established in the Old Testament, demonstrating that the only true priesthood existing today is Christ, after the order of Melchizedek.  Verses 1-3 outline the history of Melchizedek, while verses 4-10 illustrate His superiority to Levi.

The flow of thought runs like this:  In 7:1-3, the author identifies Melchizedek as both king and priest, without genealogy or end of days.  In these ways, he is “made like the Son of God,” and remains a priest perpetually.  The Son of God is not made like him, but he is made like the Son of God, represented in Scripture in such a way that he points to the truth about the Son of God.

This is called a “type.”  A type is a “hermeneutical concept in which a biblical place…person…event…institution…office…or object…becomes a pattern by which later persons or places are interpreted due to the unity of events within salvation-history” (ISBE, vol. IV, p. 930).  In other words, types point to something else in salvation history—to Christ, the cross, the resurrection.

Whenever you have a “type” in Scripture, you have a corresponding “antetype,” the greater reality to which it refers.  In most cases, the antetype, as in this case with Melchizedek, is Jesus Christ.  The antetype is the fulfillment, the reality to which the picture points.

As an example, the bronze serpent which Moses lifted upon the pole for the perishing Israelites to look upon and be healed was a type of Christ on the cross.  Jesus referred to this in John 3:14, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent (the type) in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man (the antetype) be lifted up…”

Another example is Jesus being referred to by John the Baptist as “the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).  The Passover Lamb was the type; Jesus the antetype.

Now, getting back to our paragraph in Hebrews 7:1-10, we find that in 7:4-7 the author shows that Melchizedek is greater than Abraham, the father of the Jews and of all believers, in that Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek and Melchizedek in turn blessed Abraham.  Then in 7:8-10, the author shows that Melchizedek is also greater than the Levitical priests (and thus the system they represented) in two ways.  First, the Levitical priests were mortal, but Melchizedek “lives on” (7:8).  Second, Levi, who received tithes under the Mosaic law, actually “paid tithes” to Melchizedek through Abraham, his forefather, when Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek.

Remember that the Old Testament says that something is confirmed by the “mouth of two witnesses.”  Here we have Abraham (the father of promise) and Levi (the father of the priesthood) affirming that Melchizedek is greater, because they paid tithes to him.

Another commentator sees the familiar chiastic pattern in Hebrews 7:1-10.  The introductory remarks regarding Melchizedek are bracketed by the word “met” (vv. 1, 10).  Melchizedek “met” Abraham in both verses.  The climax concerns tithing, which acknowledges the greatness of Melchizedek and, ultimately, Christ.  The entire structure breaks down this way:

A  Meeting (7:1a)

B  Blessing (7:1b)

            C  Tithe (7:2, Abraham)

            C’ Tithe (7:3, Levi)

B’ Blessing (7:6)

A’ Meeting (7:10)

So let’s dive in to Hebrews 7.  This dude Melchizedek is one of the most mysterious men in all of Scripture.  He is found only three times in Scripture, each roughly 1,000 years apart.  First in Genesis 14, then in the Messianic Psalm, Psalm 110:4, and now several times in the book of Hebrews.  The first is historical, the second prophetic and the third theological.

One of the things we can learn from this is the amazing continuity of Scriptures.  I’ve been more and more amazed at this in studying the Pentateuch in more depth the last few months.  All of Scripture ultimately points to Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and Lord.  The unity of the biblical writers stretched over a 1,500 year period displaying a remarkable symmetry as they record events and prophecies which find their fulfillment centuries later in Jesus Christ.

The same God who wrote Genesis, wrote Psalms and wrote Hebrews.  That same God plans out your life and my life and knows exactly what we need and works all things together for our good!

We’ve been talking lately about this wonderful passage at the end of Hebrews 6, a passage in which God encourages believers to hold on and persevere by building their hope strong in the promises of God.  He notes that God not only promised, but swore an oath to Abraham, thus guaranteeing that He would keep all those promises.  God did that to encourage us to hold on and persevere in tough times.

16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

We saw that last that God has gone to great lengths to encourage us, (1) because He wanted to (2) trying to convince weak faith (3) so that we would have strong encouragement (4) to hold fast.

Now, who is God making these promises to?  In verse 18 he calls us “heirs of the promise” and we noted that Paul says that New Covenant believers participate in the promises to Abraham through faith in Jesus Christ.

Galatians 3:29 says, “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”

So just as Abraham received the promise, so we receive these promises.  They become heirs by being born into the family, and we become an heir of these promises by being born again into the family of God.

Jesus Christ is the ultimate heir of the Abrahamic promises and we are co-heirs with Him (Romans 8:17).

So how does this affect you and me?  Paul gives us the answer later in Galatians 3.  We read in v. 26 that “in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith.”  If you are “in” Christ by “faith” in his life, death, and resurrection, you are as much a “son” of God as is Abraham or any other believing Jew. Then we read this in vv. 28-29 – “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”

So, when the author of Hebrews refers to “the heirs of the promise” he means everyone who has faith in Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, whether slave or free, whether male or female.  Gender doesn’t matter.  Economic status doesn’t matter.  Ethnicity doesn’t matter.  The only thing that matters isn’t whether or not Abraham’s blood flows through your veins but whether or not Abraham’s faith is in your heart!

The second description of those who receive and benefit from these promises is those who
“have fled for refuge.”  This is a wonderful picture of what it means to trust in Christ.  It describes those who have abandoned all hope in themselves and are seeking His help.

In the Old Testament certain cities were designated “cities of refuge” (Joshua 20).  When a person accidentally killed someone, they could flee to a city of refuge and be protected.  That way, any family members of the victim who might in their rage want to kill him, would have to wait until the due process of law was fulfilled.  They would have time to calm their thirst for blood.

The unintentional killer would “flee” to the safe haven of the city.  Jesus is for us a city of refuge.  We have found safety and security in him.  But our grip on that hope is not always as sure as it ought to be.

So God reinforced His promise with an oath, not for himself, but for our benefit.

God did this so that we would be greatly encouraged, that we would be encouraged to flee to Him for refuge and lay hold of him like a man would lay hold of the horns of the altar to save his own life.  God has done everything He can, even going overboard, to encourage us to cling more tightly to what we’ve fled to in order to take hold of it, to hang on to it.

Christ provides the safest place, the hope we count on, the encouragement we need. 

Now, on the one hand, as those who persevere, we are told, “to hold fast to the hope set before us.”  This implies action on our part.  We are purposefully thinking and meditating upon what Christ has done for us.  We are contemplating what is before us in heaven.  We are thinking about those who have persevered in times past and finding encouragement through their example.

For example, in 1934, when twenty-eight-year-old John Stam, missionary to China, was being led away to execution by the communists with his wife Betty, someone on the road asked, “Where are you going?”  John laid hold on the hope set before him and said, “We are going to heaven.”

But on the other hand, we are enabled to “hold fast to the hope set before us” because God offers us “strong encouragement.”  Here is the ever-undergirding activity of God, who is “at work in us both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13).  Here is the divine resolve, not a fickle wish, but “the unchangeable character of His purpose” or resolve, giving us the strong, unbending, unrelenting, enabling, strengthening encouragement to “hold fast to the hope set before us.”  We hold fast because we are held fast.

John Piper points out how this ability to hold fast was secured by the blood of Christ:

• What Christ bought for us when he died was not the freedom from having to hold fast but the enabling power to hold fast.
• What he bought was not the nullification of our wills as though we didn’t have to hold fast, but the empowering of our wills because we now want to hold fast.
• What he bought was not the canceling of the commandment to hold fast but the fulfillment of the commandment to hold fast.
• What he bought was not the end of exhortation, but the triumph of exhortation.

https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/hope-anchored-in-heaven

This is why this pastoral writer of the book of Hebrews could tell them that he was convinced of “better things concerning you, things that accompany salvation” rather than apostasy (Heb. 6:9).  And this is why he tells them that the evidence of being a partaker of Christ is holding fast to the assurance that is in Christ (3:14).  And this is why he explains to them that they can hold fast their confidence and boasting of their great hope in Christ because they are part of his household (Heb. 3:6).  God’s resolve through the work of Jesus Christ is to bring all of His children safely through the stormy trials and temptations of life to the glories of His eternal presence.  Strong encouragement and a grip on the hope set before us: that is our perseverance anchored in the promise and character of God.

If we are stimulated to grab more tightly to Christ and His promise to save us—what’s the benefit?

Verse 19 says that “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain…”

Our hope is like an anchor, stabilizing us in the midst of the storms of life.  It is hope that enables us to persevere, to endure to the end successfully and ultimately inherit what has been promised.

All of us, at some time or another, will find ourselves needing a stabilizing anchor for our souls.  It is for this reason that the anchor has been a symbol of Christian hope through the centuries.  One of the well-known catacombs has over 60 anchors etched into its walls as reminders of how these believers endured persecution with a firm hope in Christ.

This hope is an anchor.  It provides stability.  Though everything around you be chaotic, and wild, and out of control, this hope—this confident expectation—will be the stabilizing force.

Notice that it is described in two ways, as being “firm” and “secure.”  “Firm” describes the believer’s hope as outwardly strong.  There is nothing that can topple the believer’s hope.  It will stand through the storms and earthquakes.  Paul had this same idea in mind in those wondrous words of Romans 8:38-39.

We also find this anchor of the soul to be “secure.”  This points to the inward character and stability of this anchor of hope, that it is firm within itself.  In other words, there is no corruption, no deceit, no wavering, and no weakness in hope as the anchor of the soul.

This is why he said back in verse 11, “And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end,”

How does Christian hope strengthen us, enabling us to ride through the storms and stand secure in the earthquakes?

God’s intention is that it be strengthened by a fresh consideration of the integrity of God’s promise, his oath, both growing out of his eternal, unchanging faithfulness.  He is a God who cannot lie, he cannot break a promise.  He wants us to know that, to know that we know that we know that.  And the way he does it is by swearing an oath by His own character.

But that’s just the first answer.

The second way hope is strengthened is by remembering that even now Jesus is present in heaven for us.

The latter part of verse 19 and then verse 20 read, “a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

Our author will expand upon the “order of Melchizedek” in chapters 7-10.

He is telling us that although anchors typically drag along the bottom of the lake or sea, this anchor is lodged in the heavenly places.  The idea here is that we hurl our anchor towards the clouds, past the stars and galaxies and into the very heart of heaven, where it moves through the outer courts of the heavenly temple into the holy place and penetrating even into the Holy of Holies, the very presence of God.

He doesn’t envision the anchor of hope as buried in the earth to help us keep our feet on firm ground or dropped to the bottom of the sea to help us simply weather the storm.  This anchor is not of this world.  Keeping his focus on our heavenly longing, and returning our attention to the center and source of all hope, Jesus Christ, the writer to the Hebrews says that this hope “enters within the veil” (6:19).  (Charles R. Swindoll, Swindoll’s Living Insights: Hebrews, 101)

Why is our hope secure?

Because of WHO is there at the Father’s right hand interceding for us…Jesus Christ.

But there is something more, for there is another who has pierced the veil, one who actually tore it in two–Jesus:  “Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.  He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek” (v. 20; cf. Mt 27:50, 51).  We are anchored in the Father’s presence for eternity–and Jesus at his right hand perpetually intercedes for his Church.  His continual priestly prayer for us is the medium for our survival.  (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: Hebrews, 178-9)

But how is our hope strengthened by that?

First, his presence there is a guarantee of our arrival there.

Notice that he “entered on our behalf” (Heb. 6:20).  Going to heaven doesn’t mean that He has deserted us.  He has gone before us to advocate and intercede for us and prepare a place for us (John 14:3-5).

It is Jesus’ present presence there at the Father’s right hand that guarantees that we will get there, not because we are any good, but because the Righteous One stands before God in our behalf.

Romans 8:34, in the midst of four great questions answering why we can be assured of our salvation, says this: “Who is to condemn?  Christ Jesus is the one who died–more than that, who was raised–who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”

And 1 John 2:1 says, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

He also is the precursor of our arrival.  Jesus “went before us” according to verse 20.  He is more literally a “forerunner.”  He precedes us.  The word referred to military scouts, to advanced ships in a fleet, to the swiftest runner (the pace setter), to early-ripening fruit.  The notion common to each is the idea of something going first assuring that others will follow.  As our forerunner He has made the way for us to follow in His stead.

The forerunner was one who was ahead of the troops, going before them, preparing the way, and awaiting their certain advance to the same position.  Here’s the message intended: we will be where Christ is, within the veil; for He has gone before us to prepare a place that we might be with Him forever.

John 14:2-3 holds a wonderful promise for us.

In my Father’s house are many rooms.  If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

He prepares our way to glory (2:10).  With such a leader who has opened the way through his own sacrificial death (10:20), there is no room for anxiety regarding his future purposes or doubt concerning his former promises.  With such an anchor here and such a priest there, we must not fear and we need not fail.  (Raymond Brown, The Bible Speaks Today:  Hebrews, 122)

On the Day of Atonement, when the Levitical high priest stepped into the Holy of Holies, he was not a precursor, he was there alone.  That curtain signified that admittance was strictly forbidden to the masses and even the high priest had to get out of there when his work was done.

But Jesus stayed within the Holy of Holies, and the curtain forbidding admittance was rent into from top to bottom and Jesus says to all, “Come, come, come in and meet my Father.”

What once was used to signify “keep out” is now inviting us in.

Do you have hope?  Do you have this hope?

The point is this:  Just as Abraham had God’s promise, believed God’s promise and came to realize the (at least partial) fulfillment of that promise, we also have a promise from God.  The promise is that those who come to believe in His Son, Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of their sins, will be cleansed and secured for eternity, as Christ’s present ministry as our high priest proves.  God has promised us this, and has guaranteed this promise by sealing those who believe with the Holy Spirit.

Hope is not based on some feeling.  It is not established by our circumstances.  It is based on truth.  It is found in Jesus Christ.

The hymn Solid Rock possesses some of these concepts.

His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

Is Jesus Christ your hope?

If not, you are on sinking sand.

But you can stand on the solid Rock, Jesus Christ and though everything around you gives way, you will still stand, firm and secure.  And, God will deliver you to His heavenly home.

Welcome back to our study of the book of Hebrews.  We are in Hebrews 6, starting in verse 16, but let’s go back to verse 11, where we read…

11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. 13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Speaking to those who were true believers (see vv. 9-10), our author wants them to stick it out, to persevere in “faith and patience” so that they may inherit the promise of salvation.  He then shows that Abraham believed God’s promise for an heir, in fulfillment of the promise of a seed as numerous as the sand on the shores or the stars in the skies, but had to wait 25 years for Isaac to be born.  Although it was difficult, Abraham, “having patiently waited, obtained the promise.”

The only way these Jewish Christians could remain steadfast through persecution and the only way any of us remain steadfast, is to develop the virtue of hope.

Back in 6:11, notice that our author wanted his readers to “show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end.”  In other words, they had shown zeal in pursuing the virtue of loving and ministering to one another (Heb. 6:10), now show that same earnestness in pursuing hope.

The cultivation of hope is the key to the ability to persevere.  The ability to hold on to a confident expectation that God will reward us with the fulfillment of His promises of future grace enable us to be steadfast.

How do we cultivate hope?  Our author provides two means of cultivating and strengthening our hope.  The first we share in common with Abraham, the second is distinctly ours who live in light of the resurrection and are beneficiaries of the new covenant.

Now, let me ask you a question.  To what lengths do you think God might go to provide you with rock solid proof that he loves you and will fulfill his promises to you?  How extravagant might his efforts be?  Is there a limit to what he might do or say in order for you to be encouraged and reassured that his promise to save you cannot be broken? 

The point I want to make today is that God has already gone to extreme limits to assure you that His promises to you are rock solid.  And that is what our hope is based upon.

First, Christian hope is strengthened by fresh consideration of the integrity of God’s Word.

Before the author really gets to the point he wants to make, he draws upon a correspondence from human experience.

In verse 16 he writes, “For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation.”

In recounting this Old Testament account of Abraham’s trust in God’s promise, he makes mention that in Genesis 22, where God added to His promised word an oath, “since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself” (Hebrews 6:13; referring back to Genesis 22:16).

Why did God make an oath to Abraham?  It was certainly not due to any unreliability on God’s part.  Rather the oath was due to the sinfulness of man.  Philip Hughes rightly comments, “That God should bind himself by an oath is a reflection not on the divine credibility but on the perversion of the human situation” (The Epistle to the Hebrews, p. 229).  In other words, it wasn’t because of any deficiency on God’s part, but upon ours—because we have a tendency to doubt and twist.

Abraham already had God’s promise; that in itself should have been good enough.  And we see that it was not Abraham who asked God to swear to him; rather God chose to do it as an encouragement to Abraham.

The strength of an oath is found in the character of the one offering it as well as the value placed upon that oath.  If a habitual criminal or liar makes an oath then you would likely discount their reliability.  But if he makes an oath on the Bible (as in our court system) or swears by something he holds valuable (like his mother), then you might have more cause to believe him.

It is obvious, isn’t it, that the reason people use oaths to end disputes, is because of the unreliability of the human heart?  Why is it necessary to swear an oath to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” before entering the witness stand?  Why do we hold the threat of prosecution for perjury over the heads of witnesses?

Because without it, under pressure they will lie and not tell the truth, or they will break their promises.  That is human nature.

It is amazing to me, that our entire judicial system is built upon the recognition of the concept of our human depravity—that our hearts truly are deceitful and desperately wicked.

Regarding human oaths he says, “For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation” (v. 16). 

Sinful people are by nature liars.  That was true in the ancient world and it is true today.  So, to lend credibility to one’s testimony or to bring a dispute to an end, to confirm something as genuinely true, people would swear by someone or something greater than themselves.  They wouldn’t swear by something less than themselves, for that would lend no strength to the argument.

In the context of ancient culture (when people generally feared God), swearing by a greater thing helped assure truth.  And if one swore by God, it served to end an argument.  This was especially true in Hebrew culture where lying while making an oath was a transgression of the Third Commandment against misusing the name of God and so deserved the punishment of God (cf. Deuteronomy 5:11).  Therefore, we see that human oaths were a powerful assurance of carrying out one’s word.

Of course, in choosing to make an oath, he could only choose to swear by himself because there was nothing or no one higher to swear by.  To swear by anything lesser would have the effect of making his oath less permanent.  In a different context, Rabbi Eleazar stated the principle this way:

Lord of the world, if thou hadst sworn by heaven or by earth, I would have been able to say: As heaven and earth shall pass away, so also thine oath shall pass away. But now that thou hast sworn by thy great Name (by thyself), as thy great Name lives and abides eternally, so shall thine oath continue secure in all eternity. (Berakhot 32)

Most often a person would swear by God and in so doing, called upon God to do two things: (1) to witness to this oath, and (2) to personally punish the person who makes the oath but doesn’t keep it.

Once the oath is made, two consequences follow:  The oath confirms what is said as true or valid and it puts an end to all argument. 

The author moves from the lesser (human courts) to the greater (or greatest:

17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.

The writer, in other words, said that God did two things in this covenant He made with Abraham:  First, he gave His promise and then He confirmed it with an oath.  This two-fold assurance—promise and oath—should settle the argument once and for all.

Does God need to reinforce His promise with an oath?  No!

He is always true and faithful to keep His promises.

But in an act of condescension, God did that very thing.  He pledged himself in an oath.  Not to bind himself in any greater way.  God always keeps His Word.  But to strengthen the frail hope of His friend.

It was an expression of incredible love and affection to Abraham.

Now, there are three things we need to understand about this business of oath-making much more personally.

First, this two-fold assurance of His Word, His promise and His oath, is for the benefit of all believers.  All I’ve said about Abraham is not merely to give us a history lesson.  Let me connect the ends of your Bible together, and to understand that the beginning of your Bible is just as pertinent as the end.  This promise God made to Abraham, and confirmed with an oath, was made for you.  If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you are part of the family of Abraham by faith.  Galatians 3 tells us Jesus was the “seed” and all those who believe in Jesus become “children of Abraham.”  We are not ethnic children but spiritual children, or covenanted children.

Hebrews 6:17 tells us why God made, renewed, repeated and confirmed with an oath this covenant to Abraham:

17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath

For YOU!

Galatians 3;29 says, “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”

The promise made to Abraham in Genesis 12, 13, 15, 22 is not just for Abraham, but for us as well.  It’s not just history, but your biography, if you believe.

Second, we see that this two-fold assurance given to us is bound up in God’s own character.  Maybe you noticed something a little unorthodox about this oath God made.  Notice in verse 13 that when God made his promise, “since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself.”

Seems a bit out of the ordinary, doesn’t it, a person swearing by himself.

But what are the alternatives?  To swear by someone other than himself would imply one of two things: either the other person was greater than He was, making Him actually less than God and His Word less certain OR that the person is really less than himself, but then the promise wouldn’t be strengthened; it would be weakened.

But God is the greatest and the most faithful, dependable being in the universe!

So what does God do?  He puts Himself in two roles—the one swearing the oath—but then He steps off His throne, turns around, “looks up,” and swears by His own eternal being.  “You be my witness, and tear me to pieces like this animal we have cut, if I fail to keep my word.”

He swears by His own eternal character and makes himself accountable to His own integrity.

The particular character that he holds himself accountable to is what theologians call his veracity, his complete truthfulness.

In verse 18 our author affirms “it is impossible for God to lie.”  That is one thing God cannot do, is lie.

God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind.  Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? (Numbers 23:19)

And in the New Testament, Paul says in Titus 1.

1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began…

Thus, when He makes a promise, He keeps it.  It would go against His very nature to fail to keep a promise or to lie to us.  But here, God goes beyond that and makes an oath.

God would have to be un-deified to break a promise.  He would have to become less than God to break His promises to you.

So here was what God was telling Abraham (and us).  He would be more likely to despise himself (to stop being God) than the break the promise He made to Abraham.

Thirdly, this two-fold assurance of God’s Word is intended to stimulate necessary hope.

Again, look at verses 17 and 18.

17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.

God wants to encourage us.  He wants to.  Notice that v. 17 starts “when God desired…”  That word has the idea of an intense passion, and put in the present tense it signifies a constant, intense passion.  This is no passing thought or wishful thinking with our Lord.  God deeply wants us to be encouraged and thus it is the “purposeful, deliberate exercise of His will” (Kent Hughes, Hebrews, Volume 1, p. 176).

Second, notice that God desire to show more convincingly.  This text assumes that God had already said enough to give us encouragement.  But God is not a God of minimums.  His aim is not to speak as few encouraging words as possible. The NASB says “even more convincingly,” a superlative adverb expressing the idea to the utmost extent.  Yes, God worked in Abraham’s behalf and gave him great encouragement to put His hope in the divine promise and continue pressing on.  But even more so, God has resolved to give your greater encouragement so that you might persevere.

He moves from simple promises (which are infallible and infinitely trustworthy!) to oaths.  And not just any oaths, but the best and highest kind—oaths based on himself.  Why?  Not because his word is weak.  But because we are weak, and he is patient.

He desires to “show…prove…demonstrate…point out…represent…display…reveal… drive home” the hopefulness of our future. He really wants us to feel this.  He goes the second (and third and fourth) mile to help us feel encouraged. This is what he wants.  This is what he really wants. “When God desired to show more convincingly…”

Thirdly, we see why God was doing this—making unbreakable promises and unmistakable oaths—“that we might have strong encouragement.”

How encouraged does God want us to feel?  He said, “Strong encouragement!”  Note the word!  He might have said, “great encouragement” or “big encouragement” or “deep encouragement.”  They would all be true.  But the word is really “strong.”  Encouragement that stands against seasonal downers.  Preach this to yourself: “God desires me to have strong encouragement!”  “God really desires me to have strong encouragement!”

And that is so that, fourthly, we might “hold fast to the hope set before us.”

There are good times in this life.  But let’s face it: the days are evil, our imperfections frustrate us, and we are getting old, and moving toward the grave.  If in this life only we have hoped in Christ we are of all people most to be pitied.  There are good times yet to come in this life.  But even these are rubbish compared to the surpassing worth of gaining Christ.  Even here we can rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.  But only because there is a “hope set before us.”  Reach out and seize it.  God encourages you to.  Take it now.  Enjoy it now.  Be encouraged by it now.  Be strongly encouraged.  Because your hope is secured with double infiniteness: the promise of God (in which he cannot lie) and the oath of God, the greatest thing in all the universe.

Let’s start off with a little fun today.  I’m going to give you some biographical facts and see if you can tell me who I am referring to.  Most of you will get this right away.

1. He was a descendant of Shem, who was one of the three sons of Noah.
2. He grew up in a place called Ur, an ancient city in Mesopotamia.
3. He and his two brothers came from a family of idol worshipers, yet hundreds of years after his death he would be called “the father of all who believe.”
4. His given name meant “exalted father,” but later in his life it was changed by God himself to mean “the father of many.”
5. He and his wife enjoyed the birth of one child, interesting enough at a time in their lives when they were both of advanced age.
6. She preceded him in death.  He, himself, died at the ripe old age of 175.

Know who it is?

To the writer of the book of Hebrews he is a person of significant importance.  He is mentioned by name ten times in the book.

His name is Abraham.  And the reason why his name is mentioned with such frequency in this book is because his life embodied a virtue these Hebrew Christians needed so desperately to experience:  the virtue of patient hope.  Hope, that settled confident expectation that nothing can or will ever keep God from fulfilling His promises to us.  That’s what hope is, that settled confident expectation that nothing can or will ever keep God from fulfilling His promises to us.

Particularly those promises that relate to our salvation.

Let me explain what I mean.

In one of the striking illustrations of sovereign election anywhere in all of the Bible, Genesis 12 records the call of God to this man Abraham.  By all accounts, this man Abraham is still an idol worshiper when his call comes.  Yet, of all the people on the face of the earth, God comes to him!  And He makes an incredible promise.

Look at it in Genesis 12:1-3.

1 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

What an incredible promise.  We call it the Abrahamic covenant.  It is a promise of significant magnitude and breadth.  God promised to make Abraham a great nation, later telling him his descendants would be as numerous as the stars of heaven.  God promised to make His name great and to bless Him, then to bless all the nations through him.

What is most astounding is verse 4, “So Abram went, as the LORD had told him…”

Why is that so astounding?

First, Abraham is 75 years old.  Not a time in life when relocation comes easily.  Second, packing up and moving a great distance would be no small affair because he was already a man of significant means.  He didn’t have U-Haul or Three Men in a Truck.  Every move we’ve made in life has been harder because we accumulate and accumulate and accumulate more and more stuff!

More than anything else, what makes Abraham’s response of obedience so amazing is that this promise of siring a great nation was given to a 75-year-old man who had no son.  It would have been easier to fathom and believe if he already had a son.

Yet we read, “So Abram went, as the LORD had told him…”  Confident in the promise of God.

As you know from the rest of the story, Abraham travels with his nephew Lot and by and by their own estates grow so large that they have to separate.  At that point God comes again to Abraham and reiterates the promise.

 In Genesis 13:14-16

14 The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, 15 for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. 16 I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted.

God reiterates the grand promises of the covenant—“offspring as the dust of the earth” in the place that God will give them, as far as his eyes could see in every direction.  But again, as of this point Abraham had no heir at all!

Weeks go by, months go by, years go by and still there is no heir for Abraham.

Then the word of the Lord comes again.  In Genesis 15:1 we see these rallying words from the LORD:  “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”

Abraham asks:

2 But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.”

This seems like a reasonable solution, but this was not God’s plan.  “And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: ‘This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir’ (Genesis 15:4).  So God once again re-establishes His promise.

5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

“Yes, Abraham, you will have a multitude of descendants.  That is My promise.”

6 And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

Then God does something amazing. 

9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other.  But he did not cut the birds in half. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” 17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, 19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”

What is going on here?  This seems really strange to us.

But this practice was what was known in the ancient world as “cutting a covenant.”  When two parties entered into a covenant relationship, they often did so by pledging their promises to one another in this most unique way.

They would slay these animals, cut them into pieces, and then walk between them, signifying that they too should be likewise torn asunder if they failed to keep their commitments to one another.

But notice that only God passed between those pieces of slain animals.  Abraham was asleep.  This made it clear to Abraham that God was assuming full responsibility for keeping this fantastic promise.  God was saying to Abraham that HE WOULD KEEP IT.

He reiterates this again and again, and here in a dramatic act of covenantal faithfulness He shouts and shows to Abraham, “I will keep my word.”

Finally, twenty five years later, Abraham and Sarah have a son.  Just when it seems most impossible Isaac is born and the promise seems on the verge of fulfillment.  His name meant “laughter” and that’s what they did every time they thought of him.

But just when Abraham’s life seems to be going smoothly and everything is on track for the promise to be fulfilled, his laughter is shattered by the most shocking command any human being has ever received.  God said: “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you” (Genesis 22:2).

Listen, my friends.  Listening to the voice of God and obeying the voice of God had finally become a habit in Abraham’s life.  But at this particular point in time we can understand if he got a little hard of hearing!

He could have argued that he’d given up enough already.  “I turned my back on my way of life in Ur of the Chaldees to become a wanderer, and did so willingly.  I gave up my other son Ishmael.  But now, to sacrifice Isaac, is to surrender my future, my destiny, the future You promised to me!”

You see, Abraham knew that the promise of God was bound up in the life of that boy.  It couldn’t be fulfilled with him dead.

And yet, at the crack of dawn the next morning, Abraham saddles his donkey, assembles everything needed for sacrifice, including Isaac, and he begins the terrible journey.

If I was a betting man I would be inclined to say, although the text does not speak of it, that he didn’t say a word to his wife!

How could he do this? What would you have done?  How could he do this with such apparent resolve?  The text gives us a clue in verse 5 of Genesis 22.  Notice the plural.  “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.”

Abraham was absolutely convinced that he would return to them with the boy.  He wasn’t sure about how it would all work out, but he does seem to be confident about the long-term solution.

In fact, Hebrews 11 tells us that he believed God could even raise Isaac from the dead if need be (Hebrews 11:19).  It’s not that he had seen resurrections take place, but he was convinced that God would keep His promise.  Abraham believed that God would fulfill his promise to give him descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven.  Why?  Because God promised and because God covenanted with him.

But he was still a man.  And you can imagine the emotional turmoil as they ascended Mount Moriah, as they constructed the altar…together, as Isaac comes to realize that he must be the sacrifice, as he physically submits himself to his father.  You can see the sobbing, the kisses, the tears, convulsions and nausea and the blade in his trembling hand.

Then, with that blade poised to descend into the heart of his son, the angel of Yahweh cries out, “Abraham, Abraham.”  “Here I am.”  “Do not lay a hand on the boy.”

That is one of the most moving, more loveable scenes in the Scriptures.  We know it well, or at least we think we do.

Do you remember what Yahweh said to Abraham following Isaac’s reprieve?

15 And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore.  And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”

God had promised and reaffirmed that promise many times.  He covenanted with Abraham and here he swears an oath.  “By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this…I will surely bless you…surely multiply your offspring…possess the gate of his enemies…all the nations of the earth be blessed.”

This is an incredible act of condescension on the part of the God of the universe.  The God who always, without fail, speaks the truth, stoops to swear an oath of faithfulness and trustworthiness to man.  That’s how much God wants Abraham to be sure, to be absolutely confident that God will fulfill His promises—no matter how fantastic they are, no matter how impossible fulfillment seems in the moment.

Now, turn with this as a background, turn with me to Hebrews 6.  It is with this Old Testament story that the author draws from when he says in Hebrews 6:13-14…

13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.”

That is what we just saw in Genesis 22—God swore an oath to reinforce His promise to Abraham.

What was the result for Abraham?

15 And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise.

He took God at His Word.  A promise, confirmed by an oath—doubly sure.  He waited, and finally obtained what he waited for, because God was faithful to fulfill His promise.

Abraham waited 25 years for God to fulfill His promise, 25 years before Isaac was born.  That’s certainly an expression of perseverance.

He had to wait another 60 years until his grandsons Jacob and Esau are born.  In other words, when Abraham dies 100 years after God first made this promise to him, at age 175, he has one son of the covenant, Isaac, and one grandson of the covenant—Jacob.

Was that the fulfillment of the covenant God made to him?  A mighty nation of innumerable descendants?  The coming of a seed through whom all the nations of the world would be blessed?

If so, only in seed form.

In facts, Hebrews 11:13 tells us this about Abraham, among other Old Testament saints…

13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

So when, for Abraham, was this promise fulfilled?  It was when he came face to face with the One in whom this promise would be most fully realized—Jesus Christ.

This is what Jesus meant when he said to the Pharisees in John 8:36, “Your father, Abraham, rejoiced to see my day.”

It is through Jesus Christ that an innumerable company of Abraham’s seed would occupy heaven (cf. Rev. 7).  It is through Jesus Christ that all the world will be blessed.

He received glimpses of this promise through the births of Isaac and Jacob, but came face to face with it when he entered glory and saw Jesus Christ surrounded by “Abraham’s seed,” all those who by faith in Christ entered the kingdom.

The point of all this:  God keeps His Word, but He does it in His own time.

Abraham waited all of his life to see that promise fulfilled.  He is an example to us of what genuine, true persevering faith looks like.

Back in Hebrews 6:12 our author had warned them “not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Abraham, “waited patiently….received what was promised” (Hebrews 6:15).

Imitate Abraham.  He persevered to the end with faith in God’s promise and ultimately received what was promised.  Now, I want you to do the same.  That is what our author is encouraging his readers to do.

Apostasy from Jesus Christ is a terrible thing and the book of Hebrews presents it that way.  In Hebrews 6 we’ve seen a group of people who experienced some wonderful spiritual blessings (vv. 4-5) but have fallen away from Jesus Christ.  We’ve also seen another group of people who embraced Jesus Christ in faith and they exhibited the transformation of life demonstrated by loving service towards others (vv. 9-10).

So the author of Hebrews has been warning his readers about apostasy both to warn some of the great danger of falling away and to encourage others that their lives show that they truly belong to Jesus Christ.

We saw that speaking about apostasy exposes the authenticity of true Christianity in vv. 9-10 and today we’re going to look at a second reason for talking about apostasy, and that is that speaking about apostasy stirs the sluggish Christian to maturing faith.

Let me go back to verse 4 and read through our passage today.

4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. 7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned. 9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things–things that belong to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Hopefully this passage has stirred in you a deeper way to become more committed to Jesus Christ and to pursue Him with greater passion and energy.

The author knows what’s coming.  He knows that the dark clouds on the horizon will require of them the virtue of hope on top of the virtue of love that they already possess and are exhibiting.  Persecution was coming.  It’s hard to remain faithful under persecution.  It’s a lot easier to fall away.

Hebrews 6:11 says “And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end,”

He is saying, “You’ve worked hard to develop genuine love.  Now harness those same efforts and direct them to the development of persistent hope.”  They had shown earnestness and zeal in loving others and our author asks them to “show the same earnestness in exhibiting “the full assurance of hope until the end.”

Most of us, until recently, have not experienced much of a need for hope.  Life has been good for us in America.  We have experienced peace and affluence.  We have not experienced much persecution.  Not having a need for hope may even cause us to not comprehend what hope is for.

When we use the word “hope” we often mean a “wish for something to occur,” “to really want something to happen,” such as “I hope the Razorbacks win” or “I hope we have pancakes for breakfast.”

But the Greek word elpis means to possess a “confident expectation.”  In what?  In the return of Jesus Christ and the completion of God’s victorious plan, to see all things consummated for the glory of Christ.  It looks forward confidently to the reality that evil will be judged and good will be rewarded.  Hope looks forward to that end and is so engrossed in that hope so that it gives you strength to endure whatever is coming down the pike.

There is a spiritual and moral certainty in biblical hope because what we expect to see and experience and enjoy in the future is something God himself has promised he will bring to pass.  Hope is rock solid and unshakable because it is rooted and grounded in the faithfulness of God.

We might conceive of hope as a subset of faith.  Both depend upon God’s promises.  Hope looks to the future; faith typically looks to the past and present.  As John Piper has said, “hope is faith in the future tense.”

Hope is not natural to the human heart.  We have to preach it to ourselves, like David did in Psalm 42:5.

“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?  Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.”

David is preaching to his own soul, “put your hope in God.  Come on soul!  Get with it!  Place your hope in God!  Know that he will never fail to come through for you.”

And David is so confident that God will come through that He promises to “again praise him” for His help.

Without this confident expectation of future “better things” we won’t be able to endure when the pressure begins to mount.

Please notice three brief items worthy of our attention from this verse.

First, notice how comprehensive this is.  “We want each one of you…”  He has been talking to the group as a whole—both potential believers who may ultimately fall away and true believers who need to preserve.  Now he gets very personal.  He is talking to each and every one of them, encouraging them to develop hopeful hearts.

Second, notice how wholehearted this pursuit is to be: “We desire each one of you to show the same earnestness…”  He is asking them to strive after hope with great energy, with intense effort, with unflagging zeal.

A hope that is sure and solid does not come automatically. “You must be “earnest” or “zealous” in the pursuit of it. And it typically comes in two ways. First, it comes from reflecting and meditating on the glorious truths already set forth about Jesus in this letter: his sinless life in facing all the temptations we face, his atoning death in our place, and his role as our great high priest, just to mention a few. Second, it comes from being diligent by God’s grace to believe his promises and trust his word and to work and serve the saints by loving them. In other words, assurance is grounded primarily in the objective achievement of Jesus himself and secondarily in our transformed lives as we seek to live for his glory and the good of his people” (https://www.samstorms.org/all-articles/post/experiencing-the-full-assurance-of-hope—hebrews-69-12)

Third, notice the perseverance that is demanded: “we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end.”  When can you stop cultivating hope?  Go all the way to the end.  You no longer have to cultivate hope when that which is hoped for has come to pass.

All of you…with every effort…and don’t ever stop…until what has been promised is your present possession.

Look how the writer connects verse 11 and verse 12.  Most of the versions bring out the crucial relationship between verses 11 and 12.  Verse 11 is the means to the end of verse 12.  And that is brought out by the word “that” or “so that” or “in order that.”

And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness in realizing the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Not being sluggish is a goal, but you aim at it by realizing the full assurance of hope.  Imitating the faithful is a goal, but you aim at it by realizing the full assurance of hope.  Inheriting the promises is a goal, but you aim at it by realizing the full assurance of hope.

Inheriting the promises is different from believing the promises.  Believing the promises is what we do now, hoping in the promises is what we do now.  Inheriting the promises comes in the future.

Being fully assured that God is for you and that you belong to him is what will energize your heart so that you won’t be sluggish and spiritually lazy and just coast through the Christian life.  The joy that comes from the rock-solid assurance that God has destined me for an eternity with him will guard me from becoming presumptuous and arrogant and slothful.  Being fully assured that God is your God and that his promises can be trusted is what will sustain faith and patience in your heart as you wait for the promises of God to come to pass.

The word behind “sluggish” was used earlier in 5:11 to describe those who were “dull of hearing”—literally, “sluggish in the ears.”  More often than not, sluggish ears go with a sluggish, lazy life.  When the ear becomes dull, everything else follows suit.  Spiritual sluggishness is a danger that looms over all of us if we do not work against it, for just as surely as friction will stop a train unless there is a consistent source of power, or as surely as a pendulum will settle to an inert hanging position unless the mainspring urges it on moment by moment, so will each of us wind down without an assertion of the will!

The warning here is, if anything, more apropos to our time than for the ancients.  We see this in some of our popular lingo: “Go with the flow”—“laid back”—“What’s it to me?”—“I couldn’t care less.”  Henry Fairlie, writing in his highly-regarded The Seven Deadly Sins Today, engages in some astute social criticism in his chapter on acedia, sloth:

Children are too idle to obey.  Parents are too sluggish to command.  Pupils are too lazy to work.  Teachers are too indolent to teach.  Priests are too slack to believe.  Prophets are too morbid to inspire.  Men are too indifferent to be men.  Women are too heedless to be women.  Doctors are too careless to care well.  Shoemakers are too slipshod to make good shoes.  Writers are too inert to write well.  Street cleaners are too bored to clean streets.  Shop clerks are too uninterested to be courteous.  Painters are too feckless to make pictures.  Poets are too lazy to be exact.  Philosophers are too fainthearted to make philosophies.  Believers are too dejected to bear witness. . . .

Fairlie goes on to say that this may seem to be too sweeping a judgment, noting that there are, of course, individual exceptions to sloth.  Then he adds convincingly, “But before we dismiss it as too sweeping, we must ask then why our societies have to spend so much time trying to correct us.”

Our writer wanted his readers to “inherit the promises.”  But persecution might derail them.

In A. D. 64, what came to be known as the “great Fire” broke out in Rome.  It broke out first in the area of the great circus, but a shift in the wind sent them to the Paletine Hill, where the Roman senators had built their homes among the statues. It raged unchecked for nearly three weeks.  Only four of the 14 districts escaped the flames.

Nero had been absent from the city and returned only when his own home was threatened.  He responded to the disaster by providing shelter for the homeless, by lowering the price of grain so that the people could acquire food more easily.  In the following months he began an urban renewal program, cleaning up the debris and erecting new buildings and new parks.

But we also know from history that for him to act in that way, suspicions ought to have been aroused.  He was a maniac of the first order.  For all his efforts, nothing could win back the affection of his city.  They were seething with resentment.

Why?  Because word leaked out that Nero himself had started the fire, that he had even celebrated it comparing it to the burning of Troy.

So he tried to suppress this rumor by rounding up and executing Christians, blaming them for the fires.

Imagine being a Christian in Rome in A.D. 64-66.  Confessing Jesus as your Lord was an invitation to martyrdom!

That’s what our author means by the words, “be “imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”  Imitate those who right now are giving up their lives for Jesus Christ.

Imagine being a part of a small group, and although you haven’t found out yet, each week the group of believers in your church grows smaller and smaller.  Now you can get the gravity of Hebrews 10:24, “not neglecting to meet together.”  It was so important for these early believers!  And it is still important to us today.

This is why he says in Hebrews 12:4, “you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”  But that day was just around the corner.

“Maybe Judaism isn’t all that bad.  Maybe I just got caught up in the emotion of the moment.”

This is what some of them might have been thinking.  But the more they thought that way, the more apostasy became a growing reality.

So how do you endure?

First, by developing a real, vibrant hope.  Not a wishy-washy “hope so,” but a strong assurance based upon God’s Word that God will keep His promises and you will enjoy His victory with Him.

Notice that our writer encourages them to aim for “the full assurance of hope until the end.”  It is possible for believers to have “full assurance,” to be completely confident that God’s promises to us of salvation and sanctification and glorification will take place.

Some believe that assurance of salvation will demotivate us from perseverance and holiness, but I think that knowing of God’s unfailing love for us through His promises is a greater motivator than demotivator, just like children are more likely to obey when they are assured of their parents’ love and approval vs. when they are afraid they might to cast out of the family.

Believers are inheritors of God’s promises. The word inherit calls attention to the dividing of a legacy; an inheritor is entitled to possess part of that legacy.  The legacy in this case consists of God’s promises given to all believers.  The author of Hebrews tells the readers to imitate the saints in their faithful trust, perseverance, and zeal.  He introduces the subject of faith, hope, and love in 6:10-12; and true to form he elaborates on and fully discusses the topic in 10:22-24, 35-39; and 11. (William Hendriksen & Simon J. Kistemaker, NT Commentary: Hebrews, 168)

Secondly, you need to find other people, others who have endured in their faith and hope, and imitate their lives.  Those people may be alive today, or they may be saints of the past that you read about in biographies or in the Bible.  Either way, find some people you want to imitate because they are people who endure to the end, no matter what the cost.

The immediate context indicates we are to put our energies into imitating the faith and patience of Abraham, because it was by faith and patience that he entered the land of promise.

Here in Hebrews “faith” means the ability to take hold of the unseen and assume the promises of future blessings as our own—“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (11:1)—and that is what the great faith chapter is all about. 

Along with imitating the faith of Abraham, we are also to imitate his “patience”—or more accurately, his long-suffering.  This long-suffering is not added to faith but is an integral part of it, because faith’s vision will produce patient tenacity.  To the storm-tossed, persecuted little church that was facing mounting waves, the message was clear: fix your eyes in faith on the great unseen heavenly realities that await you; do so with long-suffering/patience; do this diligently, and you will make your hope sure.

Authentic focusing by faith on the unseen will cure all laziness. All of the great saints of chapter 11 were spurred on to legendary activism by their grasp of the unseen.

In conclusion, the writer is confident of “better things” (v. 9) for his beloved church. He is well aware that their inner and outer life is infused with “things that belong to salvation” (v. 9) and that they have lived and are living an authentic lifestyle in caring for their spiritual brothers and sisters.

And this confidence, he says, can be insured through three logical steps: First, a conscious commitment not to be lazy.  In today’s world, this takes an immense act of the will, because sloth is “in”and hard work is “out”—especially in matters of the soul.

Second, they must show “earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end” (v. 11).  The issue is not a life preserver but the preservation of the soul for eternity, for the Scriptures are clear: only “the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:13).

Lastly, they are to imitate the visionary faith and patience of Abraham.  The writer knows that a God-dependent imitation will result in a God-aided ability to see the unseen and patiently seek the heavenly city in this sojourn below.