Hebrews 7:1-10 - A Different Kind of High Priest

Listen along as Mike Gaston continues our series through the book of Hebrews.

Notes//Quotes:

Slides Hebrews 7:1-10

 

Slide 1

 

“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people that a religious system of sacrifices, rituals and rules that had been in place for over 1400 years had now been replaced by a better way. He focusses on the supremacy of Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment of all that had been written by the Jewish prophets. He introduces a theme that is only treated in the book of Hebrews, that Jesus is our High Priest.”

Steven Cole

 

 

Slide 2 (Big Idea and outline on the same slide)

 

Big Idea

 

God’s plan is incredibly detailed, and it all leads to King Jesus, our great High Priest.

 

Outline

The Mysterious Person of Melchizedek (7:1-3)

The Superior Priesthood of Melchizedek (7:4-10)

 

 

Slide 3

After his 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 blessed him 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 a tenth of everything. 

 

Genesis 14:17-20

 

 

Slide 4 (Please divide up the verses on the screen)

 

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.

 

Hebrews 7:1-3

 

 

Slide 5 (the attribution of this quote is purposefully left out)

 

“Abram shows due respect to Melchizedek, but there is no sense of awe or wonder at his appearance on the part of either Abram or the King of Sodom. They merely go about their business, giving no indication that Melchizedek was at all mysterious to them. It is a mistake to attempt to place this mystery back into the context on the basis of one questionable passage. Again, an ironclad case would be needed to support this, and that case does not exist.

 

Interestingly enough, this author came into the research open-minded, but leaning toward Melchizedek being a preincarnate (appearance of) Christ due to past teaching. While he still sees this as a viable option, research has swayed him. The view that Melchizedek was a man, King of Jerusalem, and priest of Yahweh, appears to be the scripturally correct identification.”

 

 

Slide 6

 

“What is typology? In essence, it is the way that God used history to bring His promises to life. God’s plan of redemption, brought to its fullness in the work of Christ, was not carried through history by the words of prophecy alone. Rather, it touched down in the experience of God’s people as particular individuals and events illustrated the promises of God…. More specifically, the person and work of Jesus Christ was imprinted on the history that led to His incarnation. People and events in Israel’s history offered prophetic glimpses of the coming Savior and His work, reassuring them of the promise of His coming.”

C. J. Williams

 

 

Slide 7

 

“Melchizedek appears in history with no record of a genealogy or ancestral line, no record of his birth, and no record of his death. The point is, Melchizedek appears to transcend earthly existence; this makes him a type of Christ, who truly does transcend earthly existence as the eternal King-Priest who has no predecessor and no successor in His high office.”

 

S. Michael Houdmann

 

 

Slide 8

 

Abraham > Levi and the Levitical Priesthood

Melchizedek > Abraham

 Melchizedek > Levi and the Levitical priesthood

 

Slide 9

“But the patriarch gave up a tenth of the spoils, thus implicitly acknowledging the superior place of Melchizedek. And Melchizedek proceeded to bless Abraham, accepting the implied superiority. The situation is clear to all parties. There is no need to spell it out. And the author is simply drawing attention to what the narrative clearly implies when he brings out the superior status of Melchizedek. Even when Abraham is seen as the one “who had the promises,” Melchizedek is superior.”

Leon Morris

 

Slide 10

 

Big Idea

 

God’s plan is incredibly detailed, and it all leads to King Jesus, our great High Priest.