Hebrews 10:19-37 Therefore, Let Us. . .

Years ago I heard a pastor say, “When you see the word “therefore” in the Bible, you want to check to see what it is there for!” The writer of Hebrews had been passionately exhorting the Hebrew believers to let go of their reliance on religion and ritual to save them and, instead, to cling to Christ alone. Having established Christ’s superiority as the Sacrifice for sin, now the author gives us the “So what?” Here is a call to active faith:

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,  by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:19-25 NIV)

Look at how he encourages us to respond to what Christ has accomplished for us, with the three “Let us” statements. “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings...” Because of what Jesus did on that cross, we can boldly draw near to God. He WANTS us to draw near, and Christ has made that possible. We can have full assurance, not because we are worthy, but because Christ is worthy!

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. HE who promised is the faithful One. It is not my faithfulness that is my security - it is HIS faithful character, the One whose Word is true and sure, the One whose promises never fail - HE is the One who is faithful!

We have 21 real examples of believers who held unswervingly to their hope this past weekend. The 21 Coptic Christians who were beheaded in Libya by the evil ISIS BECAUSE of their faith in Christ, did just that. They did not deny their Savior, even though it might have saved their lives. They were looking toward that heavenly home, fully assured of what their faith would bring. [For an outstanding blog on this subject, see what Ann Voskamp wrote about these 21 men, by clicking here]

Finally, “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” We live in an area, in South Orange County, in which we suffer nothing for our faith. Maybe that’s the problem!

We have what I call the “31 flavors” of great churches in this area. You can go from church to church and hear great teaching and amazing worship - and lots of people do just this. They wander to the next “best” church in search of the perfect one - the one with all the programs for the family, the one with the best musicians, the one with the most entertaining pastor. We also live in an area in which I’ve seen several churches pop up and then die out, because people won’t commit to the church they are in. I had a pastor who once said, “If you want a new pastor, pray for the one you’ve got.”

But the Church is not a program, it is not a beautiful building, it’s not the most eloquent pastor. The Church is the body of Christ. We were meant to be connected to each other, to encourage one another, to hold each other accountable, to spur one another on. Especially as we see the Day approaching. Christ’s return is 2,000 years closer than when the author of Hebrews wrote this - and all signs seem to point to the imminent return. Even so, LORD Jesus, come quickly!

Lord, help me to never take for granted the amazing grace that allows me to draw near to You! Help me to remain steadfast in my hope, because great is YOUR faithfulness. And help me to remember to do all of the “one anothers” in your Word, because you have given us this Body as a gift, that we might remain in you to the end.

Hebrews 10:1-18 He is Sitting Down!

Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. (Hebrews 10:11-14 NIV)

In the first half of this chapter of Hebrews, the author is repeating and summing up his argument to the Hebrew believers who were so tempted to return to their old ways under the Law. He reminds them that the sacrifices made by the priests annually under the Old Covenant were a reminder that in spite of all of that continual flow of the blood of the lambs offered on the altar in the Holy of Holies, the people were still sinners! Nothing had changed about their condition before God. The priest had to come back year after year.

But the sacrifice of the Lamb of God settled the issue once and for all. The price for our sins, past, present, and future, was paid in full. So much so, that Jesus is now sitting down at the right hand of God. As Jon Courson notes in his Application Commentary: New Testament, Jesus isn’t wringing His hands or worrying or pacing or running in all directions trying to figure out how to save us. He already completed the work of salvation. So, He SAT DOWN!

Courson points out that in Luke 22:19, when handing out the bread to His disciples at the last supper, Jesus told them, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” We weren’t to do it in remembrance of our sin - we aren’t to dwell on our sin, because He has taken it away. We are to remember the Savior and His finished work. Communion is not a sacrifice that takes away our sin. It is a celebration of the Savior who already took that sin on Himself and paid the price for our salvation.

The writer completes his argument with a reference to how the Holy Spirit pointed to this in the Old Testament:

The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: 

“This is the covenant I will make with them

    after that time, says the Lord.

I will put my laws in their hearts,

    and I will write them on their minds.”  

Then he adds: 

“Their sins and lawless acts

    I will remember no more.” 

 And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary. (vs.15-18)

Oh my goodness! How I love that last verse! Jesus is our superior Sacrifice, our superior High Priest, and our superior Savior! The Old Covenant showed us our need for Him, but the New Covenant settles the issue of sin once and for all. And this is the end of the author’s arguments, as well. As we move into the final chapters of Hebrews, we will see the turn in the book to the “So what?” Okay - if our sins have been paid for -what does that mean to you and me practically in our everyday living out? What does that look like? That will be the focus as we move forward into what I think is the best part of this book. Cannot even wait!!!  

Hebrews 9 Once and For All!

I’m back! Been working like crazy in this new job, and I’m on a different schedule, so I’m trying to adjust. But there is so much ahead for us in this book of Hebrews, I cannot let it go!

Chapter 8 of Hebrews began to sum up all of the previous chapters, reminding us of the superiority of Christ’s priesthood. In chapter 9, the writer extols the superiority of Christ’s sacrifice. The writer reminds his Hebrew readers of the annual sacrifice of blood made on behalf of the people by the High Priest. The High Priest entered into the Most Holy Place of the temple once a year to offer a blood sacrifice. The writer indicates that these sacrifices, which were prophetic symbols of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice were made over and over, because they could not fix the problem of sin on a permanent basis:

This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper.  They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order. (Hebrews 9:9-10)

However, Christ’s sacrifice did what the blood of animals could not do:

But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation.  He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.  The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.  How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!  

For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. (9:11-15)

Notice the emphasis by repetition of the word eternal. He obtained eternal redemption, through the eternal Spirit, so that we might have an eternal inheritance. There is nothing temporary about the work Christ accomplished. This is why He could say from the cross, “It is finished.”

Repetition of another phrase stands out in this book: once for all. The writer uses this phrase three times, in verse 11, verse 28, and then in chapter 10, verse 10.

Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own.  Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.  Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,  so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. (9:25-28)

Because Christ’s sacrifice did the work of our salvation, it does not need to be repeated over and over. It’s done. The writer is reminding these Hebrew believers, who were missing their old ways and were tempted to deny grace and go back into a system of works, that Christ’s sacrifice is so superior to the shadow of the Old Testament sacrifices. Why in the world would anyone want to return to and cling to rituals that did nothing to save us, when Christ has accomplished that work?

I’m going to point out one final verse here that I think should not be overlooked. Verse 27 says, “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment. . .” This is a reminder to us that we only get one life, one chance to receive this gift of salvation. Once you die there is no other opportunity to receive Christ’s sacrifice. There is no reincarnation with multiple times to improve. If there were multiple chances to come back and learn and grow spiritually, wouldn’t the world be getting better and better as everyone improves? All evidence is to the contrary!

There is no preaching on the other side to convince someone of the truth. We have this one chance to receive it and act on it. Since none of us knows when that day of judgment will be for us individually, shouldn’t we take this seriously? Shouldn’t we settle it and then do all we can to tell others?

Just sayin’. . .  

Hebrews 8:1-13 The New Covenant

It has been so long since I last sent anything out from this wonderful book of Hebrews. Forgive me for being so lapse. Most likely you never even noticed! Getting used to my new job has been exhausting, but I love what I’m doing! However, my routine has changed somewhat, and this has made it harder for me to sit before the computer at home! It’s been so long that we were here, that I’m sure you have forgotten where we were. However, the good new is that chapter 8 is a summary and, therefore, a reminder!

In chapter 8, the writer of Hebrews summarizes what has come before as he stresses his main point:
Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,  and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being. . . But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises. For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. (Hebrews 8:1-2, 6-7)

I love how Jon Courson emphasizes the importance of having Jesus as our only High Priest and Mediator:

“What Jesus did for me on the Cross of Calvary opened the way for me to fellowship with the Father regardless of whether I have morning devotions, regardless of whether I made it to church last Sunday; regardless of whether I’ve been tithing or worshiping. Those are not the issues. Yes, it benefits me greatly to cultivate my walk with the Lord through prayer and worship, through tithing and devotions. But my relationship with the Father is not based on any of these things. It’s based on the High Priestly work of Jesus Christ. “So if you have need in any way, you can come boldly before the Father - even if you haven’t prayed in the past ten years. You can come boldly before Him because of one thing and one thing only: the High Priestly work of Jesus Christ and what he accomplished on Calvary. Nothing must be added to that; indeed, nothing can be added to that.” (Jon Courson’s Application Commentary: New Testament, P.1480-1481)

The point is that we have a NEW covenant that replaces the ineffective old one. God knew we would need a new covenant, because He knew we could not keep the old one. So He foretold the fact that the new covenant would be one written in our hearts, not on tablets of stone. The writer of Hebrews quotes the prophecy in Jeremiah 31:

The days are coming, declares the Lord,

    when I will make a new covenant

with the people of Israel

    and with the people of Judah. 
It will not be like the covenant

    I made with their ancestors. . . 
I will put my laws in their minds

    and write them on their hearts.

I will be their God,

    and they will be my people. . . 

By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear. (Hebrews 8:8-9a, 10b, 13)

This is the most miraculous thing that God does when we receive His gift of salvation: He writes His law in our hearts. He changes us from the inside out. We are transformed by His work in our minds and hearts. Paul tells us, in fact, that when we submit to God’s will for our lives, we will be changed:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)

David knew the importance of having the Law in his heart:
I have hidden your word in my heart

    that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:11)

Jon Courson points out in his commentary that the first Christians did not have the benefit of small group studies in the book of Romans or in this book of Hebrews. They did not have the written New Testament in their hands. God’s Word was written in their hearts. Isn’t that amazing? We DO have the written word to help us! We have the testimony of those early believers and the exhortation in their letters to encourage and strengthen us through constant study. And, with the Holy Spirit living inside of us, God is able to transform our thoughts and hearts as we read His Word.

Shouldn’t we be turning the world upside down? If it ever needed it, now is the time! And now is the opportunity. At Christmas this year you may be the “token Christian” in your family (Greg Laurie’s words). You surely will have opportunity to share the good news about God becoming a man, the baby born to die for us. Praying this Christmas, as you think about that awesome act in history, that you will be filled with a new amazement at who Christ is and what He did on that cross! Halleljuah! What a Savior!

My sweet friend, Pamie, sent me this link to a musical video about that first Christmas that brought tears to my eyes. Take a few minutes to enjoy this reminder: http://www.godvine.com/Moving-Video-To-A-Christmas-Hallelujah-Reminds-Us-fb-gv--6471.html 

Hebrews 7:11-28 This Isn't Your Father's Priesthood!

If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood—and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood—why was there still need for another priest to come, one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron?  For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also. (Hebrews 7:11-12)

The writer of Hebrews understands that his readers are struggling with leaving behind the trappings of religion, especially the reliance on an earthly priest to represent them before God. So he argues the weaknesses of the former Levitical priesthood as he also demonstrates the superiority of Christ’s priesthood. He starts with the argument that the Law could not make us perfect. In fact, it just showed us how sinful we are, because we could NEVER keep it. It pointed us to our need for a Savior! Therefore, the priesthood under the law, was also inadequate. We needed Jesus to be our High Priest.

But how could Jesus be a priest when He wasn’t from the correct tribe of Levi? He was from the tribe of Judah. The writer declares Jesus was a priest, not by genealogy, but chosen by the Father, and appointed by an oath made by God:

For it is declared: “You are a priest forever,

    in the order of Melchizedek.” 
The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. 

And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him: 

“The Lord has sworn

    and will not change his mind:

    ‘You are a priest forever.’” 
Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant. (vs. 17-22)

One of the problems with the old priesthood is that the priests kept dying!

. . .but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. (vs. 24-25)

Jesus is the eternal High Priest. He is constantly interceding for us! I heard Greg Laurie on the radio the other day talking about how he was able to meet Billy Graham. He said that he had known and worked with Franklin Graham for several years. One day Franklin asked Greg if he would like to meet his father. So Greg was ushered in to meet Billy, because Greg had a relationship with the son. In the same way, Jesus, as our High Priest, ushers us into the presence of His Father. We are able to go into the Holy of Holies through prayer with the Father, because we have a relationship with the Son. My guess is that when Billy Graham met Greg that day, he could have said something like, “Any friend of Franklin’s is a friend of mine” And I’m certain that’s the same way the Father feels about us when we meet with Him in prayer!

Remember this when you hear the accusations of the world or of Satan, the destroyer and joy-robber, who loves to whisper, “You are nothing! Worthless! How dare you think that God or anyone else could love you!” Our eternal High Priest, Jesus, is pleading your case even now with the Father: “Look at her, Father! Isn’t she lovely? She is one of ours. She is spotless and pure because she has believed in me! She is just as you created her to be! How we love her!”

For this reason, the writer of Hebrews can boldly claim the following:

Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever. (vs.26-28)

If you are relying on ANYTHING or ANYONE (yourself, your pastor, your dead grandmother who prayed for you) to save you, you will be eternally disappointed. Jesus is our only High Priest, who has been made perfect FOREVER! Amen.  

Hebrews 7:4-10 Tithing: Try it, You'll Like It!

In today’s passage, the author points to the significance of Abraham giving a tithe to Melchizedek:

Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people—that is, from their fellow Israelites—even though they also are descended from Abraham. This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. And without doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater. In the one case, the tenth is collected by people who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living. One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor. (Hebrews 7:4-10 NIV)

Basically what this is saying is that by giving the tithe to Melchizedek, Abraham is acknowledging that Melchizedek is greater than he is. When Melchizedek blesses Abraham, this passage confirms that the greater blesses the lesser. The readers, who were steeped in Jewish law, would have questioned the priesthood of Melchizedek, since he was not of the tribe of Levi, which was the tribe given the priesthood by God. This author is saying that the priesthood of Melchizedek was clearly greater than that of Levi, since Abraham, the Patriarch, gave tithes to Melchizedek. Therefore,it would be as if Levi, as Abraham’s descendant, was giving the tithe. Can we all agree that Melchizedek was greater?? Having argued that, the author will turn next to how Jesus is like Melchizedek, with a superior priesthood.

But before we move on, we just can’t ignore this whole topic of tithing. Is there any topic that makes congregations squirm more? Mention money from the pulpit and you are guaranteed to tick off some in the pews! Why is that? Because deep down we believe that our money is OURS. WE EARNED it and we should be able to keep it. God doesn’t need our money, so why does He expect us to give it?

The truth is that all we have and all we are able to do are gifts from God. Tithing is a way of acknowledging this, and it is also the way God designed the church to take care of the needs of those who serve Him in ministry. The tribe of Levi was called to the priesthood, so their tribe was the only one which was not given any territory in the Promised Land. They could not earn a living from the land, and they were in service to God 24/7. So God provided for their needs with the tithe. So do we have to tithe today? No!

Because Jesus fulfilled the law, we are no longer under the command to tithe. In fact Jesus was harsh in his criticism of the legalistic way the religious leaders would tithe down to the tiniest part of their spices, while ignoring the weightier things that they should have been doing, like caring about the needs of the “least of these:”

“Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.” (Luke 11:42)

You won’t find a command to tithe in the New Testament! However, the New Testament makes it very clear that Christians gave to the church for the care of pastors and to take care of the needy. I read an article by John Ortberg in which he purports that giving is “one of God’s great gifts to us.” He writes:

“What if tithing is actually one of God's great gifts to us? What if tithing isn't opposed to grace, but is actually a vehicle of it? I'd like to go back to one of the classic statements about the tithe in Scripture, and look at why tithing is in fact God's great tool to create generous people. 

He quotes the best-known promise in Scripture on tithing: 

You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. (Malachi 3:9-10)

Ortberg continues:

Tithing is like training wheels when it comes to giving. It's intended to help you get started, but not recommended for the Tour de France.

How do you know when to take training wheels off? The quick answer is: when they're slowing you down. How do you know when its time to stop tithing? For all of us not living in dire poverty, the answer is when you're giving way more than 10 percent. Tithing is a bad ceiling but an excellent floor.” (“Tithing: Law or Grace?” John Ortberg)

I like his thought that tithing (giving ten percent) is just the beginning. Paul tells us that God is more interested in our intention than with the actual amount of money we give. Paul’s exhortation is to be as generous as possible with our giving:

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Cor 9:6-7)

Giving back to God reveals the attitude of our hearts. If we hold on to our belongings with a tight fist, and begrudgingly peel a few bills out of our wallets for the offering plate, we are saying we can’t trust God with our money. We fear our financial future, because we can’t trust God with it. Yet, God promises to bless us to overflowing if we will just test him in this area. He dares us to open up our pockets to give back to Him in gratitude.

Try it. You’ll be amazed at how it straightens out the rest of your budget! You’ll find that a tithe is, indeed, just the beginning.

Hebrews 6:20-7:3 Who is Melkizedek and Why Should I Care?

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,  where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him,  and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.”  Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever. (Hebrews 7:1-3 NIV)

I have backed up one verse before starting in chapter 7, because we need the context. The author has just stated that our hope is secure because Jesus is our high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. This begs the question, who is this Melchizedek? He is a mysterious person, given only four verses in Genesis 14, who appears, then is barely mentioned again.

First I need to set up the background. When Abraham was traveling around with his nephew Lot, they settled in a place called Bethel. However, the land wasn’t large enough for both of them with their herds and people, so Abraham suggested they part. Abraham selflessly suggested that Lot choose the land he wanted, and Abraham would take what was left. Lot looked out and saw the plain of Jordan, in the east, and found it was perfect, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt (Gen 13:10). So Lot headed east and pitched his tents near Sodom, where the people were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD. (vs. 12-13) This would not be a good move for Lot! He thought he was getting the best deal, but not so much.

If you know the story of Sodom and Gommorah, you know that angels had to forcibly remove Lot and his family from Sodom before God destroyed it. Even then, his wife, having been ordered not to look back, couldn’t help herself from gazing back at her precious home, so she turned into a pillar of salt. Well, even before the destruction of Sodom, Lot found himself in trouble there. There was a war between several local kings, and Lot and his family were carried off with all of their possessions as a result of this war. When Abraham heard what had happened, he gathered 318 trained men from his household, and they routed the men who had taken Lot and rescued his nephew and all of his family and goods. On his way home from this victory, Abraham met Melchizedek:

After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 

Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, 

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,

    Creator of heaven and earth.   
And praise be to God Most High,

    who delivered your enemies into your hand.” 
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. (Genesis 14:17-20)

That’s all that we know about Melchizedek. He was the King of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” and his actual name means “king of righteousness.” His name is mentioned one other time in the Old Testament, in what is considered a prophetic word, spoken by God the Father to Christ, the Messiah: 

“You are a priest forever,

    in the order of Melchizedek.” (Psalm 110:4)

Melchizedek was both a king and a priest of the Most High God. It was not permissible under Jewish law to have both roles. Yet, Melchizedek did. And he blessed Abraham, and Abraham gave him a tithe. The author of Hebrews indicates that this man had no beginning or ending, no father or mother, and he was like the Son of God, a priest forever. So who was he, and why is it important that Jesus is called a priest in the order of Melchizedek? Well, many commentators believe that Melchizedek was actually a Christophany - an appearance of the Son of God before his incarnation as Jesus of Nazareth.

The significance of linking Jesus to the priesthood of Melchizedek is that it shows His superiority over Abraham, the revered father of the Jewish nation. The argument is that Jesus is even superior to the founder of the Jewish faith, which would be noteworthy to these Hebrew believers, who were in danger of going back into slavery to the law and tradition. But for now, note that Abraham gave Melchizedek a tithe, a tenth of EVERYTHING! Tithing preceded the giving of the law. It is a natural response of worship. Abraham was acknowledging that God had brought him this miraculous victory, and in gratitude He gives back to God what was really God’s anyway. More about that next.