There's been A Change

Take your Bibles today and turn, if you will, to Hebrews chapter 7. Let me just say that for several years we invested a lot of money in Dave and sending me and other people overseas to Romania. we ministered in the very countries that are now the center of all this stuff in Romania, in Ukraine, in Moldova some of you probably never heard of Moldova until this week it's right on the border with Ukraine a little Romanian speaking country and we spent all that money invested in helping pastors grow teaching them we saw a great change in the churches there But whoever would have dreamed that all that would turn out to be a channel for us to bless another country. The guys that we're sending the money to, we know.

In the Baptist Union over there that's heading up this, a lot of this, we know probably over half of those pastors. And so these are friends of ours that we're sending all this to. And so I'm really thankful for that. But whoever would have guessed that that would have been another thing that God had for us through that ministry. You never know how God's going to work, do you?

So it's great to see that. Well, let's look to Hebrews chapter 7, God's word today. You follow along as I read this chapter. For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him. 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.

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. See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils. And those descendants of Levi who received 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.

But this man, who does not have his descent from them, received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. 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. One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

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 named after the order of Aaron. For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. For the one of whom these things are spoken belong to another tribe from which no one has ever served at the altar.

For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe, Moses said nothing about priests. This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest not on the basis of legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. For as witness of him, you are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness, for the law made nothing perfect. But on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God. And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath. 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. This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office. But he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save us to the uttermost, those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 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. 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.

Let's pray. Lord God, we have read your word. It speaks to us. tells us how we ought to understand life and our relationship to you. Would you now help us to understand this, Lord? Keep this from just being a study that gives us more information. Help this to be that which points us to Jesus and our only hope.

Help this to be that which helps us to see Him and to ever put our trust in Him. thank you we pray now in Jesus name amen do you like change now I can tell you there a few members of my family who hate change There are others who like it embrace it Some of you may be here who hate change, some of you may embrace it. Some of you may love it, love change and you're committed to it wholeheartedly when it occurs. Well as you look at the book of Hebrews, be reminded again that it is a book about change.

When Jesus appears, he blasts apart the old system. You find Jesus introducing a vastly superior way of knowing and relating to God. But some doubted this new way. They didn't like the change. They didn't see this new way as superior, and so they were drawn back to the old ways. Now recall the theme of this written sermon, Hebrews.

Like us, the recipients were tempted. In fact, they were dangerously close to abandoning Jesus because of persecution and quite possibly a weakening of their faith. They would face less pressure if they went back to the old ways, to the familiar ways, before they were changed. There would be less pressure if they went back to the old ways. Change always brings risk, doesn't it?

But our writer says, you can't go back. You must not, you cannot abandon Jesus because he is superior to and he's replaced the old ways. Right now in chapter 7, he tackles the whole issue of the priesthood and the temptation to go back to the old covenant, familiar Levitical priesthood. God had established that priesthood as a means of relating to him it was his plan but the priesthood of Jesus surpasses that old priesthood and now in chapter 7 he makes the argument for Jesus superiority he does this by showing the reasons for Jesus superiority now the key as you've hopefully you've picked up the key to understanding all of that is to understand that Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchizedek that's the key to understanding how Jesus changes that priesthood now we saw last week in verses 1 through 10 that Melchizedek is greater than Abraham and greater than Levi and so Jesus priesthood is greater than that old priesthood it's always been greater.

He's greater than Levi himself. Therefore, his priesthood is greater than the priesthood of Levi. And now in these remaining verses, verses 11 through 28, he relates to you how Jesus changed that priesthood. And he just ticks off all these reasons from 11 through 28. Just boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. He ticks off all these reasons how Jesus has changed that priesthood, and therefore he is superior to the old ways that they were familiar with.

And because he changed that old priesthood, you cannot put your hope in it any longer. It's not sufficient to get the job done. You cannot abandon Jesus. You must put your hope in Christ. I want you to follow as I read 11 through 14, the text for today, and see the first reason why Jesus is superior and why you ought to put your hope in him. 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?

For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. For the one of whom these things are spoken belong to another tribe from which no one has ever served at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe, Moses said nothing about priests. Well, here's the first thing we need to understand.

Hope in Jesus. Put your hope in Jesus because he changed the law of the priesthood. Put your hope in Jesus because he changed the law of the priesthood. Now, what was that law? He mentions it in verse 12, where he says, For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. He mentions it in a parenthetical statement in verse 11, For under it the people received the law.

What does he mean when he talks about the law? What he's doing there is talking about an entire covenant, the old covenant that God made with the people of Israel at Sinai. It is that covenant that constituted them as a nation. They entered into agreement with God, if you will, into a covenant in which God promised certain things to them if they would do certain things with regard to God and obedience.

It was that which ruled their entire life. It was the, if you will, the constitution of them as a nation. But it was more than that. It actually said something to every aspect of your life, from what you could eat, what you could wear, how you ought to plow your fields, to not serving other images, not making images, honoring your mother and your father, to all the intricate details of sacrifice and priestly duty All of that is in that covenant And in verse 11 it says that the priest ministered the law to the people That old covenant with all its regulations and commandments It was the priest, right?

They ministered to the people. It was the priests that would offer the sacrifices. It was the priests who would declare what is clean and what is unclean. It was the priests who would teach the law. And they had all kinds of other duties. And the law and the priesthood are so intertwined that if you change one, the other has to change.

You can't separate the two. A change in the priesthood means a change in the law. That's what he says in verse 12. Where there's a change in the priesthood, there's necessarily a change in the law. There's been a change in the priesthood, and that changes the law. Consider this.

Without that priesthood, you don't have someone declaring what's clean and unclean. Without that priesthood, you don't have the sacrifice of animals as atonement. Without the priesthood, you don't have all those things. Therefore, if the priesthood changes, the law has changed. The covenant has changed. Change.

Jesus brought about a change in the law that now governs the people of God. But the law also identified who could serve as priests. and those who could serve as priests came from the tribe of Levi and specifically from the family of Aaron we saw that in our old testament reading you heard that one little statement as they go through this whole big ceremony of ordaining Aaron to be the high priest at the very there's one statement there that said that his family is the priesthood by statute by law. It was required.

No one else could serve as a priest. So therefore, a change in the law also means a change in the priesthood. Those two are intertwined. Change in the priesthood means change in the law. Change in the law means change in the priesthood. Both of those are true.

Now, how did Jesus cause that change? How did that change come about? Now, we've noticed that Melchizedek is central here, is center stage. By appearing on the scene as the prophesied priest after the order of Melchizedek, change inevitably followed. There had to be a change. God had this priesthood.

And all the way through here, our writer keeps quoting Psalm 110, right? You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. And so David in Psalm 110 keeps pointing forward and saying, there's another priest coming, and he's going to be different from all the others. He's going to be after not of the tribe of Levi and the family of Aaron. He's going to be after the order of Melchizedek.

And when he comes, nothing will be the same. He's the ultimate priest, if you will. And when he comes, everything changes. And that's how the change occurred. What exactly changed? Look at verses 13 and 14.

Verses 13 and 14. For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe from which no one has ever served at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah and in connection with that tribe, Moses said nothing about priests. Now, he's speaking about Jesus here. He says, for the one whom these things are spoken. Clearly a reference to Jesus.

And Jesus belonged to another tribe. He was not of the tribe of Levi. He was not of the family of Aaron. He had no connection with them in terms of coming from that particular line. By the old law, he could then not serve as a priest. he couldn't serve as a priest no one from any other tribe only those from the tribe of Levi could serve as priests they're the only ones who could serve at the altar now you read the Old Testament Levi had the tribe of Levi had incredible responsibilities they took care of everything that had to do with worship okay they were set apart from the other tribes they They did not have to, they lived on the tithes that the other tribes paid.

That was their income. One family, Aaron's family, was the priestly family, but all the rest of Levi had all these duties that surrounded the priesthood. And you had to come from that tribe in order to serve at the altar. I mean, you had to come from that tribe even to clean up at the altar. No one else could do that. Only that tribe.

There's no precedent or permission from God for other tribes to bring offerings or to offer sacrifices to God. Only the tribe of Levi. So Jesus is a priest, but he's a priest from another order and sphere. Entirely different. Change. Going to change it.

In fact, Jesus came from the tribe of Judah. and our writer says nothing has ever been said about that tribe serving at the altar leading in worship doing all the things of sacrifice and so forth now God had promised that the rulers of his people would come from Judah he had promised that kings would come from Judah the very beginning when you look back and you see um Jacob leaning on his staff about ready to die supporting himself on his staff because he can barely stand up and he blessing all the tribes He says to Judah that the star would rise from that tribe the ruler would come from that tribe So we see kings coming from Judah but not priests Not priests Jesus priesthood is not in accord with the law and its prescriptions since he comes from the tribe of Judah. Again, that's an incredible change. That's an incredible change.

Now, does such a change make Jesus an illegitimate priest? Is he an illegitimate priest? No, by no means. Because God, through David, had said, this priest was coming. There was a forever priest coming, not like any of the other ones. Always keep that in mind.

You see what's emphasized whenever he quotes it, is this, after the order of Melchizedek, he's a forever priest. He's a forever priest. His priesthood will never end. And they were looking forward to that. So it's not illegitimate, because God always intended on sending him. He always intended for him to come.

He always intended for this change to happen. And so you need to put your hope in Jesus because he has accomplished the change that God always intended. You need something better than the old covenant ways. And God knew that. God recognized that. God planned it. and so your only hope is in Jesus he's it he's the ultimate but he really makes this point by telling us that you need to put your hope in Jesus because he changed the law of the priesthood for something better he didn't just change the law of the priesthood he changed the law of the priesthood for something better.

Verse 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? Jesus changed the law of the priesthood for something better. First of all, he brought an end to an obsolete system.

He brought an end to an obsolete system. If the old covenant, with all its sacrifices and duties, could accomplish what we truly need, then we wouldn't need this other priest. There would continue to be priests from the family of Aaron. If that old covenant way could achieve perfection, we wouldn't need this priest. You would have had a continual succession of priests from Aaron's family.

But by promising that unique priest, God indicates that the first class of priests had a set purpose and a set time. But it would eventually be obsolete. Now, if you go down Riley Road, and if you're from around here, you know where Riley Road is, it's that little road that goes out there. Out that way. If you go out Riley Road and you come to the corner of Riley Road and my road, you'll see this great big giant thing that looks like a goal post.

All right? It's made out of gigantic, looks like telephone poles, but it looks like this great big goal post, a great big H. Okay? On the corner. Now why is it there? Why is that there? because if you're down my road and go down Riley Road, you know they're running all these new wires.

They're putting up these great big steel poles, and they're going to be running a whole new system of wires from the brand new substation down there up to the substation up my road. Why is that thing there? It's there so that they can take the wires over that so the wires don't lay on the road. Okay? The wires don't lay on the road. When they run those wires, which I hear is going to be on the 14th and the helicopter is going to be involved, so we're all waiting, but they've got that great big goalpost there in order to keep the wires from laying across the road.

Now, that's going to prove obsolete after they run those wires and get them hooked up to the steel. posts, right? It's not going to be necessary anymore. It won't be needed any longer. And so it was with the old priesthood. It served its purpose, but now it's obsolete with the coming of Jesus as this unique priest. You see?

Don't need it anymore. Don't need it anymore. But that doesn't mean either that the old priesthood is bad. like that gigantic H on Riley Road it's necessary and it's even good for the purpose it was given. It's not meant to carry the new wires permanently. It's only meant to hold them up temporarily until everything's strung and then it's coming down. You see?

So it's not bad. It's necessary. It's even good. But it's temporary. So that old priesthood had a purpose. but it wasn't the ultimate solution. Alright?

That's what we have to understand. It had its purpose, but now that the Melchizedekian priest has come, it's not necessary. Its purpose is over. Now that's the first thing. Jesus ended an obsolete system. But here's the second thing.

This is the second better thing that he's accomplished. with the coming of this unique priest, Jesus, perfection is now attainable. Now, it doesn't mean You immediately become perfect. And because of Jesus, you now are not going to struggle ever again against sin. Alright? But what he is saying is Jesus will bring us to perfection through that priestly work.

He will bring us to perfection through that priestly work. He begins that work by what? Offering an atonement for the forgiveness of our sins. That's first necessary. He begins that work through transforming our hearts. and making us new creatures. He gives us the ability to obey what he commands.

He's begun the work of restoring us to the place of ruling over creation righteously, which will eventually happen on the new earth when we will finally rule over creation in the way that God always intended us to, but that can only happen because one has gone before us. The old covenant priesthood could never have accomplished any of that. But you say to me, Pastor, I've got to be honest with you.

I've never been tempted to go to someone from Aaron's family if I could figure that out and have him offer a sacrifice for me that just not a temptation for me right So have I just wasted my breath Absolutely not. You know why? Because none of that changes the fact that Jesus is the only one who can attain perfection for you. And you cannot abandon him.

You, too, must put all your hope in Jesus. Because he's the ultimate. He's the only one who can attain perfection for you. So Jesus is not only superior to the Levitical priesthood, he is superior to everything else in accomplishing what you need, which is perfection. He's the only way. You see, Jesus is the only one who can make you right with God.

You can't do it. Nothing else will make you right with God. He's the only one who can. Jesus is the only one who can turn away the wrath of God from you because you can't do it. He's the only one who could quiet your accusing conscience since no amount of therapy will ever accomplish that He is the only one who can transform you into a new person who loves and desires to obey God and sees his commandments not as a burden but as a way of life And they a joy to you See there is nothing or anyone who can ever ever accomplish that for you.

You've got to put your hope in Jesus. He's the only one. He's the only one. He brought something better. Now look, whether you love change or whether you hate change, you ought to love this change. This is the kind of change you can be wholly committed to. and you can be wholly committed to it, because you recognize it's your only hope.

There's nothing superior to Jesus when it comes to giving you what you really need. He the only one who attains perfection for you Put your hope in Jesus Don leave it Don't look elsewhere. You camp on it. He's your only hope. Father, thank you once more for your word which penetrates our hearts, gives us truth that produces joy, gives us warnings, that sends us in the right direction.

Father, I pray that this congregation, even though it may not know all the ins and outs of Levitical priesthood, help them to understand that Jesus is our only hope. That He is superior, vastly superior. To whatever else entices us. God help us. To remain true. To constantly put our hope in.

Jesus. Pray this in his name. Amen.