Why not? Question--But why do not we Christians under the New, keep the Sabbath on the same seventh day on which it was kept under the Old Testament? The Hebrew Christians must see, as we may see, how arguments, illustrations, and typical events multiply to increase our confidence in him upon whose head are the many crowns of realized type, fulfilled prediction, and official glory. WE have here four titles given to our Lord Jesus in. Blessed by the Greater. Christ was morally perfect in all the parts of His constitution. Therefore to add unto it and bring in as many priests now as did serve in the temple of old, is to provoke God to add as many plagues as are written in God's book upon themselves and their priests also.(D. &c. is variously expressed and held forth to us in Scripture; John Brown (of Wamphray)Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life, The Epistle to the HebrewsTHE Epistle to the Hebrews is in many ways one of the most perplexing books of the New Testament. If we are to impress the world we must be separate from sinners, even as Christ our Master was, -r at least according to our human degree, as being in His Spirit. Milligan, D. D.Our fundamental conception of the offering of Him who ascended the cross of Calvary to die must be, that it was an offering of life, not of death. "No man cometh to the Father but by Me." How calmly did He bear the abuse of man! 30 Seconds At A Traffic Light: Is This Preaching? Our testament in our times are run by Grace not by Law. There is no part of our life in which, by the very fact that He lived a human life, the Redeemer of the world did not share. Prayer was His recreation and delight. As an offering of life Christ's offering is complete, embracing in its efficacy the whole life of man. Even at the threat of death, He ensured He fulfilled every word on earth. Is not the painter greater than his painting; the engineer than his machine; the architect than his building; the author than his book? Then, to make a man priest now is to mar the Son of God's privilege, to whom the privilege only belongeth. In Him the devotional virtues were perfect awed complete. I. THE GREATNESS OF OUR LORD IS FORESHADOWED BY MELCHIZEDEK'S RECEIVING TITHES FROM ABRAHAM. So Christ is higher than the heavens, because He created them.II. 12:31 But earnestly desire and zealously cultivate the greatest and best gifts and graces (the higher gifts and the choicest graces). There the life won through death is surrendered into the Father's hands. Yes, we have had a visitor among us, living, out, in the moulds of human conduct and feeling, the perfections of God! affection. Dickson, M. A.He giveth a special reason why it beseemeth not us under the gospel to have a sinful man for our priest, because ibis is the very difference betwixt the law and the gospel.1. This we call liberal piety. I cannot even tell you how many times I have seen the above Haggai verse played out in the lives of people. Away with all conditions and terms only as they belong to Christ. 61:1. The message and hope of immortality are nowhere more distinctly conveyed to our minds than in connection with that resurrection morn when Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene. 5. Melchisedec's order in the type hath no priest but one in it, without a suffragan or substituted priest. Who that lives a man can ever, after this, think it a low and common thing to fill these spheres, walk in these ranges of life, and do these works of duty which have been raised so high by the life of Jesus in the flesh? 2. 2. Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. of Paul perfectly understood it, and blessedly appropriated it, when he said, "That I might be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but the righteousness which is of God by faith." His life is presented continually to God; and in it the children of God, whose own it is made by faith, are kept consecrated for evermore. Adjective - Genitive Masculine Singular - Comparative. 1 Timothy 5:17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. Christ lives not just to intercede on our behalf but to continually bless, He left us with gifts of bread and wine- The Word of God and the Holy Spirit, The Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path and the Spirit leads us and guides us into all truth. "He must reign till He hath put all enemies under His feet." Genesis 14:1-24. Taken generally, these three characteristics refer to the priest's relation to God, together men, and to the law of purity. This leads me to the last, thought, that the trust and confidence of all the elect of God will be found placed there.(J. Only let the Sun of Righteousness shine upon us, and our prospects for eternity must be brightened. Lay hold of it by faith, if God enables you, and go and plead it at the throne, and never fear losing it it includes all the blessings of the gospel for time, all the fulness of the covenant for enriching the Church, and all the glories of heaven for everlasting possession. It is simply impossible to repeat it, for we cannot repeat what has not been first brought to an end; and since the offering on the part of the eternal Son is His life. Therefore Christ, the true Melchisedec, is alone in His priesthood, without partner or deputy or suffragan. He blessed Pharaoh because Jacob knew what being blessed really meant. Only let the Sun of Righteousness shine upon us, and our prospects for eternity must be brightened. Let the Spirit Be Your Leader John 16:13- "But when He the Spirit of Truth, the truth-giving Spirit, comes, He will guide you into all Truth (the whole, full truth). Unity or division? His aims were high, His heart was earnest, and His hand was busy. This one is always so curious to me- people love to honor those who help and serve others (which they absolutely should), but the Bible says that those who teach and preach the WORD of God (honor Gods Word) have a greater honor. The Deliverer of guilty and ruined souls "ate and drank with publicans and sinners."4. Exod 20: 3. 26), could in youth, in a fit of ill-temper, strike a companion with death and then, Psalms 62:5.--My soul, wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from Him. Must we enter into eternity? --ACTS vi. He first declares what Melchizedek was, that he was both king and priest; he names the place he was king of, and tells whose priest he was, even the priest of the most high God; and goes on to observe what he did, that he met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, that he blessed him, and took tithes of him, Heb 7:1,2 and then interprets his name, and royal title, the one signifying king of righteousness, the other king of peace; that for anything that can be learned from the Scriptures, it is not known who was his father or his mother; what his lineage and descent; when he was born, or when he died; and that he is like to the Son of God, and continues a priest, Heb 7:2,3 upon which the apostle calls upon the Hebrews to consider the greatness of his person; and as it appears from that single instance of his receiving tithes from the patriarch Abraham, Heb 7:4 by which it is evident, that he is greater than the Levites; and which is demonstrated in the following particulars: the Levites received tithes of their brethren that came out of Abraham's loins, as they did, but Melchizedek, whose descent was not from them, received tithes from Abraham himself, and besides blessed him; and it is a clear case, that the lesser is blessed of the greater, Heb 7:5-7 the Levites were mortal men that received tithes, but a testimony is bore to Melchizedek, that he lives, Heb 6:8 yea, Levi himself paid tithes to Melchizedek, since he was in the loins of his father Abraham when Melchizedek met him, and took tithes of him; and therefore must be greater than Levi, Heb 7:9,10. Melchizedeks name means king of righteousness- The order of Melchizedek is royal and everlasting- The 110th Psalm is a Messianic prophecy that tells us two things God promised to do for Jesus: make Jesus the king in Zion and make Jesus a priest. (2) The next difference he maketh this: The law admitteth men in the plural number, a plurality of priests; but the gospel admitteth no plurality of priests, but the Son only to be priest. Or elatton el-at-tone'; comparative of the same as elachistos; smaller. He preached, and suffered, and died in Jerusalem; and the voice of Jerusalem's crimes "entered into the ears of the Lord God of Sabaoth."3. What Does It Mean to Be "Spiritually Blind"? Consider, also, and accurately distinguish, as here we may easily do, what is meant by holiness, and what especially is its power, or the law of its power. The third difference: The law maketh men priests; but the evangelical oath maketh the Son of God priest for the gospel. --Luke xxii. ALL growth in the spiritual life is connected with the clearer insight into what Jesus is to us. The fourth difference: The law maketh such priests as have infirmity; that is, sinful men. affection. It is the representative of an Old Testament word, which seems to mean "devoted to God in love." Much of the language He addressed to men, "Ye are from beneath; I am from above." God says where the tithe goes, we do not get to determine that. TURN NOW, SECONDLY, TO THE DISCIPLES, AND OBSERVE HOW THEY WERE IMPRESSED OR AFFECTED BY THE MANNER AND SPIRIT OF JESUS. And it appears to he excited more by His manners and doctrine and a certain indescribable originality and sanctity in both, them by anything else. The differences, as the apostle setteth them down here, are (1) The course taken about priests under the law was alterable, they were made without an oath, the lawgiver declaring it to be his will to change that course when he saw fit; but the course taken about the priests -f the New Testament is with an oath, and so cannot be changed. Even those who do not clearly understand or fully accept its meaning in history and religion,--even children and ignorant folk and doubters and, "Now, if there was perfection through the Levitical priesthood (for under it hath the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should arise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be reckoned after the order of Aaron? The other priests offered offerings, first for their own sins and then for the sins of the people this glorious Priest found in the one offering of His own precious body and soul an adequate amount of merit for all the sins of all the election of grace, and presented it as such to God the Father. T he Redemption of the soul is precious. But when, as our High Priest and Representative, Jesus offers His life to God, that life covers every stage or department of our life. There is nothing then to put Him at one with us or us at one with Him, but just that incommunicable and separate character which fills us even here with dread. Hebrews 7:7 And without doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater. The apostle, in addressing the Colossians, tells them concerning these illustrious triumphs, that He spoiled principalities and powers, and made a show of them .openly on His cross, triumphing over them in it. it follows that His offering must be as eternal as Himself. Blessed - Happy. THE SINFULNESS OF EITHER REJECTING OR MOCKING THIS ONE OFFERING FOR SIN. "O death, I will be thy plague; O grave, I will he thy destruction," said He. This brings me to speak of what is now the great and desolating error of our times. (lit: I speak well of) I bless; pass: I am blessed. Go on to mark that in these New Testament terms which are met there is another condition "without holiness no man shall see the Lord." 2, How Christ is to be Made Use Of, in Reference to Growing in Grace. For Himself and for the members of His body He accepted the sentence, "The soul that sinneth shall die"; while at the same time He bowed Himself in submission to the law so mysteriously linked with that sentence, that, as things are in a present world, it is only through death that we can conquer death and find the path to life. There it burns in the never-ceasing devotion of love and praise. He maketh the difference of the law and the gospel to stand amongst other things in the difference of priests, so as the gospel cannot admit such priests as the law admitted.3. . Consider, also, and accurately distinguish, as here we may easily do, what is meant by holiness, and what especially is its power, or the law of its power. It was an impressive argument for the unrivalled glory of Christ as a Priest that the tribe of Levi paid tithes to him who foreshadowed him whose name is above every name. He lived on earth. In o her words, if He is to have more than a man's power, He must somehow be more than a man. It is going on still, and it will go on for ever, as the Divine and perfect sacrifice in which our great Representative and we in Him attain the end of all religion, whether natural or revealed, as that sacrifice in which we are made one with His Father and our Father, with His God and our God. Greater is better,stronger, nobler, best. "He offered up Himself." (2) The next difference he maketh this: The law admitteth men in the plural number, a plurality of priests; but the gospel admitteth no plurality of priests, but the Son only to be priest. 32. And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. --John xvi. He was tempted. Again, His enemies are all vanquished, and an expiation accomplished in behalf of all His Church. There the life won through death is surrendered into the Father's hands. "Having obtained eternal redemption for us." If you ask me, I will tell you that you are robbing God of the honor that is due Him. too, the active virtues were gloriously displayed. Go a little further, and you find Him typified under the Old Testament dispensation, and becoming Himself the fulfilment of all its types. As the blood, or in other words the life, of an animal sacrificed under the law was liberated in death, not merely that the offering might be completed, but that the true offering might be made by the sprinkling; so the blood, or in other words the life, of Christ was liberated on the cross, that His true offering might be made by the surrender of that life to God in a perpetual service of love, obedience, and praise.1. The Father sends the Son, and the Son comes voluntarily.2. S. Go and print the Father to His sufferings in Gethsemane and on Calvary. Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.. (2) The moral law requires obedience, but gives, 'And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2. PHILIPPIANS iii. Ye are come to Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant."--HEB. He was duly appointed both priest and king: king of righteousness and peace, and at the same time priest of the Most High God. The author of Hebrews contrasts the lineage-based priesthood of Aaron with Melchizedek, who has no recorded birth or death. Lesser (7 Occurrences) Hebrews 7:7 But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater. It was guessed, indeed, that He might be Elias, or some one of the old .prophets, but we are only to see, in such struggles of conjecture, how powerfully He has already impressed the sense of His distinction or separateness of character, for such guesses or conjectures were even absurd, unless they were instigated by previous impressions of something very peculiar in His unearthly manner requiring to be accounted for. Yes, we have had a visitor among us, living, out, in the moulds of human conduct and feeling, the perfections of God! --Hebrews 7:16. How would he know it himself? What I propose, then, for my present subject is The separateness of Jesus from men; the immense power it had and must ever have on their feeling and character. Go and tell what Christ has done perfected for ever them that are sanctified, and dare assert, under all the load of your guilt, "Lord, I believe in the efficacy and power of that offering"; and go on till you are enabled to say, "I believe it was offered for me." Irons. iii. Brother, have you learned to live your life having God so really with you every moment, that in circumstances the most difficult He is always more present and nearer than anything around you? He laboured in Galilee; and Galilee was proverbially bad. His conscience was true to the dictates of eternal rectitude quick to discern the right, and bold and strong to choose and follow it. of King James Bible And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. 3. Salem meansfull, complete, safe, whole, peaceful.1The author of Hebrews calls attention to this when likening Melchizedek to JesusMelchizedek was the king of Peace, the ancient town of Salem later becomes known asJerusalem. Wherefore in Abraham KuyperThe Work of the Holy Spirit, The Power of an Endless LifeWho is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. Then, to make plurality of priests in the gospel is to alter the order of Melchisedec, and to renounce the mark set betwixt the law and the gospel,3. Their goodness is measurable. There it burns in the never-ceasing devotion of love and praise. Nay, it grows out of His very love to us in part and His profound oneness with us, for it is a love so pure and gentle so patient, so disinterested, so self-sacrificing that it parts Him from us in the very act of embrace, and makes us think of Him even with awe! Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and today his life still blesses me. We can lose our limbs and even our life, but we cannot disobey Gods words. The third difference: The law maketh men priests; but the evangelical oath maketh the Son of God priest for the gospel. He was the object of harsh reproach and contumelious scorn. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the. In o her words, if He is to have more than a man's power, He must somehow be more than a man. But the treatment has been so extremely imperfect, in view of the importance of that section, that a few further remarks must be made. ), 1. Its at this time that Melchizedek meets Abram and blesses him. The Lesser is Blessed by the Greater (Hebrews 7:4-10) If it is finished, an eternal redemption is obtain d; any pretension to add to it is nothing less than a blasphemous insult to Christ. He was plainly not under the world, or any fashions of human opinion. His heart was the home, alike of the mild, and the majestic, forms of feeling. He so loved the Church that He gave Himself for it. Without - Outside. It may be imagined by some that He produced this impression artificially, by means of certain scenes and observances designed to widen out the distance between Him and the race; for how could He otherwise obtain that power over them which He was properly entitled to, have by His own real eminence, unless He took some pains to set them in attitudes in which His eminence might be felt. "O death, I will be thy plague; O grave, I will he thy destruction," said He. It began with the cross, with the moment when He was lifted on high out of the earth; and then, separated from all that was material, local, or limited, He was able to enter upon a spiritual, universal, and everlasting priesthood. I dont like it when kids call me by my first name, Ephesians 6:2-3ESV Honor your father and mother (this is the first commandment with a promise), that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.. The prophet was directed to set it down, that everything pertaining to the creature should wear out as a garment, and that the moth should eat up all creature excellencies; but, says God, "My righteousness shall be for ever, and My salvation shall not be abolished." Why, in the first place, he would be thoroughly sick and tired of his chains; in the next place, he would know that the price has been paid for his ransom; and, in the third place, he would be set free; and when a man is set free he will not stay under the yoke of the tyrant any longer, he will be off to his own country. Still, there ale terms of salvation, and let me mark what they are. Eternity is now passing over Him. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Wednesday Service at 7:00 PM Watch Live! "Eternal redemption." Hear what Jehovah, by His prophet Isaiah, says. This He did as the covenant Head, in the name and on befall of His whole Church; and He did it openly in His life and death, before all worlds. All rights reserved. for want of any more definite name, His intercession. In His gentleness He was great, in His greatness He was gentle. Oh, the prospect is bright while Jesus is kept in view. Partaker of the same humanity as they, in Him, characteristically and exclusively, it was immaculate; and thus, even while He moved in the midst of sinners, and was come to "seek and to save that which was lost," His Spirit, in some sense, dwelt apart. It is the business of a priest to offer a sacrifice. Jesus Is the Ultimate Prophet, Priest and King. He lived on earth. C. Authorship: Not specific, but generally attributed to Apostle Paul. Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified, says the LORD. The High Priest in the heavens presents His sacrifice there for ever, We need no other; we do need Him. His aims were high, His heart was earnest, and His hand was busy. The tithe is a tenth or our increase and is for the storehouse- the place you are fed the Word.