Hebrews 7:20 And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made priest:
21 (For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:)
22 By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.
23 And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death:
24 But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
28 For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.
The event that took place last Saturday was a surprise to some people. We are being told that this was a massive failure of security at that rally. We may never know what actually happened there. What we do know is that there is talk now of changing the rhetoric in the campaign. It is true that the Democrats did use some language that could be interpreted as deadly. The events of January 6 some 4 years ago, were distorted and the truth has still being perverted regarding that event.
Wickedness needs to be exposed. Wickedness resides in the heart of every lost person. Jeremiah was directed to write:
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
The perversions change the language in that passage. However, God tells us what is going on in the heart of every lost person. Saved people have been given a changed heart. That is what God is telling us in the book of Hebrews and in many other places in the Bible. Unless the LORD is given His rightful place in your heart and in mine, wickedness will rule. It is the duty of God-fearing people to expose the wickedness and to show people the truth.
God-fearing pastors do not spend the bulk of the their time exposing corrupt politicians and media. There is no end to that. Godly pastors focus on teaching the people the holiness of God and the mercy of God and the grace of God, etc. God directed the writer of Hebrews to exalt Jesus Christ. That is the need of man. When we teach the truth, it will expose the lies.
In our text we are reminded that Jesus Christ was made a priest with an oath. The Old Testament priests became priests because they were of the lineage of Aaron. They were not individually chosen by God. There were some good priests among them and there were corrupt priests among them. Some were removed from their office due to their corruption. Some were killed by wicked kings.
Jesus Christ was personally declared to be a priest after the order of Melchisedec. That is what we have noted from Psalm 110:4.
In verse 21 of our text we see that passage quoted. In verse 22 we are reminded that this oath was what made Jesus Christ surety of a better testament. We have already noted that God did not make a mistake in choosing Aaron and his sons as priests. We learn from Leviticus 10 that Nadab and Abihu, two of Aaron’s sons, were killed by God because they defiled God’s order. God impressed upon the priests that His order was not negotiable. It needed to be followed carefully. The Old Testament priests were to be a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. They were fallible, He is not.
In verse 23 we are reminded that there were many priests in the Old Testament time. They died and needed to be replaced. In verse 24 we are told that Jesus Christ, “this man”, “continueth ever”. His is an unchangeable priesthood. Jesus Christ, being God, does not change His mind. He does not corrupt the truth. He is the truth and He upholds the truth.
In verse 25 we are reminded of a very important truth. Jesus Christ is different in a right way in that He is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him. Those who turn to God in repentance and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation, are given eternal life. They cannot lose it because it is a gift of God. We have already talked of the naysayers that want to scare people into submission to their false teachings. They need a whip to keep people in line. They claim that if a person does not follow their way, they can lose their salvation. God chastens those who are saved. He does not threaten that they will lose their salvation. He does not take back His promises.
Jesus Christ is not only the Saviour but He is also the intercessor, standing in the gap between saved individuals and a holy God. Jesus Christ is alive and never too busy or preoccupied. It is a blessing to have this great High Priest as intercessor. We would have no hope without Him.
In verse 26 we are reminded that Jesus Christ “became us.” He is the eternal Son of God. He left heaven’s glory at a specific pre-determined time and He became a man, taking on the form of a servant, obedient unto death. He did that for us. He did that for all of mankind. It is extremely foolish to reject God’s offer of salvation.
Notice in verse 26 that Jesus Christ, as a man is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners and made higher than the heavens. In verse 27 we are reminded that He does not need to offer up sacrifices on a daily basis as those Old Testament priests needed to. They had to offer first for their own sins and then for the sins of the people. Jesus Christ had no sin. He did not need to offer up any sacrifices for His sins. He offered Himself up once on the cross and He shed His blood and was buried and rose again the third day, proving that He is greater than our sin. He is able to forgive our sin and be unstained by our sin.
In verse 28 we are reminded again that the law made high priests from among men that sinned. Aaron sinned. Others that were made high priests also sinned. They all had to offer sacrifices to atone for their own sins before they could offer sacrifices for the people. If they would not have done that, they would have been hypocrites and God would have struck them dead. No high priest could enter the holiest without first offering a sacrifice for his own sins.
However, Jesus Christ, Who came after the law, and was declared to be the Son, is consecrated for evermore. He was declared to be the “beloved Son,” at His baptism as well as at the mount of transfiguration. He will never cease to be the Son of God. He will never be replaced as the Great Hight Priest. He is undefiled and well able to save repentant sinners.
If you are reading this but following some empty humanistic rituals, why not turn to the true God today and be saved. You will never regret that. It is the most important decision you could ever make. If you turn to God, He will change you. You will be amazed at the blessing that He gives to His repentant child. Don’t settle for anything less. Anything less will not save you. You will not know God’s peace unless you accept His gift of salvation.
Pastor Bartel
