The Priestly Order of Melchizedek - Ch. 7:1 - 8:13 (Unit 5/6)

I. Lesson Overview

A. Chapters 7 and 8 part of larger, meaty section of Hebrews decribed by Long as "The High Priesthood of Jesus: Advanced Course" (Long p. 80)

1. Divided into 5 sections. First 4 composed of claims about old priesthood followed by matching set of claims about new priesthood of Jesus.
2. Fifth section devoted to living and worshiping under the new covenant.

B. Chapters 7 and 8 devoted to comparing shortcomings of old levitical priesthood to Jesus new eternal priesthood which is likened to priesthood of Melchizedek.

II. Who Was Melchizedek

A. Two Old Testament References

1. Genesis 14:17-20
2. Psalm 110:4

B. Non-scriptural References

1. Dead Sea Scrolls - eschatological writing called 11 Q Melchizedek
2. Text found at Nag Hammadi (Egypt)
3. 2 Enoch 72 - rabbinic text of uncertain date
4. Writings of Flavius Josephus - first century Jewish historian
5. Writings of Philo Judaeus - Jewish theologian and philospher from Alexandria

C. Hebrews not written in a vacuum - Jewish readers would have been very familiar with Melchizedek

1. Long compares Melchizedek to ' We Three Kings' - "This 'homiletical Melchizedek' was something like the 'three kings' of countless Christmas pagaents, an amalgam of biblical material and popular piety." (Long p. 84)
2. Hard to tell how much Preacher's description of Melchizedek is from this lore or from his own thoughts.

III. Melchizedek, Who Resembles the Son of God (Ch. 7:1-3)

A. Melchizedek - is a forecast of things to come by virtue of his lack of lineage

1. Ancient jewish rabbis had a strict interpretation of the scriptures - all truth is in the scriptures. If it isn't in the scriptures, it didn't happen.
2. No mention of Melchizedek's lineage in OT - therefore by Jewish way of thinking he didn't have any, he was eternal.
3. Main point of all this is not about Melchizedek - but that the qualities in him (righeousness, peace, and timelessness) point to nature of Jesus. Further evidence that He is the one true eternal high priest.

IV. See How Great Melchizedek Is (Ch. 7:4-10)

A. Uses two pieces of Genesis story to prove point

1. The Blessings
2. The Tithes

B. The Blessings

1. Inferior is always blesssed by superior. Since Abram is blessed by Melchizedek it is clear that he is superior to the lofty father of the Jews.
2. "The Preacher" conveniently forgets several other accounts where the inferior blesses the superior (ex. David blessed by his servant Joab)

C. The Tithes

1. "The Preacher" makes the point that Jewish law commands Levitical priests to collect tithes
2. Therefore only possible explanation for Melchizedek's authority to collect tithes from Abram must be because he is "a priest forever."

V. The Imperfect Old Priesthood; the Need for a New (Ch. 7:11)

A. "The Preacher" switches from use of Genesis text to that of Psalms

1. Basically says no reason for author of Psalms to mention Melchizedek if there wasn't something inherently wrong about levitical priesthood.
2. Main argument is that you can not achieve perfection through it. Same points we've discussed previously...must continually offer sacrifices because of sinful nature

VI. The Son of God who Resembles Melchizedek (Ch. 7:13-25)

A. Jesus far different from levitical priests

1. Old priests by law (Numbers 1:47-54) must come from the tribe of Levi (Aaron was a Levite and the first priest of the Covenant after the exodus)
2. Jesus was from Judah
3. Old priests assumed office but did not take an oath.
4. God took an oath and appointed Jesus as priest forever
5. Old priests were many because they died and had to be replaced
6. Jesus lives forever.

VII. See How Great He Is (Ch. 7:26 - 8:6)

A. Great because of who he is...human lived perfect life without sin yet suffered and endured every temptation.

B. Great because of the source of his priestly commission. God ordained Jesus.

C. Great because of where he is.

D. Great because of the benefits of his ministry. His sacrifice fully mends the human spirit.

E. Great most of all because of the offering he brought as high priest...himself. "In other words, he brought as an offering to God nothing less than the fullness of the human condition perfected by his own obedience." (Long p.89)

VIII. Fault With the First Covenant, Need for a New (Ch. 8:7-12)

A. First Covenant not Effective

1. Based on obeying the law
2. Because of our sinful nature we are unable to obey the law. Are always falling short, being disobedient. Old convenant led to cycle of defeat and despair.

B. New Covenant

1. Language comes from Jeremiah 31:31-34
2. Laws of new covenant not written down but are in the hearts of the people.
3. New covenant based on bond...God's promise of mercy and forgiveness

IX. A New Covenant (Ch. 8:13) - doesn't go with old covenant. It replaces it.

Bibliography

Barclay, William. The New Daily Study Bible – The Letter to the Hebrews. London: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002

Harrison, Everett F. Interpretation Bible Studies. Louisville: John Knox Press, 2008

Long, Thomas G. Hebrews, Interpretation – A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Louisville: John Knox Press, 1997

Unit 5 - (Part 1) Ch. 4:14 - Ch. 6:20

I. Holding Fast and Praying Boldly (Ch. 4:14-16)

A. "Preacher" returns to 'parabola of salvation'. Has discussed this twice previously for different reasons.
1. Ch. 1:1-4 - purpose was to give congregants confidence that God was in-charge despite the appearance of chaos going on all around them.
2. Ch. 2:5-18 - purpose was to give congregants hope. Jesus is able to help those who are being tested because he has 'been there, done that'.
3. This third time his goal is to encourage his congregants to engage in bold, even audacious prayer (4:16 - "approach the throne of grace with boldness").

B. Confident Prayer
1. Not a matter of technique
2. Built upon how we perceive our relationship with God
3. "...bold prayer is an expression of theological trust; the practice of prayer rests on what we believe about God and God's relationship to us." (Long p. 64)
4. Must approach God in prayer with awe. Humans (because of our sinful nature) are unworthy to approach God. It is only because of Jesus' sacrifice that we are able to do so. Jesus is our "great high priest" who opens up the way to God.

II. Jesus and the Job Description of High Priest (Ch. 5:1-10)

A. Three Provisions for Job of High Priest - "Preacher" shows how Jesus is superior in all 3 areas.
1. The Function of the High Priest
2. The Person of the High Priest
3. The Appointment of the High Priest

B. The Function of the High Priest
1. Function as mediator between God and man.
2. Function as messenger of salvation.
3. Jesus greater than human, levitical priests in two ways
a. Not just mediator (presenting peoples sacrifices) for salvation, he offered himself as the source of salvation
b. Old human priests had to keep going back to alter...new sins required new sacrifices to be made. In contrast the salvation provided by Jesus' high priesthood is eternal.

C. The Person of the High Priest
1. In addition to liturgical duties also serves as pastor
2. "Preacher" shows Jesus is superior as pastor. "Jesus, like the old priests, was fully human, but unlike them his humanity did not erode into despair, loss of faith, and sin." Thus, Jesus knows the pain of being human and "is compassionate toward those who have lost sight of the truth that they are God's very own children." (Long p. 68)

D. The Appointment of the High Priest
1. High Priests do not 'volunteer' for the postion. Rather, are called by God.
2. Likewise, Jesus was called by God to not only be our High Priest but also to be his Son.
3. Jesus appointment as High Priest was not for a lifetime, but forever.

III. The Preacher as Crafty Teacher (Ch. 5:11 - Ch. 6:12)

A. Too Dull to Get It (5:11-14)
1. Tells them they are like babes, too immature to understand deeper christological lessons
2. Doesn't really mean it, just trying to motivate them to rise to the challenge.

B. No Turning Back (6:1-8)
1. To advance one must move beyond basic teachings about Christ
a. Need for Repentance and Faith
b. Meaning of Baptism
c. Laying on of Hands
d. Promise of the Resurrection
e. Final Judgement
2. Only Two Directions - Forward or Backward
a. Forward - maturing becoming deeper in faith
b. Backward - lazy. can easily succumb to temptation and be pulled away from Christ's promise.
3. Then makes scary statement. Possible to lose salvation by backsliding.
a. Long suggests the "Preacher" is expressing a practical frustration in ministry (people who fall away are not likely to return) vs. an absolute claim that God's grace has limits.

C. Prize Students (6:9-12)
1. Whereas at the beginning of the section he was chastizing them for being immature and dull in their faith, now just a few verses later he is praising them for being prize students.
a. The "Preacher" wants to supply encouragment
b. Encourages them to be "imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises" (6:12)
2. Begs two questions
a. Who are they to imitate?
b. What are the promises?
3. Imitate Whom?
a. Abraham, or
b. Whole host of people who have been faithful to God's calling throughout history
c. Their own contemporaries who are leading a faithful life
d. Long thinks the "Preacher" means all of the above
4. What Promises?
a. Specific promises...a great and blessed nation, or land flowing with milk and honey, or
b. More general promise..."Follow the path of obedience and faith and I will bring you to a place of rest and joy."

IV. The Sure and Steady Promises of God (Ch. 6:13-20)

A. God Swears (6:13-18)
1. Passage based on old oral tradition of oath taking.
2. Ultimate guarranty one was telling the truth was to make an oath in Yahwey's name.
3. Hebrew law condoned this practice (Deut. 6:13)
4. God has promised and sworn an oath on his own name. Double guarranty.

B. Hope: The Anchor of the Soul (6:19-20)
1. Christian hope is anchored by God's promise and oath, the unshakeable reliability of God.

Bibliography

Barclay, William. The New Daily Study Bible – The Letter to the Hebrews. London: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002

Harrison, Everett F. Interpretation Bible Studies. Louisville: John Knox Press, 2008

Long, Thomas G. Hebrews, Interpretation – A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Louisville: John Knox Press, 1997

Hebrews - Ch. 3 - 4:13 (Study Guide - Unit 4)

I. Lesson today can basically be segmented into 2 major themes:

A. House Church, i.e, House of God (Ch. 3:1-6)
B. Learning to Rest Today (Ch. 3:7 - Ch. 4:13)

II. House Church or House of God

A. Opening verse refers to brothers and sisters who are dedicated to God and sharers in heaven's calling. Long speaks at length about this opening verse and it reference to three crucial aspects of the church's identity.

1. Church is a family of brothers and sisters who share a common bond..."they belong to Jesus Christ." (Long, p.46). "Church is a community of people who have been summoned to a task, called to a ministry, thrown together in mission." (Long, p.47).

"When people take God seriously, they immediately realize that his word is not only something to be studied, not only something to be read, not only something to be written about; it is something to be done." (Barclay, p. 47)

2. Church is holy. Long points out the church isn't holy because of its members purity but rather is made holy by Jesus. "The church is holy like the bread at the Lord's Table is holy; though quite ordinary, it is nonetheless set apartfor holy use and becomes the instrument of the extraordinary purposes of God." (Long, p. 47)

3. Church is apostolic. Church must pattern itself after Jesus. Jesus was sent by God to become the word in flesh. So, too must we take the word out into the world. Church must be careful not to succumb to secular definitions of success (i.e., growth rate, new buildings, etc.). Rather, must remain faithful and focused on the will of God.

B. Jesus superiority over Moses

1. In previous chapters "the Preacher" has proven Jesus' superiority over prophets and angels
2. Now he focuses on Jesus' superiority over Moses
3. In Jews eyes this would have been significant because...
a. Moses greater than all the other prophets because he had spoken directly with God, not through visions.
b. Moses brought the law from God (i.e., Ten Commandments). Thus, Moses became synonomous with 'The Law'.
4. "the Preacher" uses house in a couple different ways as metaphorical example of how Jesus is superior to Moses
a. Moses was significant part of the house (eg. main joist or roof beam)
b. Jesus was the principal architect
c. Moses was faithful in the house as a servant
d. Jesus was in charge of the house as the heir
5. "the Preacher" tells his congregation to fix their attention on Jesus. Uses greek word, katanoein.
a. "The word means to fix the attention on seomthing in such a way that its inner meaning, the lesson that it is designed to teach, may be learned." (Barclay, p.35). Doing so reveals two things:
i. Jesus was an apostle - sent by God and having God's authority
ii. Jesus is the great high priest. Can intercede for us. Perfect high priest because he was perfectly human and perfectly God.


III. Learning to Rest Today

A. Recall church group to whom the letter was written was disheartened, weary, and ready to give up and go back to their previous life and beliefs.

B. "the Preacher" presents a small 'sermon within a sermon' about the subject of rest using portion of Psalm 95. Expands thoughts on rest into 3 significant themes.

1. Beginning of time. God created heavens and earth and on 7th day he rested.
2. End of time. Points to finished work of redemption, death is defeated and Christ is revealed as Lord. We will come into our eternal rest.
3. Current time. "Third, 'rest' describes a possibility for the faithful in the midde of time, of those Sabbath Days in the life of God's people when the finished work of God is both remembered with thanksigving and anticipated with hope." (Long, p. 55).

C. "the Preacher" then returns to main sermon and focuses his attention on three areas

1. Uses Israelites past failures to persuade his congregants to not have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.
2. Reminds congregation that it is not too late, God's promise of 'rest' remains open to them. Cautions them to not fail to reach this goal.
3. Helps them see the forest instead of just the trees. Congregation is mired in problems of today (i.e., the trees). "the Preacher" helps them to step back and see the bigger picture (i.e., the forest) of what is coming in the victorious finale. Must continue to have faith in God's greater plan and not focus/dwell on inconsequential problems of today.

D. "the Preacher" closes sermon in last two verses by reminding congregation of coming judgement. God knows you from the inside out. Nothing can be hidden from him. All will be called to account for their lives on day of judgement.

Bibliography

Barclay, William. The New Daily Study Bible – The Letter to the Hebrews. London: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002

Harrison, Everett F. Interpretation Bible Studies. Louisville: John Knox Press, 2008

Long, Thomas G. Hebrews, Interpretation – A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Louisville: John Knox Press, 1997

Hebrews - Ch. 2 (Study Guide - Unit 3)

The First Warning (Ch. 2:1-4)

• Chapter 2 opens with the first of five key warnings from 'the Preacher' to his congregants

• Pay attention to what you have heard lest you drift away from your new found faith and it's great promise of salvation.

• 'the Preacher' knows the issue isn't lack of knowledge. Congregants know the story. What is lacking is faith. Daily troubles of life have weakened there faith. "How can they go on believing what is preached when everything around them seems to deny it?" (Long, p. 29)

• 'the Preacher' strives to rebuild their faith by acting as a good defense attorney and presenting legal precedence followed by witnesses.
• Legal Precedents - validity of the OT law (Torah). Validity confirmed by known cause and effect. Whenever law was broken they received a just penalty.
• Now having proven validity of OT law, 'the Preacher' goes on to show how much more is the new 'law' of the gospel - the message of salvation in the Son, valid and true.
• Calls forth 3 witnesses in support of the validity of the 'law' of the gospel

(1) Jesus himself first proclaimed the gospel message

(2) Jesus message corroborated by first-hand hearers and followers

(3) God himself provides evidence through "signs and wonders and various

miracles" (Johnson, p.19)

• Finally Holy Spirit guarantees validity of the gospel by giving spiritual gifts to the people of the church so they can proclaim it.

Jesus: For A Little While Lower than the Angels (Ch. 2:5-9)

• Descending from the heights (2:5-8a)
• 'the Preacher' uses Psalm 8 to make his point about Jesus coming to earth as a man and thus temporarily being lower than the angels.
• Psalm 8 originally only about humanity in general, has no messianic meaning
• However, 'the Preacher' uses it instead to make a statement about one human being in particular, i.e., Jesus.

• See Jesus, hearing the gospel (2:8b-9)
• People saw Jesus while he was here on earth
• Now must have faith and believe in his gospel and its message of redemption and resurrection and Jesus returning to heaven to sit at the right hand of God as Lord of all

Pioneer and Priest (Ch. 2:10-18)

• 'the Preacher' uses three overlapping images to portray Jesus

(1) Pioneer / Hero

(2) Liberator

(3) High Priest

• Pioneer / Hero - "archegos" (greek) - In its simplest form means head or chief. "An archegos is someone who begins something in order that others may enter into it." (Barclay, p.31)
• Same word is also used to describe Jesus in Acts 3:15 and 5:31. Also used again in Hebrews 12:2.
• Liberator - "Jesus broke through the gates of death, destroyed the Commandant of Death (the devil), and liberated those imprisoned in fear (2:14-15)" (Long, p39)
• How was Jesus enabled to take on this role? The greek word 'the Preacher' uses to explain this is "teleioun", which means to make perfect.
• However, we must be careful to understand what is being said here. Jesus was human, yet devine, thus he was already 'perfect'. Barclay believe what 'the Preacher' is saying here is that "...through suffering, Jesus was made fully able to complete the task of being the pioneer of our salvation." (Barclay, p. 32).

(1) Through His suffering Jesus identified Himself with us.

(2) He can sympathize with us.

• High Priest - Jesus described as the high priest, who liked the high priests of old, has made a sacrifice in attonement for our sins.
• Image of high priest used later by 'the Preacher' in his sermon. Provides the central focus of discussion in 4:14 - 10:25.

Bibliography

Barclay, William. The New Daily Study Bible – The Letter to the Hebrews. London: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002Harrison, Everett F. The New Testament and Wycliffe Bible Commentary. Chicago: Moody Press, 1962Johnson, Earl S. Jr. Hebrews, Interpretation Bible Studies. Louisville: John Knox Press, 2008Long, Thomas G. Hebrews, Interpretation – A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Louisville: John Knox Press, 1997