1 00:00:14,119 --> 00:00:17,359 Welcome to the Lansdale Life Church podcast. 2 00:00:18,379 --> 00:00:24,100 If you're seeking a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, this podcast is for you. 3 00:00:24,660 --> 00:00:26,839 Thank you for joining us today. 4 00:00:34,660 --> 00:00:40,799 What a great time of worship, right? Isn't it just amazing how no matter where we're at, 5 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:49,100 God just like draws us in. I mean, as we just come and just lay aside things that we came here with, 6 00:00:49,100 --> 00:00:56,179 no matter what it is, if it's issues at home or work or worries or fears or whatever, 7 00:00:56,320 --> 00:01:03,979 when we just kind of just resolve to worship Him, He just draws us into Him. That was awesome. Thank 8 00:01:03,979 --> 00:01:13,280 you. Thank you, worship team. That was an incredible, incredible time. Well, here we are in the book of 9 00:01:13,839 --> 00:01:21,640 Hebrews, and this has been a really exciting study, hasn't it? I mean, I've really enjoyed it. I just 10 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:31,079 love the Calvary church model of teaching. So I mean, as we came here, this was my first time 11 00:01:31,079 --> 00:01:36,799 kind of being exposed to this kind of moving through the Bible. I've been teaching for many, 12 00:01:36,799 --> 00:01:43,900 many, many decades, and I always thought I enjoyed topical teaching. I'll pick a topic, 13 00:01:44,379 --> 00:01:51,540 and God's putting on my heart and just kind of build that out, and that's such an easy way to 14 00:01:51,540 --> 00:01:58,219 teach. It really is an easy way to teach. This is a challenging way to teach because you have to 15 00:01:58,219 --> 00:02:06,079 look at everything in context of how it was written or God intended. It's easy to kind of 16 00:02:06,219 --> 00:02:11,500 sometimes, I don't want to say cherry pick, but I'll say cherry pick. It's kind of easy sometimes to 17 00:02:11,500 --> 00:02:16,719 pick scriptures to support something we want to say, but when you look at scripture in context 18 00:02:17,259 --> 00:02:26,860 and you begin to study it, it's just a different level, and I really, really enjoy this. 19 00:02:28,460 --> 00:02:35,939 So the book of Hebrews, there's a ton of awesome things to dig in, and there's a 20 00:02:35,939 --> 00:02:44,439 lot of really, really deep, healthy debate even among the scholars about things within Hebrews, 21 00:02:44,439 --> 00:02:52,379 when it was written, why it was written, who wrote it, all of these things, and I'm going to really 22 00:02:52,379 --> 00:03:02,419 try really, really hard not to nerd out on you folks and get too entrenched in all this stuff. 23 00:03:02,419 --> 00:03:08,400 I told my friend Ken Bailey here, I said, just give me the symbol if I'm kind of getting too 24 00:03:10,179 --> 00:03:18,300 nerdy on stuff, but I do want to get just a little bit into it, totally to the point where you don't 25 00:03:18,300 --> 00:03:25,500 glaze over too much. How's that sound? If you start to glaze over, I'll try to pay attention 26 00:03:26,099 --> 00:03:32,219 to it. So scholars used to think that it was written before the temple destructions, 27 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:37,620 and most of them have shifted that thought process. One of the reasons they thought that was because 28 00:03:37,620 --> 00:03:44,960 of the language that was used in it in present tense, and I love a lot of the stylistic writing 29 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:52,039 throughout the Bible. It kind of gives you indications of where folks were coming from, 30 00:03:52,039 --> 00:04:00,479 but there's a ton of super interesting things in here. I personally just love the dialogue 31 00:04:00,479 --> 00:04:10,919 around the Levitical priesthood and worship and all that sort of thing. So let's get into it right 32 00:04:10,919 --> 00:04:21,579 here. This book digs into a lot of the Jewish culture and worship and how the Jews looked at 33 00:04:21,579 --> 00:04:28,860 it. The book was written very specifically to Jews, not that we... When you think about the audience of 34 00:04:28,860 --> 00:04:32,779 who things were written to back then, you think, well, maybe that's not applicable to me. Of course, 35 00:04:32,899 --> 00:04:39,800 this is very applicable to us. But in this particular chapter that we're going through now, 36 00:04:40,100 --> 00:04:48,019 the priesthood really comes to the forefront of things. I don't know about you, but 37 00:04:48,019 --> 00:04:58,199 for much of my life as a follower of Jesus, the idea of a priesthood was just very distant from 38 00:04:58,199 --> 00:05:04,399 what I understood, my only understanding of priesthood with priests in a Catholic church. 39 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:14,240 I didn't understand the context or really understand identifying Jesus as a high priest, 40 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:19,819 because I never really understood the whole priesthood idea. But the temple 41 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:28,180 was the epicenter of Judaism in the Levitical priesthood. It's where they observed the law. 42 00:05:28,439 --> 00:05:33,600 It was kind of the epicenter for all that stuff, the calendar of feasts, all the festivals and 43 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:40,400 things that all centered around this temple that you see right before you hear. And once the 44 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:48,040 temple was destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans, Judaism really changed radically, 45 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:55,779 and they lost their spiritual identity. So this temple here is called the Second 46 00:05:55,779 --> 00:06:06,839 Temple, and it was built about 500 years BC, and then it was majorly renovated by King Herod. 47 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:12,920 The Jews were allowed to rebuild this during the Persian captivity, because the Persians were 48 00:06:13,759 --> 00:06:20,579 a lot nicer than the Babylonians and the Assyrians. So they said, yeah, build your temple 49 00:06:20,579 --> 00:06:25,740 back, that would be real nice, whereas the Babylonians just quite wiped everything out. 50 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:34,740 The original temple was about 950-960 BC, and it was built by Solomon, as many of us know. 51 00:06:34,740 --> 00:06:41,540 So before that, they had the tabernacle or the tent of worship, and we've studied a lot 52 00:06:41,540 --> 00:06:46,740 about that on Wednesday night, and this is one of those areas where I was really tempted to 53 00:06:46,740 --> 00:06:54,959 kind of dig in and just really talk a lot about that, but I was straining from a lot of that. 54 00:06:55,779 --> 00:07:02,500 So that was originally developed. It was kind of this mobile tent that they could move around, 55 00:07:02,500 --> 00:07:12,300 but this was how the Jews worshiped. This was how they drew close to God, and the reason that is 56 00:07:12,300 --> 00:07:18,980 foreign to many of us who know Jesus and walk with Jesus and can consider us followers of Jesus, 57 00:07:19,399 --> 00:07:27,779 because that idea of this place and this idea of this very structured worship just doesn't 58 00:07:27,779 --> 00:07:38,240 fit in with what God has done in our lives. So the Jews at this point were having a very, 59 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:48,220 very difficult time understanding this idea that Jesus was bringing forth, and there were 60 00:07:48,220 --> 00:07:55,040 many, many followers, many Jewish followers of Jesus in the first and second century and as it 61 00:07:55,040 --> 00:08:02,759 folded out, and they were actually being persecuted by their own own faith. So the Jews 62 00:08:02,759 --> 00:08:08,680 that were still really not followers of Jesus, and they didn't look at him as a messiah, they were 63 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:15,660 constantly pressuring the Jews that were following Jesus to, you know, this is not the right way. 64 00:08:16,180 --> 00:08:23,740 This is not what we were called to do. So Hebrews bring some great comparisons and great 65 00:08:23,740 --> 00:08:32,179 contrast between this older system and then this newer system that Jesus was talking about, 66 00:08:32,340 --> 00:08:39,240 and this newer idea of holiness and righteousness and what it means. As some of you know, 67 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:48,419 you know, the Jewish law was just that. Law after law after law after law started out as 68 00:08:48,419 --> 00:08:55,600 hundreds of laws evolved into thousands and thousands of laws. So it was this very, very 69 00:08:55,600 --> 00:09:04,720 regimented system of how to draw close to God. And I don't know about you, but for me, 70 00:09:05,500 --> 00:09:14,480 before I knew Jesus, before I came into a relationship with Jesus, that's how I perceived 71 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:15,840 religion. 72 00:09:18,759 --> 00:09:25,980 Laws, rules, can't do this, got to give up that, can't be like this, can't be like normal people, 73 00:09:26,159 --> 00:09:30,960 you got to be like this and follow the rules. That's how I viewed it. Maybe not as extensive 74 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:36,019 as the Levitical law, but that's how I looked at it, and I believe that's how many people 75 00:09:36,019 --> 00:09:44,740 in everyday life view faith, that have not experienced it in a way that perhaps we do. 76 00:09:45,100 --> 00:09:53,700 And these Jews that were enlightened at the time as they saw Jesus as, hey, this is the guy. 77 00:09:54,019 --> 00:09:59,559 This is the guy we've been talking about for hundreds of years. And they got on and they 78 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:07,639 began to follow, they began to experience this new idea of attaining righteousness in this new way 79 00:10:07,639 --> 00:10:18,019 that Jesus provides full access, unlimited access to God and to the heavenlies and to this realm 80 00:10:18,019 --> 00:10:25,299 that they had so vigorously followed through this rule system. So let's take a look at, 81 00:10:25,940 --> 00:10:32,919 I want to do just kind of a quick, brief recap of some things just to kind of lay the foundation 82 00:10:32,919 --> 00:10:42,139 for where we're going here. So the author of Hebrews, Jesus, they're making a case 83 00:10:42,139 --> 00:10:50,500 here, right from the beginning to where we're at, where we're coming up on now. They're making a 84 00:10:50,500 --> 00:10:58,980 case of Jesus, making a case that Jesus is higher than the angels. So the angels were viewed, 85 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:04,259 as we see in the Bible, as messengers. They would come and they were holy and they were powerful, 86 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:12,200 but Jesus is higher than these messengers. And he goes on to say, this is, and I'm sure this was 87 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:18,480 just like really rough for some of them to hear is like, you know, Moses is, you know, really, 88 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:24,860 they kind of held Moses up as kind of this, this icon, this God in the Old Testament. This is kind 89 00:11:24,860 --> 00:11:30,919 of our God. And, you know, he was a prophet and he was a leader, you know, in the house of God, 90 00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:37,340 you know, took the Israelites out of, out of Egypt, you know, took them through, took them 91 00:11:37,340 --> 00:11:42,419 through the desert, led them right up to the promised land. And the author is saying, 92 00:11:43,079 --> 00:11:52,580 Jesus is the faithful son over the house of God, not in the house of God, but over the house of God. 93 00:11:52,799 --> 00:11:59,740 And he's greater than Moses. And then he goes on to say, Joshua, who is the one who led the 94 00:11:59,740 --> 00:12:09,480 Israelites into the promised land, into that rest. And the author is saying, Jesus leads us into 95 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:18,419 God's ultimate permanent rest. And then he began to talk about the high priest and Aaron's role. 96 00:12:18,620 --> 00:12:28,340 Aaron was appointed, you know, as high priest, the very first high priest. And they're saying 97 00:12:28,340 --> 00:12:37,080 that Jesus is this eternal high priest. Not only that, he was sinless in this process. Priests were 98 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:44,559 not sinless. They had to go through the same atoning process as everyone else. But they were 99 00:12:44,559 --> 00:12:52,240 the leaders within that. And the author is saying that, yeah, this was good, but Jesus is better. 100 00:12:54,539 --> 00:12:59,500 And then he gets into talking about milk, he's a deck. This is one of those things 101 00:12:59,500 --> 00:13:03,580 that once I read the Bible, I would always used to just scoot past that stuff. 102 00:13:05,660 --> 00:13:13,360 And it's really easy to miss things when we do that. Now, when I see things that I don't understand, 103 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:19,100 I immediately look at that as, this is great. This is kind of this little Easter egg that's 104 00:13:19,100 --> 00:13:25,360 put here for me to follow along, follow along the path. So, you know, Melchizedek, you know, 105 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:32,120 he predated the priesthood because you know what? The first thing that these Jews would have said 106 00:13:32,120 --> 00:13:38,360 is that, well, Jesus can't be a priest because he's not from the tribe of Levi. He's not a Levite. 107 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:46,940 Only priests can, only Levites can be priests. So the author is making this case here. He's here, 108 00:13:47,159 --> 00:13:52,179 yeah, yeah, yeah. But he is in the priesthood of Melchizedek, which predates. And we're going to 109 00:13:52,179 --> 00:13:56,600 get into a little, just a little bit of this, not a ton of it, just a little bit of this we're 110 00:13:56,700 --> 00:14:02,360 going to get into. And then he begins to talk about the old covenant and the law, which we're 111 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:08,139 going to talk a little bit about here today, that Jesus brings this new way, this better, 112 00:14:08,419 --> 00:14:18,600 this better way. So, so Jesus offers this clearer version, this better way for the Jewish people 113 00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:29,139 and us, but it challenged everything that they knew about faith. So, and this is one thing that I was 114 00:14:29,139 --> 00:14:35,879 never really, and I still don't have a full understanding, but I have a much better 115 00:14:35,879 --> 00:14:44,500 understanding of it. You know, I really used to look at, okay, this is old, this is new, old is gone, 116 00:14:45,139 --> 00:14:57,059 new is here, old is no good, old is bad. And really Jesus, if you read the Gospels and read 117 00:14:57,860 --> 00:15:08,320 and really study how Jesus approached Torah and the old covenant, he never abolished anything. 118 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:16,899 He didn't remove. In fact, he said verbatim, I haven't come to remove any of this. He was the 119 00:15:16,899 --> 00:15:25,379 fulfillment of it. He represented and he explained with every breath that he had 120 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:36,240 what the true meaning was of the old covenant. So, so as we talk about this, it puts it in easy 121 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:43,299 context to say the old verses are new because Jesus brought a better, more fulfilled way, 122 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:51,639 a better understanding of the law, even in ways, definitely in ways that the Jews just never 123 00:15:51,639 --> 00:15:58,919 understood it to be. But even for us, as we, as we look at it, ways that we don't, he, he 124 00:15:58,919 --> 00:16:07,200 demonstrated what it really meant. And, you know, he was basically essentially saying that, that, 125 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:16,340 that, that you no longer really have a need for the temple, you know, or mediators. But this idea, 126 00:16:16,340 --> 00:16:24,340 you know, of, of, of Torah and the law, I'm giving you a better, clearer way of interpreting it. 127 00:16:25,279 --> 00:16:30,000 And then as this book was written, they would have understood that this was, as Jesus was talking 128 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:35,200 about it, they wouldn't have understood the sacrifice, his sacrifice that went along with 129 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:43,679 it, but they certainly would, would have now. So God presents this better way. His kingdom is better 130 00:16:44,860 --> 00:16:51,259 than the riches of this world. Isn't it? You know, I think of things that I use to strive for 131 00:16:51,259 --> 00:16:59,940 and things that I used to want out of this world. And I look now and I see his way is just a better 132 00:16:59,940 --> 00:17:06,599 way. And, and as I mentioned earlier, many times we think of, okay, if I come, 133 00:17:07,980 --> 00:17:13,180 you know, if I come to God and I really commit to this faith thing, man, I got to give up all this 134 00:17:13,180 --> 00:17:24,039 stuff that I really like and I really enjoy doing. And we don't have a grasp yet that 135 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:34,000 God's way is so, so, so much better and so much more fulfilling than any of that could be. You 136 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:39,779 know, being in the presence of God, like this morning, you know, worship is just one way, 137 00:17:39,779 --> 00:17:47,579 you know, in which we experience the presence of God is so much better than the things out there. 138 00:17:47,980 --> 00:17:52,720 You know, when we think of, you know, what do I like certain things, you know, why do certain 139 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:58,019 things just excite me, you know, and all of that, you know, because, you know, certain things like, 140 00:17:58,039 --> 00:18:04,839 you know, you know, nightclubs and parties and, you know, drinking and, you know, drugs and all 141 00:18:04,839 --> 00:18:09,759 these kind of things and, you know, all types of things that we look at now as believers and say, 142 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:15,220 you know, you know, there's no life in that. Well, you think that there's life in that when you're 143 00:18:15,220 --> 00:18:19,920 living through it, because all these endorphins are firing off in your mind and saying, wow, 144 00:18:19,940 --> 00:18:25,159 this is just great, right? You want a real explosion of endorphins, you know, to come to 145 00:18:25,299 --> 00:18:37,579 God, man, and just be in His presence, you know. His love is incomparable to anything out there. 146 00:18:38,140 --> 00:18:46,119 So Jesus was providing, the author of Hebrews is providing this better way. So let's dig in 147 00:18:46,119 --> 00:18:47,700 to the text. Now, 148 00:18:51,700 --> 00:18:57,539 so we're going to tackle Hebrews 7, 11 through 29. I'm not going to read the whole thing, but I'm 149 00:18:57,539 --> 00:19:04,200 going to read a decent amount because we're going to really, really, really dissect this pretty well. 150 00:19:04,799 --> 00:19:15,599 So now, perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood for under the people, 151 00:19:15,599 --> 00:19:21,400 under that the people received the law. What further need would there have been for another 152 00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:28,799 priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek rather than one named in the order of Aaron? 153 00:19:29,859 --> 00:19:36,779 For when there was a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as 154 00:19:36,779 --> 00:19:47,420 well. For the one whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe from which no one has 155 00:19:47,420 --> 00:19:54,819 ever served at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord was a descendant from Judah. 156 00:19:55,880 --> 00:20:01,960 And in the connection with that tribe, Moses said nothing about priests. 157 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:10,359 This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, 158 00:20:10,980 --> 00:20:19,000 who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily 159 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:30,460 descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. For it is witnessed of him. You are a 160 00:20:30,460 --> 00:20:41,079 priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. For on the one hand, a formal commandment is set 161 00:20:41,079 --> 00:20:48,599 aside because of its weakness and uselessness for the law made nothing perfect. But on the other 162 00:20:48,599 --> 00:20:57,460 hand, a better hope is introduced through which we draw near to God. And it was not without an 163 00:20:57,460 --> 00:21:07,740 oath. For those who formally became priests were made such without an oath. But this one was made 164 00:21:07,740 --> 00:21:16,839 a priest with an oath by the one who said to him, the Lord has sworn and will not change his mind. 165 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:24,099 For you are a priest forever. This makes Jesus the guarantee of a better covenant. The former 166 00:21:24,099 --> 00:21:31,640 priests were many in number because they were prevented by death from continuing in office. 167 00:21:32,119 --> 00:21:35,140 So they were in there for office, kind of like Supreme Court, right? 168 00:21:36,500 --> 00:21:42,819 But this holds the priesthood permanently because it continues forever. So this is, 169 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:50,539 that's a lot, a lot to read. And we're going to dig in to some of this. But let's take a 170 00:21:50,539 --> 00:21:57,259 quick look at the priesthood. And I promise I won't get too, too deep into this. So the first, 171 00:21:57,259 --> 00:22:07,319 the first priest was Aaron, and he was the brother of Moses. So let's take a look at what, 172 00:22:07,519 --> 00:22:14,339 what it meant to be a high priest. So this is, I don't, I don't know if that's Aaron or not. 173 00:22:14,559 --> 00:22:18,940 I mean, I guess it could be, but it's a, it's an example of, of how the high priest dressed. 174 00:22:18,940 --> 00:22:24,200 Pretty wild, right? We, we, we got, we got deep into this on, on Wednesday nights when we were 175 00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:29,279 going, going through the Levitical, but we won't get that deep into it here. But the high priest 176 00:22:29,279 --> 00:22:36,359 had to be from the line of Aaron. So from the tribe of Levi must be without physical defect or 177 00:22:36,359 --> 00:22:44,759 blemish, must maintain a higher standard of holiness than ordinary priests who were special, 178 00:22:44,759 --> 00:22:51,380 consecrated garments like the ephod, the breastplate with 12 stones representing the 12 tribes of Judah 179 00:22:52,399 --> 00:22:59,339 of Israel, the robe, the tunic, the turban, the golden plate, you know, holy is the Lord, 180 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:06,859 all of these things, everything you see here on this high priest had meaning, deep spiritual 181 00:23:06,859 --> 00:23:13,759 meaning. And when you dig into it deep enough, you realize how it points to a greater high priest, 182 00:23:13,759 --> 00:23:21,539 which is, which is Jesus. So the importance of the high priest to, to the Jews, these guys 183 00:23:21,539 --> 00:23:28,880 were the spiritual leaders. They basically representative from, from God. They were the 184 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:36,519 mediator. They stood between the nation of Israel and God. So you got to God through, 185 00:23:36,519 --> 00:23:44,420 through these guys. They were, they oversaw the sacrificial system, which again is another amazing, 186 00:23:44,460 --> 00:23:49,039 amazing thing to get in for the entire nation. They were guardians of worship. 187 00:23:50,180 --> 00:23:54,420 You know, when we talk about the worship here and the worship team, I mean, these Levites, 188 00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:59,839 boy, they, they worship. In fact, they, their, their worship was so powerful. 189 00:23:59,839 --> 00:24:08,440 You know, in the time of David, they would send the lead, the musicians out ahead of the warriors. 190 00:24:09,920 --> 00:24:15,200 So they would be out in the forefront of things. That's the power of worship that these, 191 00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:21,519 that these Levites had. So they were the bearer of the nation. In other words, they, 192 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:27,680 they were, they were showing them and demonstrating how to get to God. 193 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:37,160 So over the centuries, you know, you know, coming up to the time of Jesus, you know, 194 00:24:37,279 --> 00:24:46,700 over hundreds of years, this beautiful, wonderful priesthood that God, God had instituted had, had 195 00:24:46,700 --> 00:24:54,500 become institutionalized and political and corrupt. And again, there's so much to understand what 196 00:24:54,500 --> 00:25:00,660 happened, you know, through the various captivities that they went through and how things just kind of, 197 00:25:00,660 --> 00:25:11,220 you know, fell apart as a nation, but they were not even, even in the most remote sense, 198 00:25:12,319 --> 00:25:20,039 close to what they were supposed to be in the time, in the time of Jesus. So very political, 199 00:25:20,039 --> 00:25:32,160 very corrupt, all about spiritual control and manipulation and power. So the high priests had 200 00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:40,119 become political instead of these are the people we can go to when we want to draw close. They were, 201 00:25:40,119 --> 00:25:49,480 they were, they were even somewhat of a paid position. So, you know, if the more money you 202 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:55,740 could offer, it could kind of get you into some of these positions within, within the priesthood. 203 00:25:56,380 --> 00:26:02,240 And, and they were instead of, you know, when you think of someone that's going to help guide you 204 00:26:02,779 --> 00:26:10,440 to, to God, you think of someone super approachable, someone that can kind of help navigate through 205 00:26:10,440 --> 00:26:16,519 some of these things. These guys were not that. They were, they were feared. They were not 206 00:26:16,519 --> 00:26:24,259 approachable in, in that way. They were head of, head of the Sanhedrum, which 207 00:26:25,539 --> 00:26:34,700 was the group basically that orchestrated capturing, killing, killing Jesus. And, 208 00:26:34,700 --> 00:26:41,480 and that's another, another area of, of understanding. We often very much confuse this idea of, 209 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:48,880 you know, when we think of, you know, you know, we, we, instead of looking at, you know, the, 210 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:54,079 the high leaders, you know, the Sanhedrum and the high priest, you know, we often use the word 211 00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:59,460 Pharisees and they're very different, very different. There were many Pharisees who came, 212 00:26:59,619 --> 00:27:04,980 came into the saving knowledge, knowledge of Jesus, but that's not necessarily a discussion 213 00:27:05,940 --> 00:27:12,420 for today. The Gospels, and even within Acts, they, they depict these priests as opponents, 214 00:27:13,059 --> 00:27:18,240 adversaries of, of, of Jesus and how they were coming out. And in fact, 215 00:27:22,599 --> 00:27:30,319 really the only time you saw Jesus kind of lose it, and I use that term loosely, 216 00:27:30,879 --> 00:27:39,579 kind of getting angry and confronting and just, just getting after someone, it wasn't the sinners. 217 00:27:39,819 --> 00:27:46,920 It was never the sinners that he would, he would, he would just, he would go after. It was always 218 00:27:47,879 --> 00:27:55,559 the religious leaders and the high priests and the Sanhedra. And it was the only time that you saw 219 00:27:55,559 --> 00:28:01,900 him act out in anything other than love and acceptance. And it was because of the fact 220 00:28:01,900 --> 00:28:11,640 that these people had, had taken what his father had made as pure and as holy and as this is, 221 00:28:12,039 --> 00:28:18,119 this is, you were supposed to help guide and shepherd people into the presence of God 222 00:28:18,119 --> 00:28:25,819 and you turned it into this corrupt political business and it infuriated him because he knew, 223 00:28:25,940 --> 00:28:36,640 he knew the holiness of what, what that role was meant to be. And for those who had eyes to see 224 00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:45,720 and ears to hear, they understood what Jesus was saying, that I am the way, I am the better way, 225 00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:54,720 I am, I represent what this was always, always intended to be. He was the eternal high priest. 226 00:28:55,319 --> 00:29:02,660 It was Jesus. And you know, you can almost see it in scripture when, when people's eyes were just 227 00:29:02,660 --> 00:29:13,039 opened to this. It's like, it just changed their, their world. But to those who refused and their 228 00:29:13,039 --> 00:29:21,539 hearts were so callous because this is the, and so much of it was motivated by their own self, 229 00:29:21,539 --> 00:29:26,400 self gain. I mean, these people were, were in a system that was benefiting and profiting them. 230 00:29:27,180 --> 00:29:32,160 And so part of that, that, that hatred for Jesus was coming from that, but part of it was just, 231 00:29:32,579 --> 00:29:39,980 they just don't want to see. So this gives you a little glimpse into the idea of the high priest. 232 00:29:39,980 --> 00:29:48,000 Let's look at Melchizedek. You know, in ancient Judaism, Melchizedek was kind of revered as this, 233 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:54,420 this figure symbolizing, you know, righteous. He was not, he was not Jew. He was both a priest 234 00:29:54,420 --> 00:30:01,720 and a king, which was very, very unheard of. And, and the author, this is, this is another one of 235 00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:06,019 these little kind of cues as you read through these things. The author of Hebrews assumes 236 00:30:06,019 --> 00:30:13,519 that Jews, that the Jewish audience will know what he's talking about in this subject. You know, 237 00:30:13,619 --> 00:30:18,619 it was a, it was, from what I understand in study, I mean, it was, it was a common thing 238 00:30:18,619 --> 00:30:28,319 in rabbinic study to, to bring up this topic of, of Melchizedek. And it's mentioned, you know, 239 00:30:28,319 --> 00:30:38,619 for the first time in, in Genesis, Genesis 14, 18, 220 says, as king of Salem, meaning peace, 240 00:30:39,579 --> 00:30:49,299 and priest of God, Most High, he blesses Abram and receives a tithe from him. So Abraham, Abraham 241 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:57,559 tithed to, to Melchizedek. Melchizedek is also mentioned in Psalms, which we'll kind of review 242 00:30:57,559 --> 00:31:05,039 in a little bit and becomes a very significant figure here in, in Hebrews. But Melchizedek was a 243 00:31:05,039 --> 00:31:15,420 foreshadowing of who Jesus was as an eternal king and his righteousness as, as a king, because that's, 244 00:31:15,539 --> 00:31:21,559 that's the other part is that in the Bible, according, according to scripture, you know, 245 00:31:21,640 --> 00:31:26,299 Melchizedek was a king and a priest. Well, guess who else is a king and a priest? 246 00:31:27,019 --> 00:31:35,440 Jesus, right? Except he's the eternal king, righteousness and peace, and he is the true 247 00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:42,500 high priest. So that, that kind of gives a little top level of, of the Levitical priesthood and, 248 00:31:42,500 --> 00:31:51,180 and Melchizedek. So I want to, I want to just kind of zero in on a few things in this, 249 00:31:51,180 --> 00:31:58,420 in that scripture that we, we read here. Two, two of the call outs here are, 250 00:31:59,379 --> 00:32:09,759 they are, are direct quotes from, from Psalm 10. And again, the author, he doesn't give the 251 00:32:09,759 --> 00:32:15,460 verses, oh, I'm taking this from Psalm, because the Jews would have known this, 252 00:32:15,460 --> 00:32:22,819 they would have recognized these scriptures. So this is a Messianic prophecy that foretells 253 00:32:22,819 --> 00:32:30,259 of the coming of a ruler greater than King David. So let's read this whole thing. It's a short, 254 00:32:30,359 --> 00:32:36,059 very short Psalm. The Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies 255 00:32:36,059 --> 00:32:43,000 your footstool. The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. 256 00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:51,140 Rule in the midst of your enemies. Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power. 257 00:32:51,759 --> 00:32:58,740 In holy garments from the womb of the morning, the dew of your path will be yours. 258 00:33:00,519 --> 00:33:05,960 And then these two verses that are pulled right verbatim out of scripture, they're grouped 259 00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:13,460 together here. The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever 260 00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:21,839 after the order of Melchizedek. So the Lord is at your right hand. He will shatter kings 261 00:33:21,839 --> 00:33:28,220 on the day of his wrath. He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them. 262 00:33:28,579 --> 00:33:35,059 The corpse says he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth and he will drink from the brook 263 00:33:35,059 --> 00:33:44,960 by the way. Therefore, he will lift up his head. So David the psalmist is describing this 264 00:33:44,960 --> 00:33:52,740 prophetic person who we know now as Jesus, as the Messiah. He is exalted, 265 00:33:53,859 --> 00:34:00,059 right? He is seated at the right hand of God in divine authority. 266 00:34:01,599 --> 00:34:08,780 He's victorious. He's a victorious ruler. His enemies will be subdued under his feet. 267 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:15,360 He's a priest. He's declared a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. 268 00:34:16,800 --> 00:34:21,500 He leads his holy people. He is, he eternally reigns. 269 00:34:23,019 --> 00:34:31,420 And he will be there for final judgment to crush kings of this earth and judge the nations. 270 00:34:32,940 --> 00:34:43,260 So this was prophesying about the coming Lord and Jesus. And this is another great indicator as 271 00:34:43,260 --> 00:34:53,739 to how the Jews saw this. Jesus' name wasn't tied to this. So they had no way of knowing 272 00:34:54,380 --> 00:34:59,380 when Jesus came. You know, he's the guy. He's the guy we've been reading about here. Some 273 00:34:59,900 --> 00:35:06,300 immediately saw it. Others struggled with ideas of, okay, he couldn't be this because of this. 274 00:35:06,420 --> 00:35:12,519 He couldn't be this. But they were looking for this great Messiah or Mashiach, as they would 275 00:35:12,519 --> 00:35:18,760 call him, who would fulfill. They looked at this as a militant thing. He's going to be the guy 276 00:35:18,760 --> 00:35:26,019 that comes and delivers us from all of this stuff. But this was prophesying about the Savior 277 00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:35,139 who was greater than David the writer. He proclaims that himself and greater than Melchizedek. 278 00:35:36,920 --> 00:35:41,980 The other thing I want to pick up here in this little bit of scripture is 279 00:35:43,640 --> 00:35:55,179 this section here from 18 to 21 says, for on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside 280 00:35:55,779 --> 00:36:02,539 because of its weakness and uselessness, for the law made nothing perfect. But on the other hand, 281 00:36:02,539 --> 00:36:08,940 a better hope is introduced through which we draw near to God. 282 00:36:10,380 --> 00:36:19,000 And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without 283 00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:27,280 an oath. But this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said it to him, 284 00:36:27,280 --> 00:36:36,619 the Lord has sworn and will not change his mind. You are forever a priest. So this word, oath, 285 00:36:39,539 --> 00:36:57,260 is a very unique word. See, this is what's so very different about Greek and Hebrew and the 286 00:36:57,260 --> 00:37:02,659 from a Western perspective and words just, you know, they are what they are, right? 287 00:37:03,280 --> 00:37:13,659 Well, words back then could mean things at a much deeper, deeper level, things that we just can't 288 00:37:13,659 --> 00:37:20,039 necessarily translate. That's why you see so many different types of translations out there because 289 00:37:20,039 --> 00:37:25,980 scholars really work hard at trying to get these atlas. Sometimes a word can make up this 290 00:37:25,980 --> 00:37:33,360 whole idea of something that doesn't necessarily translate into one word. So this word, 291 00:37:33,980 --> 00:37:44,079 oath, that is used here, it's pronounced, let me take a stab at this, horkimosia. 292 00:37:45,380 --> 00:37:48,980 And this is used exclusively 293 00:37:50,920 --> 00:37:56,119 by the author here. It doesn't appear anywhere else in the New Testament. The word oath does, 294 00:37:56,800 --> 00:38:05,519 but not this particular Greek version of it. So it's a unique word for oath that's used to 295 00:38:05,519 --> 00:38:15,780 emphasize this permanency, okay? This eternal nature of Jesus's priesthood. You know, this 296 00:38:16,079 --> 00:38:25,019 this grandness of it that's so much different, you know, this promise of God that comes with it 297 00:38:25,019 --> 00:38:33,980 saying, I will not change my mind on this. This is a literary style of choice that was used by 298 00:38:33,980 --> 00:38:41,500 the author. It was intended, if you're interested in digging into it, instead of reading over, 299 00:38:41,500 --> 00:38:50,679 it was intended to draw this unique attention to his priesthood, which is guaranteed by God. 300 00:38:51,179 --> 00:39:02,159 This is something, again, that is so easy to miss in scripture, especially in a book like this 301 00:39:02,159 --> 00:39:11,179 that is written, you know, by a Jew for the Jews, who were used to kind of unwrapping these things. 302 00:39:12,539 --> 00:39:17,179 There was, they would always, and this is how Jesus, this is how Jesus taught, 303 00:39:17,420 --> 00:39:21,940 it's always happy taught. So often we say, well, why didn't he say it plain? 304 00:39:23,159 --> 00:39:26,780 Why couldn't he say something so clear? Why do you always have to talk in mystery? 305 00:39:27,480 --> 00:39:35,519 Well, it's just how it was. You know, he said it himself, that if you have ears to hear, 306 00:39:36,320 --> 00:39:44,039 you will hear. If you have a desire to learn, you will dig in and understand it. Not that the surface 307 00:39:44,039 --> 00:39:51,559 value of what these teachings are isn't important, they are. But when we're willing and we desire 308 00:39:52,079 --> 00:39:59,800 to know more of God, you peel away those layers of the onion, which is what the Jews would do. 309 00:39:59,800 --> 00:40:08,300 So often it's how rabbis taught. So it's an easy point to miss. So again, yes, 310 00:40:08,699 --> 00:40:15,619 the word oath is used in other places in the scripture, but not this particular word, oath. 311 00:40:16,739 --> 00:40:22,519 So the second, the last part of this scripture that I want to tackle, meaning the ones that 312 00:40:22,519 --> 00:40:29,679 we read, we've got a little bit more to move through here, is this idea of a better covenant, 313 00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:37,280 the guarantee. He says in 22, this makes Jesus the guarantee of a better covenant. So this 314 00:40:37,280 --> 00:40:47,039 new covenant, this new way that Jesus was talking about, this fulfillment of the law, 315 00:40:47,039 --> 00:40:52,239 bringing the law into the fullness that it was already intended to be, 316 00:40:53,840 --> 00:41:00,900 God has now written this law in our hearts. 317 00:41:02,800 --> 00:41:09,039 Imagine how mind-blowing that must have been for them. Imagine this idea of, okay, 318 00:41:09,699 --> 00:41:14,599 this was the rule set in how we got to God. These are the laws, and as I said, 319 00:41:15,300 --> 00:41:20,920 thousands and thousands and thousands of laws, these are now written on our hearts. 320 00:41:21,820 --> 00:41:28,139 I don't know how it all fits there, but it's there. So the law is now not written in stone, 321 00:41:28,320 --> 00:41:35,579 but written on our hearts. Jeremiah 31, 33 says, this is the covenant I will make with the people 322 00:41:35,579 --> 00:41:43,639 of Israel. After that time, declares the Lord, I will put my law in their minds and I will write it 323 00:41:43,639 --> 00:41:50,559 on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 324 00:41:55,440 --> 00:42:02,239 Jesus transcended from this idea of this is the law, and these are the rules, and this is how you 325 00:42:02,239 --> 00:42:10,500 follow to this idea of personal relationship with God and with him. You know, I will be their God, 326 00:42:10,500 --> 00:42:16,960 and they will be my people. This would have been a concept very foreign again to the Jews, 327 00:42:17,219 --> 00:42:22,719 this idea of universal access to God. Everybody has access. 328 00:42:24,679 --> 00:42:31,199 I mean, how awesome is that? That Jesus just provided that way, this complete forgiveness 329 00:42:31,199 --> 00:42:37,639 of sin, no matter what. Doesn't matter what you did, where you came from, who you are, 330 00:42:37,639 --> 00:42:44,179 what tribe you're from, or even if you're outside of it. None of that matters anymore, 331 00:42:46,040 --> 00:42:53,539 because God now has this eternal covenant through Christ, and we are sealed by that. 332 00:42:54,360 --> 00:43:04,900 The new covenant, this new idea, promises transformation, promises relationship, promises 333 00:43:04,900 --> 00:43:14,820 access, forgiveness, eternal security with him. It's a relational-based covenant instead of a 334 00:43:15,440 --> 00:43:20,920 transactional-based. You understand the difference? The relationship is this just 335 00:43:22,579 --> 00:43:27,559 wonderful thing, and a transaction is, okay, well, I'll do this, and it'll get me to here, 336 00:43:28,000 --> 00:43:32,980 or I'll pay this, and it'll get me there. None of that is relevant anymore. 337 00:43:38,280 --> 00:43:45,840 I want to finish out this chapter here. So, starting at 25, 338 00:43:46,820 --> 00:43:53,760 consequently, he's able to save to the utmost those who draw near to God through him, 339 00:43:53,900 --> 00:44:00,440 since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was indeed fitting that we should 340 00:44:00,440 --> 00:44:07,840 have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners and exalted above the 341 00:44:07,840 --> 00:44:17,659 heavens. He has no need like those high priests who offer sacrifices daily. First, for his own sins, 342 00:44:17,840 --> 00:44:24,179 and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he was offered, 343 00:44:24,980 --> 00:44:32,019 when he offered himself. For the law appoints men in the weakness as a high priest, but the word 344 00:44:32,019 --> 00:44:41,179 of the oath which came later than the law appoints a son who has been made perfect forever. 345 00:44:41,739 --> 00:44:48,659 So, this idea of perfection and supremacy, you know, this emphasis on this idea of, you know, 346 00:44:48,880 --> 00:44:57,280 he is able to save us to the utmost, the utmost for those who draw near to them. 347 00:45:01,500 --> 00:45:10,840 Jesus' way is better. In fact, that's what the original movement of Jesus was called, 348 00:45:10,840 --> 00:45:23,219 the way. His way is better. You know, he loves us and wants to be in relationship with us. And 349 00:45:24,180 --> 00:45:31,139 he loves us just as we are. You know, in our minds, we often think, 350 00:45:31,960 --> 00:45:36,139 yeah, you can come to God, but, you know, you got to kind of fix these things. 351 00:45:36,779 --> 00:45:43,599 You know, so we like to fix things, right? Jesus is saying, come to me. All that stuff is going to 352 00:45:43,599 --> 00:45:49,599 melt away eventually. You don't have to make a single change. Just come to him. 353 00:45:51,039 --> 00:46:00,860 He wants us to live and walk in his kingdom here on earth to do his work. He wants to partner 354 00:46:00,860 --> 00:46:09,280 with us. All throughout the Bible, from the beginning to end, is this idea of God partnering 355 00:46:10,460 --> 00:46:18,480 with humankind to do his work here. And he wants to partner with us to guide people 356 00:46:19,579 --> 00:46:29,099 to this better way, to this better place. The good news is simple. This new way is a very 357 00:46:29,099 --> 00:46:37,519 simple thing. There's not a lot of rules and regulations that go with it. Probably wasn't 358 00:46:37,519 --> 00:46:45,820 easy to be a Jew back then. It wasn't easy to be a Jew, but it's easy, easy to be a follower of 359 00:46:45,820 --> 00:46:52,860 Jesus. This good news is simple. Jesus will accept you and forgive you of all of your sins 360 00:46:53,739 --> 00:47:01,800 if you believe and confess him as Lord. John 3 16, we all know well, for God so loved the world 361 00:47:01,800 --> 00:47:09,980 that he gave his only son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 362 00:47:10,119 --> 00:47:15,079 It doesn't say, as long as you do this, this, this, this, this, this, this, and this, 363 00:47:17,019 --> 00:47:20,059 you will have eternal life. It's not what it says at all. It says, if you believe. 364 00:47:21,099 --> 00:47:25,679 I remember the first time I heard those words and I remember vividly 365 00:47:27,280 --> 00:47:36,400 when I heard this message of this way to get to God. I mean, it just cut me. I mean, it was, 366 00:47:36,400 --> 00:47:43,639 it was, it was literally like a knife cutting through all the stuff that had accumulated in my 367 00:47:43,639 --> 00:47:49,760 life up to that point. All the hatred and the resentment and the addiction and everything 368 00:47:49,760 --> 00:47:57,539 that went along. Those words just cut. You ever, ever try to, try to, try to spread like cold 369 00:47:57,539 --> 00:48:02,980 butter on a, on toast and you're cutting through it and trying to make like soft pieces out of it? 370 00:48:03,199 --> 00:48:13,619 But then you have this like, like room temperature butter and it just glides right through. That's 371 00:48:13,619 --> 00:48:25,500 to, to a point where it, on the spot, on that moment, changed everything. It changed everything 372 00:48:26,339 --> 00:48:35,860 for me. It's such a simple, simple message of this good news. And what about the law? 373 00:48:36,619 --> 00:48:44,519 Well, you know what? Jesus summed that up. He summed up the old covenant. He summed up 374 00:48:44,519 --> 00:48:49,239 all of those thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of law. 375 00:48:49,440 --> 00:48:56,500 He summed it all up in Matthew 22, 37 to 40. And he said, simply this, 376 00:48:57,860 --> 00:49:00,539 love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind. 377 00:49:01,420 --> 00:49:09,059 This is the first and most important commandment. The second most important is like this, this one. 378 00:49:10,260 --> 00:49:19,019 And it is love others as much as you love yourself. All of the laws of Moses and the 379 00:49:19,019 --> 00:49:26,380 books of the prophets, everything is summed up into this. And if the worship team could, 380 00:49:26,380 --> 00:49:36,340 could come forward. This was what Jesus came to tell. And this is what was so complex and hard 381 00:49:37,019 --> 00:49:44,860 for the people to understand. Because you know what? We, we love, even as, even as, as, as, 382 00:49:44,860 --> 00:49:50,559 as Westerners, we love system and we love process. Do you ever notice with kids, 383 00:49:50,559 --> 00:49:58,579 you know, they, they, they crave rules and they crave discipline. It's in our nature 384 00:49:59,679 --> 00:50:07,360 to love process and the simplicity of this message that Jesus brought, the simplicity 385 00:50:08,159 --> 00:50:14,059 of this new way that Jesus brought was almost like, this is just too good to be true 386 00:50:14,699 --> 00:50:22,639 for so many. How can this possibly be true that he is our eternal advocate now. 387 00:50:22,960 --> 00:50:31,820 He has a better way for us and all we have to do is come to him humbly. 388 00:50:33,940 --> 00:50:47,139 For me, how I look at it, this is really, really, really, really good news. Right? 389 00:50:52,500 --> 00:50:57,340 If this is news to any of you out there and you want to know more, 390 00:50:58,719 --> 00:51:04,500 or if, if, if, if the God's Spirit has cut through you, like it cut through me in a way, 391 00:51:04,599 --> 00:51:10,000 even if it was just kind of like a little nick, come up afterwards. There's people up here that 392 00:51:10,000 --> 00:51:16,139 will pray with you, give you a little bit of guidance along the way. Jesus, we thank you, 393 00:51:16,179 --> 00:51:23,980 Lord, for this new way. We thank you, God, that you loved us so, so much, God, 394 00:51:25,280 --> 00:51:33,300 that you gave of yourself fully beyond what we could ever, ever imagine doing. You gave it freely 395 00:51:33,300 --> 00:51:43,420 and you did it to provide this clear pathway to the Father where we can experience that kind of 396 00:51:43,420 --> 00:51:49,579 love and acceptance that we've really never known here on earth and, and may never, ever know here, 397 00:51:49,579 --> 00:51:56,519 here on earth, but you provided that way for us, God, and all you want from us, all you want, God, 398 00:51:57,440 --> 00:52:04,599 is for us to come to you. You want to be in relationship with us. That's all you want. 399 00:52:05,820 --> 00:52:15,119 You want to partner with us, God, to show others this better way, this kingdom way of living. 400 00:52:16,180 --> 00:52:21,619 And, Lord, we are so thankful, God, for what you've done for us. 401 00:52:23,239 --> 00:52:27,960 We give you all the glory, God, in Jesus' name, amen. 402 00:52:32,539 --> 00:52:39,079 Thanks for joining us at Lansdale Life Church as we praise God and discuss His Word. Don't forget 403 00:52:39,079 --> 00:52:44,059 to join us for Worship Live Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. Eastern on YouTube. 404 00:52:45,099 --> 00:52:47,199 Be blessed and have a great day!