FOR the sake of time we leave out the details of the story of Melchizedek
which you can also read in Genesis 14.
The writer is making the case that Jesus is a priest in the order of M.
which is superior to the priesthood descended from Aaron 7.13-25
There is one subject in church life on which everyone has an opinion
and these opinions can be so different and passionately held:
the hymns we sing and the tunes we sing them to.
(It is worth repeating that we will try to include your favourites
if you let us know what they are.)
Those that know me best sometimes tease me
that I choose every hymn rigidly according to the sermon theme.
Therefore for Hebrews 6-7 on the anchor of the soul
the obvious choices should be
'Will your anchor hold' and 'My hope is built on nothing less'
Sorry to disappoint today ...
Those are great hymns and we will sing them soon if you wish
but while they refer to this passage and draw on it, they don't fully explain it.
They take up the idea of Jesus Christ as a great rock
or of faith as an anchor on the firm ground of Christ
to keep us safe in all the storms.
That is certainly a true and a comforting picture.
But there is more in this passage.
It explains to us in some detail what is this hope that Christians have
and how we can be sure about it
We look first at the content of our hope: what is it we hope for?
and then we will look at the basis of our hope, what guarantees back it up
WHAT DO WE HOPE FOR?
What do you hope for?
for Ireland to do well at soccer or rugby? Aren't you often disappointed?
To win the Lotto? Would you really be happy with a million Euro?
Most of the big prizewinners seem not to be; money is a very uncertain thing
as the stock markets show us
Do you hope for a secure happy family around you?
Do you just want to love and be loved?
That's a good dream, but again so insecure so much under threat
from illness or crime or sudden accident.
Here is a hope that outshines them all:
to meet God face to face and not to be turned away
and to be able to live in that hope today
confident that your sin can be dealt with
enjoying the peace and the joy of knowing that we are loved for ever,
whatever may happen to our earthly dreams and hopes.
That is why the writer tells us not only that hope is like anchor for the soul
steadfast and sure when the billows roll
but hope also enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain
into the nearer presence of God
'19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.
It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,
20 where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.'
He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
We are encouraged to look forward confidently to a day
when we shall be intimately in the presence of God
God is near us today, certainly, nearer than we know
but there is still a distance isn't there?
There always will be until we go to heaven
then we will be face to face with God
Isn't that an awesome hope? To see God as he truly is?
Maybe we find that to be awful rather than awesome
horrendous because we know we are not ready to meet God.
In the Old Testament people knew that they were not ready to meet God.
They had special procedures in the Law for making contact with him.
The tabernacle and the Temple had a special section or sanctuary
behind a veil or curtain where God's presence would come down
It was known as the Holy of Holies or Most Holy Place
Only the high priest could go in there and only once a year
and only with a blood sacrifice
The High Priest went in to the near presence of God to pray for the people
an awesome solemn moment;
but this was imperfect; it could not last; he was sinful himself, he was mortal.
It was so frightening that it is said they tied a rope around the ankle
of the high priest so that they could pull him out should he die or fall ill
But Jesus is someone who constantly lives to make intercession for us
to speak for us to God
The priesthood is changed:
no longer the succession of sinful high priests of the line of Aaron
going in once a year
but a great high priest of the order of Melchizedek
who has gone in through the veil into the sanctuary
by his ascension into the near presence of God.
And this high priest enables us to go too
He is our forerunner, our pathfinder, preparing the way for us
As 7.19 says
'a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.'
Under the old high priest system one person got near to God, once a year
but still a mortal sinful person, trying to do his best for his sinful people
but this is a much better way.
Here is a priest without sin, who has conquered death
who makes it possible for us to have strong hope
that one day we can stand before almighty God, without shame, without fear
with no need for a rope tied around our leg to pull us away.
That is why there is all this stuff about Melchizedek in 'Hebrews'
The writer is explaining to people from a devout Jewish background
who revered the Old Testament scriptures
and had been brought up to pin their hopes on the priesthood of Aaron
that scripture actually predicts the coming of Jesus as another priest.
So we are brought back to that strange story in Genesis 14
when Melchizedek 'priest of the most high God' meets Abraham, blesses him
and receives tithe offerings from Abraham.
We are not told much about this Melchizedek,
where he came from or who his family was.
Scripture has a purpose in that.
Melchizedek points to a new priesthood which will be superior in every way
over the imperfect priesthood of Aaron and his descendants
'16 one who has become a priest
not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry
but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life.
17 For it is declared: "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."[ (Psalm 110:4 )
Have you noticed all the adverts on the radio for pension plans?
With a tax deadline coming up at the end of the month
the pension peoples want us to plan ahead for retirement.
The cruellest ad is where someone asks for a sandwich
and the girl serving him asks if he has a pension plan
When he says no, she gives him only a quarter of a sandwich
because that's all he'll be able to afford
if he retires without a proper pension.
Makes you wonder by the way why our state broadcaster
happily carries advertisements about planning for the future this side of death
but makes such a fuss about carrying Christian advertisements
for 'Power to Change'
which in effect wants to help us plan for lies on the other side of death.
There is some sense in making prudent plans for our future in this life,
savings pensions etc
but what plans have you made for the end of your life and what lies beyond it?
I am not talking about planning your funeral or making your will:
I am talking about what we look forward to after our deaths;
or is it that we don't look forward and we want to bury any thought about that
because we have no sure hope?
The hope of the Christian is based on two important truths about Jesus
that he died on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for our sins
and that he rose again and as Hebrews says
24 'because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.'
We will look in future weeks at the once for all sacrifice of Jesus
but today let's just marvel at this aspect that this risen Lord
with his 'permanent priesthood'
25 'is able to save completely those who come to God through him,
because he always lives to intercede for them.
To put it simply
JESUS SPEAKS FOR US
Because Jesus Christ died his offering of himself wipes away all sin.
Because Jesus Christ lives he continually prays for us
That does not mean that Jesus is pleading with a reluctant God to help us,
Still less does it ean he is persuading God to have mercy on us.
It is the whole idea that Jesus is the bridge between God and us
we come to God the Father through him
He brings our name to God the Father already and all the time.
'This is the perfection of priestly ministry.
The intercession of Jesus our great high priest is none other
than the holding of us, constantly at the loving, knowing heart of God.' Joy Tetley
Is it too fanciful that when we are in heaven
God the Father will say I know you. My son has told me all about you
My prayer for you all is that you have this living hope
that you live this life to the full, confident in the better life to come
and rejoicing at the prospect of meeting God unashamed
'Life without hope is an empty, boring and useless life.
I cannot imagine that I could strive for something if I did not carry hope in me.
I am thankful to God for this gift. It is as big a gift as life itself.'
-- Vaclav Havel, the Czech Poet/President
WHY DO WE HAVE HOPE? What is the basis of our hope?
GOD HAS SWORN
God copper fastens his word:
he not only promises, he seals it with an oath
Now. I know that the Lord taught in the Sermon on the Mount
that people should not swear at all, let your yes be yes and your no, no.
That is a wise word in contexts where people use and abuse God's name
in all sorts of ways to try and express their views
when they are really deeply insecure.
But there is a concept in the Bible of an oath in God's name
whereby you solemnly bind yourself to something
and you indicate by your oath that your word will not be broken.
At solemn and crucial points in the Old Testament
God is seen as himself taking an oath.
The writer to the Hebrews highlights God's oath to Abraham
to bless him and give him many descendants
and God's oath to his anointed king in Psalm 110.4
"The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: 'You are a priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek'.'
That would have been so comforting
to those Christians with a Hebrew background
to see from the pages of scripture itself
God's own deliberately declared commitment
to this idea of a priesthood that outshines the old imperfect Aaronic priesthood
which, however sincere, had brought them no peace.
No doubt their family background, their childhood teaching, the prevailing culture
sought to pull them back to the old system
but God has definitely set his seal on the new priesthood
he has sworn and we can have hope
confidence to meet him
confidence that even now he brings our names to God.
Lord, so many people have no hope, no purpose in living
no confidence about meeting you in forgiveness and joy
Speak to them about true hope
Grant to us all joy and peace in believing
that by the power of the Holy Spirit we may overflow with hope
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