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The meat of the word, part 3

The meat of the word is introduced in Hebrews 4:8, 9,

⁸ For if Joshua [or “Jesus,” KJV] had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. ⁹ So there [yet] remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.

Here we are introduced to Jesus as the One who fulfills the task that Joshua was called to do in bringing the Israelites into the Promised Land, the place of “rest.” Joshua himself could only carry this mantle so far, because he was bound by the limitations of the Old Covenant. Hence, it required another Joshua to complete the task under a better covenant.

To digest the meat of the word, one must understand and assimilate the types and shadows in the Old Testament and how they relate to us under Christ and the New Covenant.

Jesus as The High Priest

Hebrews 5 then presents Jesus as the high priest. Joshua was not a high priest, for that position was held by Eleazar, after his father Aaron died. This calling—as with all callings—was not something that was conferred by men but by the decision of God alone. Hebrews 5:4 says,

⁴ And no one takes the honor [of the high priesthood] to himself but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was.

To digest the meat of the word, one must understand the sovereignty of God, especially insofar as callings are concerned. Church leadership is not to be conferred by men but by God alone. The will of God must be discerned by men, but when men ordain ministers, they merely bear witness to God’s call upon their lives. It is not about getting a degree from a seminary, although education is certainly helpful if the word of God is taught.

Hebrews 5:5, 6 continues,

⁵ So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him [in Psalm 2:7], “You are My Son, today I have begotten You,” ⁶ just as He says also in another passage [Psalm 110:4], “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

Here the author quotes revelation given to King David, who was from the tribe of Judah—not Levi. In Psalm 2:7 we read that “My Son” was “begotten” by God. This was fulfilled in Christ, where we read that “the Child who has been conceived [or begotten] in her [Virgin Mary] is of the Holy Spirit.” Whereas Adam was “formed” (Genesis 2:7), the last Adam, Christ, was “begotten.” Adam was formed from the ground [Heb., adama]; Christ was a begotten Son.

This too is part of the meat of the word. Those of us who were raised in Christian teaching have no trouble accepting the virgin birth of Christ, but in the first century, this was radical. It was strong meat that choked most Jews.

Psalm 110:4 was a prophetic promise to David. He was a priest, not of Aaron and Levi, but of an older order, that of Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18). Hebrews 5:10 says of Him,

¹⁰ being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

As the high priest, Jesus has entered the Most Holy Place of the heavenly temple as a “forerunner for us” (Hebrews 6:20). A forerunner is one who goes ahead to prepare the way for others to follow. So all who are sons of God will have access to the heavenly city and its temple. During their lifetime on earth, they may enter the heavenly realm in visions or dreams, while their body remains on earth. But the day comes, when the feast of Tabernacles is fulfilled, that they will do even as Jesus did in Luke 24:36. The whole person goes to heaven or comes to earth, appearing and disappearing at will.

This is the destiny of the sons of God, those who are begotten by the Spirit by the seed of the word. This promise was hardly understood even by the best of the rabbis. Their concept of the feast of Tabernacles was that men ought to dwell in booths for a week while reading the book of Deuteronomy. They did not see that their actions were mere types and shadows of greater blessings yet to come. This blessing was to leave one’s “house” (body), made of dead wood, and receive a new body made of living things (green branches).

The feast of Tabernacles carries the promise of a new body, immortal and incorruptible (1 Corinthians 15:53 KJV). But the promise can be fulfilled only through a Melchizedek priest. In the first century, this was strong meat. (It still is!)

No More Genealogical Requirements

Hebrews 7 starts out by showing how Melchizedek was a type of Christ. In Genesis 14, Melchizedek suddenly appears in Scripture without setting forth his genealogy. He came “without father, without mother, without genealogy,” (Hebrews 7:3) and says nothing of his birth or death or how long he lived.

This does not mean that Melchizedek literally had no father or mother. It means that these details were not included in the text. Hebrews 7:6 explains further, “But the one whose genealogy is not traced,” that is, his genealogy is not recorded in Genesis 14. We know from historical sources, of course, that this was Shem, the inheritor of the birthright from Noah. He was the lawful king of the earth, whose throne had been usurped by Nimrod.

Shem was the builder of Jerusalem and was its king-priest.

The author points out that Melchizedek had no genealogical requirement recorded, and so also Jesus came to earth of the tribe of Judah. Hebrews 7:12-14 says,

¹² For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also. ¹³ For the one concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar. ¹⁴ For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests.

We, too, can be priests of God, even if we are not descended from Levi and Aaron. Why? Because the Melchizedek priesthood has no genealogical requirements for the office. All have opportunity to follow the great Forerunner into the heavenly temple as sons of God.

To understand this, we must also see the contrast. The Aaronic priesthood was a temporary priesthood that was called to minister during the time of the Old Covenant. This priesthood changed, because the law changed to reflect this greater priesthood. The principle of priesthood remained the same, but the forms changed to conform to the New Covenant.

One can only imagine how this choked the priests in Jerusalem in the first century. This truth had the power to disrupt and even abolish the existing religious order. Amazingly, many priests in that time accepted this, for we read in Acts 6:7,

⁷ And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.

We can also note that a greater number of priests remained loyal to the Old Covenant system and rejected the change of priesthood that God had instituted. These based their calling on their genealogy, tracing it back to Aaron.

Again, there is a common view today that when the present age concludes, we will enter a Jewish Age, by which they mean to say that Aaronic priests will again take over from the Melchizedek order, and will offer animal sacrifices in a rebuilt temple in the earthly Jerusalem. In other words, they claim that there will be another change of law and priesthood, reverting back to the Old Covenant system.

If that were really so, then it could be said that the New Covenant was merely temporary and that the Old Covenant was the “eternal” covenant. That, of course, is absurd. Anyone who believes that is not ready for strong meat.