Our Perfect Priest

1:26What's that situation or struggle for you right now? What are you facing this morning? Perhaps you just feel stuck in a holding pattern in your life. As you think about your life, your job, your relationship status, you just feel stuck. Maybe you're dealing with a chronic health or a chronic mental health struggle, or maybe you are caring for those who are. Maybe it's a relationship struggle with a friend, with your parents, with a spouse, or with your children.

2:01Or just maybe there's an area of your life, financially, professionally, whatever it might be, just where the prospects for the future seem bleak. Are you not sure what this area of life might be for you? Just think back to the last time that you said, it is what it is. I think that's a tell-tale sign that hope is faint. Again, I know something about you. The reality is, in this fallen world, we all have plenty of reasons to lose hope. But the good news is that God knows this, and He wants to help us.

2:46God wants to help us hold fast to our hope. A hope that He tells us is a sure and steadfast anchor for our souls so that we can persevere. So that we can keep going on our journey. In our passage this morning, God, through the writer to the Hebrews, shows us that we can persevere with hope because our perfect priest perfectly saves. If you're a note-taker, that's our main point this morning. God wants us to see that we can persevere with hope because our perfect priest perfectly saves. As we walk through our text this morning, we are going to see two reasons that we can persevere with hope no matter how bleak our current circumstances. We're going to see two realities that seek to fortify our faith and encourage us to keep going when hope seems lost. The first reason in our passage, the first reason that we can persevere with hope, is because Jesus is our perfect priest. Now, before we dive into verse 18, I just want to take a few moments to make a few comments that give us some context. Otherwise, all of this will just seem a bit abstract or disconnected from our lives. I mean, I don't know how often many of you think about Melchizedek, that mysterious figure from the Old Testament, yet alone, how often you think God, that Jesus is a priest from the order of Melchizedek. Maybe there's one of you in here, I'm not sure.

4:38But while it might sound weird, that's kind of my goal for us this morning. My goal for us this morning is that as we spend time thinking about the type of priest that Jesus is, that we will give thanks to God for him and for Jesus, that he is an order, that he is a priest in the order of Melchizedek. All right, so first, while there's a lot that we don't know about the letter to the Hebrews, including who wrote the book, it is clear from the text that the readers were experiencing suffering and persecution for following Jesus. They were facing those realities on top of everything else that make living life in this fallen world hard. And just like you and me, these readers are tempted to hopelessness, hopelessness that might cause them to give up and to turn back rather than moving forward in the Christian life. And while the writer does warn his readers about the dangers of turning away from Christ, he is far more interested. He is far more interested in comforting and encouraging his readers to help them keep going. And he does this as he assures his readers time and time again of God's. Favor and provision, reminding them of God's promises, the promises that are true of them in Christ.

6:08And he does this most supremely by showing them who Jesus is, all that he's done for them, and all that he is currently doing for them. And as they are assured of these things, they will have the hope that they need to keep going through the difficulties and challenges of life. Look at what he says in Hebrews 6:18 to 20. It's on the screen behind me. Here's his goal for the readers. He writes, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. In the midst of the challenges and the chaos, the difficulties and suffering of life, he wants them to hold fast to the hope set before us.

7:04He continues, we have this as a sure and steadfast anchor for the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. This is such a comforting. Passage. When the chaos and the circumstances of our life make it feel like we are being tossed around, God wants to show us that we have a hope that is firm and secure, a hope that is an anchor for our soul, that roots us and grounds us. And what is this hope?

7:50Better who is this hope? It's Jesus. Jesus, the one who has entered into the inner place, the holy of holies, having become a priest in the order of Melchizedek at his resurrection. And it's because Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Levi, that we can have this sure and steady hope. You see, far from being some academic discussion on Melchizedek, all of Hebrews 7, in all of Hebrews 7, the writer is being extremely pastoral, taking the time to ensure that his readers and that you and me are absolutely certain that our hope in Jesus, this great priest in the order of Melchizedek, is not misplaced.

8:44All right, so that was a lot of context, but I trust it will be helpful as we dive into verse 18. Follow along as I read. In verse 18, the writer writes, For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside. Because of its weakness and uselessness. For the law made nothing perfect. This former commandment is the old covenant or the Mosaic covenant that God gave his people on Mount Sinai after he had redeemed them from Egypt. And here we see that the law and the priesthood, which made up the old covenant, have been set aside because of its weakness and uselessness.

9:32Now it's important to see that when we see that the writer says that the law was weak and useless, that's not a blanket statement against the Old Testament law, as if the law did nothing good. After all, God himself is the one who gave the people the law. And there are many passages in Scripture, I think most notably Psalm 119, that speak to the beauty, the goodness, and the delight of God's law. It was through the law and through the priesthood that God was able to dwell with his people. And so it's not saying here that the law was completely weak and useless in every regard, but he is highlighting that it was weak and useless, or maybe ineffective is a better word. That it was ineffective in one important regard. It made nothing perfect. See that there in verse 19? The law was unable to bring God's people into an intimate and lasting relationship with God. And so, while the law did enable God to dwell with his people, it was always in a mediated way. As you might remember reading through the Old Testament, God's presence was confined to the holy of holies, where only the high priest could enter, and at that only one day a year on the day of atonement. And while this was still amazing, no other nation on earth did God dwell amongst. He only dwelt among his people Israel. While it was amazing, it was a far cry from God walking in the cool of the garden with Adam and Eve. The law could not enable God to dwell with his people in that intimate and lasting way because it was unable to fully and finally deal with our biggest problems, sin and death. And so, as we read in verses 18 and 19, this law, this old covenant, was set aside and a better hope was introduced through which we draw near to God. We're going to come back to this better hope in just a minute. But before we do, the writer wants to show us why. Jesus is our perfect priest. Follow along with me as I read, beginning in verse 20.

12:07Speaking of Christ, he says, And it was not without an oath, for those who formerly became priests were made priests without such an oath, but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him, The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever. This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. Unlike the Levitical priests who became priests based on their physical descent, simply being born into the tribe of Levi, Jesus didn't become a priest by virtue of his birth. Here, we see that Jesus became a priest by God's oath. In Psalm 110, verse 4, that the writer quotes in verse 21. He writes, The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind. You, speaking to Christ, are a priest forever. He's a priest in the order of Melchizedek, as we've seen in verse 17.

13:18And because Jesus was made a priest by God's oath, here we see that he is qualified to be the guarantee of a better covenant. While the Levitical priest mediated the Mosaic covenant, Jesus, the Melchizedekian priest, the priest from the order of Melchizedek, he mediates a better covenant, what the prophet Jeremiah calls the new covenant. And at the heart of this new covenant is the promise of the absolute assurance of the forgiveness of sins, something the law could not do. The new covenant promised that the law would be written on our hearts, again, something that the old covenant could not do. And the new covenant enables us to live in the presence of God forever. Again, something that the old covenant could not do. Because Jesus is our perfect priest, he guarantees this better covenant, which explains why he can say in verse 19 that we have a better hope through which we can draw near to God.

14:32Brothers and sisters, we cannot miss this. This better hope changes everything. This better hope that Jesus as our perfect priest gives us is the absolute assurance we have that we will be welcomed and accepted into God's presence. If Jesus is your priest, you no longer have to worry or fear whether you will face God's judgment. Or wrath. We are not left wondering whether we will be accepted into God's presence or not. Because Jesus is our perfect priest, representing us before the Father, we have complete confidence that we can draw near to Him, that we can rest in Him, and that we can receive His promises.

15:28Friends, this morning here, as we think about this priest in the Order of Melchizedek, we have been swimming in the deep end of the theological pool. But if you are picking up what the writer to the Hebrews is throwing down, it has the ability to change everything for your life right now, especially those of you who feel hopeless, those of you who are tired and weary this morning, those of you who are just tempted to give up, to shrug your shoulders and say, it is what it is.

16:14Friends, if we see that Jesus is our perfect priest, then we can persevere in hope because we know that we can draw near to God at any time. And when we draw near, To God, He's promised to help us in our time of need. He has promised to give us everything that we need to keep going. While this might not be the best illustration, as I've thought about this passage, I kept coming back to the picture of aid stations at an ultra-marathon. Now, I know that many of you, Cody's already shaking his head, that many of you think that people who enjoy running are weird, especially people who run long distances like marathons. Well, if you think that's weird, there is a whole world of ultra-running where people regularly run 50 miles, 60 miles, 100 miles or longer runs. They pay a lot of money and they do this for fun. In fact, there was a race that took place earlier this month in Arizona called the Coca-Dona 250.

17:30253 miles, to be exact, that took place. The winner did it in like 50 hours. It was just ridiculous. It was a woman, Rachel, did you great job? Won this thing, and there was a wait list for this race. Like, there was a wait list to pay a lot of money to run 253 miles. Well, I've never done one of those really long runs. And I'm certainly not the fastest guy out there, but I have run multiple. 50Ks. And aid stations during those race. For those of you trying to do the math, it's about 32 miles. You're like trying to calculate, carry the one.

18:12During these raid stations, during these races, aid stations are absolutely vital to finishing the race. When you are running in the heat with no shade to cover you, as your water supply begins to get low and you begin yet another climb, when ultra-brain has kicked in, your entire body hurts, and you begin to question whether you can finish the race, as you turn that corner or as you crest that hill, and as you see the canopies of shade, as you see the chairs, the tables lined with food, with water, with electrolytes, and most importantly, as you see those buckets of ice water that people are just ready to dump on you, when you see that, it changes everything. Friends, it doesn't matter that 60 seconds ago you were ready to drop out of the race in DNF, as you draw near to that aid station, knowing that you're going to be able to rest, knowing that you're going to be able to stock up on carbs and electrolytes, receive encouragement from the aid station crew, it completely changes your perspective. It fills you with hope that you can keep going, that you can finish the race. And as you draw near, you're ready to get back out there and keep going, at least for a little while. And while it's not exactly the same thing, as we consider the journey that is the Christian life, as we face those moments where we are ready to drop out of the race, when we're ready to tap out and just give in, as we face these moments, when we look and as we see and as we remember that Jesus is our perfect priest, we see that we have access, we have 24-7 access to the aid station that is the Holy of Holies, where God dwells, where you and I can draw near at any time. Are you tired this morning? Are you weary? Friends, because Jesus is your perfect priest, you can draw near to him at any time to receive all of the hope and the help that you need to keep going. And friends, you don't need me to tell you that what you can receive as you draw near to God is better than anything I've ever received at an aid station during a race. Friends, in the midst of our discouragement and our hopelessness, we can draw near to God to find hope and help and rest. to keep going because Jesus is our perfect priest. So this morning, if you're tired, if you're weary, know that the Father has promised to provide all that you need and more. All you need to do is come to him. So this morning, boldly draw near to him right now.

21:25So we can persevere with hope because Jesus is our perfect priest. But that isn't the only thing that we see in our passage this morning because the writer gives us a second reason. Beginning in verse 23, we see that we can persevere with hope because Jesus perfectly saves. As the writer continues, he unpacks another aspect from Psalm 110, verse 4. And starting in verse 18, he unpacks the significance of what it means for Jesus to become a priest by God's oath. And here in verses 23 to 25, he zeroes in on that last word, the word forever. Follow along as I read, beginning in verse 23.

22:16It says, the former priests were many in number because they were prevented from continuing because they were prevented by death from continuing in office. But he holds his priesthood permanently. Because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. The contrast in these verses here is clear. Unlike the Levitical priests who were prevented from serving as priest forever because of death, Jesus, who was made a priest in the order of Melchizedek by oath after his resurrection, he is able to serve as a priest forever because he's no longer subject to death. The writer has already made this point in Hebrews 7, verse 16. Look with me there. There he writes that Jesus became a priest based on the power of an indestructible life, something that he received after his resurrection. And since Jesus serves as a priest forever, we see in verse 25 that he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him. In saying that he can save to the uttermost, the writer is conveying the idea that he saves completely or he saves perfectly.

23:57You see, the writer doesn't want his readers. Then, and God doesn't want us now to have any doubt about the fate of those who trust in Jesus. Because Jesus is our perfect, perpetual priest, meaning he is always serving as our priest, he always lives to intercede for us, and because he always lives to intercede for us, he will save us completely, he will save us perfectly. Well, friends, verse 25 is meant to be one of the most comforting and hope-giving verses in your Bibles. Right now, at this very moment, Jesus, your perfect priest, is before the throne of God above. And as we sing, He ever lives and pleads for you. Right now, Jesus, sitting at the right hand of the Father, as your perfect priest, is praying and interceding for you. It doesn't get better than this.

25:15And because He is praying and interceding for us, in those moments when life feels overwhelming, in those moments when we don't know how we can keep going, how much longer we can keep doing this, in these moments when we We feel helpless, when the trials and temptations of life make us just want to throw up our hands and say it is what it is. It's in these moments that God wants us to look to Christ, to see Him praying and interceding for us so that we can rest, so that we can breathe a sigh of relief as we realize that it isn't up to us, that we have not been left alone. We are not running this race of our life before us on our own. But Christ, our forerunner, the one who has gone ahead of us, is pleading before the Father, praying for you and for me right now.

26:20We can persevere with hope because our salvation is not ultimately up to us. Yes, we are called to be faithful and to keep going, to put one foot in front of the other, but ultimately, our final salvation is guaranteed because Jesus, our perfect priest, is in God's very presence right now, praying for us, asking the Father to bless us, to keep us, and to do a million other things for us. And because of Jesus' faithfulness, not ours, the Father is pleased to answer his prayer.

27:01I hope that your understanding of Christ's work for you is growing. You see, as central as Jesus' death on the cross is, as strange as it is to say, the cross is not enough to save us. While Jesus' death is at the heart of the gospel, it is just one aspect of his work, of his saving work for us that includes his perfect life, his resurrection, his heavenly offering of himself, his ascension, his present work of intercession for us, and his future return. The Apostle Paul makes this point in Romans 8:34 when he writes, Who is to condemn? Jesus Christ is the one who died.

27:54More than that. Not minimizing his death, but helping us see there is so much more, more than that, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Jesus is the one who died, but more than that, he was raised and is interceding for us at God's right hand. Again, don't hear me wrong. Jesus's death is crucial. There is no salvation without it. But if we reduce the gospel to Jesus, Death and leave out all of these other elements, we will miss out on so much comfort and encouragement that God desires for us. Like the comfort of this passage here in Hebrews 7, in Romans 8, where God wants to remind us that He is interceding for us. Where God is reminding us that all who draw near to God through Jesus, knowing that as our perfect priest, He is at God's right hand interceding for us, so we don't have to worry or be afraid that somehow we might not make it, that somehow we might lose our salvation. We don't have to worry about those things because Jesus perfectly saves us. He saves us to the uttermost, as he says in verse 25.

29:22Now, I hate to use a second running illustration, but it fits, and I'm the one who's preaching. But as we think about Jesus interceding for us, we can kind of think of Jesus as a pacer. Now, for those of you who are not familiar, in longer trail races, at various sections along the race, you can have a pacer. This is someone who comes to run alongside you and to help you get to the finish line. Now, you don't use a pacer at the very beginning of the race when you're feeling great and when you're ready. To go. But when it's 60 miles into a hundred-mile race, as the sun has set and as you're about to hit that technical steep climb, it's just so important that you have a pacer. And there are two qualities that make for an excellent pacer. They know you and they know the course. That's what you want in a pacer. You want them to know the race that you're running and you want them to know you. You want them to know you so they know when they can push you a little bit harder and they know when to help you let your foot go off the gas. And you want them to know the course so that they can help you navigate the challenges that are coming. And as we think about Jesus interceding for us, I think this pacer is a good image because Jesus knows the course perfectly. As Pastor Marty is going to unpack in more detail next week, Jesus knows all about the challenges and the difficulties of life in this fallen world. He experienced all the temptation that you and I will face. He knows what it's like to be discouraged, to not have things go according to plan. He knows what it's like to be betrayed and abandoned by those who are supposed to love you and care for you. He knows what it's like to face situations and circumstances that are overwhelming. And not only does Jesus know the course perfectly, but he ran it perfectly ahead. Of us and for us. And so, as He's interceding for us, knowing what we're facing, He is praying in intelligent ways for you and for me. And just as importantly, He knows us perfectly. You and I are perfectly and intimately known by Jesus. He knows our strengths and our weaknesses. He knows the ways that we are tempted. He knows when we're pretending that everything is okay. And so, He is able to pray for us perfectly, asking the Father to give us exactly what we need, exactly when we need it. All we need to do is draw near to God through Jesus and to receive all that He has for us. As our perfect priest, Jesus is perfectly pacing us through this life, always with us as our forerunner, and He's guaranteed that we will make it across the finish line. He will see us to the end. We will finish our race because Jesus saves perfectly. He saves to the uttermost. Thanks be to God.

32:46Sisters and brothers, I hope that your hearts are feeling a little bit lighter this morning. As we consider all the reasons that we have to lose hope, God wants us to see that we have even better reasons. To keep going, you and I can persevere with hope because Jesus is our perfect priest and He perfectly saves. For those of you who are here who are not trusting in Jesus this morning, first, I just want to thank you so much for being here. There is certainly no better place in the world for you to be this morning than here. But I also this morning want to encourage you to turn to Jesus, the perfect priest, this morning. Because the reality is, whether you consider yourself religious or not, we all have priests that we're looking to. The only question is: who or what is your priest? Who or what are you looking to for your sense of enoughness? Who or what are you looking to to tell you that you're enough, that you're okay, to tell you that everything is going to be okay, that you're going to get through whatever you're facing, whatever it is that you're looking to, whatever just came to mind, whatever that is, that is functioning or serving as a priest in your life.

34:11And whether you're looking to other people or yourself, whether you're looking to social media, the internet, whether you're looking to AI or a thousand other things, the reality is every single one of those things will let you down. At the end of those things, none of those are able. To perfectly save. None of those are able to perfectly help. They're all terrible priests. But Jesus is the perfect priest, the one who perfectly loves and cares for us, who invites us to look to him, the one who doesn't put extra burdens on us, but the one who invites us to come to him and find rest. So this morning, look to Jesus, the one who died, but more than that, the one who was raised and is interceding for all who trust in him. Turn to Jesus now and find rest and hope to keep going. Let's pray.

35:14Oh, Father, we are so grateful for your kindness to us that in the midst of this world where we will struggle, where we will be tempted to give up, when we become weary and we lose hope, that you and your kindness seek to encourage our hearts. Not by telling us that we're great, but by calling us to look to you. To look to Jesus, our perfect priest, who perfectly saves. This morning, Father, by your Spirit, I ask that each and every one of us, Lord, that you will give us all the grace that we need to live in the Good of all that we have heard this morning. Lord, we need you. We need your help. So help us now. Jesus, as you are interceding for us, give us the faith to believe what we've heard. Give us the grace to live in the good of it. Amen.

36:20Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.