Devotionals

PASSING THE BATON Melchizedec to Jesus

by Henry Jaegers
02/11/21
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PASSING THE BATON

Melchizedec to Jesus.

By Henry Jaegers

For he testifieth, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.  For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof.  For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.  And since not without an oath he was made priest: (For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec:). By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. (Hebrews 7:17-22)

As I contemplated the meaning of these verses, a picture came to mind of runners in the relay race. Do you remember? It started with one man holding a baton and before the race was completed, a baton was passed on to the next runner who would complete the race. If the receiver happened to drop the baton, the time he took to retrieve it put him at a disadvantage and another could win the race. Although this is not the main idea of our text, the passing of the baton is not far-fetched when you consider these words "The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec:). By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.

We are about to leave the subject of Melchizedec to begin to give greater attention to the second man who took the beginning ministry of Melchizedek and carried the ministry to its completion.

Our passage presents to us three important movements. The first having to do with the oath made by God. The second movement has to do with the weakness of the commandment performed by the Levitical priesthood. And finally, it t presents to us the fulfillment of the greater ministry, fulfilling the oath made by God. Now if that is starting to sound complicated, take heart; the explanation is simple.

Consider first, the oath was given by God through the words "for he testifies, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedec. To catch the full impact of this verse we must read carefully Psalm 110 where God made a promise to his son by saying "sit down at my right hand until I make nine and in these thy footstool". David explains this by introducing the chapter with "the Lord sayeth to my Lord". It is also noteworthy, that Jesus referred back to this verse while speaking to the Pharisees. In this Psalm, God is speaking to his pre-incarnate son before when his earthly ministry would be. This Psalm speaks clearly of the sovereignty of Jesus and God in this chapter and makes this statement. But it is more than a statement; it is an oath. An oath not made by man but by God himself, that Jesus someday would have a greater ministry and priesthood because it would be perfect and ordained by God. This oath is a promise that God intends to keep and will not go back or fail to keep it. So we must establish first, the importance of this oath and who this oath pertained to.

The next thing this verse tells us is that the present priesthood at the time the Psalm was written, could not fully do the job like that of the priesthood of Melchizedec because it was not intended to be perfect. For a time, God used imperfect men to perform the priesthood, using the blood of animals. But all of this was temporary because God had a greater priesthood in mind: namely, the priesthood of

Melchizedec, which in time, would be passed down to Jesus for its fulfillment.

And finally, the time has come, Jesus has arrived and the priesthood is about to vanish, because that which the priesthood of Levi pointed, has now been fulfilled in the perfect son of God.

Now the oath has been fulfilled as the words before us introduce our next section, "by so much was Jesus of a better testament. The word “surety” has to do with an assurance was given by God which makes it more than a human statement. When he talks about “a better testament”, he is talking about the commandment fulfilled by the Levites. It was for the time, “the best,” but now at the arrival of Jesus, it is a better covenant.

We might say these words are an introduction to an exciting and personal message which follows. Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith and the fulfillment of a greater covenant than that of Aaron in that it is never-ending in its promise and ever-enduring in its activity. Now, that’s something to think about!