I’ve been reading in the book of Hebrews lately. Perhaps the two deepest books in the Bible are Romans and Hebrews. If you concentrated just on these two books, and understood the teachings and based your entire theology and faith and practice on just these two books, you would still have the basics down pretty well. They are full of God’s wisdom and as applicable to us today as they were to those they were written for nearly 2,000 years ago. The Bible is such a timeless book.
The author of the book of Hebrews is writing to the Jewish people, trying to convince them that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, and that they are saved, not by following the Law of Moses, but by faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ Jesus.
His audience knew their lineage well, and knew that they were descendants of Abraham. Abraham was their patriarch, the father of their people, and also the father of their faith. The Jewish people believed that there was no one above Abraham.
Hebrews points out to them that there is one that was greater than Abraham. Abraham gave a tithe to Melchizedek, a “King of Salem and priest of God Most High.” If Abraham gives his tithes to Melchizedek, than Melchizedek must be greater than Abraham.
He then points to Psalm 110:4, quoting, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” The psalmist was referring to the Messiah to come. Jesus was not a priest in the Jewish religion of the day, a priest in the order of Levi. Hebrews argues that He was a priest in the order of Melchizedek, which is greater.
For the Israelites, the greatest was Abraham. Who is your greatest? If he isn’t Jesus, He isn’t THE greatest.
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