Image: One of the "Caiphas" ossuaries, discovered in a cave in Jerusalem in 1990, which some claim to be related to the ancient priestly family mentioned in the NT. Israel Museum, Jerusalem.
Note: Here
are some notes drawn from the closing application to last Sunday morning’s
sermon on Hebrews 7:5-17:
Hebrews 7:5 And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the
office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people
according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the
loins of Abraham: 6 But he whose descent is not counted from them received
tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. 7 And without all
contradiction the less is blessed of the better.
The
greatness of Christ or the superiority of Christ is a constant theme seen
throughout Hebrews.
We
have seen stress upon Christ greater than prophets (Heb 1:1-2), greater than
angels (Heb 1:4), greater than Moses (Heb 3:3-6). Here we have the repetition of a theme that
has already appeared (Heb 5:1-10):
Christ greater than the priests, greater than Levi, greater than Aaron,
greater than their priesthood, because theirs had been an imperfect priesthood
(Heb 4:15).
We
might also add that it is affirmed here that Christ is greater also than Father
Abraham.
The pastoral
call here to wayward Hebrew believers who were tempted to abandon Christ and
return to the synagogue: Do not go back
to your old religion! Do not go back to
your slavish ways! Do not go back to the
temple! Do not go back to the sacrifices! A superior way is here.
How do
we apply this to ourselves? We might be
tempted to go back to our old carnal ways, our BC (before Christ) ways, our old
spiritual patterns. To trade faith in
Christ for our old religion would be like trading a bar of gold for a pile of
ashes. Do not make a fool’s
bargain. Christ is greater than your
Levi!
Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
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