In the first section on the book of Hebrews (this letter written to Jewish Christians) we heard the evidence laid out that confirmed Jesus was superior to all the figureheads of Judaism and the angels• And once we got to 4:14, there was a more significant focus on Jesus not just being greater than or superior to the most prominent pillars of Judaism, but coming as a replacement to the Levitical Priesthood and the Law- which will be prominent through chapter 10But there are 2 additional themes I want to point out to you that become very prominent where we will pick up today, and should be looked for throughout the rest of this book 1. The first being the things which Jesus and the New Covenant were a fulfillment of, because all of Judaism, including the priesthood, the law, and the temple system, were simply “copies or shadows” of things to come• And what we will see, if we are looking for it, is that Paul will repeatedly explain what they had been given (which is described in 8:5 as copies and shadows), • and then tell them how Jesus coming brought forth the understanding of the true substance of what these shadows were pointing to (we will see some examples in today’s study) 2. Second, we should pay attention to the word “promise”, which we will see throughout the book in one form or another, referring to the promises of God• And just as there were shadows and types in Judaism that found their fulfillment in Jesus,• so too we find there is a focal promise through Abraham which pertained mainly to things on earth, and then a “better promise” (Heb. 8:6) which came with Jesus work of salvationAnd I encourage you to read ahead to the end this next week, looking for these 3 focal points (Jesus our High Priest, the shadows and their fulfilments, and the promises), and in doing so this book will really minister to you• But by way of review, lets pick up in verse 9 today9 But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. 10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. 11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.So, in last week’s study Paul again sternly warned them from turning away from Jesus to go back to Judaism, and then shifts here to encouraging them by stating his confidence in their future with Christ• And he starts by talking about those things that accompany salvation, or, as we might say in other areas, things that are part of the package of the salvation plan• And part of that “package” is that God rewards those who are His, for the things they do for Him (1 Cor 3:15) (not only are we set free from the righteous charges against us, we are rewarded with inheritance)• And immediately after pointing out this benefit that accompanies salvation, he moves to one of our 3 focal themes, and that is that they keep going forward with Jesus in order that “through faith and patience you they might receive the promises”And as we come into verse 13, he will follow this theme of the promises, starting with the promise God made to Abraham after he, through faith (Heb. 11:17), was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac in obedience to the Lord • And we will see this is just a starting point to his revealing a better covenant and a better promise13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He (God) could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” 15 And so, after he (Abraham) had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 16 For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. 17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, 18 that by two immutable (unchangeable) things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.Now it was 25 years earlier that God had made this promise to Abraham (Gen. 12:1-4), but after Abraham had shown in faith that he fully trusted God, by being willing to offer up Isaac, then God added to His promise an oath- which in essence became a double promise to multiply Abrahams descendants• Which, being that he would not see this in his lifetime (11:13), was certainly a great assuranceNow we know God’s word is 100% sure, so it seems silly for Paul to have to make these obvious statements,but in context it makes perfect sense, because they were considering turning away from Gods promises• Now they didn’t see it that way for they thought they would just hop back into Judaism, and go back tothe Mosaic law, but what they were missing is that all of Judaism was pointing them towards theirMessiah (10:7), whose coming had annulled that system• And the hope set before them, was the refuge they had found in JesusNow being these individuals once lived under the law, they knew they could not keep it, for when the law came,it revealed their sin in spades, and an honest individual would have to know the law actually busted them• So when they had heard the good news of Jesus taking their sin upon Himself in order to provide eternalatonement, this was real hope and strong consolation, just as it was for us when we heard and believed• And so Paul continues, declaring;19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behindthe veil, 20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according tothe order of Melchizedek.They would have been very familiar with this reference to the veil, for it is what separated the Holy of Holy’swhere the Ark of the Covenant was placed, and where God resided, from the rest of the temple (9:3)• But again, as we will see in chapter 8, their understanding of the veil and the temple was anunderstanding of the shadow only, for when we get to 10:20 we see that the veil represents in itsfullness, Jesus flesh,• Through Him is not only access granted to us into the very presence of God, but his point is that sinceJesus has taken the position of the perpetual High priest, if you are tethered to Him, you are secure• For although we may drift, and indeed do, He is immovableCan you imagine the picture they would have had in there head as it was described this way?• What they would have remembered is when the high priest did go in on Yom Kippur, that a rope wastied around his waist in case he had some uncleanness and therefore perished in God presence andthey had to yard his corpse out• Now instead of tying a rope to the one going in for his possible retrieval, they were given the image ofbeing tied to Jesus, who was in the real Holy of Holy’s, in order to keep them secure.o That had to be quite the vision in their heads!But he also knew they would spot a problem, being that from their perspective, Jesus couldn’t be a priest unlessHe came from the Levites, and couldn’t be a High priest unless he was of the family line of Aaron,• But again, that perspective was from looking at the shadow of the priesthood and not the substance,• Which is where Melchizedek comes in again;7:1For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from theslaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated“king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” 3 without father, withoutmother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God,remains a priest continually. 4 Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abrahamgave a tenth of the spoils. 5 And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have acommandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though theyhave come from the loins of Abraham; 6 but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes fromAbraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by thebetter. 8 Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. 9 EvenLevi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, 10 for he was still in the loins of his fatherwhen Melchizedek met him.There are varying opinions about who Melchizedek is, based on this description of him and his lineage, or lackthere of. Some believe He is a pre-incarnate Jesus, being that He appears on the scene 2,000 before Jesus came,• Others believe He is a type or shadow of Jesus, but not Jesus Himself. Others like the Ascenes believedHe was an angel- I will leave it to you to decide for yourself• But I will tell you I believe the plainest reading of this text is where I would lean, and the text makessome pretty powerful statementsWe see here that He is both a king and a priest, which was forbidden for the kings of Israel- Uzziah tried thisand was immediately struck with leprosy (2 Chron. 26:18), but Jesus is both King and High PriestWe see here that His name means King of righteousness, and that he was king of Salem (meaning peace), madeHim the King of Peace- both of these clearly being descriptive of Jesus• And if we take it literally that He has no genealogy (which the OT is significantly focused on), noparents, and that He has no beginning of days nor end of life- then we’d know He is not a created beingBut what we know for certain is Abraham Identified Melchizedek as a priest and as being greater than himself• And since Abraham was the Father of the nation, and therefore all the tribes would come through him,including the Levites, who were not even in existence at this time (meaning the law had not yet come),• Melchizedek’s priesthood predated and was superior to the Aaronic priesthood which the law andsacrificial system were tied toAnd I can just picture that lightbulb moment for them, for being Jews, the passages regarding Melchizedekwould have been familiar to them, but the light had to just go on for them as they were reading this- and I getexcited for them in reading this because I know what that feels like ?• But he’s just getting started, and now goes on to explain why there needed to be another priesthood;11 Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), whatfurther need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be calledaccording to the order of Aaron? 12 For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of thelaw.At this point these guys should have been getting real excited, for as we discussed, they already had to knowthey couldn’t keep the law and where therefore were in trouble if it was the only way,• But with a new priesthood which came with a new law (a New Covenant of grace), there was knew hopeAnd Jewish or not, we can relate to this for we have seen or attempted to try ourselves, by religious practices,to be right with God, knowing we could not succeed- and then we heard of the law of grace administered byJesus our High Priest (I remember few things like it was still currently happening, but I will never forget that)13 For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at thealtar. 14 For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerningpriesthood. 15 And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest 16 whohas come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endlesslife. 17 For He testifies: “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”And again, being from the tribe of Judah would not qualify Jesus to be a priest, but don’t look past the point thatMelchizedek was not from the lineage of Judah either, meaning this priesthood did not come from among men• For this priesthood has at its foundation something the Aaronic did not, and that’s an endless life,meaning Jesus priesthood would never come to an end• And God left this priesthood in a kind of dormant mode until Jesus came to assume the position forever18 For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness andunprofitableness, 19 for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a betterhope, through which we draw near to God.The law did its job perfectly, for Romans 3:20 tells us “therefore, by the deeds of the law no flesh will bejustified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin”• The law is like a thermometer, it can show you your sick, but it has absolutely no power to heal you, itwas never intended to be used for that purpose• And so the law did its job of exposing sin, in order that the need for a savior would also be revealed• But what’s really important to pick up here is that God brought about another priesthood, and with it anew law (the law of grace), because He wanted to repair the separation that sin had caused betweenHimself and the people He createdo He wanted to make a way for us to draw near to Him againo That would be quite a change for those who moved from the Mosaic law to receiving Jesus20 And inasmuch as He (Jesus) was not made priest without an oath 21 (for they (speaking of the Levites) havebecome priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him: “The Lord has sworn And willnot relent, You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek’”), 22 by so much more Jesus hasbecome a surety of a better covenant. 23 Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by deathfrom continuing. 24 But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. 25 Therefore He isalso able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to makeintercession for them.We started this study with Gods oath given to Abraham and here we come to God the Fathers oath that Jesus isand will always be the High Priest, which would have solidified two things here, 1) there will not be a change ofthe priesthood, and therefore the law, again, as had just been revealed here. It was a once and forever change.• And, 2) because Jesus would never leave that office and will not Himself change, He also is theguarantor of the immutability of this new covenant of salvation, for all who will receive Him,• Even declaring to these Jewish believers, and to us also, that He will see us all the way through this lifeand into eternity, which is what “save to the uttermost” means• But there is a catch, for this promise is only to those who come to God through Jesus, which is anotherreminder to these Jewish Christians that turning back would be a horrific decision26 For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners (meaningalthough He was with them, He did not join in their sin), and has become higher than the heavens; 27 who doesnot need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, forthis He did once for all when He offered up Himself. 28 For the law appoints as high priests men who haveweakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.He was exactly what humanity needed in order to liberate us from our condition, being that He was free fromthe condition of sin and death we were in. Only someone outside of our condition could save us from it• Those who came through the Levitical priesthood, were in the exact same boat each of us where inI must admit that I still have to shake my head when people who either know I’m a pastor or suddenlydiscover it in a conversation, then operate as though I have arrived at the point of sinlessness• For we all have weakness; that is all except one!• And as He became higher than the heavens, means He was raised into His glorified body which wasthe final stage of perfection in regards to Jesus lifeAnd although I am not going to take the time today to expound upon any of chapter 8, I want to conclude byreading verses 1-6 to you, in order to again set your focus on 3 themes that flow throughout the rest of thisbook, and will tie together what we have studied today,1. That Jesus came to replace the Levitical Priesthood and the Law with a better Priesthood and covenant• Which is exactly what we were delving into today2. That the priesthood of men, the law and temple sacrifices all prefigured, or where shadows of theultimate fulfillments which began to be revealed when Jesus came and will be fully revealed in heaven3. And finally, that God who made a promise to Abraham, and will not turn away from it, has establishedeven better promises to comeSo now, with that, lets preview where we will be jumping back in next time;8:1Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the righthand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, 2 a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle whichthe Lord erected, and not man. 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore itis necessary that this One (Jesus) also have something to offer. 4 For if He were on earth, He would not be apriest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; 5 who serve the copy and shadow of theheavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He (God)said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” 6 But now He hasobtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which wasestablished on better promises.And just like these Jewish believers, we too can lay hold of these better promises by Imitating those who thoughfaith and patience inherit the promises (6:12)• Sometimes it’s hard to be patient when you see what’s going on down here, and the pressure ismounting,• But God is faithful to keep His promises as we patiently wait in faith