Hebrews chapter 7, if you're using a pew Bible, you can find this on page 1004 of the pew Bibles, page 1004 of the black pew Bibles in front of you. And before I read the passage, just a couple of what we might call introductory matters to the book of Hebrews. We are in the middle of a series on 1 Corinthians, which we will get back to in just a couple of weeks. But we're going to have somewhat of a post-Easter sermon, you might call it. And you'll see why we might call it that in just a few minutes. But just a couple of introductory thoughts on the book of Hebrews, just to lay the groundwork, so to speak. The book of Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians. And it was written to Jewish Christians who were considering leaving the faith, leaving their newfound faith due to persecution. Either persecution that they were then facing, or persecution that was coming just right around the corner. And they were considering going back to the traditions and the ceremonies of Judaism. going back to what was familiar. Typically, when we face hardship in life, it is a temptation to go back to what is familiar, to go back to what is comfortable, to go back to what we've known throughout our lifetime, and in this case, to go back to the rituals and the ceremonies of Judaism. And thus, the book's purpose, the book of Hebrews, its purpose is twofold. First, to set forth that Christ is superior, that He is supreme, that He is superior to the angels, that He is supreme over all of the Old Testament forms and ceremonies, that He is supreme over Moses and even Aaron. And then secondly, and building upon that first theme, is a call to persevere, is a call to stand fast, to persevere, to persevere in your faith where there are eyes fixed on the author and the perfecter of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ. So with that brief groundwork laid, let's look into the text together. Hebrews chapter 7, pick it up in verse 20 and read verses 20-25. Hebrews 7 verses 20-25, this is God's Word written for you and for me today. And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without 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. The former priests were many in number. 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. Heavenly Father, we ask that you would give us insight into your word, that you would be our teacher, that you would give us your spirit and show us more of Christ, our Savior, the one who intercedes for us. And we pray all these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, as I mentioned, last Sunday was Easter. It was Easter Sunday, and it was a glorious Sunday indeed. It was a day of joy, a day of singing. Christ the Lord is risen today. Hallelujah. Of course, that ancient greeting, He is risen. He is risen indeed. Yes, Christ is risen. But now what? As believers, we focus, and we touched on this in our reading in the Gospel of John, we focus, rightly so, on the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. But do we leave Him there? Do we simply leave Christ risen in our day-to-day life? And so the question that I want us to reflect on for a few moments this morning is this. What is Jesus doing right now? What is Jesus doing right now? And does what He is doing right now have any impact on your day-to-day life as a believer, on your Christian life? I would submit to you, dear friends, that a right understanding of Christ's present heavenly activity is essential for living the Christian life. Let me repeat that, that's the claim that I would suggest to you this morning, that a right understanding of what Jesus is doing now, that is to say, of his present heavenly work is essential for leading the Christian life unto the glory of God. Richard Gaffin, a professor at Westminster Seminary, said this, listen to what he said. He said, we must be careful what we do with Jesus' statement on the cross, it is finished. That is a glorious statement indeed, and indeed it is. But it does not mean that subsequent to the cross and resurrection, Christ has somehow been consigned to frozen inactivity, as if he no longer does anything. Do we? at least subtly, consign Christ to frozen inactivity with respect to our day-to-day Christian life. Dear friends, in fact, Christ at this very moment is doing something. He is doing something glorious. And He is doing something glorious on behalf of you and me, on behalf of His church, on behalf of His dear sheep. And that's what I want us to reflect upon for a few moments this morning as we look at this passage. Now, we can divide these verses, verses 20 to 25, fairly neatly. under three headings. That Christ is our eternal High Priest, Christ is our complete Savior, and Christ is our faithful intercessor. Three things. Christ is our eternal High Priest, our complete Savior, and our faithful intercessor. So first, verses 20-24, Jesus Christ is our eternal High Priest. First thing we need to do is remember, what did priests do in the first place? What was the function, what was the purpose of the priesthood? Well, put simply, the priests represented the people before God. Look over to chapter 5. You might not need to flip there, just chapter 5, verses 1 and 2 spells out what priests did. Look at what it says. For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness." So what did the priests do? They offered sacrifices on behalf of the people, they prayed on behalf of the people, they interceded on behalf of the people, they taught the people, they sympathized with the people, etc., etc. Now, the author of Hebrews, this is important for our understanding of the passage, the author of Hebrews throughout the book of Hebrews, but in particular throughout chapter 7, what we did not read, verses 1 through 19, the author of Hebrews has been contrasting Christ's priesthood That is, Jesus as our priest with the Old Testament priesthood, the Old Covenant priesthood, what we might call the Levitical priesthood or the Aaronic priesthood. And for our purposes, those terms will be interchangeable. The Levitical, the Old Covenant, the Aaronic priesthood, the priests of the Old Testament. And the author of Hebrews throughout is demonstrating the supremacy of Christ as our High Priest. the supremacy of Christ as our High Priest. Look up in verse 11. Chapter 7, verse 11, I think, spells this out. Now, if perfection had been attained through the Levitical priesthood, that is, through the Old Testament priests, under the people received the law, what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, reference there to Jesus, rather than the one named after the order of Aaron? Remember that for 1500 years, Ever since the Exodus, what we're looking at in Sunday School, ever since the Exodus and the wilderness wanderings, Numbers chapter 3, if you want to read this afternoon, Numbers chapter 3, where the tribe of Levi was set apart for a special service unto the Lord, where the tribe of Levi was set apart from the other tribes in particular, to minister and to serve in the tabernacle. It was the tribe of Levi where the priests came from. That was the tribe that was specifically tasked with serving in the tabernacle. Their service was related to the sacrifices, was related to offering sacrifices, as we just read in chapter 5, on behalf of the people. So for 1500 years, You would bring your sacrifice to the tabernacle, or to the temple, to the priest who came from the tribe of Levi, and he would offer that sacrifice on behalf of you, or your family, or the nation. But there was a problem. And I put that problem in quotation marks. There was a problem with the Old Testament Levitical priesthood. Not in the sense that it was wrong. Not in the sense that it was wrong in and of itself. But its problem had to do with its insufficiency. It's insufficiency. There was a certain weakness to the Old Testament, Old Covenant, Levitical precept. Verse 18 actually uses this word weakness. For on the one hand, a former commandment, this is referring to the Old Covenant, the Old Testament priests. On the one hand, a former covenant is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness. And there are two such limitations or two such weaknesses that are highlighted in verses 20 through 25. And the first one we see in verse 20. Look at what it says. For those who formally became priests, there's a reference to the Old Testament priests. For those who formally became priests were made such without an oath. There's the key phrase. They were made such without an oath. That is to say, There was no divine guarantee, there was no divine oath as to the permanence of the Old Testament, Old Covenant, Levitical priesthood. Yes, it was established by Old Covenant law, by Old Covenant ceremonial law, but its permanent validity, Its permanent establishment was never promised and guaranteed by the Lord. And we'll come back to this in just a few moments. The second limitation you can see in verse 23. Look what it says in verse 23. The former priests, again, referring to the Old Testament priests, the Old Covenant priests, The former priests were many in number because they were prevented by death from continuing in office. For 1500 years there was a succession of men who served as the high priests. Some served for For many years, some served for just a few years, but there was a long, lengthy succession of man after man after man who would serve as the high priest of the nation of Israel. When a young Levite turned 30, he would enter into his priestly service and he would travel to the tabernacle, he would travel to the temple, for his rotation, so to speak, in serving round and about the tabernacle or the temple. For 1500 years, this is what would happen. But a high priest would die, and another one would take his place. Another high priest would die, another one would take his place, and he died, and he died. And he died. And he died. The high priest died. The high priest died. For 1,500 years, there was this succession. Priest after priest after priest after priest for 1,500 years. And he died. And he died. And he died. That's what's being highlighted there in verse 23. Now, in contrast to that, I want you to see how Jesus as our priest is presented. And there's two contrasts. Look in verse 21 and verse 24. At least in the ESV translation, the first word of verse 21 and 24 is the word, but. If you're an underliner, that's the word. that we should circle. That's the word we should circle in our Bibles. Two contrasts. The old covenant priests were like this, but Jesus is like that. The old covenant priests were like this, but in contrast, Jesus is like that. Let's look at the first contrast back in verses 20 and 21. And it was not without an oath. For those who formally became priests were made such without an oath, but... Now we're talking about Jesus. But this one... Jesus. Write Jesus there. But this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him, and then he's going to quote from Psalm 110, by the one who said to him, the Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, you are a priest forever. The Old Testament priesthood was temporary. It was impermanent. It was provisional. On purpose. Intentionally so, there was a built-in provisionality. If I can make up a word, I'm not sure if that's a word. We'll make one up. A built-in provisionality to the Old Testament priesthood. It was a shadow of what was to come in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is our forever priest. He is your eternal priest. God the Father has sworn by an oath to Christ's eternal priesthood. And look at what it says there in verse 21. And he will not change his mind. Of course, God doesn't change His mind, but this is to to drive home the permanence of Jesus as our High Priest. He will not change His mind. And here the author of Hebrews is quoting from Psalm 110. God did not swear an oath when He instituted the Old Testament priesthood, but He did swear an oath when He called or when Jesus was set apart to be our High Priest. And what does that mean that He took an oath? Well, look over to Hebrews 6, verses 13 through 18. Hebrews 6, verses 13 through 18. And this passage describes God's covenant with Abraham. If you remember that amazing story in Genesis chapter 15, when God enters into a covenant with Abraham, and Abraham is put into a trance, and the halves of the animals are put in two. And the Lord, His very presence, by means of the smoking fire pot, walks through the separated animals, covenanting with Abraham that He will fulfill His promise. That was God taking an oath. And look at what it says in Hebrews 6, 13-18. Let's read a couple of verses. For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself. saying, surely I will bless you and multiply you. And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. For when people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of His purpose, He guaranteed it with an oath. That is the exact same reality of what we have in Jesus Christ. That God has guaranteed with an oath that Jesus is yours and mine forever, eternal, unchangeable, unshakable High Priest. Verse 22, this certainty makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. That's actually not the best translation. In the original language, the person of Christ is emphasized. The last word of verse 22 in the original language is the name Jesus, the place of emphasis. So verse 22 might say, the guarantee of our eternal covenant is Jesus. He is the guarantee of all of God's promises to you and to me. All of God's promises are yes and amen in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the guarantee of all that God has promised us. And so the first contrast we see in verses 20 and 21. The second contrast we see in verses 23 and 24. Look at what it says. The former priests were many in number because they were prevented by death from continuing in office. But, there's the contrast, but he, that is Jesus, holds his priesthood permanently because he continues forever. The Old Testament priests were not eternal. They were imperfect. They were sinful. They were subject to death. They died. They had to offer sacrifices on behalf of their own sins before they could offer sacrifices on behalf of the nations. But not Christ. Our greater and ultimate high priest. He is eternal. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He was without sin, verses 26 and 27. Look at those verses. It was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He had no need like those high priests who offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. The sacrifice that Christ brought was Himself. He is both the offerer and the offering. His priesthood is eternal. His priesthood is forever. He is our eternal, forever priest. He is not subject to death. And thus, His priesthood continues forever. Note the repetition of that word forever, both in verse 21 and 24. Verse 21, You are a priest forever. Verse 24, because He endures forever. He is our eternal, forever High Priest. We'll come back to that in just a few moments. So first, Christ is our eternal High Priest. Secondly, Christ is our complete Savior. Look at verse 25. Consequently, therefore, in light of what we have just said, He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him. That is to say, because of who he is, because his priesthood is eternal, because he's not limited, because he's not subject to death, because he is holy, harmless, sinless, unstained, because of all of that, he is able to save to the uttermost. He is able to save Completely. Fully. We can never ask the question, will He be there tomorrow? We can never ask the question, will He be there next week? Of course He will. Will He be there next month? Will He be there next year? Is He going to die like the old covenant priests? Is there some kind of insufficiency or limitation to Christ as our High Priest? Will he be there next month? Can I count on him today, tomorrow, and forever? And of course, the answer is yes. Dear friends, this is a wonderful, glorious truth. There is no aspect of our salvation that is not wrapped up in the Lord Jesus Christ. He doesn't leave us to our own strength. He doesn't leave us on our own. He doesn't affect part of our salvation and then leave the rest up to us. He is a complete Savior. Philippians 1.6 Paul says that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion in the day of Christ Jesus. No matter what we may are today or will face in our lives, no matter what difficulties and trials we may face, Jesus is a complete, sufficient Savior who saves to the uttermost. Many of us are going through various hardships, uncertainties, doubts in our life. We get the prayer list and there's also many unspoken prayer requests. There are many sin battles that perhaps we're facing. Many doubts deep down in our hearts that we're facing. Perhaps we wonder in our hearts during this or that particular hardship, is Christ really there? Is He really there? Can I really count on Him to do what He says? And the great teaching of this passage is absolutely yes. He saves to the uttermost. Another translation might be, He saves completely, fully. He will bring us all the way home. There's no doubt, there's no insufficiency in Him as there was in the Old Testament, Old Covenant priesthood. He will bring us all the way home. He is a complete Savior. And then thirdly and finally, He is a faithful intercessor. Look at verse 25. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him since. This gives a reason why that is true. You might say, because. He always lives to make intercession for them. Who is the them? The them is you and me. The them is His church. Those who rest in Him by faith. He always lives to make intercession for them. To pray for them. To pray for you. to pray for me. And here the author is elaborating on Christ's priestly ministry. So to go back to our original question, what is Jesus doing right now at this very moment? He's at the right hand of His Father, the position of authority, as the King of kings who has triumphed over sin, death, Satan in the grave, and He is interceding, praying for you and for me. He is praying for His sheep, for His people. Jesus, as our great High Priest, offered Himself once and for all as the final and perfect sacrifice, and now on the basis of that finished work, He intercedes for His people. He intercedes for you and for me by name. Have you ever paused and thought about that reality? How often do we get comfort in our Christian walk, knowing that someone is praying for you? Perhaps even this week. We often do it somewhat trivially, perhaps, you know, I'll pray for you. But in all seriousness, knowing that someone prays for you, does that not bring you great encouragement? If someone calls you up and say, you know, I was praying for you about that that diagnosis, that interview, that appointment, that struggle that you share with me. I was praying for you. Or how much more encouragement to know that an entire church is praying for you. To have five people call you up or say, you know, our prayer group was praying for you. How much encouragement does that give us in the Christian life? To know that your family, your friends are praying for you. But let's take it up an infinite amount. to know that Christ is praying for you, to know that the King of kings is praying for you. What a source of joy and comfort is that, that at this very moment, your shepherd, your king is specifically and personally interceding on your behalf. Or perhaps you might say, how does he know what I'm going through? Well, the author of Hebrews answers that one too. Hebrews 2, verse 17, that Jesus had to be made like his brethren in every respect so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God. He humbled himself, became incarnate, took upon himself human nature, that he might be a sympathetic, faithful, and merciful priest. We read this verse at the very beginning of our sermon. Hebrews chapter 5, one of the requirements of the priest was to sympathize with the people. How much does our Savior sympathize with us? He had to be made like us. That's a language of necessity. It was necessary for Him to be made like us so that He might be a faithful and merciful High Priest in the service of God. Service for you and for me. The great Scottish evangelist, Robert Murray McShane, one of my heroes in the faith, Robert Murray McShane, once said this, if I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Imagine that for a moment. Imagine the Lord Jesus Christ right here behind the curtain praying for you by name. Would that not give you encouragement in your walk with the Lord to know that he is here praying for you by name? But McShane goes on, yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me. Think of that. As you enter upon your week next week, as you wake up tomorrow morning, not knowing what the week may bring, as you engage in the battle against sin, seeking to put sin, that sin that weighs us down, seeking to put that to death, as we go about just the daily affairs of life, the daily things that the Lord brings our way in His providence, Christ is praying for you. We see a few glimpses of this in the Gospel accounts. Remember what Jesus says to Peter in Luke 23, verse 31. Satan has desired to have you and sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you. And of course, Peter falls, but he's restored. He is convicted of his sin, and on the other side, he is a lion for the Gospel, we might say. Of course, the great high priestly prayer in John chapter 17, where we see a glimpse of Jesus. It's a remarkable chapter. It's a heart to penetrate the depths of John 17, where Jesus, we see the son praying to his father. And who does he pray for? He prays for those who will believe through the words of his disciples. Well, who is that? That's you and me. And he prays that we would grow in grace. that we would grow in holiness. He prays that we would be protected from the evil one, but that we would grow and that he would always be with us. Dear friends, Jesus is in heaven interceding for you right now. He is fully man, so He is able to sympathize with us. He knows our struggles and heartaches. He knows our shortcomings. He knows our failures. Yet, at the same time, He is fully God. Thus, His prayers are always perfect. He prays for us perfectly. He prays for us effectively. His petitions carry divine authority. That's quite a prayer warrior, to put it crassly somewhat. His petitions carry divine knowledge and effectiveness. And they're always for your good, and they're always for His glory. So dear friends, as we close, Jesus Christ is alive. He is a risen Savior. He is alive today at the right hand of His Father. He is our eternal High Priest. He is not like the Levitical priests, provisional, temporary, subject to death, who had to offer sacrifices on their own behalf. No, He is our perfect, eternal, faithful High Priest. And because of that, He is a complete Savior. He is able to save completely, finally to the uttermost. And He is our faithful intercessor. He prays for you, He prays for me, He prays for His sheep specifically with sympathy and with perfect effectiveness and knowledge and power. Dear friends, this is a truth that we should hold on to. We should tuck deep in our hearts as we live each day and a sinful and fallen world to the glory of God in Jesus Christ. He is our forever, eternal, faithful high priest. Praise God for his word. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for your goodness. We thank you for the gift of your son, that our Lord Jesus is our prophet. He is our king, but he is also our priest. who offered himself for us once and for all, and now ever lives to make intercession for us, interceding for us, praying for us perfectly with divine authority, power, and effectiveness. May this give us strength to live each moment of our lives unto your glory. I pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.