Here are my notes for a sermon I was preparing on Genesis 14. I was ill, so did not get to preach it, but the time spent in preparation was very valuable. Jesus is our priest king, and that is good news!
Genesis 14 “Jesus, our Priest King”
Intro: Typical names from Bible; Melchizedek
-We don’t think much about him, but he is vitally important in helping us to understand who Jesus is
-I hope that you will leave today with a better appreciation and wonder: Jesus is our priest king!
- Genesis 14: The battle of kings, rescue of Lot, and blessing by Melchizedek.
-Battle of 4 kings vs 5 kings (14:1-12)
-4 Kings vs 5 Kings (1-3)
-Reason for the battle (4)
-4 Kings on warpath (5-7)
-Great battle in the Vally of Siddim (8-12)
-Fleeing of the 5 kings and some fall into tar pits (10)
-Possession of the 5 kings looted (11)
-LOT and possession taken captive (12)
-Abram’s Rescue of Lot (13-16)
-Abram hears of the situation and gathers a group of 318 (13-14)
-Abram’s men pursue the kings and overtake them (15-16)
-Lot is rescued, along with the other prisoners and possession (16b)
Abram’s meeting with 2 Kings (17-24)
-King #1: King of Sodom (17, 21-24)
-King of Sodom meets Abram (17)
-King of Sodom demanding of prisoners (21)
-Abram’s response (22-24)
-I won’t take anything, lest Sodom’s king ends up saying he made him rich.
**OBSERVE: The character and integrity of Abram—cares for Lot; courage in pursuit; integrity with the spoils.
-King #2: Melchizedek (18-20)
-Melchizedek’s identity: king of Salem (Jerusalem) and priest (18)
-Melchizedek’s hospitality toward Abram: bread and win (18)
-Melchizedek as PRIEST (19-20)
-“Blesses Abram” (19a)
-“Blessed by Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth” (19b)
-Melchizedek serves the one true God: God most high, possessor of heaven and earth
-NOTE: Abram equates him with the LORD in v 22.
-“and blessed by God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” (20a)
-The real source of Abram’s victory is God, not self.
-Abram gives a tithe (tenth of everything) (20b)
***WHO IS THIS PRIEST KING?
-Notice: He is both a priest and a king!
-No lineage; no description of when he was born or died; not physically related to Abram
-NOT mentioned again by Moses or rest of the OT, except for one place: Psalm 110 - PSALM 110: David’s Messianic Psalm about a Priest King in order of Melchizedek
Most quoted Psalm in the NT, showing Jesus the fulfillment.
-Written by David about the Messiah “A PSALM OF DAVID: ‘The LORD says to my Lord”
-Messiah is a KING (1-3)
-Scepter, rule,
-Messiah is a PRIEST in the order of Melchizedek (4)
-“priest forever”
*EXPECTATION: Messiah would be a priest king, in the order of Melchizedek.
III. Hebrews: Jesus, our Priest, after the order of Melchizedek (4:14-16; 6:19-7:26)
-Jesus is our high priest, who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses (4:14-16)
-Jesus sympathizes with our weakness (15)
-Remember this when you are struggling with temptation and sin
-Jesus is without sin (15b)
-Jesus is unlike us, but we can come to him for help.
-Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchizedek (6:19-20)
-**Jesus is OUR PRIEST in the order of Melchizedek!
-Priestly Order of Melchizedek Explained (7:1-10)
-Who is Melchizedek? Priest king (1-3)
-He “resembles the Son of God he continues as priest forever”=no mention of his ending (3b)
-**Jesus as our priest will always be our priest!
-Melchizedek was great and his priesthood is greater than Levitical priesthood (4-10)
-The need for a priest in the order of Melchizedek (11-28)
-Need for priest from order of Melchizedek (11-14)
-Need shown in that it was spoken of (11-12)
-Jesus was not in the tribe of Levi, but Judah, which are not priests (13-14)
-Jesus is a priests “in the likeness of Melchizedek”, not basis of bodily descent but “power of indestructible life” (15-16)
-Jesus is the fulfillment of Psalm 110 (17-19)
-In Jesus our high priest, “a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God” (19)
-Jesus is the priest by an oath of God (20-22)
-Jesus is the guarantor of a better covenant (22)
-Jesus’ priesthood is BETTER than any Levitical or merely human priesthood (23-25)
-Jesus “is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him” (25b)
-Jesus “always lives to make intercession for them” (25c)
-Jesus as priest has no sin, but paid for our sins (26-28)
-Jesus, as priest, paid for our sins in a “one for all” sacrifice as he “offer up himself”
- APPLICATION: Jesus is the Priest we NEED!
You and I need a priest, and Jesus is the priest we need.
-Jesus is our priest who teaches us the truth about God
-We can have confidence in who God is, based on the testimony of Jesus.
-Jesus is our priest who cares for us, and sympathizes with us in our weaknesses and sin
-We can have confidence in God’s help as we face temptation and sin.
-Jesus will always be our priest, even after sin again and again, young and old, sad or happy
-We can have confidence in our salvation even after we sin again.
-Jesus as priest offers us a “better hope, through which we can draw near to God”
-We can have confidence that we are drawing near to the one true God
-Jesus as our priest prays for us.
-We can have confidence in God’s care, because Jesus prayed for us
-Jesus as our priest died for us.
-We can have confidence in our salvation and eternal life, because Jesus paid it all!
