Sermon for March 22, 2015

The readings

Jeremiah 31:31-34

The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt--a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

Hebrews 5:5-10

So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you"; as he says also in another place, "You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek."  In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.  Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

John 12:20-33

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."  Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.  Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.  Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.  Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.  "Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say--' Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.  Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine.  Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out.  And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."  He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

The message

I am going to start with two assumptions this morning, 1: nobody here can list the formal responsibilities and qualifications for the High Priest in Ancient Israel and 2:  that nobody here has any idea who King Melchizedek was.  With that said, a lot of what I am going to talk about this morning is historical. It is also necessary to understand this sad but beautiful idea of Jesus as the great high priest.   St Paul uses a metaphor of Jesus as the Great High Priest while trying to describe and explain God’s saving work through Jesus life, death and resurrection. This idea of Jesus as high priest is prominent in Paul’s letter to the Hebrews.  It is found in our second reading this morning and in Hebrews 4:14  where Paul writes, Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.  Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. 

The high priest was a special and important part of the Jewish faith.  He was the supreme religious leader of the people.  Because the high priest was the ultimate religious authority, his responsibilities included overseeing all of the other priests and making decisions during disagreements. Although the high priest could participate in ordinary priestly work, there were certain functions that only the high priest could perform. The most important duty entrusted only to the high priest was to conduct the service on the Day of Atonement.  He was the only one allowed to enter the most sacred place in the temple and stand before God.  On this day, the high priest would make an animal sacrifice for himself and for all of the people. After that he would bring the animal’s blood into the most sacred place and sprinkle it there.  He did this to make atonement for himself and the people for all their sins committed during the previous year.  This responsibility of making the atoning sacrifice is what Paul picks up on as he argues that Jesus is the great High Priest, the one whose sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins was his own life and blood.  Jesus sacrifice was also not good for just enough one year for the people of Israel, it was good enough for all time and all people.  Nothing else would be needed again.   

There was one big obstacle for people to accept and understand Paul’s argument. The office of the high priest was inherited, an authority and great power passed down from generation to generation. This hereditary link was traced all the way back to Aaron, the brother of Moses.  Paul needed to explain how Jesus could be the great high priest although Jesus was not part of Aaron’s family line or even from the priestly tribe at all.

For this Paul turns to the story of King Melchizedek (since we’ve been introduced to him, I am going to call him Mel for short) . The books of the Old Testament chronicle and tell the history of very person, place and event. The genealogy and stories of kings, prophets and leaders in particular, go back many generations.  Mel is one of the very few who appear suddenly and then disappears just as quickly

In fact, there is only one brief story about him in Genesis 14: 18, 2000 or so years before Jesus was born. There we learn that after Abram led a surprise attack and defeated the armies that had previously captured his nephew Lot along with many others, Genesis reports:  Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.  And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” After this, Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.

Psalm 110: 4 also mentions Mel   “The Lord makes this promise on oath and will not revoke it: You are an eternal priest after the pattern of Melchizedek.” Despite how little we know about him, Mel became a model for the priest king. Although not even part of Israel, Mel was a priest of God with great authority and power.   Since Abram gives Mel a tithe, 10 percent of the spoils of war and accepts a blessing from him, that indicates this little known outsider is actually superior to Abram, the great father of many nations.  This is the same reason Kings David and Solomon could perform priestly jobs although they were not priests.  

Paul answers that question about how Jesus could possibly be the great high priest by saying Jesus was like Mel, a priest outside and even above the ordinary system.   Paul goes on to note that like Mel was superior to Abram, Jesus was superior to any high priest before or after. Unlike their sacrifice, which needed to be repeated every year, Jesus sacrifice, his life and death on the cross, atones for everyone’s sins, once and for all.   

Of course, the role of the high priest in our faith today is gone, there are no longer any animal sacrifices or even any real set and sacred places we believe God dwells in to offer them.  We believe that God is present with everyone, in all places and that God hears our prayer, no matter where we offer them. We are not worried about our salvation and we are not afraid of our sins being forgiven because we are an Easter and a resurrection people.  Through Jesus life, death and resurrection, we are living in the vision promised by the prophet Jeremiah “ I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more”

We are all these things because Jesus is our high priest, whose atoning sacrifice has led to our salvation from the punishments of sin and power of death,   Amen