By Jeremy Bell
I am going to highlight Christian agreement. Finding points of agreement helps build unity among people. Often, disagreements are in the application of fundamental ideas. I will share how Psalm 110 supports Christian some salvation fundamentals. I will continue with Hebrews 5: 1 – 10 and Hebrews 7 directly afterwards because this New Testament writer refers to it. Understanding the unity across scripture is excellent theological practice.
Keep in mind, this Psalm was written before Jesus was born of Mary but written with the Messiah in mind. Messiah in Hebrew, Christ in Greek, and Savior in English. This savior was to be a high priest forever and Christian’s believe the work accomplished on the cross has infinite value. The difference between forever and infinite is small, but worthy of note. Forever is an adverb and is related to a duration, or period of time. Infinite is and adjective that describes a size, or space. They agree with each other that the end is limitless.
Jesus declared Himself to be the beginning and the end and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. This little part of Psalm 110 sums that up in a practical way. In the Psalmists Day, the people could not come before God, God required and appointed a priest to represent them. Melchizedek was one such high priest. He is not the priest the Psalmist is talking about, but another who would be along the same order. I will let Paul describe it better than I further on.
Now, I draw attention to that word ‘forever’ and ‘infinite’. No one, no thing, is forever and infinite except God. For a priest to be ‘forever’, it must be God as high priest. For that priest to represent a people forever, it must be God alone that could do that. People need priests because of their sin. Their sin against God keeps them from Him. The priest offers atonement in the way of sacrifice. There are people who follow the priest and participate in this process, and they are made clean. If the people did not participate, they remained dirty, outcast, and were excluded from the community.
Hopefully that gives some perspective and something to consider while preparing to hear or read this Psalm. It is by no means the only perspective or consideration, just the one right now. So… without further hesitation, here is Psalm 110 and Hebrews 5: 1 – 10 and Hebrews 7. Psalm 110 is color coded for patterns in my book, Psalms in Motif Visualization.
[ Psalm 110 ]
Yahweh says to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet.”
Yahweh will send out the rod of your strength out of Zion.
Rule among your enemies.
Your people offer themselves willingly in the day of your power, in holy array.
Out of the womb of the morning, you have the dew of your youth.
Yahweh has sworn, and will not change his mind:
“You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
The Lord is at your right hand.
He will crush kings in the day of his wrath.
He will judge among the nations.
He will heap up dead bodies.
He will crush the ruler of the whole earth.
He will drink of the brook on the way;
therefore he will lift up his head.
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[ Hebrews 5: 1 – 10 ]
For every high priest, being taken from among men, is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. The high priest can deal gently with those who are ignorant and going astray, because he himself is also surrounded with weakness. Because of this, he must offer sacrifices for sins for the people, as well as for himself. Nobody takes this honor on himself, but he is called by God, just like Aaron was. So also Christ didn’t glorify himself to be made a high priest, but it was he who said to him,
“You are my Son.
Today I have become your father.”
As he says also in another place,
“You are a priest forever,
after the order of Melchizedek.”
He, in the days of his flesh, having offered up prayers and petitions with strong crying and tears to him who was able to save him from death, and having been heard for his godly fear, though he was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which he suffered. Having been made perfect, he became to all of those who obey him the author of eternal salvation, named by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 7
For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham divided a tenth part of all (being first, by interpretation, “king of righteousness”, and then also “king of Salem”, which means “king of peace”, without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God), remains a priest continually.
Now consider how great this man was, to whom even Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth out of the best plunder. They indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest’s office have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brothers, though these have come out of the body of Abraham, but he whose genealogy is not counted from them has accepted tithes from Abraham, and has blessed him who has the promises.
But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater. Here people who die receive tithes, but there one receives tithes of whom it is testified that he lives. We can say that through Abraham even Levi, who receives tithes, has paid tithes, for he was yet in the body of his father when Melchizedek met him.
Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people have received the law), what further need was there for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, and not be called after the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, there is of necessity a change made also in the law. For he of whom these things are said belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar.
For it is evident that our Lord has sprung out of Judah, about which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. This is yet more abundantly evident, if after the likeness of Melchizedek there arises another priest, who has been made, not after the law of a fleshly commandment, but after the power of an endless life; for it is testified,
“You are a priest forever,
according to the order of Melchizedek.”
For there is an annulling of a foregoing commandment because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law made nothing perfect), and a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. Inasmuch as he was not made priest without the taking of an oath (for they indeed have been made priests without an oath), but he with an oath by him that says of him,
“The Lord swore and will not change his mind,
‘You are a priest forever,
according to the order of Melchizedek.’”
By so much, Jesus has become the collateral of a better covenant. Many, indeed, have been made priests, because they are hindered from continuing by death. But he, because he lives forever, has his priesthood unchangeable. Therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, seeing that he lives forever to make intercession for them.
For such a high priest was fitting for us: holy, guiltless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; who doesn’t need, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices daily, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. For he did this once for all, when he offered up himself. For the law appoints men as high priests who have weakness, but the word of the oath which came after the law appoints a Son forever who has been perfected.
Before and After Jesus
In the Psalmists Day, atonement for the people through sacrifice happened once a year because the process was a picture of the perfect things still yet coming. The atonement had finite value and applied to the participants while excluding those who did not participate. When Jesus came, because He is God, the yearly sacrifice stops because the atonement through Him as a perfect sacrifice was infinite and forever. It still only applies to the participants and excludes those who are not.
These participants have Jesus as their high priest because Jesus is their Savior. The proof of His priesthood and deity was when He resurrected from the dead. He is the only person in all of history to claim to be God, die and come back to life, and continue to claim to be God. God has chosen to speak to people His salvation through Jesus through His scripture and His people. This means that Christians are tasked with telling people this amazing truth so that no one will be excluded. God desires that everyone should turn to Him through His Son, His Messiah, His Christ, His Savior.
Consider Others
There is a nature of rejection to fight and stand against in our personal lives. Don’t let this get in the way of proclaiming the good news to those who are hurting because of their separation from God. Plant seeds of the infinite, the forever, and pray the Holy Spirit will work the soil of their hearts. Pray they will be saved from the nature of death and birthed into the nature of life, the Nature of Joy.
Resources and Notes
All scripture in this article is from the WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE (WEB). The World English Bible (WEB) is a Public Domain (no copyright) Modern English translation of the Holy Bible. The World English Bible is based on the American Standard Version of the Holy Bible first published in 1901, the Biblia Hebraica Stutgartensa Old Testament, and the Greek Majority Text New Testament.
For more related to this blog, check out my post on Unity in the Bible Truths About God.
This is a reliable translation, but it is always good to read other translations as well. Biblegateway.com has a multitude of translations to read from. It is a great resource.
Another great resource is Biblehub.com. There are multiple translations, commentaries, and so much more. Great research can be done on this platform.
One more I use regularly is Gotquestions.org. This is a great site to answer questions and find threads of related questions.
There are many resources. The key is that God wants relationship directly with you, the individual. His primary source for revealing who He is and growing in intimacy is His word, the scriptures. Don’t just read for instruction. Analyze and read for understanding. Explore, ask questions, and be transformed in Jesus every moment you possibly can. There is no dispute this is a key desire of God. People are brough to the Father, in the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. This… This is the Nature of Joy.
Jeremy is an author, musician, and business intelligence manager. His mission is to equip and encourage those in Christ, to equip and encourage others in Christ. Jesus, Christ, is the Nature of Joy and melody of the heart. Jeremy unites business analytics (business intelligence), songs, and Scripture for Christian living in the power of the Holy Spirit.