When I was preparing this episode, I was reminded of an incident from my childhood. My family and I were visiting my aunt, at whose house our son made his first steps decades later, and for some reason we needed to drive out to a back pasture to see something; it may have been a fish pond, but I am not sure. In any case, my cousin, who was an older boy than me and who was also heavy for his age, was going to guide us. He hiked himself up on one front fender of our car, and away we went.
I was quite impressed by this display of maturity, and I said to my mom, “Wow, he’s big!” My mother quickly shushed me and said, “Be quiet! Don’t say that!” She thought I was commenting on his weight, which is something a person of my size would never do, while I was just admiring him for being far more mature than I was. To me he was a ‘big deal.”
I think it is a fact of history that the big man always has exerted an outsized impact on society. Whether that person has a big physique like Saul and Goliath, or whether they have a big personality like David and Peter, or whether they have a big intellect like Paul and the writer of Hebrews, the great man has drawn to him the allegiance of people.
Let’s begin our study by reading Hebrews 7:1-6:
For this Melchizedek—King of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham and blessed him as he returned from defeating the kings, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything; first, his name means king of righteousness, then also, king of Salem, meaning king of peace; without father, mother, or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God— remains a priest forever. Now consider how great this man was—even Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the plunder to him! The sons of Levi who receive the priestly office have a command according to the law to collect a tenth from the people that is, from their brothers—though they have also descended from Abraham. But one without this lineage collected tenths from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises.
Jesus is the Greatest Man Because of His Origin:
In the 21st Century, our culture has made a disparaging meme out of the question, “Who’s your daddy?” but the question can be quite valid in certain circumstances.
For example, in our last episode we considered the concept of the coaching tree, which is a metaphor for the process of a successful head coach mentoring assistant coaches before they go on to be successes themselves. A coaching tree is like a family tree except that it shows the relationships of coaches instead of family members. Jesus has a coaching tree which began with himself and spread out through the Apostles, and the early church leaders who are our spiritual ancestors.
In practical terms, a fellow I knew who came from a small south Alabama county told me that, as a young man, it was important to ask someone whom you wanted to date who their grandparents were. The population of that county was so small and so stable, he noted, that “It was easy to wind up dating a cousin if you weren’t careful.” With that unsettling thought behind us, we must note that in Biblical times, God and His people were interested in genealogy. Who your parents were was important, even vital, to determine your role in Jewish Society.
Consider this fact: we can know the parentage of all the major figures in the Jewish nation. We know about Abraham’s parents, and from whom Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph descended. We know about the parents of Moses, both natural and adopted, and we know about his father-in-law, Jethro. We know about the parentage of all the kings of Israel and Judah, and on it goes.
We know that a person’s parentage was so important that, in Nehemiah’s day, some priests of the Temple in Jerusalem were excluded from service because they could not prove who their parents were. If you were without father, mother, or genealogy, you were suspect, and you were denigrated, and you were excluded. Except for one man. Melchizedek.
Melchizedek was without father, mother, or genealogy, yet he was given honor because he was from God. The same is true of Jesus.
One might say, “We know who the father of Jesus was.” But if that is Joseph, that is wrong. Jesus did have human DNA from His mother, but His spiritual DNA was directly from God. Jesus is the Greatest Man because He is from God and God alone. Now, let’s read verses 7:6-10:
But one without this lineage collected tenths from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises. Without a doubt, the inferior is blessed by the superior. In the one case, men who will die receive tenths, but in the other case, Scripture testifies that he lives. And in a sense Levi himself, who receives tenths, has paid tenths through Abraham, for he was still within his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.
Jesus is the Greatest Man Because of His Honor:
When I was speaking about my cousin, I was expressing my admiration for him. He impressed me, because he wasn’t that much older than I was, yet he was guiding us around his family property. Also, he was riding on the fender of our car and not falling off! I was giving him the honor I thought he was due.
We will notice here two ways that Melchizedek received honor. First, it was recognized that he had the power and authority to bless Abraham. Generally speaking, when a stranger shows up someplace, and no one knows him, and no one knows where he came from, that stranger is not given any respect or credence. Not so here.
Abraham did not look at Melchizedek and say, “You ain’t from around here, are you, boy?” Instead, Abraham recognized his superiority and Abraham allowed Melchizedek to give him a blessing. Abraham probably kneeled before him when he received Melchizedek’s blessing because this was the normal pose for such an event.
This reminds me of the centurion whose servant was sick and about to die. This man was not only a Roman, he was not only a soldier, he was not only an officer, but he was a member of the Roman establishment, respected and powerful. Yet he, too, recognized Jesus had the power and authority to bless his servant, even though Jesus was an itinerant rabbi, with no place of his own to lay his head. In fact, the centurion, in Luke 7:6b-8 told Jesus,
“Lord, don’t trouble Yourself, since I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. That is why I didn’t even consider myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be cured. For I too am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under my command. I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”
In Luke 7:9, we see how Jesus responded to this demonstration of faith, saying,
Jesus heard this and was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following Him, He said, “I tell you, I have not found so great a faith even in Israel!”
Not only did Abraham allow Melchizedek to bless him, but he also actually gave Melchizedek a tithe. As we mentioned before, the only person to whom people give a tithe offering is God. And not only did Abraham give a tithe, in essence, but also all of Abraham’s offspring did as well, including the Levitical line of priests under the Mosaic Law.
Jesus is the Greatest Man because He was honored as God. Now, let’s read Hebrews 7:11-25:
If then, perfection came through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there for another priest to appear, said to be in the order of Melchizedek and not in the order of Aaron? For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must be a change of law as well. For the One these things are spoken about belonged to a different tribe. No one from it has served at the altar. Now it is evident that our Lord came from Judah, and Moses said nothing about that tribe concerning priests. And this becomes clearer if another priest like Melchizedek appears, who did not become a priest based on a legal command concerning physical descent but based on the power of an indestructible life. For it has been testified: You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. So the previous command is annulled because it was weak and unprofitable (for the law perfected nothing), but a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God. None of this happened without an oath. For others became priests without an oath, but He became a priest with an oath made by the One who said to Him: The Lord has sworn, and He will not change His mind, You are a priest forever. So Jesus has also become the guarantee of a better covenant. Now many have become Levitical priests, since they are prevented by death from remaining in office. But because He remains forever, He holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore, He is always able to save those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.
Jesus is the Greatest Man Because of His Endurance:
It is discouraging when your phone battery runs out before your day does. It is more disheartening when your money runs out before your month does. How bad would it be if God’s love for you ran out before your life did?
Baseball great Yogi Berra said, “It’s not over until it’s over,” yet we know many examples of people giving up before the end was complete. In sports, we are scandalized when a player spikes the football before crossing the goal line, or when a baseball player doesn’t run out a ground ball. Giving up before a play is over is a sign of an arrogance that does not foster teamwork.
We also know of many Biblical examples of people who quit before the mission was complete:
- Noah, instead of allowing God to rebuild the world through him, got drunk.
- Abraham and Sarah gave up on God’s promises about having a child of their own.
- The ten Jewish spies told Moses that the Children of Israel couldn’t subdue the tribes of the Promised Land.
- Saul couldn’t wait for Samuel, and he illegally offered a sacrifice to God.
- The Temple priests gave up on caring for the souls of the people and became a political force aligned with Rome.
- The disciples could not stay awake and pray with Jesus.
- John Mark gave up on the first missionary journey and He went home.
- Many of Paul’s epistles were written to churches and/or the pastors of churches, encouraging them not to give up, but to persevere for the sake of the Gospel.
Even Jesus was tempted to quit before His task was completed. His disciples warned Him against going to Jerusalem. Peter even told Him to His face that He was wrong. On the night He was betrayed He asked God to spare Him from the Cross. Jesus was different, however. He had the endurance of God that caused Him to see that His mission was completed. That’s why on the Cross He could say, “It is finished!”
God loves us in many ways, and one of those ways is through His chesed love. This is His enduring, stubborn love, a love that will never run out, in this life or the next. This comes from His indestructible, eternal nature, and that means we can rely on the fact that God never rests until His mission is completed. He won’t leave us or forsake us, but He will love us until the end!
Jesus is the Greatest Man because He is eternal, and His love is eternal. Now, let’s read Hebrews 7:26-28,
For this is the kind of high priest we need: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He doesn’t need to offer sacrifices every day, as high priests do—first for their own sins, then for those of the people. He did this once for all when He offered Himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak, but the promise of the oath, which came after the law, appoints a Son, who has been perfected forever.
Jesus is the Greatest Man Because of His Purity:
The most significant failing of every great person is that they all are people! No one is perfect, and we all have feet of clay. We all make mistakes, and we all fail, even someone so great and so revered as George Washington.
When the Continental Congress appointed George Washington as the commander of the Continental Army, they offered him a generous salary. He declined the salary, asking only that his expenses be reimbursed. Congress agreed to this, but they probably should not have.
You see, by the end of the War of Independence, George Washington’s expense account had cost the new country ten times what his salary would have been. It is also telling that, although the Continental Army was well run administratively, and although it maintained extensive records of its operations and organization, Washington’s own expense accounting was incomplete and not well documented. Was Washington corrupt? Probably not. But he was a spendthrift in a time when his new country was struggling to pay for the war.
An even more serious failing was that Washington, like Jefferson and other renowned leaders of the Revolution, were slave owners.
The pastor that performed the wedding ceremony for my wife and I was very popular with our church members, but he often gave us a warning. He would regularly say, “Don’t put your trust in me, because I am human, and I will fail you. Put your trust in God, who will never fail you!”
Again, the Bible is full of accounts of God’s people who failed:
- Cain killed his brother.
- Ham embarrassed his father, Noah, after he had gotten drunk.
- Abraham sinned against God by forcing Hagar to bear his son.
- David sinned against Bathsheba and conspired to have Uriah killed.
- Solomon yielded to his passions and to extravagance.
- Judas betrayed Jesus and sent his Master to His death.
- The disciples all ran away when Jesus was arrested
- Peter denied Jesus three times.
- Ananias and Saphira lied, and then they died!
- Paul had to confront Peter about shunning Gentile Christians when the representatives of the Jerusalem church came to visit.
- Apollos eloquently preached an incorrect Gospel message.
Instead of weak humanity, look at the description of Jesus our High Priest forever:
- He is holy, innocent, and undefiled
- He is separated from sinners
- He is exalted above the heavens
- He is perfect forever.
This is what Paul said about the purity of Christ in Philippians 4:7-8:
But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ.
Conclusion:
Jesus is the greatest person of all time because of His origin: He came from the Father above.
Jesus is the greatest person of all time because of His honor: He clearly deserves the praise and worship we give Him.
Jesus is the greatest person of all time because of His endurance: He finished His work on our behalf and is even now at God’s right hand, interceding for us.
Jesus is the greatest person of all time because of His purity: He is perfectly holy, just, and righteous, and He imparts his purity to us, even when we don’t deserve it.
There can be no question that Jesus is the greatest person of all time. The only question that remains is this: who is Jesus to us today?
Every Blessing,
Dr. Otis Corbitt
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