Jesus on the Cross, like the priests of ancient times, did something for us that we cannot do for ourselves. What happened to Jesus on the Cross was a priestly act which “removed sin,” once and for all time. He was “...offered...to bear the sins of many.” We are called, not only to take courage in our acknowledgment of his triumph over death, but to acknowledge the universal and eternal validity of his spiritual ministry, as well as to carry it forward.
The Letter to the Hebrews is a rather lengthy sermon to a congregation whose faith appears to be flagging. It is what scholars call a “homiletical midrash.”1 This term need not be as intimidating — or off-putting — as it sounds. That it is homiletical simply means that it’s a sermon — derived from the same basic root as the word “homily.” But, yes, midrash might introduce a bit of a complication. Midrash, simply put, is a method of debate used by Jewish scholars of old which involved interpretations — sometimes breathtakingly, um, creative interpretations — of texts from the Hebrew Bible that were used to prove, from sacred scripture, whatever point the Rabbi of old was trying to prove.
So, despite being called a “letter,” Hebrews is a long sermon that freely applies this midrash technique to various Hebrew Bible passages, many if not most taken from Psalms. It is Hebrews that tells us that Jesus Christ is a priest after the fashion of the high priest Melchizedek, whom we hear about in only two places in the entire Bible up till now: Genesis 14 and Psalm 110:4. Melchizedek in Genesis comes forth as the King of “Salem.” Salem means “Peace.” So it’s not stretching a point too far to say that the king of Salem is the prince of peace.
In the Genesis passage, Melchizedek literally comes out of nowhere and blesses Abraham (still known as “Abram” at that time) after Abram/Abraham has defeated various kings and rescued his nephew, Lot. Melchizedek blesses Abram, who, in turn, gives Melchizedek one tenth of the spoil he took in his defeat of the kidnappers of Lot. So, according to the midrash of the author of Hebrews, that would make Abram subject to Melchizedek. Melchizedek would be Abram’s “Lord.” So, Abram, the Father of Israel — and hence Israel itself — is subject to this Melchizedek, king of Salem.
And then Melchizedek just disappears. He doesn’t show up again until Psalm 110, understood by Christian tradition as a psalm foretelling the advent of Christ. In Psalm 110, the Messiah is called “a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” Thus, Melchizedek was a foreshadowing of Christ.
This verse, according to the author of Hebrews, applies directly to Jesus. Jesus is that “priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” This, in a nutshell, is midrash in action. Who is this “Melchizedek” of old, this mysterious figure in Genesis? Why, says the author of Hebrews, it’s none other than Jesus! Psalm 110 says so!
What does it have to do with the price of sin?
What does it have to do with the price of sin? ... well … everything, actually.
Wherever we, in our various denominations, sects, cults, interpretive communities or what-have-you may come out on the exact nature of “inspiration,” we all believe in one way or another that the Bible is a book through which God — the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the God of Jesus Christ — speaks to us. It is, however we may parse the terminology, the “Word of God.” We consult scripture to determine how it is between God and us.
So Hebrews is a word from the Lord about how God deals with our sin, our separation from God. Back in the day, Hebrews reminds us, “God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets.”2 And there was a time, and not so long ago — right up till a few years ago, in fact, from the perspective of the author of Hebrews — when God dealt with sin through the intermediation of priests — many priests; priest after priest after priest, year after year after year.3
Today, the author of Hebrews says in today’s passage, not so much ... not so much, but also much, much more! Jesus Christ was not just another rabbi coming forth with exciting new teachings about our relationship with God. Jesus was the very Melchizedek whom Abram bowed down to way back in Genesis. Jesus is not just another prophet with a word from the Lord. Jesus is “the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being.”4 He is superior to prophets. He is not just an angel, for Psalm 110 wasn’t speaking to angels when it says, “You are my son ....”5
Moreover, Jesus wasn’t just a priest, making sacrifices on certain high holy days, on behalf of those who have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. Under the old system of sacrifice, once the meat has been offered and the blood has been shed and poured out, the immediate sins may have been forgiven, but the conscience remained flawed. With the advent of Jesus, something fundamental changed.
A priest forever
No, Jesus wasn’t just a priest; he was both priest and sacrifice! Instead of offering the blood of bulls and goats, year after year, he offered his own blood, once and for all. He, like Melchizedek, is a priest forever — more so than Melchizedek, for Jesus didn’t disappear. He returned. Not even death could hold him. The sacrifice he made was forever.
And so, onward, to today’s passage...
Jesus was not just a priest offering an animal as sacrifice. He offered himself as the ultimate sacrifice.
He didn’t offer a religious ritual in a sanctuary constructed of brick and mortar. He “entered into heaven itself ... to appear in the presence of God himself, on our behalf.”6
He did not shed animals’ blood; he shed his own blood. And in so doing, he did not merely make an offering for sin — he removed sin, once and for all. The blood he shed on the Cross, he shed for the sins of many, and by that sacrifice, by that offering of himself, he removed forever the power of sin. He defeated death itself, once and for all.
Okay, but this is 2024
Hopefully, it now becomes clearer what the author of Hebrews was getting at, in this collection of rather obscure verses. But this is 2024! Nobody literally offers blood sacrifices anymore — not even traditions that grew out of the ones referred to in Hebrews! What does this have to do with us, today?
This truly speaks volumes to us, about the “work” that Jesus Christ did on our behalf on that dark day so long ago when he was, literally, tortured to death; on that day when he died, and, so it appeared, when his work died with him.
As it turns out, his work did not die with him. His real work just began on that day, and we, today, have full access to the fruit of it. What Christ did on the Cross was the culmination of his ministry, and what happened in the weeks following, from the empty tomb and onward, was the fruition of his ministry.
On the Cross, Jesus did for us something similar to what the priests of old did for their people. Like the priests of old, Jesus was a mediator between us and God, offering sacrifices — gifts, offerings meant to appease an angry God against whom we had transgressed. Like the priests of old, Jesus offered a link, a bridge, between God and the people. Like the priests of old, Jesus was called, commissioned, ordained, set apart to do something for us that we could not do for ourselves.
As the priests of old offered the blood of bulls and goats to God, by way of rituals set up as an offering to God for atonement for sin, so Jesus offered himself. And that priestly offering was after the order of Melchizedek. Jesus’ sacrifice sufficed for all time.
Jesus’ sacrifice in that moment made us right with God, forever.
Jesus’ sacrifice in that moment once and for all defeated the power of death — we can be assured that if we are in Christ, through faith, death has no power over us.
And not only that — though that, of course, if we can only grasp it, is plenty. What Jesus did on the Cross, for us, was to validate his entire ministry, both physical and spiritual. Spiritually, we are made one with God, once and for all time.
Because of what he did on the Cross, we are assured that his entire ministry, spiritual and physical, has universal and eternal significance. We are all to be ministers in the name of and after the fashion of Jesus. We are to preach the good news: repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. We are to offer healing to the sick, to cast out demons of addiction and affliction,to feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty, to open the eyes of the spiritually blind and to work to liberate captives.
The Cross showed us how we can be in a right relationship with God. Jesus’ ministry shows us what it means to live that relationship every day. Let’s do it! Amen.
1 See, e.g. George Wesley Buchanan, To the Hebrews: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (Doubleday & Company, Inc, 1972), p. 246.
2 Hebrews 1:1.
3 Hebrews 9:1-14.
4 Hebrews 1:3.
5 Hebrews 1:5.
6 Hebrews 9:24.
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