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 regulation about physical descent but based on the power of an indestructible life. (Hebrews 7:13-16 CSB)

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Have you ever seen a job or skill someone else has and thought, “Man, I wish I could do that!” I’ve felt this even in the church settings sometimes. One time while I was taking a spiritual gifts assessment, I scored a few points on worship. Someone next to me said, oh cool, maybe that’s a thing for you? I think I laughed out loud. I really love worship, which scored me a few points on the assessment, but I don’t have the skill set necessary to do the job, by any means! There are so many roles both in and out of the church that are like that. Some roles we can’t just walk into. They require talent, skills, knowledge, or something else that we don’t have and may not be able to acquire. That’s on purpose—our infinitely creative God created each of us differently for different good works.  

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Our key passages today address a similar kind of expectations early Jewish Christians would have wrestled with about Jesus. The author of Hebrews highlights this interesting but very brief blip from Jewish history about Abraham and a king-priest named Melchizedek. As I’m sure you’ve seen this week, there’s a lot to unpack in this super short story. Afterwards, a discussion begins about a different priesthood from the Levitical priesthood—priests in the order of Melchizedek. However, the Jews didn’t recognize any other type of priest. Levites were the only people who could be priests in Israel, and not even all of them qualified for service. When we look at genealogy, we don’t find any for Melchizedek. He predates the Levitical priesthood, but Levi doesn’t come from him either.  

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When we look at Christ’s genealogy, we find something a little different. He is qualified to lead the people. The royal tribe, the tribe the Messiah was to come from, was Judah. However, Judahites were never priests. So how could Jesus be a priest too, let alone a priest who brought perfection?  

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Now, we may be tempted to wonder why any of this requires an explanation. God can do what He wants right? I think it’s important to remember the historical context that recent Jewish converts to Christianity lived in. Genealogy mattered and was paramount to your ability to hold the office of king, priest, and Messiah. They knew the law, and they also knew the prophecies. They needed to understand how Jesus could be the ultimate, perfect, and necessary High Priest in order to accept that truth about His work. So, the author of Hebrews reminds them of the mystery of the king-priest Melchizedek, recognized in his authority by Abraham, who they viewed as their ultimate patriarch.  

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The author then says Jesus has become a priest in the order of Melchizedek by the power of an indestructible life. Basically, Jesus is equipped by God outside of their expected limitations. He’s uniquely able to serve as a perfect High Priest forever for several reasons, but one is that he’s eternal. He’s defeated death and is always able to intercede for us to God, unlike earthly priests who would die. What Melchizedek’s appearance without genealogy foreshadowed reaches its fullness and perfection in Christ.  

There are a lot of cool things going on in this chapter that help us reflect on what God was doing throughout the whole Bible. Praise God for those sorts of insights! But I also want to talk practically about how we can sometimes disqualify ourselves or others from opportunities, service, or calling in our minds before we even ask God what He wants.  

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There can be a million reasons we do this or things that we come up with as the reason we’ve predetermined a “no.” Sometimes we think there’s no way God could use someone like us. We’re too messed up. There have been too many things we’ve done wrong, or the mess-ups were too bad for God to work through. We believe there’s someone more equipped, more called, or more available for the thing God wants to do. Sometimes, we simply don’t want to yield to God’s call because it doesn’t line up with what we expected or wanted.  

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Is there an area where you’ve been quick to say “no” to God? Pastor Britt shared with a team I’m on recently that she always wants God to have her “yes.” We can all decide today that God has our “yes.” It’s really that simple. On the other side of that “yes,” we can always trust that God will equip us for and lead the way in whatever He calls us to. The Bible is full of stories about our unchanging God doing just that!