Do Not Go Beyond God's Revelation About Jesus

We are discussing the very difficult chapter 7 of Hebrews. Our focus during the past two postings has been upon the writer's comparison of King Melchizedek to Christ.

He (Melchizedek) is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever. - Hebrews 7:3 ESV (cf. Gen. 14:18-20)

Melchizedek is not a descendant or child of Abraham. Yet he receives "a tenth of the spoils" from Abraham (Hebrews 7:4). In a sense, you might say that the priestly clan of Levi and his sons were present when Abraham gave Melchizedek those tithes. They were, after all, descendants of Abraham inasmuch as they were one of the 12 tribes descended from Abraham's grandson Israel (Jacob). Consequently it is also proper to say that the priests (Levites) were inferior in rank to Melchizedek since they paid tithes through Abraham (Hebrews 7:6-10).

One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him. - Hbr 7:9-10 ESV 

It follows then that Melchizedek who was both priest and king is superior in rank to Levi. This is why Christ is correctly compared to Melchizedek. Christ is also both priest and king, but descended from the tribe of Judah, a tribe about which Moses said nothing having to do with priests. So in King David's words,

The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, "You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." - Psa 110:4 ESV

Now if you have hung with me this far—and with this letter to the Hebrews—you know that we must settle the question of Jesus' humanity. We've already recognized that He is and was the holy Son of God from all eternity, begotten (not created) before all created things. By Him and from Him all things were created.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. - Jhn 1:1-3 ESV

But He is also true Man, born of the Virgin Mary.  He must be fully and completely human (descended from Adam) if He is to stand under God's judgment upon Adam and his progeny.

For as in Adam all die . . . - 1Cr 15:22 ESV 

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned-- - Rom 5:12 ESV

So the huge and seemingly impossible challenge: how can the Christ who is the holy Son of God from all eternity be also the Son of Man who will die our death and not inherit the sinful nature of His human father Adam?

Answer: the Virgin Birth !

And here is where where some attempt to explain Jesus' ancestry by resorting to our current understanding of the creation of a human. They speak about cell mitosis and meiosis, the 23 pairs of chromosomes that are needed for new human life, the development of human blood, etc. They go on to explain that Jesus inherited Adam's nature, but not his sinfulness. This, they say, is because

. . . the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life. - Lev 17:11 NIV

But that single Bible verse does not speak about Adam's sinful nature. Any attempt to make it say that is an example of reading things into a text.  I am very leery of this sort of thing and you should be as well, because such a use of God's Word goes far beyond what the Word has revealed about the mystery of the Incarnation. The Apostle teaches us humility as he writes,

Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory. - 1Ti 3:16 NIV

The primary points to be remembered:

• In Christ God has appeared in human flesh
• Christ's incarnation was accomplished through the Virgin Mary
• Whether Mary remained a Virgin is an open question, despite the view of the Roman Catholic church and others that she remained a Virgin even in giving birth to Jesus
• Jesus was of Adam's race according to the flesh (see especially his lineage in Luke 3:23-38 and Matt. 1:1-17)
• Though Jesus was born of the "Seed of David according to the flesh" (Rom. 1:3), he did not inherit Adam's sinful nature

Beyond this we must not go. You may harbor private opinions and conclusions, but we must not attempt to make God reveal details about Jesus' birth that He has chosen to keep to Himself. Questions of when Jesus' human spirit or soul were created will also remain a mystery that is not revealed. The question about when or how any human soul is created is another question that has long been argued and tossed about. I'm not going to open it up here either. 

For now let us concentrate upon the primary facts lifted up by Hebrews 7. Jesus is our permanent and eternal priest. He is holy, blameless and pure, exalted above the heavens. He sacrificed Himself for our sins, once for all mankind. It is finished.We have a Great High Priest who pleads for all of us sinners before the judgment throne of God. In Him we are forgiven and secure. To Him be all glory. 

More on this as we go further into this wondrous letter. 

Lutherans Struggle With Covenant Theology

We are looking carefully at Hebrews 7 and the writer's discussion of Melchizedek, king of Salem (Hebrew for peace). In the previous post we learned about the Biblical understanding that one person may represent all of those who descend from him. We cited the examples of Adam, the father of all mankind (Rom. 5:12) and Esau, who lost the inheritance promised to his father Isaac and grandfather Abraham, the promise that went then to his brother Jacob and his descendants (Gen. 28:1-4). 

The Hebrews writer makes this same point when he says that even Levi, a direct descendant of Abraham, paid tithes to Melchizedek when in fact it was Abraham who actually paid them. 

One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him. - Hebrews 7:9-10 ESV

This concept is called Federal headship by many. The concept is spelled out by church fathers such as Irenaeus (Against Heresies) and Augustine of Hippo (City of God). The idea is that Adam was the federal head of mankind in the same way that a federal government like the United States has a president or chief spokesman for the entire nation. Dr. R.C. Sproul has a very detailed and interesting discussion of this concept, alongside a couple others, in his article "Adam's Fall and Mine." You may want to consider it. Federalism is an interpretive framework for understanding the flow of the Bible. It is often called Covenant theology. To get into the details of this understanding of Bible teaching would take us far, far afield. 

We Lutherans struggle with the concepts of Covenant theology, especially since we find that some covenant theology teachers lead us away from the Biblical teaching of grace alone as they pursue it. One recent discussion of this problem can be found in Pastor Jordan Cooper's blog "Lutheranism and Covenant Theology" —not an easy read however. Read his article carefully. You will see how Lutherans see continuity between the Old Testament and New Testament by understanding that the distinction between law and gospel is the fundamental principle of interpreting the Bible. 

I also found another interesting little article about "Why Luther Did Not Speak Much About Covenant" by Martin Yee. Luther's reluctance had to do with his opposition to the Franciscan theologian, William of Ockham and later Dr. Gabriel Biel, who both essentially said, "God helps those who help themselves." He further objected to the Swiss reformer Huldrych Zwingli whose emphasis on our responsibility in the covenant of grace after the fall made it sound to Luther as if Zwingli agreed with Ockham and company.

I know that I promised to get into a discussion of the importance of the Bible's teaching that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, but that will have to wait until my next post. At that time we'll take a careful look at the question of blood and the fact that our sinful nature is passed on through the blood (Leviticus 17:11). This is related to the fact that blood develops only after the male sperm or seed is united to the female ovum or egg. We need to tread very carefully here. More on this next time. 

Jesus Had To Be Born Of The Virgin Mary

When you and I read the following chapter of Hebrews about this strange person, Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most High God, we are left with a long list of questions about who he was and why the writer to the Hebrews speaks about him in the way that he does. Here's how he starts, after declaring that Jesus is a high priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 6:20).

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever. See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! - Hbr 7:1-4 ESV

We've read about Melchizedek earlier in Hebrews 5 when the author pointed out that the heavenly Father begat Jesus as His Son in the eternal today when He said,

"You are my Son, today I have begotten you" (Psalm 2:7). 

And again we read about David's Lord who sits at the right hand of the LORD,

The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, "You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." - Psa 110:4 ESV

Now, very seriously believing that the Psalms are the revealed Word of the LORD God, the writer begins to explain who this mysterious king of Salem is and why it is so important to realize that Jesus is a priest "after the order of Melchizedek". This priestly king is, after all, only mentioned in Holy Scripture one time. As the writer emphasizes, we know nothing about who he was beyond that. We know nothing about his lineage, his background, who  his parents were, how he came to be the king of Salem (later Jeru-salem)—nothing. We only know that Abraham presented him with a tithe after he returned from the slaughter of the kings (Gen. 14:18-20).

His first point: resembling the Son of God Melchizedek continues a priest forever. Here we encounter the mystery of Jesus as understood and taught by the Christian church. Jesus received His divine nature from His Father in eternity. He was begotten, not made, as our creeds clearly teach. He is not a creature who has had a beginning in time. Indeed, Scripture says of Him,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. - John 1:1-3 ESV

All things came into being through Him and apart from Him nothing—nothing—came into being! He is God. He is the Word! He is the Creator of all things!

But He is also Man, born of the Virgin Mary. Of this wonder the Scriptures also speak.

Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, "Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven." But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test." And he said, "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. - Isa 7:10-14 ESV

The Gospel of Matthew has this about Joseph's dream the night after he learned that Mary was pregnant:

But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us). - Mat 1:20-23 ESV

Two questions:

1. How could a virgin conceive? 
2. How could a virgin bear a son and remain a virgin? 

Humanly speaking, it is impossible for a virgin to conceive. A human is the product of the union of male seed and female egg. And yet Jesus' conception was from the Holy Spirit. The Spirit spoke about this in a later chapter of the prophet Isaiah.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. - Isa 9:6 ESV

A child is born—this refers to Jesus' birth and His humanity. He was the divine Son of God from all eternity. Now the Father sent His Son from heaven. (Jn. 3:16, 6:39, 12:49). Here we come upon the wonder and mystery of Jesus, true God from eternity and also true Man, born of the virgin Mary.

Did Jesus need the virgin birth to be sinless? No, he was already sinless as the eternal Son of God before His birth. The angel pointed this out to Mary when he told her she was to become Jesus' mother.

And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." 

And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" 

And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. - Luk 1:30-35 ESV

Jesus was and is holy and without sin. He was holy before His conception in Mary's womb. He did not need her to be holy and sinless. She was the vehicle by which He entered this world, but His holiness was and is not dependent upon her holiness. That raises, of course, another question. Did the Holy Spirit use Mary's egg to create Jesus' humanity? I'll come back to that question next time.

Part of the answer to this question rests in another strange Biblical prophecy dating all the way back to the Garden of Eden. After Eve and Adam had fallen for the temptation of the serpent the LORD said to the serpent,

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel." - Gen 3:15 NKJV

The Hebrew word for seed is zera, a word that refers both to offspring and to the physical seed that the man passes on. The prophecy is made only of the zera of the woman, as if a woman by herself could have offspring. But this is impossible. No woman can bear a child by herself. She has no zera. She brings rather an egg, not the seed, the zera that fertilizes the egg. No woman ever bore a son alone—until Mary bore Jesus, the Son who destroyed the power of the devil to accuse mankind of sin (2 Cor. 5:18-21; 1 Pet. 2:22).

We need to look at this from the perspective that Adam was

• representative or head of all mankind and 
• bore the physical seed in which mankind's sinful nature is passed on 

Let us start with the representative concept. The Apostle Paul teaches clearly that it was by Adam that sin entered into the world of mankind. As noted, this is the understanding that Adam is the head or representative of the entire human race. He did not reject the temptation of the devil. He ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Therefore when Adam sinned the entire race fell. The Apostle writes about this.

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned-- - Rom 5:12 ESV

Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. - Rom 5:14 ESV 

For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. - 1Cr 15:21-22 ESV

There are many examples in the Scriptures of one person who is the head of a family or a people making a decision that touches all. So we read of Noah cursing his grandson Canaan.

When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, he said, "Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers." - Gen 9:24-25 ESV

Strangely, Canaan wasn't directly involved in what his father Ham had done. Instead of covering Noah's nakedness when he was drunk, Ham went out and told his two brothers, apparently mocking his father. As a result, Noah pronounced a curse on Ham's sons, a curse that fell on Canaan and his descendants.

The same thing happened to Esau when he sold his birthright to Jacob (Gen. 25:31-34). All of his descendants were thus excluded from the blessing of the promise given to Abraham and passed on to Isaac, then Jacob and their descendants (Gen. 28:1-4).

So from this viewpoint no descendant of Adam could possibly rescue mankind from the curse of sin. In Adam all die ! And yet, if mankind is to be rescued it must be that one who is truly a man must bear the  judgment of death for all. But who could do this? And how?

Here we come back to the virgin birth and the necessity of the virgin birth of Jesus. More on this next time.