The sea of change
Everything on this earth is in constant flux.
The seasons oscillate from year to year: at the moment we are experiencing the change from winter to spring, as the days lengthen and the weather warms up.
Our government changes: the turmoil in Canberra over the last few weeks demonstrates our Australian parliament is fickle and volatile, with the last few Prime Ministers not completing their term in office.
Our society changes: our population has grown and is becoming more culturally diverse, we are busier than ever, scientific and technological change seems to be accelerating, and other changes are stretching the fabric of our society e.g. marriage, gender, and identity issues.[1]
Relationships change: over time, bonds with family and friends can either deepen or deteriorate, develop or disintegrate.
The visible church on earth grows like a plant, dying in some places and germinating in others.
Our very lives wax and wane along with the moon, but eventually we come to our allotted end, which is the ultimate change!
If we think about this flux too much, the swirling sea of change can make us seasick! Do you ever feel anxious as you try to stay afloat amid all the change? You’re not alone! I think it’s something we all feel…
Priests too are caught up in the sea of change
The preacher in his sermon to the Hebrews speaks about how the priests are also caught in this sea of change. We heard last week that the priests act as mediators, standing between the God and the people of Israel, making the people holy before God by offering flesh and blood, bread and grain. And as we heard in our Old Testament reading, they offer these sacrifices day after day, year after year.
Yet, our preacher makes a simple and important point: eventually every human priest will die. Their term in office will be interrupted, perhaps not by a leadership spill, but by aging, sickness, decay, and eventually death. ‘There have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office.’ (Hebrews 7:23). Who will intercede when all the priests have died? What will happen when the temple itself succumbs to change and crumbles (as happened in 70AD when the Romans razed it to the ground)?
Jesus is our high priest who lives forever
We need not despair because the preacher has good news: Jesus has already died and now lives forever! He is our eternal priest who will never die. ‘Because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood’ (Hebrews 7:24). Nothing can interrupt his term in office. No one can call a leadership spill and boot him out. Not even death itself can touch him, because he has already faced this foe and defeated death on the cross. Jesus lives and because of this can serve as our high priest forever.
Psalm 110:4
The preacher explains this by using his Scripture — the Psalms in the Old Testament. This part of his sermon is an exposition on Psalm 110, and in particular verse 4.
The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” (Psalm 110:4)
In the previous section (Hebrews 7:1–19), which we heard last week, the preacher concentrated on the last phrase: ‘in the order of Melchizedek.’ Jesus is not a priest in the order of Aaron from the tribe of Levi, for this would mean that he is under the Law and the law doesn’t offer any help to bring us to perfection and completion. But a better hope is introduced: Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek, who comes before the Law, who is able to offer the help we need to be perfected.
Now in this section, the preacher focusses on a different part of Psalm 110:4 — he zeros in on this word ‘forever.’ The preacher quotes a specific portion of the Psalm:
The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever.” (Hebrews 7:21)
God the Father designates his Son a priest forever by an oath, the LORD swears that his Son is a priest forever. God will not change his mind on this, God never breaks his promises (Psalm 89:34).
So what?
What does it mean for you to have a priest forever?
a) In Jesus you have a firm and secure anchor. You can always rely on Jesus to mediate and intercede for you. Even when the surging sea of change is swirling around, you have a firm and secure anchor in Jesus the eternal priest. He is never too busy or occupied. He is never tired or ageing or sick. He never decays, and death cannot touch him. Nothing can interrupt him from serving you in his office. He has a permanent
Often I feel overwhelmed by the waves of change. In particular, in my role as pastor, I think about the visible church and all the changes it has (and will) experience. Our congregation here has weathered enormous change these last few decades. And given the agenda topics at the upcoming LCA General Synod, our national church will no doubt continue to be swamped by change.
Yet in the face of this, Jesus is our eternal priest. When it all seems too much, resting on this firm and secure anchor brings me great comfort. I pray you too may experience the peace and comfort of knowing Jesus is a priest forever.
b) Jesus is always interceding for you. He intercedes in two directions: he faces toward us to bring God and his gifts to us, and he faces toward God to bring us and our needs to God. Jesus doesn’t just intercede for you at the moment you are justified, but now and always, forever. He is present for and with you even now.
Priests would speak to God on behalf of the people, as they served in the temple offering the sacrifices. Right now Jesus’ lips are bringing your needs to God through this (divine) service. Yet he’ll keep on speaking on your behalf when you drive home, when you wake up tomorrow and eat breakfast, as you go about your daily and weekly work — every single day, day in and day out, without interruption, until there are no more days.
Even then, when time has ended and the new creation is perfected and complete, even then the intercession of Jesus our eternal priest will not end but continue into eternity. Jesus will forever stand with us in the new creation as we worship and serve God with our new bodies. We confess this each week when we say: ‘I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.’
Blessing
May you avoid despair as the surging sea of change swirls around you. May you find peace and comfort knowing that Jesus is a priest forever. Nothing can interrupt him from serving you, not even death itself. May you experience the presence of Jesus who is right now interceding for you before God, speaking your needs on his lips so that God might hear and act. The LORD has sworn that Jesus is a priest forever, and he will not change his mind. Amen.
[1] See here for a nice article about changes in Australian society: https://mccrindle.com.au/insights/blogarchive/australia-then-and-now-30-years-of-change/
