The end of Hebrews 6 again mentions Jesus as “a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” 7 goes into the history that we previously linked to in Genesis 14. Abraham gave him a tenth of all he had, 400 years before the Law was given to Moses at Sinai. Hebrews 7 describes Melchizedek as without without father or mother, not having beginning or end. He has no genealogy which stands in contrast to the well established genealogies of Aaron, the first Levitical priest, and of Jesus. You may encounter speculation that goes in all sorts of directions, from Melchizedek actually being an appearance of Christ in the flesh in the Old Testament to the idea that he literally lived forever. Very little is said about him in Genesis but the writer of Hebrews devotes seven chapters to describing his priesthood. The important thing is this: that the ministry of Jesus Christ is greater. He is superior to Aaron and Melchizedek. He is the minister of a better covenant than any Old Testament priest because if the former were sufficient there would be no need for another. (Heb. 7:11)
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Happy Monday
Satur-deja Vu
It’s gettin’ to be that time. Let me clarify my position on fall. I’m not just an old grouch that complains about everything and I do not hate fall. There are things I like about fall when it actually gets here but if you start talking about hoodies and pumpkin spice in the middle of July I will grouch a little because summer is my favorite. Maybe spring, then summer then fall in that order. Spring and fall are transition seasons. During the springtime the days get longer, the grass and trees come back to life, we start getting ready for baseball, grilling out and opening the pool. In the fall I enjoy hot cocoa, smores, bonfires, sunsets and colorful leaves as much as the next guy. Many of the most popular fall activities are centered around keeping warm. I don’t love hoodies as much as I don’t like being cold. Fall is the transition season from summer, which is the best, into winter. That season doesn’t make my list of top 3 favorites. I would rather mow grass than shovel snow, and wear shorts and sandals than sweaters and parkas. I do all of the autumn things and enjoy it while it lasts; big sucker for a hayride, seriously. But it saddens me to know what’s coming, which is basically an end of all things. At least until April.
Continue readingiMonk Radio Podcast #108
I took notes on the all the intro material but instead will cut straight to the chase. Michael Spencer spent a lot of time over a period of years defining post-evangelical. But he never suggested that we as Christians should stop evangelizing and he was was never more clear about that than in this podcast. There are a lot of discussions that we should have among believers but our call to share the gospel must remain at the front of who we are and what we do.
This episode has a new opening theme and some chit-chat about international students, teaching Bible and meeting blog friends in real life. Hang in there, the good stuff is after that.
Bible Study: Hebrews 6
It’s a corny joke and I apologize for repeating it but when we see the word “therefore” in the Bible we need to stop and consider what it’s there for. At the end of Hebrews 5, we find a warning against those that have failed to mature. The writer laments that believers who should be on solid food (of God’s Word) still need to be given milk like infants. So 6 begins with a call to move on to maturity, leaving the elementary things behind.
Continue readingHappy Monday
The Bible tells one story and God is the same yesterday, today and forever. Having said that, the Old Testament is not like the New Testament.
This is Happy Monday #393.
Continue readingSatur-deja Vu
Climate change, get it? So yes, that’s a single frame comic and this is not Happy Monday. But I wanted to write commentary. The first thing someone is going to say is that pennies falling from great heights, such as perhaps the top of the Empire State Building, would kill people standing on the ground. Here is just one article describing the science of falling pennies. In an airless environment pennies would reach a velocity of 200+ miles per hour. Pretty much any object would, and be lethal. But pennies fall more like sheets of paper, tumbling over and over, than like bullets which are aerodynamically designed to be stable in flight. A bowling ball might kill you because its weight gives it a higher terminal velocity even in an atmosphere. A ball point pen might be dangerous, even lethal, if it fell straight down like an arrow shot from a bow. Pennies from heaven would be safe. Since actual climate change is a political issue, I will move on without further comment.
Continue readingiMonk Radio Podcast #107
Mike’s visit to Tate’s Creek Presbyterian leads to some thoughts on traditional music. A conversation on the Boar’s Head Tavern begs the question “What is the purpose of Sunday a.m. worship?” Then a discussion on New Testament church membership. Part of that discussion includes how missions become churches.
Bible Study: Hebrews 5
The end of Hebrews 4 informs us that Jesus is our Great High Priest and then the chapter ends. Hebrews 5 tells us why he is a better high priest than the Levitical priests of the Old Covenant. The high priests called by God to the priesthood were human beings and had the same shortcomings as the people they ministered to. They had their own sins to confess and be forgiven before they could attend to the sins of others. The Christ is God’s own Son and also a priest forever after the order Melchizedek. Abraham was blessed by Melchizedek in Genesis 14 and Abraham gives him a tenth of everything he has. This is centuries before the Law was given to Moses. The Levitical priesthood had not been established and there was no commandment, at least none recorded, to give a tithe. Genesis will not answer all of our questions. There is no recorded beginning nor ending of Melchizedek’s priesthood and this little detail is used to show what kind of high priest Jesus will be. There is no beginning and no end to his priesthood. He does not have his own sins to sacrifice for, and he is not called by God but is God’s own Son. Although he was the only begotten Son, through suffering in his mortal flesh he learned obedience.
The final verses of chapter 5 is a chastisement to an audience that should be eating “spiritual food” as mature believers but must still be given milk as infants. Hebrews will get to comparing Jesus to Melchizedek in a couple of chapters and list more ways in which he is greater.
Happy Monday
Whatever it is, we hope that a few verses of scripture, a couple of inspiring quotes, a cartoon or two, maybe some cute animals and a good pun help you through it. And coffee, I mean we started with coffee.
This is Happy Monday #392.
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The Master's Table 