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Jesus Becomes High Priest after Melchizedek

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[Hebrews 7:15-16]

And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears,
one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry
but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life.

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Jesus, who saved us, is the eternal and perfect High Priest who forgives our sins. Jesus, our High Priest, was without sin and belonged to heaven.
Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice on the cross to forgive all our sins once and for all.

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Even before Jesus came, there were many priests. God set apart the people of the Aaron family out of the tribe of Levi and entrusted them with a special task.
He gave them the task of being a priest, forgiving the sins of the people according to the law ordained by God.

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However, these priests of the House of Aaron were also human, and there was not a single person without sin. Nor were they eternal, as they died of old age, like others.
Jesus did not become a priest after the sinful Levitical priests.

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Then, through whose lineage did Jesus become a priest? There is someone who has already been appointed as a priest hundreds of years before God gave the priesthood to the Levite Aaron family. Jesus became the eternal priest after him.

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Abraham, the father of faith, once participated in a war to save his nephew Lot.
With God's help, Abraham defeated his enemies and saved his nephew Lot.
On the way back from victory in the battle, a priest came out to meet Abraham with bread and wine.

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He was Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most High God.
The name Melchizedek means “king of justice”.
The priest Melchizedek said to Abraham, “Praise be to the Most High God, who has defeated your enemies with your own hands.”

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This Melchizedek is expressed as follows in the Bible.
“Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High,”(Genesis 14:18)

The Bible tells us that Melchizedek priests are holy priests ordained by God himself.

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The Bible in Hebrews tells us that Melchizedek priests are not of the earth.

“Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life,
like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.”(Hebrews 7:3)

Also, the Bible says that this man is like the Son of God, so he is a mysterious and holy man who has always been a priest.

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Abraham, who received the blessing of the Melchizedek priest, gave him a tenth of the things he had taken from the war. The fact that Abraham, the father of faith, paid tithes proved that the Melchizedek priest was much higher and greater than Abraham.

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This Melchizedek was a priest before the tribe of Levi was formed.
He was a priest of God, ordained by God himself.

The Psalms prophesy that there will be a new priest who will come like this Melchizedek.
[The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”](Psalm 110:4)

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The one who came to this earth following the order of Melchizedek is Jesus, the Messiah. Jesus did not become a priest according to the laws and rules of the tribe of Levi.
Jesus became the true High Priest according to the power of eternal life given by God.

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Jesus broke death and resurrected with the power of eternal life given by God.
Jesus suffered and died on the cross for the forgiveness of human sins.
God did not leave his Son Jesus to die, but resurrected him on the third day.

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The resurrected Jesus ascended to heaven with a perfect and spiritual body.
The book of Hebrews teaches us what Jesus, who ascended into heaven, is doing.
“Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him,
because he always lives to intercede for them.”(Hebrews 7:25)

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As humans, priests belonging to the tribe of Levi had to offer sacrifices to God every day.
Since the priest is also a sinner, he must first make a sacrifice for himself.
Then he could offer sacrifices for the sins of the people.

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But Jesus, our High Priest, is holy and without sin, so there is no need to offer a sacrifice for Him. Because he himself died on the cross as a sacrifice.
The Lord can forgive all our sins once and for all.

We should give thanks and praise to Jesus, who became our high priest and saved us.
We must live every moment with a heart of gratitude to Jesus, who became the sacrifice on the cross to forgive our sins and open the way for salvation.
We must live the right life that Jesus is pleased with and become a person of faith who repays grace.

(This is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)