John 8:31-38
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
Reflection
Jesus has come to give prisoners freedom (Luke 4:16–21; Isa. 61:1–3)—a freedom that no one else can give, based on truth that he alone possesses. True freedom requires that we have the right Father: not everyone who has descended from Abraham has God as their Father. None can claim God as their Father who won’t have his Son as their Savior.
Our family heritage is no guarantee of our personal salvation. We may come from a religious background and still be spiritual orphans. Only through Jesus can we be rescued from the dominion of darkness (Col. 1:13), where Satan is father, and be brought into the family of God, where we are given the full rights and delights of the children of God (John 1:12; Gal. 4:5; 1 John 3:1–3).
Hebrews 7:1-10
7: For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 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. 3 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.
4 See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! 5 And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham. 6 But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. 8 In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives. 9 One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, 10 for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.
Reflection
In Hebrews 6:20 we read that the priesthood of Jesus is “after the order of Melchizedek”—that is, Jesus was not a priest in the same lineage or system as Israel’s Levitical priests. When Christ comes before God on our behalf as our great High Priest, he does so as the heir of a man named Melchizedek.
This mysterious figure appears in Genesis 14 as a “priest of God Most High” (Gen. 14:18). Though we know very little about him, Melchizedek resembles Jesus in several ways (Heb. 7:2–3). In fact, Melchizedek is such a distinguished character that he blesses the great patriarch Abraham, implying that Melchizedek was superior to Israel’s most revered ancestor. In some sense, when Abraham—the father of Israel—honored the priesthood of Melchizedek, Abraham’s grandson Levi—from whom Israel’s priesthood descended— recognized his superiority as well (vv. 9–10). In other words, the priesthood of Melchizedek is superior to the Levitical priesthood of Israel. Since Jesus is associated with Melchizedek, our High Priest is therefore superior to the high priests in the Old Testament. In every way imaginable, Jesus is better!
Psalm 102:18-22
18 Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord: 19 that he looked down from his holy height; from heaven the Lord looked at the earth, 20 to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die, 21 that they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord, and in Jerusalem his praise, 22 when peoples gather together, and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.
The Lord provides the ultimate freedom from the ultimate bondage: he rescues sinners from sin and death, and turns them into worshipers. Pray for those who are enslaved to sin and ask God to show them the freedom that is available in Christ.