Saved to the Uttermost

In this section we continue the truth that Jesus is a superior High Priest. The writer will show us in many different ways how being in Christ far surpasses being under the Law.

v. 18 “On the one hand” Concerning the Law. The “former commandment” is the Law given under Moses. It is set aside. Why? Two reasons are given:

It is weak

It is unprofitable

The Law allowed people to see their own moral faults. It set forth a standard of righteousness. It revealed the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man. But it could do nothing else. Think about the Ten Commandments. They are a moral standard but all they do is remind you that you have sinned. Certainly, the Law gives us an idea of moral behavior. But it does not give us any power to live up to a moral standard.

For this reason, the Law is set aside.

v. 19 “the law made nothing perfect” Not a single person has ever been saved through the law. The good news is a “better hope is introduced”. This better hope is the gospel. The gospel enables people to “draw near to God.”

The Law had a purpose. Its purpose was to show people their sin and their need for forgiveness. The sacrifices of the old covenant had a part to play as well. They showed the seriousness of sin. Something had to die. But the covering those sacrifices gave was only a temporary covering. God received the sacrifices for a time but never was a lamb punished for the sins of the world. These sacrifices served as a temporary covering but never actually atoned for anyone’s sins.

The gospel is so much better. Through Christ our sins are atoned for and we can now draw near to God in a personal relationship.

v. 20-21 The inferiority of the Levitical priesthood is shown in that God did not give an oath from God concerning it. Their priesthood was legitimate, but God did not promise them it would be eternal. God gave Christ an oath promising that His priesthood would be eternal (Psalm 110:4).

There will not be another covenant. The new covenant is eternal. It cannot be improved upon. The Old Covenant was a shadow, a type of the reality of the new covenant. Everything the Old Covenant symbolized the New Covenant is. Christ is our sacrifice and Christ is our High Priest. Therefore, the New Covenant cannot be improved upon.

v. 22 Notice it is a better covenant. That means the old covenant was not bad. It was good. It had a purpose. The new covenant is better. The old covenant tells us what we need, the new covenant gives us what we need.

The guarantor of the new covenant is Jesus Himself. A guarantor is one who makes certain the covenant will be fulfilled.

Christ guarantees that we will be cleansed of our sin and presented to the Father

Christ guarantees that the Father will receive us as holy and blameless in His sight.

He guarantees this through His death, burial, and resurrection.

It doesn’t get any better than that!

v. 23 There were many priests in the Levitical system. The reason was simple. People die. People keep dying. The position the Levites held did not secure them from death. Even Moses, the Lawgiver, died. The reason there was a system set up to supply Israel with priests is because everyone dies. Josephus, the Jewish historian< says there were 83 High Priests from Aaron to AD 70 when the Temple was destroyed.

v. 24 This shows us a big difference between the Levitical priests and Jesus. Jesus doesn’t die! He holds the priesthood forever because He has defeated death. One priest is now sufficient because this one priest will never die!

v.25 Because Jesus will not die, He is able to do far more than the other High Priests. Jesus is our eternal High Priest and is therefore able to save us to the uttermost. What does this mean?

He saves us eternally- Our salvation is forever.

He saves us completely- Body and soul.

He saves all of us and He saves us forever. It is a complete and eternal salvation. There is nothing lacking in the salvation of a soul Christ saves.

Thank God for a complete salvation. All we must do is come to Christ. We draw near to God by coming to Christ.

Let’s turn our attention to the phrase “He always lives to make intercession for us”. That does not mean that our salvation is not complete. Jesus does not have to keep doing something for us to keep us saved. The presence of Jesus in heaven is our intercession. He is the payment for our sin. His eternal presence is an eternal intercession for our salvation.

v. 26 Here we see a beautiful description of our High Priest.

Holy- without sin and unable to sin.

Innocent- free from any evil, guiltless

Separated from sinners- in this manner Jesus was unlike us. He was tempted but He never sinned. Jesus ate with sinners, fellowshipped with sinners, touched sinners but never sinned with sinners. In fact He did not even have a sin nature.

Exalted above the heavens- After His death He ascended to the right hand of the Father. Jesus is above all of creation.

v. 27 Because Jesus is without sin He is altogether different than every other High Priest. The High Priests under the Old Covenant not only atoned for the sins of the people. They also atoned for their own sins.

Notice the need for the priest’s forgiveness was daily. They sinned every day. The people sinned every day. This is in contrast who never sinned at all.

Jesus is a better priest- He never sinned.

Jesus is a better sacrifice- He offered up Himself.

No High Priest would ever imagine offering themselves up as a sacrifice for the nation. One, they were not worthy. Two, they were not willing. Both the integrity and the love of Christ exceeds that of the former High Priests.

We also see a reference to the substitutionary death of Christ. “Offered up Himself” as a substitute for us. Jesus was punished in our place.

v. 28 Now we have a summary of this section.

The Law appointed priests. These priests were weak. They were sinful. They died. They did serve a temporary purpose in the overall plan of God.

The oath appoints Christ. The oath is the prophetic word given through David in Psalm 110:4. The oath was given after the Law, therefore the Law could not be meant to supersede it.

Because Christ lives forever the new covenant is eternal.

Thoughts to Consider

1. The moral law plays an important part in understanding the gospel.

2. If Jesus is your Savior He guarantees you will be in heaven.

3. You can’t be a little saved. If you are saved you are saved to the uttermost.

4. All men are weak. Only in Christ can any of us be strong.