Hebrews 7:1-28 - Jesus Has a Better Priesthood
Notes
Transcript
Pray
Pray
Father, thank you for showing us how amazing you are in your Word.
Thank you for giving us the truth of who you are and what you’ve done as the creator of everything and the one who loved us so much that you gave your Son to win us back from sin and death.
You revealed all of that and more in your Word.
So, I pray that as we come to it now, as we open your Word to hear from you, I pray that you would allow us to hear and understand it.
I pray that you would open our hearts and minds to see and know the glory of your Son Jesus, our eternal great high priest.
Please help us also to take the truth of your Word and apply it, to live and love more and more like Jesus because of how amazing and righteous and loving he is in your Word.
And Lord, we need you to do this in each of our hearts because none of us can do it on our own and I certainly can’t do it for anyone else or myself.
We need you to do this work in our hearts through the preaching of your Word and the power of your Holy Spirit in our hearts.
I pray that you would help me to articulate your Word well to exalt Jesus and not myself.
Please give me clarity of speech and humility as I preach.
I pray this in Jesus’ glorious name. Amen.
Intro
Intro
This morning, we’ve come to a very famous passage in our series through Hebrews.
It’s famous because it offers more insight into the brief and obscure character of Melchizedek than anywhere else in the Bible.
But before we look into who Melchizedek was, I want to remind us of the context, the flow of the argument up to this point to see why Melchizedek is brought up here.
The main argument for the entire book of Hebrews is that Jesus is better than everything under the old covenant.
And the reason the author of Hebrews is making this argument is that his original audience was regressing back to the rituals and rules of Judaism and in danger of rejecting Jesus.
They were being persecuted and instead of running to Jesus in faith they were running away from him, retreating back to Judaism in fear of their circumstances.
So, the author of Hebrews presents the logical argument, step by step, for how Jesus is better than the rituals and rules they were tempted to run back to.
He presents Jesus as the best prophet, the best messenger of God, better than any that had come before.
And he presents Jesus as the best priest, the best mediator or intercessor between us and God.
There are a lot of different pieces to the priesthood, and Jesus’ priesthood is better in every way.
A lot of the specifics will be explained in great detail later on.
But in our passage today, in Hebrews 7:1-28, we’re going to see three ways that Jesus’ priesthood after the order of Melchizedek is better than the Levitical priesthood after the order of Aaron.
Those three ways include the authority, the qualifications, and the sufficiency of the priesthood.
And this is important for us because all of us need an authoritative, qualified, and sufficient way for us to relate to God so that we can actually be reconciled to him and be saved from sin and death.
This is not just some religious nuance from a culture so far removed from us and our daily life.
This is how you, right now, can be made right with the sovereign creator of everything.
A lot of the details and the argument may seem outdated or foreign, but the result is the proof that Jesus is the perfect high priest to reconcile you to God so that you can be saved to live with him forever.
Again, we’re going to see Jesus’ higher authority, better qualifications, and greater sufficiency in his priesthood.
So, let’s look at verses 1-11 first, to see Jesus’ higher authority in his priesthood like Melchizedek.
For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 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. 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.
See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! 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. But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.
It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. 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. One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.
Here we see how compared to the Levitical priesthood, Jesus has a…
Higher Authority (1-10)
Higher Authority (1-10)
We’ve already seen reference to Jesus’ priesthood after the order of Melchizedek back in chapter 5 verses 6 and 10, and in the verse just before our passage, in 6:20.
And in order to understand how Jesus’ priesthood has a higher authority than the Levitical priesthood, we need to understand a bit more about Melchizedek’s authority.
The one Jesus’ priesthood is likened to.
Other than this passage in Hebrews, there are only 2 other places in the Bible that refer to Melchizedek.
He’s first brought up in Genesis 14, and then David refers to him in relation to the priesthood of the Messiah in Psalm 110.
Both references are a bit obscure, so the author of Hebrews explains their significance, and he starts with explaining who Melchizedek was from Genesis 14.
He summarized the account in verse 1 and the first bit of verse 2.
But, let’s read the account from Genesis, so that we can be on the same page with the author.
Genesis 14:17–20 “After (Abram’s) return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.”
That’s all there is about Melchizedek.
I wish there was more, but God has only given us this tiny speck of information, so that’s what we have to go on.
And the author of Hebrews finds quite a bit of significance in this brief passage about Melchizedek.
Melchizedek met Abraham, though at that time he was still called Abram.
Melchizedek met him returning from the slaughter of the kings.
Basically, a few kings allied together to attack Sodom, where Abraham’s nephew, Lot, was living.
They captured a bunch of the residents of Sodom, including Lot, and Abraham went and rescued them, and slaughtered the kings who had allied to attack Sodom.
Returning from that rescue and slaughter, the king of Sodom met Abraham because he wanted to thank him for his heroic rescue of his people.
And the king of Salem, Melchizedek, also met Abraham for two priestly, authoritative purposes.
He met him to bless him because God wanted to bless Abraham for his faithfulness.
And he met him to remind Abraham that it was God that gave him the victory and to receive the tithe from that victory that was due to the Lord.
We’ll get into those interactions in a bit, but first, the author of Hebrews answers a burning question.
Who was this Melchizedek guy anyway?
The first thing the author of Hebrews explains is Melchizedek’s name in verse 2.
His name is a compound of the Hebrew words for king, Melech, and righteousness, Tsedek.
He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness.
The next thing the author of Hebrews explains, also in verse 2, is Melchizedek’s title.
He is the king, the ruler, of a place called Salem which has the same root as the Hebrew word for Peace, Shalom.
He is also, by translation of his title, king of peace.
Interestingly, the only other place that Salem is mentioned is in Psalm 76:2 “His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.”
Because of this parallelism, a lot of theologians have understood Salem to be Zion, the cite of Israel’s capital city of Jerusalem.
But the point the author of Hebrews is making doesn’t have to do with the geographical place but the name.
Melchizedek is a king of righteousness and peace.
A righteous king who brings peace.
This reflects Melchizedek’s character, and Jesus has this same character because Melchizedek prefigures the Messiah.
He is a type of Christ.
The original readers of Genesis were supposed to see Melchizedek and look forward to the coming of another righteous priest-king who would bring peace.
The last thing the author explains in verse 3 about Melchizedek’s identity is his curious lack of ancestry.
All throughout Genesis, genealogies are abundant and important.
Everyone who has a prominent role in the formation of God’s people, Israel, has a genealogical line that traces him all the way back to Adam.
But Melchizedek, as significant as he is in these few verses in Genesis, has no genealogy, no listed ancestry, no line to trace who he was descended from.
His father isn’t mentioned, his mother isn’t mentioned, the time of his birth isn’t mentioned, and the time of his death isn’t mentioned.
Now this is not to say that this person named Melchizedek here is actually an eternal being.
This is only highlighting the fact that his ancestry isn’t mentioned.
And the significance of his unmentioned ancestry is his likeness to the Son of God who actually is an eternal being.
Some people think that Melchizedek was a Christophany, an appearance of Jesus before he became human.
But the end of verse 3, here, indicates that Melchizedek was not a Christophany, but a man whose lack of recorded ancestry resembles the Son of God who actually has no divine ancestry since he has always existed and continues a priest forever.
Finally, in verses 4-10, the author explains Melchizedek’s authoritative interaction with Abram.
This is where Melchizedek’s authority really comes through, specifically in how he received a tithe for God from Abraham, and how he blessed Abraham on behalf of God.
He acts on behalf of Abraham in relation to God.
Remember the basic function of the priesthood was described this way in Hebrews 5:1 “For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.”
The blessing Melchizedek gave to Abraham is only mentioned in verse 7.
It’s beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.
This simply points to the fact that because Melchizedek blessed Abraham on behalf of God, that means that he has a higher authority, a higher spiritual authority than Abraham.
The tithe Melchizedek received from Abraham is the primary argument for verses 4-10.
Melchizedek’s greatness before God that he would be called upon to receive the tithe of the great patriarch Abraham.
Now, the author brings up an interesting line of thinking here.
This is the idea of natural headship.
Basically, descendants are considered to have participated in their ancestor’s actions.
All of humanity are considered to have participated with Adam in his original sin because all of us are descended from him and he plunged all of his descendants into sin through this natural headship.
Likewise, all of Abraham’s descendants are considered to have participated with him here in his offering his tithe to God through this priest-king named Melchizedek.
This gets interesting because Abraham’s great grandson, Levi, and those of his tribe descended from Aaron were called to be God’s priests for his chosen people, Israel.
That was a high honor among God’s people, a position of spiritual authority.
But through this idea of natural headship, Levi, Aaron, and all of the Levitical priesthood submitted to Melchizedek’s superior priesthood by offering tithes to God through him via their ancestor, Abraham, rather than their typical function of receiving the tithes of the rest of God’s people.
There are a couple of designations in this section that I think are important to explain.
In verse 6 Melchizedek is described as “this man who does not have his descent from them,” and Abraham is described as “him who had the promises.”
And in verse 8 Melchizedek is described as “one of whom it is testified that he lives,” and Abraham and his descendants in the tribe of Levi are described as “mortal men.”
These differences are highlighted and explained in detail about Jesus’ priesthood in the next section, so I’ll just quickly explain them here.
The first difference is that the Melchizedekian priesthood is distinct from the Levitical priesthood because the only requirement for the Levitical priesthood was natural descent from Aaron, and one of the primary blessings of being God’s people and a priest of God’s people were the promises God made to them which Melchizedek didn’t have.
These are the promises we looked at last week which God secured in his peoples’ hearts with an oath.
To bless Abraham and his descendants with many descendants and a place to call home, and a special relationship with God distinct from other nations.
The second difference is between a priesthood suffering from mortality and an ever living priesthood.
Again, Melchizedek was human just like you and me, so he definitely died, but his death isn’t recorded in Scripture, so it’s testified of him that he lives.
The testimony about Melchizedek in Scripture lacks his death, so it’s testified that he lives.
But the testimony about the Levitical priesthood is that each priest served for a particular time until they retired to serve as tabernacle or temple guards until their death.
And it’s testified in Scripture that they died.
The mortality rate in Scripture of Levitical priests is 100%.
But the mortality rate in Scripture of Melchizedekian priests is 0%.
All of this is to show how superior the Melchizedekian priesthood is from the Levitical priesthood.
It has a higher authority because of the role and character of Melchizedek as a righteous king-priest bringing peace.
It has a higher authority because of how the Levitical priesthood submitted to Melchizedek through the natural headship of its ancestor, Abraham.
And it has a higher authority because of the distinction of ancestry and its superiority as an ever living priesthood compared to the mortal priesthood of Levi.
Next, we’re going to see in verses 11-22, how the Melchizedekian priesthood, and specifically in Jesus as our great high priest after the order of Melchizedek, has better qualifications than the Levitical priesthood.
Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.
For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.
This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life.
For it is witnessed of him, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.
And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever.’ ” This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.
Here we see how compared to the Levitical priesthood, Jesus has…
Better Qualifications (11-22)
Better Qualifications (11-22)
The author of Hebrews comes right out in verse 11 and asserts that the Jewish religious system was imperfect.
Perfection was not attainable through the Levitical priesthood, that’s why another priest after another priestly order was to arise who would bring perfection, completion to the way God had always intended things to be.
The Levitical priesthood was good, and established by God for a time, but it was never meant to be the final and complete way for people to interact with God.
And verse 12 says that a change in the priesthood, from the temporary and imperfect to the permanent and perfect, necessitates a change in the Law, specifically the laws regarding the qualifications for the priesthood.
There are three qualifications of Jesus’ Melchizedekian priesthood in this section, and each of these qualifications proves to be better than the Levitical priesthood’s qualifications.
The first one is the combination of king and priest in verses 13-14.
The way God’s Law for Israel was set up made a distinction between the line of priests and the line of kings.
Priests were supposed to come from the tribe of Levi through the line of Aaron.
Kings were supposed to come from the tribe of Judah through the line of David.
And the two offices were not supposed to be held by the same person.
An Israelite was only qualified to be a priest if their ancestry traced back to Aaron of the tribe of Levi, AND if they were not the king of Israel.
But verse 13 brings up the one of whom these things are spoken, the one referred to in Psalm 110:4 “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.””
This priest belonged to another tribe.
Jesus belonged to the tribe of Judah, not the tribe of Levi.
Jesus’ ancestry traces back to David, not Aaron.
The better qualification of Jesus’ priesthood is that it combines the role of king and priest like Melchizedek rather than separating it.
It’s better because it’s the complete and perfect priesthood God always intended.
It’s the combination of king and priest in our Lord, Jesus, the sovereign ruler of everything and our great high priest in one person.
The second qualification is an indestructible life in verses 15-19.
This is similar to the ancestry qualification of the Levitical priesthood, but this one is highlighting the difference between a Levitical priest assuming his office because the previous one died and Jesus becoming a priest because he cannot die.
The Levitical priests followed their fathers into that role and they would pass that role onto their children.
Their qualification was that they would pass on the role to their children because they are descended from Aaron.
But Jesus’ qualification for his perfect priesthood is that he cannot die and will not pass his priesthood on to anyone.
In fact he was given the role of our great high priest because he meets the qualification of an indestructible life similar to how Melchizedek’s death isn’t recorded in Scripture.
In verse 17 the author quotes Psalm 110:4 again to highlight the word “forever.”
Jesus is a priest forever because he cannot die.
And then in verses 18 and 19 he brings up the necessity of the shift from the old priesthood to the new again in terms of the commandment or the laws regarding the qualification for the priesthood, but he also comments on the insufficiency and intentional replacement of God’s law in general.
The former commandment, specifically about the qualification for the Levitical priesthood being descended from Aaron, was weak and useless.
Those are strong terms.
It wasn’t completely useless, but it was ultimately insufficient and pointing toward the strong and sufficient qualification of Jesus as our eternal great high priest.
The old, weak, insufficient priesthood must give way to the new strong, and sufficient priesthood it was always anticipating.
A priesthood that brings a better hope because through Jesus’ ministry as our eternal great high priest we can draw near to God instead of cowering in fear.
You see, the hope of the Levitical priesthood was that the priest would interact with God for the people so that they wouldn’t be destroyed by wrongly interacting with him in his holiness.
But the better hope of Jesus’ priesthood is that he interacts with God for us forever so that we can interact with him, too, and not be destroyed by him, because of Jesus’ sufficiency, which we’ll look at in just a bit.
The third qualification is appointment by God with an oath in verses 20-22.
The Levitical priesthood was appointed by God, but not with an oath.
Jesus is appointed by God to his priesthood with an oath.
Specifically the oath in Psalm 110:4 which the author of Hebrews finally quotes in its entirety in verse 21.
We looked at the significance of God’s promise backed by his oath last week in Hebrews 6:17–18 “So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.”
God gave his oath, swearing to back his promise and not changing his mind because his purpose never changes.
He desired to confirm this truth in our hearts.
The truth of Jesus’ eternal priesthood like Melchizedek.
It’s a sure thing, more sure than anything else in life.
So we can have strong encouragement to hope in Jesus’ ministry as our eternal great high priest.
A stronger encouragement to hope in him than anything else.
Verse 22 says that because of this qualification, because of the oath backing God’s promise that Jesus is our eternal great high priest, this makes him the guarantor of that oath which backs all of the new covenant.
And it says that that new covenant is a better covenant, but we will get into how exactly the new covenant is better than the old covenant next week because the author of Hebrews explains it in the next chapter.
But Jesus as the guarantor of the new covenant basically means that he, as our eternal great high priest, assures our hearts of all that we have in the new covenant because of God’s oath.
A guarantor of an oath is the person who makes sure the person making the promise does what he said he would do.
But God doesn’t need a guarantor to make sure he does what he said he would do.
Instead God blesses us with a guarantor to prove to our hearts that he will do all he said he would do in the new covenant because Jesus, as our eternal great high priest, is the one through whom he is doing all that he said he would do.
So, we saw how Jesus’ priesthood has a higher authority than the Levitical priesthood.
And we just saw how Jesus’ priesthood has better qualifications.
Specifically, the qualifications of a dual role of king and priest, an indestructible life, and appointment by God with an oath.
Next we’re going to see how Jesus’ priesthood has a greater sufficiency in verses 23-28.
The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.
For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.
Here we see how compared to the Levitical priesthood, Jesus has a…
Greater Sufficiency (23-28)
Greater Sufficiency (23-28)
The word sufficiency simply means enough.
The Levitical priesthood had a limited sufficiency, it was only partly enough, but Jesus’ sufficiency is unlimited and full, he is truly enough.
But enough for what?
The sufficiency of the priesthood has to do with it’s purpose.
Why are priests necessary?
What do they do?
As we saw earlier in Hebrews 5:1 priests act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
In verse 23 the author of Hebrews argues that the Levitical priesthood was insufficient, they weren’t quite enough to accomplish the ultimate purpose of the priesthood, because they were prevented by death from continuing in their office.
They were limited in their sufficiency because they were limited by their life-span.
There were a lot of priests throughout the years because they kept getting old and dying.
And that’s no fault of theirs, just a reality of life.
We as human beings are insufficient for God’s ultimate purpose because we are weak and frail and we die.
But Jesus overcame that insufficiency when he became human because he brought with him his full deity, his life in himself, his inability to be held by death.
He did die on the cross for us, but Peter preached about Jesus’ death and resurrection in Acts 2:24 “God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”
That’s why the author of Hebrews says in verse 24 that Jesus holds his priesthood continually, because he continues forever.
Undying and having conquered death for us.
Jesus’ eternal priesthood because of his eternal life means that he always lives to function as our great high priest.
He’s not going to die, he’s not limited by a life-span, he always lives.
And because of that he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him.
You see, salvation from the consequences of sin has always been a function of the priesthood.
That’s why they offer sacrifices for sins.
As a means of atonement, a means of salvation.
Now, under the Levitical priesthood, these sacrifices didn’t grant salvation from the eternal consequences of sin.
They granted a temporary pardon for sin that needed to be reapplied over and over again.
And they alleviated the immediate consequences for sin according to God’s covenant with Israel given through Moses.
But they drew attention to the eternal consequences and their insufficiency to atone for sins in that capacity.
Only an eternal life given and an eternal intercession could atone for the eternal consequences of our sin against eternal God.
And Jesus is sufficient as our eternal great high priest.
Not only does Jesus’ priesthood have a greater sufficiency because of his eternal life, but also because of his moral perfection, his perfect righteousness.
That’s what verse 26 indicates.
Jesus’ sufficiency as our great high priest includes his holiness, his innocence, how he is unstained by sin and distinct from sinners, and how because of his righteousness and his sacrifice he is exalted above the heavens.
Verse 27 shows that the insufficiency of the Levitical priesthood is seen in the fact that every priest had to make a sacrifice for their own sins before they could offer sacrifices for the rest of God’s people.
They had to do that day after day because they were sinful human beings who needed salvation just as much as the rest of humanity.
But Jesus doesn’t need to do that because he is perfectly sinless, perfectly righteous, a king-priest of righteousness like Melchizedek.
Jesus doesn’t need to offer sacrifices for himself, instead he offered himself as the sacrifice.
The once-for-all-time sacrifice that actually brought eternal salvation because it was the sacrifice of Jesus’ eternal and perfectly righteous life, given as our substitute forever.
Verse 28 is a sort of summary statement about Jesus’ priesthood, and how it’s better than the Levitical priesthood.
The Law, the Old Covenant, appoints men in their weakness as high priests.
Authoritative, but less than Melchizedek.
Qualified, but not the complete qualifications God always intended.
Sufficient, but in a limited way because of moral weakness and a limited life-span.
But the word of the oath, Psalm 110:4 “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.””
That oath is more authoritative than the Law.
The oath looks back at the greater authority Melchizedek had.
And it came in the form of a Psalm of David way after the Law was given, indicating the authoritative shift that would come with the Messiah.
That oath comes with better qualifications because it appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.
The Son of David appointed as both priest and king.
Serving as priest forever because of his eternal life.
And having ben made perfect; his perfect righteousness made complete by his sacrifice of himself for us and his intercession on our behalf in relation to God as God has always intended.
The oath appoints Jesus as our supremely authoritative, perfectly qualified, and utterly sufficient great high priest forever.
Conclusion
Conclusion
This has been a wonderful reminder and argument for how and why Jesus’ priesthood is better than the Levitical priesthood.
An enlightening look at the significance of Melchizedek, who we know very little about.
And ultimately a persuasive argument for the Jewish audience to resist going back to the Levitical priesthood when Jesus’ better priesthood is here, effectively doing away with that old priesthood.
We all need a priest because we are all sinful and in need of someone to interact with God for us so that we don’t get destroyed by God’s holiness and his righteous wrath against our sin.
But the old priesthood of Aaron has been surpassed by the new priesthood of Jesus.
Jesus is more authoritative, he has better qualifications, and he is perfectly sufficient as our one and only eternal great high priest.
What does that mean for you?
I’m assuming you’re in the same boat I’m in.
We aren’t Jewish.
We don’t have a priesthood to wrongly run back to.
So, how do we apply the intent of this passage?
This was originally intended for Jews, to convince them to resist running back to the Levitical priesthood.
But we aren’t there, so we need a slightly different application.
For us, we can use this passage to reinforce in our minds and hearts our need for a great high priest, and Jesus’ authority, qualifications, and sufficiency to meet that need.
Even though we didn’t have a priesthood for Jesus to replace with his better priesthood, we can still see him as the perfect answer for our most pressing need, salvation from the eternal consequences for our sin.
And even though we weren’t under the old covenant before so we can’t really run back to it, we can still end up running away from Jesus and back into our old way of life.
We can still end up running back to life with the complete lack of a priest at all or trying to somehow be our own priest.
Life that ignores God and his sovereignty and power and holiness.
Life lived as if there are no consequences for sin.
Life, blissfully ignorant of our headlong rush toward hell and eternal condemnation for our sin.
We can still end up there, and the obvious argument for us from this passage is that Jesus is better, way better than that because he’s our authoritative, qualified, and sufficient savior, our great high priest forever.
He’s more authoritative than your opinions, he’s more qualified to save you than you are even on your best day, and he’s the only sufficient way to actually be made right with God.
So, don’t run away from him, run to him and his better priesthood.
Now, Jesus’ priesthood is sufficient, it’s enough for anyone and everyone, but it’s only applied to those who put our faith in him to interact on our behalf in relation to God.
If you haven’t put your faith in Jesus, then please, do that right now.
He is the eternal Son of God who became human, lived a perfectly righteous life, died in your place, and rose from the dead three days later.
He did all of that so that by putting your faith in him, his sacrifice, his resurrection, and his ministry as your great high priest forever would afford you forgiveness for your sins and eternal life with him forever.
So, please, believe in him, put your faith in him as your great high priest so that you can be saved from the eternal consequences for your sin and saved unto eternal life in his loving and satisfying presence forever.
Pray
Pray
Father, you are so amazing.
You’ve created everything, you sustain everything, and you’ve determined everything all the way to the end from all the way back at the beginning.
You are sovereign, and in your sovereignty, you’ve determined to save us from our sin, to give us the only way to be saved, the priesthood and sacrifice of your only Son.
Father, this is a gift that is too big for words, but every week, every day we try to express how much we love you because of how much you have loved us.
Thank you for giving us your Son, Jesus, as our great high priest.
We’ve seen in your word how he has the highest priestly authority, the best qualifications, and the most perfect sufficiency to save us from the eternal consequences for our sin, to reconcile us back to you.
This is your plan, and it’s so amazing.
I pray that you would help us remember just how amazing it is, and just how much better Jesus’ priesthood is than anything else we might be tempted to run to instead of him.
Please help us run into the loving arms of Christ rather than the cold arms of fearful selfishness.
We ask all of this in the name of your Son, Jesus. Amen.
