A Better Hope

Is Jesus only about salvation? Was the purpose of Christ coming to earth and dying for the sins of humanity merely for sinners to get saved? Or was the reason Jesus came, simply to cause us to feel good about ourselves and to get the things we want?

I am convinced from God’s Word, and in particular, this section of Hebrews, that it is much more than that. In chapter 7, we see the phrase, Draw near to God, twice. Throughout the Bible, we read often of the idea of being in God’s presence. Yet, we know that without Jesus, this is impossible, regardless of how nice we are, how much good we do, how good we are at staying out of trouble.

Jesus offers us a better hope than merely being saved from hell. Jesus offers us a better hope than getting whatever our fickle hearts desire. All that the priests of the Levites could offer is the rituals and requirements that would simply be a temporary fix. And the law itself only pointed to our condemnation. You see, Jesus offers us an eternal relationship with Him. He offers us constant fellowship with Him. This could never be done under the old system, since only the high priest was allowed through the veil once per year. With Jesus, the veil has been removed and we have access all the time to the Father, through what Jesus did and what He continues to do as our great High Priest.

You’ve heard the phrase, If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Well, even though the staunch Jew reading this sermon of Hebrews, felt like the Levitical priesthood was the way to go, the author of Hebrews, inspired by the Holy Spirit, presents the opposite. The Levitical priesthood was not at all perfect, but was extremely flawed, so it made no sense if people thought they could enter God’s presence by following the law. (The reality is, everyone has failed at some point in the Law.) Thus, if the Levitical priesthood was not perfect, then it needed to be replaced. The reality is that God never intended for it to be permanent, but rather as a schoolmaster or a tutor, to point people to Jesus, Who was and is perfect.

Jesus’ priesthood of perfection, allows us to draw near to God.

A Necessary Change - 7.11-14

If something is put into place on a temporary basis and is used to prepare for that which is permanent, you wouldn’t try to make that which is temporary, permanent. This is especially true if it is not perfect, yet that which it’s preparing for is perfect.

Hebrews 7:11–14 NASB95

Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron? For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also. For the one concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests.

If you haven’t already gathered, the words perfect and perfection are pretty important words in this book, especially in this chapter. Very simply, these words have to do with completion or fulfillment. We know that the priesthood was intended to bring men into a right relationship with God by sacrificing for their sins. However, this could not be fully accomplished, but only a type or a picture of what was to come through Jesus Christ. In all the years of sacrificing through the Levitical priesthood, none of that was able to actually give anyone access to God. This is even made clearer by Jesus in John 14.6: No one come to the Father, but through Me.

No matter how diligent or pious the Levitical priests were, they were completely unable to cause anyone to get to the point of being perfect before God. That’s why we see a continual offering up of sacrifices for sin. Even the whole law which was given through Moses, was never intended to be a permanent, ongoing system. All the sacrifices offered could only cover sins. However, Jesus’ sacrifice removes sin. The Law was incapable of this. Paul reminds us of this in Galatians 3-4, as he presents the law as a system which points to Jesus.

We also know that the Old Testament Jewish lineage of the priests was to be from Levi. Nothing in the law permits that a priest can come from the tribe of Judah. Yet, Jesus’ earthly heritage is seen as from the tribe of Judah, as verse 14 reminds us. Thus, we must recognize that a change had to take place. It is helpful if we skip over to Colossians 2.13-14 to see why this had to be, as well as Galatians 5.1-6, plus Romans 7.1-4.

Colossians 2:13–14 NASB95

When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

Galatians 5:1–6 NASB95

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.

Romans 7:1–4 NASB95

Or do you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives? For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man. Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.

Sadly, many take this and conveniently misinterpret these passages to suggest that since we’re free from the law, we’re free to do as we wish, regardless of whether it’s good or bad. It would be better understood that we are free to live for the glory of God, doing what He wants us to do. We should follow the Lord, not because we fear punishment for outward actions, but we should follow the Lord because we choose to be surrendered to the Holy Spirit Who enables us to do what pleases the Lord.

In addition, if the law and the Levitical system would have been able to provide salvation, or even make it possible for men to come near to God, then there would be no need to replace the law. However, in Jesus Christ, all of that was completed and perfected. There was no longer any need for that which was symbolic or a shadow or a type, for we have the reality which is found in Christ.

We see this described by the word changed. This literally means to replace something. Thus, Christianity is a complete replacement of the Levitical and Judaic faith. The writer of Hebrews describes this not as an addition to the law, but a replacement of the law. This speaks primarily to the rituals and ceremonies. The moral law does not change. That is because God’s moral law doesn’t change. In fact, if you recall from Jesus’ teachings, it is not just what is done that will be judged, but also what is in the heart or the intent.

Once again, we are reminded in verse 14 that Jesus did not have Levi in His ancestry, but rather He was from the tribe of Judah, the royal line. Knowing this, then, we are convinced that Jesus’ priesthood is not as a result of descending from the Levitical line, for His priesthood has nothing to do with ancestry. His priesthood was of a perfect and permanent kind.

Setting Aside to Bring In - 7.15-19

There comes a point when in order to focus on that which is perfect, you have to set aside the imperfect so that people are not confused about what needs to be brought in, that which is perfect. A choice is not being offered. The Law had to be set aside so as to bring in that which is perfect in Christ.

Hebrews 7:15–19 NASB95

And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life. For it is attested of Him, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.” For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

Allos is one of the Greek words for another, which means something in addition to. For example, would you like another cookie? However, the Greek word used here is heteros, which means of a different kind. For example, our current vehicle is not a suburban; it’s a smaller SUV. It’s even a different brand. It’s another in the sense that it is completely different. Jesus is not just another of the Levitical priests in their line of succession, but rather He is completely different. He is the perfect and complete Great High Priest, and there will be no other.

Jesus Christ lives eternally. Verse 16 states that Jesus’ priesthood is based on the power of an indestructible life. Plus, verse 17 states that Jesus is a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Now, it’s interesting to think that the main qualification for a Levitical high priest was their ancestry. In fact, a qualification to serve as the priest that was not mentioned in the law, was whether or not they were godly. The focus was on all of the outward aspects, plus their genealogy. Yet, they should have been godly, but a quick reading through the Old Testament reveals a large number who were very ungodly.

Jesus’ qualifications, like Melchizedek’s, was focused on who He was. His qualification was built into His person; He was a priest not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, like the Levites; but according to the power of an indestructible life. There is also a sense of the eternal built into this.

It is helpful to understand that the Levitical priests were authorized to be priests by the law which was temporary, and obviously imperfect since it had to be replaced. However, the law is not what made Jesus Christ a priest. He was made a priest because God declared Him to be so. In fact, verse 18 states that the law was weak and useless. What made it so? First, it was temporary, so it had no eternality built into it. Plus, it was completely unable to change a person’s heart and life.

Aaron’s priesthood had to be set aside and replaced. It had to be done away with. Jesus can never be replaced as our Great High Priest. Verse 18 reminds us that the law and all of its old ways needed to have a setting aside of a former commandment. The word for setting aside or annulling, carries the picture of abolishing. You can only get rid of completely that which is temporary. You cannot abolish the power of an indestructible life. When the temple was destroyed in A.D. 70, we saw the complete ending of the whole sacrificial and ceremonial system. Knowing that God is in charge of the events of this world, we can be assured that this was God’s hand, even as had been prophesied.

Verse 19 is where I find great excitement from this whole section. In spite of the Hebrews and even many today wanting to hold onto that which is temporary and imperfect, yet familiar, Someone had come to completely and permanently replace that which was not perfect and could not make anyone perfect. Jesus Christ, as the perfect fulfillment and completion of God’s plan, has been brought in providing us a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

Conclusion

Jesus did what the law could never do nor was it ever intended to do. The law brought condemnation and a sense of hopelessness. Jesus brought forgiveness and a sense of hope.

The law almost seemed to drive people away from God in that there was an impossibility of ever getting to the point of continual fellowship with God. Jesus opened the way for us to have a permanent and continual fellowship with God because of our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Peter spoke to this whole issue in 1 Peter 1.10-12

1 Peter 1:10–12 NASB95

As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look.

Before Jesus, during the whole Judaic system, the saints from the Old Testament, by faith, believed, by seeing salvation in their distant future. They had hope. However, the glorious thing which we experience today, and which the Hebrews could have experienced, is that we are able to enter into the very presence of the Father, because Jesus Christ has given us access by what He did on the cross.

This story I’m about to share, is told in a book of illustrations that makes our point so well. A young woman had run up a lot of bills and charged far beyond what she was able to pay. She was in debt over her head and saw no way to get out. She was in trouble and the situation looked hopeless. Then a young man came along and fell deeply in love with her. After some months he proposed. She also loved him very much, but felt that she should tell him about her debts before she agreed to marry him. When told, he said, “Don’t worry. I’ll pay all your debts. Just leave them to me.” Before the wedding he gave her an engagement ring and reassured her many times that he would take care of her debts. She trusted him implicitly and knew he was a person of his word. She had every reason to be confident and hopeful. But she was not yet actually free of her debts and, consequently, could not be at peace about them. Finally they were married, and he paid her debts. Not only that, but he told her that he was wealthy beyond her wildest dreams and gave her a joint checking account with himself. She would never again need to be concerned about debts. From that time on she was secure in the riches of the one she loved and who loved her.

That is how much better off a person is under the New Covenant than under the Old. In Christ, we are freed from all sin’s debts, and we live forever in the riches of the One we love and who loves us.