Category: Hebrews

“But He with an oath through the One who said to Him, ‘The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, You are a priest forever.’  So much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant” (Heb 7:21-22).  As a priest forever, Jesus is the guarantee of a better covenant than the one associated with the former priesthood.

“The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers, because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently.  Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb 7:23-25).  Salvation through Jesus is complete because He is a priest forever.

“It is fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.  For the Law appoints high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever” (Heb 7:26-28).

Letting the Bible speak for itself, we see that Jesus is a better priest and guarantees a better covenant.  The Law, represented by the Levitical priesthood, was powerless and temporary.  The new covenant is eternal and saves completely because its guarantor is Christ, the forever priest, who died once for all as a sacrifice for our sins and now intercedes for us before the Father.  Calling Christ “holy, innocent, undefiled, and separated from sinners” highlights His sinlessness and no need for a sacrifice for Himself.  His death was on our behalf and saves us completely and forever.

Continuing into chapter 8, “Now the main point in what we have said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man” (Heb 8:1-2).

“This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (Heb 6:19-20).  Jesus, as the bearer of the new covenant, appeared on the scene as a priest after the order of Melchizedek rather than the order of Levi – priests of the old covenant.

“Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God…is without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually” (Heb 7:1,3).  Melchizedek, who first appeared on the scene in Genesis chapter 14, is a type of Christ, an eternal priest.  By contrast, the priesthood of Levi – representatives of the old covenant – was temporary.

“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” (Heb 7:11-12).

The author asks a rhetorical question and follows it with its logical conclusion.  “If a complete salvation were available through the Levitical priesthood and the Law it represented, what need would there be for a better priesthood?”  Because the Law fell short, there was a need for a better priesthood.  Christ’s priesthood did not depend on “a physical requirement [since He did not descend from Levi, the tribe of priests] but rather was based on His indestructible life [His eternal life as the Begotten Son of God]” (Heb 7:16).  In this regard, He fulfilled the prophesy of Psalm 110:4, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (Heb 7:17).

And with a better priesthood came a setting aside of the old Law and a better hope.  “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” (Heb 7:18-19).  We draw near to God through a better hope; a hope we will continue to explore next time.

 

If you live in the Houston area, you have no doubt heard the radio call letters KSBJ and their catch phrase “Something Better, Jesus”.  In those three words, our radio friends have captured the essence of the New Testament book of Hebrews.  This book introduces us to the contrasts and comparisons between the Old and New Testaments, the Old and New Covenants, the Old and New Arrangement between God and man.

The book was written to Jewish believers and would-be believers who were teetering on the edge of Christianity.  On the one hand, they had heard and were prepared to embrace the “new life in Christ” message of the gospel.  On the other hand, they still felt the tug of their former life; the comfortable routine of Judaism.  The author, in point-by-point fashion, argues that the covenant ushered in by Jesus is not only completely new, but significantly better than the old covenant.  That Jesus and the new covenant are better is a consistent theme throughout the book of Hebrews.

The letter opens with Jesus proclaimed as the culmination of God’s revelation to man.  “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.  And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.  When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb 1:1-3).

Jesus is not only God’s final and most complete revelation, but He is God’s best revelation as well.  This theme begins in the very next verse in chapter 1 and continues throughout the book.  “[Jesus] having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they” (Heb 1:4).

Not only is Jesus better than the angels, but by chapter 3 we learn that He is better than Moses.  “Jesus was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house.  For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house…Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant…but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house” (Heb 3:2-3, 5-6).  That Jesus is better than Moses is a personification of the theme of this book; i.e. the new covenant is superior to the old covenant.

Why is this “better than” line of reasoning so important to the author and his hearers?  Because of the temptation to shrink back to their former faith, the author needed to demonstrate clearly the superiority of Jesus and the new covenant.  What about us?  I doubt many believers today are tempted to go back to Judaism, so how does the “Jesus is better” idea apply to us?

Five times in the book of Hebrews the author interrupts his line of reasoning to give out a warning against going back after one has tasted the Lord’s salvation.  These warnings are just as relevant to us today because of the danger of tasting the Lord’s deliverance – His promise to free us from sin’s power – and yet shrinking back to a guilt-based, law-based, consequence-based way of living the Christian life.  These warnings have nothing to do with “losing our salvation”, but have everything to do with going back to old covenant living.  In the next several posts, starting in Hebrews chapter 6, we will explore the superiority of the new covenant and how we are to live into it by going nearly verse by verse through several chapters of this fascinating book.