By Larry Curl

The Magnificence of Christ as our Great High Priest (Continued…)

We will begin with a quick review of Hebrews chapter 7, verses 4 through 10.

⁴ Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! ⁵ Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people—that is, from their fellow Israelites—even though they also are descended from Abraham. ⁶ This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. ⁷ And without doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater. ⁸ In the one case, the tenth is collected by people who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living. ⁹ One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, ¹⁰ because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.

Some of the main points of these verses are:

• Melchizedek’s greatness is shown:
  • Even the honored patriarch Abraham paid a tithe to him.
  • He gave a blessing to Abraham and as noted in verse 7, “And without doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater.”

• Melchizedek did not come from the Levitical priesthood.

• The importance of this will be seen in the next section of Hebrews chapter 7.

Jesus Like Melchizedek

Hebrews 7:11-18

¹¹ If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood—and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood—why was there still need for another priest to come, one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? ¹² For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also. ¹³ He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. ¹⁴ For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. ¹⁵ And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, ¹⁶ one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry, but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷ For it is declared:

“You are a priest forever,
    in the order of Melchizedek.”

¹⁸ The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless ¹⁹ (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.

We see that verse 16 of chapter 7 states “one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry…”. This ties in with verse 6, “This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi…”

The appearance of Melchizedek in Scripture helps to make it even more clear that in Jesus a new type of priesthood has come. One that was not attained through the Levitical priesthood.

Why was a new priesthood needed?

1. The Levitical priesthood consisted of mortal men who had to continually be replaced when they died. Their priesthood was temporary.

• The new priesthood of Jesus is eternal!
  • ¹⁶ one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry, but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷ For it is declared: “You are a priest forever,
        in the order of Melchizedek.”

• The law, that established the Levitical priesthood, can’t attain perfection.
  • ^19 “(for the law made nothing perfect),”

• In comparison to the new priesthood the former is weak and useless.
  • ^18 “The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless “

So, the new priesthood of Jesus Christ has come and in it “…a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.”

Continuing in chapter 7,

²⁰ And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, ²¹ but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him:

“The Lord has sworn
    and will not change his mind:
    ‘You are a priest forever.”

²² Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.

No oath was given for the earthly priests that came from the line of Levi. However, when Jesus became our eternal high priest the Lord God himself swore an oath that he would be a priest forever.  And per verse 22, “Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.

What is a guarantor? A guarantor is someone who gives a guarantee.

And what is a guarantee?

Per Merriam Webster: The Essential Meaning of guarantee:

1: A promise that the quality of something (such as a product that is being sold) will be as good as expected.

2: A promise that something is true or real. (They wanted a guarantee that the document was authentic.)

3: A promise that something will happen or be done. (They want the new contract to include a guarantee of job security.)

It seems that each part of the Merriam Webster definition could be applied here. Assuming so, then Jesus as “the guarantor of a better covenant” is promising that the new, better covenant is true, that it will happen and it will be of the quality expected.

Of course, we can be fairly confident that the new, better covenant will in reality exceed the quality of our expectations.

Now we will explore Hebrews 7:23-28.

²³ Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; ²⁴ but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. ²⁵ Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

Verses 23 reaffirms that a new priesthood was needed because the old one consisted of mortal men who had to continually be replaced when they died. Their priesthood was temporary.  In contrast, verse 24 establishes that because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.

And because Jesus priesthood is permanent “…he is able to save completelythose who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

Here’s what John Piper says about verse 25:

“Our Salvation Depends on the Work of Christ Forever and Ever”

“Now the second great implication of verse 25 is that our future salvation depends on the active work of Christ forever and ever, not just on the past work of Christ or on our past decisions and commitments. It says that Christ is able to save forever . . . since he always lives to make intercession for us. In other words, he would not be able to save us forever if he did not go on interceding for us forever.

This means our salvation is as secure as Christ’s priesthood is indestructible. This is why we needed a priest so much greater than any human. Christ’s deity secures his indestructible priesthood for us.

This means we should not talk about our salvation in static terms the way we often do—as if I did something once in an act of decision, and Christ did something once when he died and rose again, and that’s all there is to it. That’s not all there is to it. This very day I am being saved by the eternal intercession of Jesus in heaven. Jesus is praying for us and that is our salvation.”

Wow! The continual work of intercession that Jesus does on our behalf, as our eternal great high priest, is truly magnificent!!

And moving on in Hebrews chapter 7 we see more of the magnificence of Jesus as our great high priest.

²⁶ Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. ²⁷ Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. ²⁸ For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.

Because Jesus is “… holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens”, there is no need for him to make daily sacrifices for his own sins or for the sins of the people.

When Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross and rose again “…He sacrificed for their sins once for all…”

At this point I want jump forward to Hebrews chapter 10 where we see more said about the fact that Jesus sacrifice for us was “once for all”.

⁸ First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. ⁹ Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. ¹⁰ And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

¹¹ Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again, and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹² But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³ and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. ¹⁴ For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

The sacrifices of the earthly priests even though they were “…offered in accordance with the law…” never actually took away the sins of the people (verse 11). In contrast, by Jesus’ sacrifice “…we have been made holy…” (verse 10) and “…made perfect forever…” (verse 14).

Also, the sacrifices of the earthly priests had to made over and over again, “Day after day…”. However, Jesus’ sacrifice is once for all time.  Verse 12, “…this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins …” And verse 14, ^“For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”

Going back to chapter 7 verse 26…

^26” Such a high priest truly meets our need”!!

And such a high priest is truly magnificent!!

The High Priest of a New Covenant

Hebrews 8:1-6, “1 Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, ² and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.

³ Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. ⁴ If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. ⁵ They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”^{[a] 6} But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.

The Blood of Christ

Hebrews 9:11-28, “11But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. ¹² He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtainingeternal redemption. ¹³ The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. ¹⁴ How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death,^[c] so that we may serve the living God!

¹⁵ For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

¹⁶ In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, ¹⁷ because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. ¹⁸ This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. ¹⁹ When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. ²⁰ He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep. ²¹ In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. ²² In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

²³ It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. ²⁴ For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. ²⁵ Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. ²⁶ Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. ²⁷ Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, ²⁸ so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All

Hebrews 10:1-18, “1 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason, it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. ² Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. ³ But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. ⁴ It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

⁵ Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
    but a body you prepared for me;
⁶ with burnt offerings and sin offerings
    you were not pleased.
⁷ Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—
    I have come to do your will, my God.’”^[a]

⁸ First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. ⁹ Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. ¹⁰ And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

¹¹ Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again, and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹² But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³ and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. ¹⁴ For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

¹⁵ The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First, he says:

¹⁶ “This is the covenant I will make with them
    after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
    and I will write them on their minds.”^[b]

¹⁷ Then he adds:

“Their sins and lawless acts
    I will remember no more.”^[c]

¹⁸ And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.

A Call to Persevere in Faith

Hebrews 10:19-23

^“19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. ²³ Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. “