PART TWO
PART TWO
Two Priesthoods
When we think of priests in the Bible, we are generally thinking of the Levitical priesthood. Levites were the descendants of Levi, one of Jacob’s twelve sons. When the Israelites had conquered the promised land, the Levites were not given a portion of the land like the other tribes. Instead their job was to work in the temple—handling all the details and logistics of temple life. A subset of the Levites—those who were descended from Aaron, the brother of Moses—could become priests.
But our passage introduces another priesthood: one in the order of Melchizedek, who lived long before Levi and Aaron. And our author is going to make a very simple argument: Melchizedek’s priestly order is greater than the Levitical priesthood. Why would that matter? Because Christ is “after the order of Melchizedek” (6:20). That means that Christ’s priesthood is what we are talking about when we refer to Melchizedek’s priesthood. Christ’s priesthood is better than the Levitical priesthood.
This argument is part of the larger theme of the book: namely, that Christ is superior to all aspects of the old covenant—he’s better than angels, Moses, Joshua, and even the Levitical priesthood.
In 7:4-10, our author makes three arguments for the superiority of Melchizedek’s priesthood over the Levitical priesthood. First, Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedek: “See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils” (v 4).
In verse 5 our author describes the usual tithing system: the priests “have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people.” The point is that normally the Levites were given tithes. Because Levitical priests did not have their own land, they received tithes—ten percent of income—from everybody who came to worship. It was a kind of salary.
But in this instance with Melchizedek, things were very different. For one, tithes were being paid to someone “who does not have his descent from [the Levites]” (v 6). Melchizedek was not receiving a tithe for the normal reasons a priest might receive a tithe—he was not a Levite. Instead he was receiving a tithe because of how special he was.
On top of this, it was effectively the Levites who were giving the tithe to Melchizedek: “Levi himself, who [normally] receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor” (v 9-10). Think about how incredible this would be. The Levites (through Abraham) were not getting a tithe but paying one! It’s an amazing reversal.
So then, the order of Melchizedek had to be superior to the Levitical priesthood. And who is in the order of Melchizedek? Jesus. The simple point of all this detail about tithing is that Christ is superior to any ordinary priest.
The second reason why we know that Melchizedek’s priesthood is superior to the Levitical one is because it is eternal. In verse 8 we are reminded that in ancient Israel tithes were received by “mortal men” (the Levites), whereas in the case of Melchizedek tithes were received “by one of whom it is testified that he lives.”
This theme of the eternality of Christ’s priesthood has already come up earlier (5:6), and will even come up again later in this chapter (7:16-17). But it is so important that our author mentions it again here. Which priesthood would you rather have representing you? One in which the priests die and always have to be replaced? Or one in which you have an intercessor that lives forever to represent you?
Only Melchizedek’s priesthood—the priesthood of Christ—is everlasting.
The third reason why Melchizedek’s priesthood is superior is because Melchizedek was superior to Abraham. How do we know this? Because Melchizedek “blessed him (Abraham) who had the promises” (v 6). For the Jewish people, Abraham was the most revered of figures. As the original recipient of God’s promises, he was the one that everything went back to. To be blessed by Israel’s patriarch would therefore be the highest of honors.
But that is precisely what makes this scene so remarkable. It is not Abraham who blesses Melchizedek but Melchizedek who blesses Abraham! Our author explains why this is significant: “It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior” (v 7). Incredibly, there is someone greater than Abraham here: Melchizedek.
And if Melchizedek is greater than Abraham, then Jesus must be greater than Abraham—and thus greater than Abraham’s descendants, the Levites. Once again, this is an argument for why Christ’s priesthood is superior to the Levitical priesthood.
A Change in the Priesthood
But our author is not finished. In verses 13-28 he mounts an even fuller case for the superiority of Christ’s priesthood, laying out four additional reasons why we should always turn to Christ as our true high priest.
Before we dive into those four reasons, notice that this section begins with a general observation about why we need a new or different priesthood: the Levitical priesthood was unable to attain “perfection” (v 11). In other words, the Old Testament priesthood was unable to really cleanse God’s people from their sins and make them fit to dwell with God forever (see Hebrews 10:1).
This verse highlights a central theme in the book of Hebrews, one which will be revisited again in the next three chapters: namely, that the old-covenant infrastructure was inadequate and temporary and would soon be replaced by a “better” covenant (7:22). This doesn’t mean, of course, that the old covenant was sinful or wrong. No, it was simply provisional, pointing forward to the One who would ultimately achieve redemption for us: Jesus Christ.
As for the need for a new priesthood, our author indicates that we should have seen that coming. Remember, Psalm 110:4 promised there would be a new priesthood in the order of Melchizedek—a passage alluded to already (Hebrew 5:6; 6:20). If the first priesthood had been just fine, argues our author, then “what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek?” (7:11).
But if there’s a change in the priesthood, “there is necessarily a change in the law as well” (v 12). You see, the Levitical priesthood was part of the law of Moses, given to the Israelites at Mount Sinai. The priesthood and the law were intertwined in such a way that verse 11 can say: “… for under it [that is, the priesthood] the people received the law.”
Therefore, the change in priesthood implies a larger change in the law. Put differently, a change in priesthood implies there will be a new covenant that will supersede the old—a theme our author will revisit in chapter 8.
Now that our author has addressed the reason for a new priesthood, he turns to the four features of Christ’s priesthood that make it superior.
Jesus Is From a Better Tribe
First, “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.” (7:13-14)
It may seem pedantic to argue about which tribe you come from. But it was important in Old Testament Israel. Priests could normally only come from the tribe of Levi, but Jesus was a descendant of Judah, the tribe of kings (Genesis 49:10).
Why does this matter? Because it means that Jesus could be both priest and king at the same time. This was essential because the Messiah was predicted to hold both offices: “There shall be a priest on his throne … And the crown shall be in the temple of the Lord” (Zechariah 6:13-14).
The significance of this becomes clear when you consider how rigidly the two offices were separated in the Old Testament. Recall the story of King Saul on the eve of battle with the Philistines, waiting for Samuel to come and offer a sacrifice. When Samuel doesn’t show up, Saul decides to offer the sacrifices himself. When Samuel arrives, he is very displeased, saying, “What have you done?” (1 Samuel 13:11). It is not acceptable for the king to make a sacrifice. In short, kings and priests are different offices.
But not when it comes to Jesus. Jesus is like no other priest in the Old Testament—he is a priest who can also rule as king. He cannot only save us (as a priest); he can care for us and protect us (as a king).
Jesus Intercedes Forever
The coming of Jesus makes it “even more evident” (Hebrews 7:15) that there has been a monumental change in the priesthood; and one of those changes is that this new priest will never die. Jesus’ priesthood is not based on “bodily descent” (v 16) from Levi but on the fact that he has an “indestructible life” (v 16) and therefore will never need another priest to succeed him. Our author provides proof for this point by quoting again from Psalm 110:4. “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 7:17).
Here we come to the second thing that makes Christ’s priesthood superior: namely, that he lives forever. As we noted above, this theme has cropped up already (5:6; 7:8).
In verses 23-25, our author expands on why the eternal nature of Christ’s priesthood matters so much. In Old Testament times, every priest was temporary. He would be there for a little while, and then he would be gone because “they were prevented by death from continuing in office” (v 23).
Most people in ancient Israel may not even have put two and two together regarding the problem presented by the priestly system and the fact that priests would die. If the person you are relying on to intercede for you will die, that means the effectiveness of the intercession has some uncertainty. How could we have eternal security without an eternal representative?
But when it comes to Jesus, you don’t have to worry about that. He has no successor because he never dies. “He holds his priesthood permanently” (v 24). That means that Jesus, as the eternal high priest, is able to provide that eternal security which we need: “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” (v 25).
Jesus, unlike any other priest, will always, always, always be there for you. Eternity is a scary thing, but in Jesus we can rest secure.
In the middle of this section about the eternal nature of Christ’s intercession come verses 18-19, where our author takes the opportunity to speak about the contrast between the two priesthoods. He reminds us once more that the Levitical priesthood—what he calls the “former commandment”—has been “set aside because of its weakness and uselessness” (v 18).
Why exactly was it useless? Because “the law made nothing perfect” (v 19). The author returns here to the theme of verse 11: namely, that the Levitical system, with the shedding of the blood of animals, could never really take away sins. It could never make a person “perfect” and able to enter God’s holy presence.
But there’s good news. In Christ, “a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God” (v 19). To say we have a “better hope” is not to say that we are more hopeful people, as if it referred to our subjective feelings. Rather a “better hope” refers to the objective character or quality of the thing we are trusting in. We are trusting in something better than the Levitical priesthood. We are trusting in Jesus, who allows us to really “draw near to God”—something the old priesthood could never do.
To say Jesus is “better” essentially captures the theme of the entire book of Hebrews, and it will come up again: Jesus brings a “better covenant” (7:22; 8:6); “better promises” (8:6); “better sacrifices” (9:23); and a “better country—that is, a heavenly one” (11:16).
Jesus’ Priesthood Is Certain
Since our author has just discussed this radical change in the priesthood (7:18-19), he knows there may be a concern brewing in the minds of his readers. How do we know that God won’t change the priesthood again in the future? How do we know that Jesus’ new priestly order won’t be retracted just like the last one?
In order to reassure us, the author points out a third feature of Jesus’ priesthood, namely that it “was not without an oath” (v 20). When did God swear this oath? Our author cites a new portion of Psalm 110:4: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever’” (Hebrews 7:21).
This is a remarkable feature of Christ’s priesthood. Essentially, God swore that he would not change his mind this time around. Christ’s priesthood is certain. This oath makes Jesus the “guarantor of a better covenant” (v 22). Unlike the old-covenant arrangement, this new priesthood is guaranteed forever.
In contrast, “those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath” (v 20). God never said, I promise you, Aaron will be my priest forever. He never said, I swear that the earthly temple system is the way it’s going to be forever. But when he gets to Jesus, he swears an oath.
We talked about oaths already in discussing 6:13-18. God never breaks his promises, and when he swears an oath, he is giving us an extra degree of assurance. Jesus will always be your high priest. God is not changing his mind on this one. He will never back out. Jesus will always be there, interceding for us. Who else in the whole world could ever be that kind of savior? No one.
Jesus Is a Perfect Priest
This leads us to the final—and perhaps the ultimate—feature of Jesus’ priesthood. Unlike any other priest in history, Jesus is sinless. His priesthood is different because he is perfect: “holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens” (7:26).
Why does this matter? For one, Jesus did not have to offer sacrifices “for his own sins” (v 27) as the Old Testament priests did. And more importantly, Jesus’ perfect, sinless life allowed him to do something unthinkable—something no other priest would have ever dreamed of doing: he “offered up himself.”
In this way, Jesus is the perfect fulfillment of all the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament. When a priest chose an animal to sacrifice, it had to be perfect—without spot or blemish. It could not be crippled or sick because it was symbolically representing the innocent party that would die in place of the guilty. The guilty cannot die for the guilty. Only the innocent can do that.
So our author ends with one final contrast between the two priestly systems. On the one hand, “the law appoints men in their weakness,” but on the other we have “a Son who has been made perfect forever” (v 28). The contrast could not be greater.
And within that contrast is the heart of the gospel. We are broken, sinful people who are separated from the holy God, and no ordinary priest, no earthly system, no animal sacrifice is enough to bridge that gap. What we need is the perfect Son of God, who became a human being, to represent us before God as our great high priest forever. Because of his perfect obedience and his indestructible life, we can have great confidence that our sins are forgiven, and therefore that we can “draw near” to God with confidence.
With such a Savior available to us, why turn to anything else? Whatever we are tempted to trust in today other than Jesus, the book of Hebrews bids us to let it go. Only Jesus is sufficient to save. Only he is worthy of our hope and trust.