A Better Hope
A BETTER HOPE
HEBREWS 7:15-19
In Jesus we really do have a better hope—we can draw near to God.
The superiority of Christ’s priesthood is before us again. It is not quite certain to what the “This” which opens 7:15 refers, whether to the “change in the law” (7:12) or the inferiority of the Aaronic priesthood. These are closely connected and perhaps we should not make too sharp a distinction. But it does seem that it is priesthood which is primarily in mind here.
The point of importance that is singled out is that Christ’s priesthood is “not according to a legal requirement concerning bodily descent but by the power of an indestructible life” (7:16). Set therefore in sharp contrast, the principles that establish the two priesthoods show the marked inferiority of the Aaronic. It was, of course, the case that to be a priest of Aaron’s line it was necessary only to be born into a particular family. And it is obvious that this gives no special effectiveness to the priest born in such a way. But with Christ it is different. It is the quality of his life that makes him the kind of priest he is.
The word translated “indestructible” is important. It means “that cannot be dissolved,” not simply “endless.” It is the quality of the life and not its duration that is in mind. The term is set in contrast with “bodily,” which is more exactly “fleshy,” “expressed in flesh.” What cannot be dissolved is in the strongest contrast to what is merely of flesh. There is also a contrast between “legal requirement” and “power.” We should not see these two priesthoods as generally similar. They are strikingly different in their essentials. The thought of the quality of life is reinforced with another quotation of Psalm 110:4, the important word on this occasion being “forever.” Christ’s priesthood will never be superseded. It has something in its very nature that makes it the final priesthood.
The other point which is stressed here is the contrast between the ineffectiveness of Aaron’s priests and the effectiveness of Christ’s priestly work. The former line of priests and the law which went with them were set aside because they could not bring about that to which they pointed. But Christ has brought us “a better hope … through which we draw near to God” (7:19).