hroughout the book of Hebrews the author warns his readers not to turn back to the shadows of the Old Covenant, but to hold tightly to the realities of the New. He warns the Hebrews not to drift away (Heb. 2:1), not to neglect so great a salvation (2:3), not to have an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God (3:12), not to fall away (6:6), and so forth. He also encourages them to give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard (2:1), to hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope firm to the end (3:6), to hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end (3:14), and to hold fast our confession (4:14). Assuming as we should that the author has a purpose for writing this way, he points to the strong undertow of unbelief that was pulling the Hebrews away from the reality of the New Covenant and back to vanishing shadows of the Old Covenant. In the remaining chapters, the author emphasizes this shadow/reality distinction through three comparisons: the Levitical priesthood versus Christ's priesthood, the man-made tabernacle versus the heavenly tabernacle, and the blood of bulls and goats versus the blood of Christ. I'll begin with the first comparison.
Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron? (Heb. 7:11) Here the author points out that David, during the ministry of the Levitical priests, wrote of a priest to come according to the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4). This implies that the priesthood needed changing, which itself implies a shortcoming in the Levitical system: the Levitical priesthood could not bring the worshippers to perfection, even though God's law was administered through it. Those Hebrews which were being tempted to revert to Judaism were being pulled back into a system which could not meet their needs and away from a High Priest who could.
But the question would be asked: How could Jesus, who was not a Levite, be a priest at all? The author recognizes this apparent dilemma, saying: For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood (Heb. 7:12-14). Jesus could not be a priest unless the law was changed. For the law said: Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be Mine. (Num. 8:14-15). No tribe of Israel could serve in the tabernacle as priests but the Levites. And Jesus arose from Judah. Moses gave no law concerning Judaic priests, so Jesus could not be that kind of priest.
And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. For He testifies: `You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.' For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God (Heb. 7:15-19). In the likeness of Melchizedek, Jesus has come not according to the law of a fleshly commandment. The law was fleshly because it appoints as high priests men who have weaknesses (Heb. 7:28).
First, the Levitical priests were weak in that they were mortal. We read that there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing (Heb. 7:23). Their mortality caused a related weakness of the Levitical system: the high priesthood would undergo a continual change as priest after priest died, and the intercessory work by any given high priest would be interrupted. Jesus, however, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood (Heb. 7:24).
Second, they were weak in that they were sinners. The high priest needed regularly to offer up sacrifices for his own sins (Heb. 7:27, cf. Lev. 16:6). When the high priest sinned, he would be bringing guilt on the people (Lev. 4:3); he would make unclean the very people he was meant to purify. How unprofitable! And the sacrifices which he did offer also could not purify the people from this guilt (Heb. 10:1). The animal sacrifices could not remove the penalty and power of sin from the people or the priests. In these ways the former commandment showed its weakness and unprofitableness, for the law made nothing perfect.
However, in the likeness of Melchizedek, Jesus has come according to the power of an endless life. Now, the eternal nature of His priesthood does not in itself guarantee a better hope. This guarantee is derived from three additional conditions met by Christ and spelled out here. First, He is of the order of Melchizedek, whose greatness over Levi has already been shown (Heb. 7:1-10). Second, Christ was made priest with an oath -- the Lord has sworn -- unlike the priests of the law, for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath (Heb. 7:21). Third, He is without sin: He is holy, they were sinful; He is harmless, they by their sin brought harm; He is undefiled, they were defiled and defiled others; He is separate from sinners, they were among sinners, influencing others to, and being influenced by, sin; He has become higher than the heavens, they were of the earth.
So by His endless life, order, oath, and holiness,
Jesus has become a surety of a better
covenant (Heb. 7:22), because He is able to save to the
uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for
them (Heb. 7:25). Jesus is our perfect High Priest, because only He can
bring us to perfection.
