Tuesday, February 1
“If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?” Hebrews 7:11
Priests are mediators between God and human beings. Hebrews says, however, that Levitical priests could not provide complete, confident access to God because they could not provide perfection (Hebrews 7:11, 18, 19). After all, they themselves weren’t perfect; so, how could they somehow bestow perfection upon others?
Nor could the animal sacrifices cleanse the conscience of the sinner. Their purpose was to point forward to the ministry of Jesus and His sacrifice, which alone would provide true cleansing from sin (Hebrews 9:14; 10:1-3, 10-14). The function of the Levitical priests and their sacrifices was temporary and illustrative. Through their ministry, God wanted to lead the people to put their faith in the future ministry of Jesus, “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
Read Hebrews 7:11-16. Why was there a need to change the law?
Hebrews 7:12 explains that the change of priesthood made a change in the law necessary. Why? Because there was a very strict law that prohibited a person who was not from the line of Levi through Aaron from serving as a priest (Num. 3:10; Numbers 16:39, 40). Hebrews 7:13, 14 explains that Jesus was from the line of Judah, and so this law prohibited Him from being a Levitical priest. So, Paul argues that the appointment of Jesus as priest meant God has changed the law of the priesthood.
Jesus’ coming also implied a change in the law of sacrifices. Sinners were required to bring different kinds of sacrifices to obtain atonement (Leviticus 1-7), but now that Jesus has come and offered a perfect sacrifice, the law of animal sacrifices has also been put aside (Hebrews 10:17, 18) as a result of the new covenant and the fuller revelation of the plan of salvation.
Think about the endless number of animal sacrifices offered through antiquity, all pointing to Jesus, and yet not one of them — or all of them — could truly pay for our sins. Why could only the death of Jesus pay for them?
Wednesday, February 2
Read Hebrews 7:16. On what basis did Jesus become priest?
Jesus received the priesthood on the basis of an indestructible life and because He holds an eternal ministry. The implications of these facts are astounding. It means that Jesus’ ministry will never be surpassed or outclassed. Jesus saves completely, eternally, “to the uttermost” (Hebrews 7:25). The salvation that Jesus provides is total and final. It reaches the innermost aspects of human nature (Hebrews 4:12, 9:14, 10:1-4). Jesus’ intercession before God involves all the benefits granted under the new covenant.
It includes much more than the forgiveness of sins, too. It implies putting the law in our hearts, making us new people in Him, and leading to the dissemination of the gospel to the world (Hebrews 8:10-12). As One with God and with human beings, He represents us before the Father. As One who offered His life as a sacrifice, Jesus has unwavering favor before God.
Read Hebrews 7:22. What is Jesus in relation to the new covenant?
Jesus is the surety of the new covenant because God swore an oath that Jesus would be a priest “forever” (Hebrews 7:21). It is very easy to fail to understand the importance of this oath. Paul had already referred to the oaths God made to the desert generation and to Abraham (Hebrews 3:7-11, 6:13-15). The difference between those oaths and the oath that God has sworn to the Son is that those oaths were made to mortal human beings. Oaths stay in force as long as the beneficiaries are alive. God’s oath to the desert generation and to Abraham were binding as long as there was a desert generation and descendants of Abraham (see Galatians 3:29).
In the case of the Son, however, whose life is “indestructible,” the oath God made to Him will be binding forever. A person who stood in surety or guarantee of another was liable to the same penalties as the person for whom he stood in surety, including death. Yet, the Father established Jesus as a guarantee to us that He will not default on His promises. That’s how certain we can be of the salvation that we have been given in Jesus.
Thursday, February 3
Read Hebrews 7:26. What are the five characteristics of Jesus in this passage?
Jesus was “holy.” This means that Jesus was without fault in relationship to God (Hebrews 2:18; 4:15; 5:7, 8). The Old Greek translation of the Old Testament used the same Greek term to designate those who maintain their covenant relationship with God and with others.
Jesus was “undefiled.” He remained pure and untouched by evil, despite being tempted in “all points” (Hebrews 4:15, 2:18). Jesus’ perfect sinlessness is important for His priesthood. The old covenant stipulated that sacrificial victims had to be “without blemish” to be acceptable to God (Leviticus 1:3, 10, etc.). Jesus’ perfect obedience during His earthly life made it possible for Him to offer Himself as an acceptable sacrifice to God (Hebrews 9:14).
Jesus was “separated from sinners” when He ascended to heaven. The Greek verb tense suggests that this is a present state for Jesus, which began at a specific point in time. Jesus endured hostility from sinners during His earthly life, but He was victorious and was then seated at the right hand of God (Hebrews 12:2, 3). Jesus is also “separate from sinners” in that He was perfectly sinless (Hebrews 4:15).
Jesus was “higher than the heavens”. It means that Jesus has been exalted above everything there is and, therefore, He is one with God. In the Psalms, God is the one who is “exalted above the heavens” (Psalms 57:5, 11; 108:5).
Jesus was fully human, but He was not a sinful human being as we are (Hebrews 2:14-16, 4:15). Jesus is perfect, not simply because He never sinned but because He was not corrupted by sin as we are.
Yet, because He was also fully human, He is also our example. He shows us how to run the race of life (Hebrews 12:1-4). He is the example that we must follow (1 Peter 2:21-23). Because He is “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners” (Hebrews 7:26), He is our Savior, and we too can reflect His character.
Though Jesus was a human being, like us, He never sinned. How do we wrap our minds around this amazing thought? Think about just how holy He must be! Why, then, should the promise of His holiness being credited to us by faith help assure us of salvation?
