Coromandel Baptist Church

Sunday 1 June Hebrews 7:26-8:6

Superior Priesthood

In biblical theology the realities of covenant, worship, priesthood and law are inseparable. The writer the Hebrews knows that if his hearers are to be revived in their hearing of the gospel, they must be attuned to the new covenant arrangements that God has put in place, under which they now serve and in which they are now held. They need to be assured that the unseen priesthood of Christ is trustworthy, especially when the ‘seen’ priesthood and all its covenant arrangements are in place and look so much more substantial than Christ’s invisible priesthood. This, in turn, is part of great and continuous biblical emphasis on faith rather than sight, and on the eternal realities of the things ‘hidden’ in heaven compared to the transitory nature of life here and now.

We have already seen that the writer makes much of the perpetuity of Christ’s priesthood, and for good reason. If Christ has been raised from the dead—now to live forever because of his indestructible life—he must have overcome all his enemies. If death has been destroyed, then sin must have been atoned for, guilt must have been removed and the power of Satan must have been broken. But the writer is not just convinced of the superior nature of Christ’s priesthood for this reason alone, reason enough though it is! He also emphasizes the superior character of Christ and the effect that this has on his work.

In the Hebrews 7:26 moral purity of Christ is brought to our attention. This is further emphasized by the fact that consequently Jesus does not stand in need of the sorts of sacrifices that the Levitical priesthood had to offer, first for their own sins and then for the sins of the people. His sacrifice is not for himself, but entirely for his people. And, most astounding of all, his was the only sacrifice needed! Because of who he is, the moral superiority of his work means that his sacrifice of himself is a once for all event (Heb. 7:27).

Moreover Jesus’ nature and superiority are emphasized the terms of his appointment and the contrast this makes with the other priests who foreshadowed him. They are weak men, appointed by the Law (i.e. attached to the covenant of Moses). Jesus is the Son, appointed by the direct oath of God, who shares none of the human weaknesses of the other priests (Heb. 7:28). This does not mean that he is unable to sympathize with us in our battles with sin. On the contrary, the writer has already indicated that he has been made like us in all respects (save sin) so that he might be a merciful and faithful High Priest, having experience in his own humanity the trials and temptations that we face day by day (Heb. 2:17-18; 4:14-16; 5:1-10).

All of these elements of Christ’s priesthood are given further power by considering the location in which Christ’s priesthood is operative. The earthly priests minister on earth, in the Tabernacle/Temple that is on the earth. Jesus, on the other hand, ministers in the true, heavenly Tabernacle, of which the earthly was a mere copy (Heb. 8:3). He has taken his seat there (Heb. 8:1 cf. 1:4), indicating his present reign and completed atoning work. The location of his ministry is God’s own dwelling place, pitched by God himself (Heb. 8:2), and this all takes place on the basis of a new covenant which has been enacted on better promises (Heb. 8:6).

Of this the writer makes much in the rest of Hebrews 8 and into chapters 9 and 10. It is because of this new covenant arrangement that Christ can indeed be a priest, since, by natural descent, he does not come from the priestly tribe of Levi (Heb. 8:4 cf. 7:11-15). However, Jesus’ priesthood transcends theirs, as the light of the sun transcends the reflected light of the moon. He is the radiance, they are the reflected image. Now we see him, and to him we look for the coming day of salvation (Heb. 9:27-28).

What does all this mean for us? The writer to the Hebrews draws out much of this line of argumentation in the following chapters, but we can draw attention to a few important points: