Hebrews 7:11-28

 Hebrews 7:11-28

This passage serves as a sort of summation of the superiority of the priesthood of Jesus to that of the Levitical priesthood. By so doing, the author emphasizes the superiority of the new covenant over the old.

It was impossible for perfection to be achieved under the Levitical priesthood, and that was why a new order of priesthood was needed, and that new order under a new covenant and law. Under the Old Law, the priesthood was determined based on inheritance. A man might become a priest who was absolutely a cad. He might fulfill the inheritance but still not be a holy individual. But Jesus was a priest based on the power of His indestructible life (v. 16). Jesus is a new priest from a new priesthood out of a new covenant because of the supreme qualification of the nature of his life. For Jews tempted to return to Judaism, this begs the question, “What do the Levitical priesthood, the old Covenant, and Judaism as a whole offer compared to what we have in Christ?”

The author then says something the importance of which can hardly be fathomed. The words of verse 18 must have sounded like thunder from a nearby lightning strike to the original Jewish readers. Setting aside the former command, specifically referencing the Levitical priesthood and the law in general is one thing, but to call it “weak and useless” is something entirely different. It was very likely the most shocking thing the Jewish reader had ever heard. The law was not useless in the absolute sense, but in terms of its ability to bring men to perfection, it failed, but it was never intended to be the salvation solution. The law could tell us we were wrong and deserving of punishment; it even defined that punishment. The Law could point away from itself, by types and prophecy, to the Salvation to come, but it was never the destination.

The temporary nature of the Levitical priesthood is in contrast to the new priesthood and covenant by the fact that God never bound Himself to the Levitical priesthood the way He did to the one who would be a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. This new priest, to whom God binds Himself by oath, is perfect, sinless, and eternal and bound to God by God's own oath. Nothing in Judaism could compare with the new priesthood and priest. 

“Thank You God that we have a perfect Priest in Jesus. AMEN”