The writer of Hebrews takes a moment to remind the readers about the nature of priests. They are ministers to the people, helping them with their praise and their guilt. The Aaronic priests were able to deal gently with the people because they shared in their weakness and sin.
Jesus is superior to the priests in Aaron’s tradition. He does not sin, but he suffers in his life to the point of death and through it: “…he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him….” The call to obedient, reverent submission to God is clear. But the writer is concerned that the readers are not able to understand his teaching because they are immature in the faith so at 5:11 the writer reflects on the problem and urges faithfulness.
The writer tells the immature to grow up and move beyond the elementary teaching. Some love the first principles. They are good, but if all we have is first principles and if they are the source of our spiritual pride, then we are proud of our immaturity. In the middle of this exhortation to maturity is a stunning warning about the possibility of losing one’s salvation. Someone who has experienced the richness of the faith can fall away.
Still the writer believes his readers are better than fields that drink rain and produce weeds. We are warned against laziness and pointed toward lives of faith and perseverance.
At 6:13 the writer rejoins his basic argument. Jesus is the great priest who gives us hope and an anchor for our souls. This anchor is lodged firmly in the bedrock of heaven where Jesus ministers as our Priest “in the order of Melchizedek—whatever that means.
Chapter 7 plays out this wonderful argument that a Jewish rabbi would have loved. Jesus is like Melchizedek in that he does not come from a priestly lineage and leaves no successors. Both Melchizedek and Jesus are unique as priests. And since Abraham offered tribute to Melchizedek symbolically all of Abraham’s descendants, including Levi and his line of priests, acknowledged the superiority of Melchizedek. Now Jesus comes into the world because of the inherent inferiority of the Aaronic priesthood. We needed a new and better Priest. Jesus is that Priest—“holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.”
The thirteen verses in chapter 8 conclude the discussion of the priesthood of Jesus. The perfect sanctuary is in heaven. The perfect Priest serves there. The better Priest serving in the better temple establishes a better covenant that is based on better promises. The new covenant has made the old covenant obsolete. In Christ, we live in this better world.
Now in chapter 9 we have the most amazing truth—the Priest is the Sacrifice. All the readers with a Jewish background know how the Temple is laid out for sacrifice. Jesus does not take an animal sacrifice into the perfect tabernacle. He entered the Most Holy Place by his own blood. That blood, offered through the eternal Spirit, cleans our consciences and enables us to serve God.
As the Priest and the Sacrifice, Jesus serves those ransomed ones under this new covenant as its Mediator. And the salvation work of Jesus is perfect and complete. Jesus doesn’t have to do any of it again. His once and for all blessing is exactly what each one of us need for our once and for all life.
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