OVERVIEW:
Christ’s priesthood superior to the Levitical priesthood; the old covenant was a shadow of the real; the old covenant sacrifices were temporary; Christ’s sacrifice is permanent.
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
The chapters in today’s reading provide one of the most complete explanations about the superiority of Christ when compared to virtually anything and everything, and the superiority of the new covenant when compared to the old covenant.
Paul begins chapter 7 by identifying Christ as a Priest after the order of Melchisedec. (The story of Melchisedec is found in Genesis 14:17–20.) This connection to Melchisedec is tremendously significant because it reveals to us that Christ is not a priest after the Levitical priesthood started with Aaron. (Hebrews 7:11) The Levitical priesthood was comprised of MEN; men who were SINNERS! What that means is, before these priests could offer sacrifices for the PEOPLE, they first had to offer sacrifices for THEMSELVES! (Hebrews 7:27) These sacrifices were required to be made daily and repeatedly. That’s precisely why Christ was not from the Levitical priesthood! He is a High Priest after Melchisedec! (Hebrews 7:24–28) Christ was not a sinner. Christ does not have to offer sacrifices daily. Christ is a High Priest forever because He lives forever and makes intercession for us. Perfection could never come from the Levitical priesthood; it could only come from a different priesthood, and a different priest. Our perfection comes from our High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ!
Melchisedec – Who is this “mysterious” person? Please allow me to simply lay out the facts that Hebrews 7 reveals concerning him:
- He is the King of Righteousness. (7:2a)
- He is the King of Salem, or the King of Peace. (7:2b)
- He is the Priest of the Most High God. (7:1)
- He has no father, mother, or descent. (7:3a)
- He has no beginning or end. (7:3b)
- He is great. (7:4a)
- He receives tithes. (7:4b)
- He receives worship. (7:1d)
- He is without sin. (7:27)
Obviously, Melchisedec was on Old Testament appearance of the One of whom this simple list perfectly describes! He is, no doubt, none other than our very Lord Jesus Christ!
God also reveals something very interesting in chapter 8. He informs us that the sanctuary and tabernacle of the old covenant were merely a “shadow” of the real sanctuary and tabernacle inhabited by God in the heavens. We may need to take a minute to get our heads wrapped around the concept of a shadow, and how it relates to the point Paul is trying to get us to see. Obviously, we all know what a shadow is. A shadow a basic representation of something tangible and real. It can form a general outline of something; it can help a person identify what a particular thing is—whether it be a person, a tree, a bicycle, a car, etc. But one thing a shadow is not, and never can be, is the real thing! Can you imagine someone wanting to have a conversation with your shadow? That sounds ridiculous; but it’s exactly God’s point! He’s trying to get the Hebrews to recognize that they were still caught up worshipping in the shadows of the earthly representation of the tabernacle and sanctuary that were intended to merely point them to the reality of Christ!
But recognize that this wasn’t just a 1st century, Jewish problem! Many Jews and Gentiles in the 21st century do the same thing today, by not realizing that religion is merely a SHADOW, and that there is nothing REAL in religion. Oh, it may make people feel better to go to church, to give their money, to do good works, to sing nice songs, or to be the best person they can possibly be, but none of these “shadows” can change the “reality” of their sin! Tragically, many people today still embrace the SHADOW instead of embracing the REALITY, Jesus Christ!
The old covenant revealed within itself, that it was not of itself, sufficient. The holy of holies in the old covenant could only be entered into one time per year on the Day of Atonement. This revealed that the way into the holiest of all (God’s tabernacle, not the earthly one) was not yet revealed. It was simply a figure, or a shadow imposed by the law until what Paul calls in chapter 9 and verse 10, the “time of reformation”. Notice, none of the work carried out by the High Priest of the Old Testament could even perfect his own conscience, much less the conscience of the rest of the people. But then the “time of reformation” did come—and we’re not talking about the time of Martin Luther! We’re talking about the time when the REAL High Priest showed up… an EVERLASTING High Priest… the High Priest of the TRUE tabernacle! The blood offered by this High Priest was not the blood of bulls and goats, but was His very OWN blood, the blood of GOD! His sacrifice can purge our conscience, and His blood established a new covenant!
Oh, how much greater is this new covenant than the old one! The blood of bulls and goats (or anything else!) never could, never can, and never will be able to take away sin. But the blood and sacrifice of the new covenant is different, because it was offered by a different High Priest! This Priest, this man, the “God-man”, the Lord Jesus Christ, offered ONE sacrifice for sins forever! There is no other sacrifice needed. There is no other sacrifice required by God. Any other sacrifice we attempt to offer becomes an affront to God, because what it actually says is that we don’t believe the sacrifice of His Son was sufficient.
But let’s get this down into the practical application of where we live. Sometimes after we fall prey to sin, we unwittingly add to Christ’s sacrifice by doing things like attempting to feel really, really bad about our sin (a form of the unbiblical practice of the Roman Catholic penance). At other times when we’ve sinned against God, we think we can “sacrifice” for it by giving more… or reading more… or praying more… witnessing more, or promising to do better the next time. But, do you realize how much all of these “sacrifices” actually accomplish concerning our sin? NOTHING! Absolutely nothing! We can’t add anything or take anything away from Christ’s one sacrifice! We must trust His sacrifice, and His sacrifice alone… not our own sacrifice, or anything we may attempt to add to the gift of Christ’s sacrifice! This is precisely why the false gospel that is preached by Roman Catholicism cannot save. It is a message that says Christ is still being sacrificed for sin (the mass), and it is a message that says that although you’re forgiven, you must still pay for your sin (purgatory). May we simply trust the once-for-all sacrifice offered by our perfect High Priest, rest completely in Him, and the forgiveness of sin found in Him. May we proclaim the message of the new covenant so that others may get out of the SHADOWS and into the REALITY of Christ!