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23 Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; 24 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. 26 Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. 28 For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever. Hebrews 7:23-28
Today, we come to the end of our study of Hebrews 7. In context the writer of Hebrews has established the fact that the Old Testament priesthood was insufficient in that it was of the Law of Moses and it had priests who were sinful and would eventually die.
The doctrine of salvation is the main theme of all of the Bible. Through the Fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden, humanity lost its purpose. We rejected God, and, we were therefore subject to God's wrath, which was expressed in God giving us what we wanted, alienation from him. Oh, we didn't know that it was going to be alienation, but that is exactly what it means to be dead in our sins. God's intention, though, is to save all of humanity, to restore us to relationship with Him and place us in our proper place in His creation.
In v.23-24 of today's passage we read, "23 Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; 24 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood."
From the very beginning, the Levitical priesthood was temporary due to its insufficiencies. But, the stage was set for the coming of the Savior-Priest. The Lord Jesus Christ is the God who became the Savior-Priest on the behalf of His creation. Yes, He died, but He had to in order to conquer sin. Then, He rose from the dead, never to die again. He will never have to be replaced. His priesthood is eternally efficacious.
Due to the fact that His is an eternal priesthood, the Lord Jesus Christ is able to save forever, or completely, those of us who draw near to God through Him. He is able to do this because He always lives to make intercession for us.
In v.25 of today's passage we read, "Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them."
The salvation the Lord Jesus came to provide the willing has an ongoing dimension to it. Through Christ we have been saved, but we are also being continually saved as we abandon this world's distorted understanding of life. This salvation is brought about by drawing near to God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Quite simply, this is what changes us. People who draw near to God become like Him as He expresses Himself to us and through us. We resemble what we worship.
The word salvation has three parts: past, present, and future. There are three tenses to our salvation. The past tense has to do with our deliverance from the penalty of sin. The present tense has to do with our deliverance from the power of sin. And, the future tense has to do with our deliverance from the presence of sin. The past was procured at the cross, while the present is being accomplished at the throne as He intercedes for us. Then, the future will be realized by believers at the rapture and the second coming of the Lord Jesus.
The prayers of the Lord Jesus for us are not inconsequential. The Apostle Paul wrote of this in Romans 8:34 which reads, "Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us."
God the Father answers the Lord Jesus' prayer by sending the Holy Spirit and prompting Him to move us toward God. According to Romans 8:15, the Holy Spirit causes us to feel our deep need for the Father and cry out, "Abba! Father!"
In v.26 of today's passage we read, "Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens."
The Lord Jesus is "exalted above the heavens" because he is "holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners." Unlike the Levitical priests, the Lord Jesus did not have to offer up any sacrifices for His own sins, because He didn't have any. His offer was not for His sins but solely for those who would believe that His death on the cross was what was needed to make us forgiven before God.
In v.27 of today's passage we read, "Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself."
The Lord Jesus is sinless, thus He did not have to offer a sacrifice for His own sin. He, also, does not need to repeat His sacrifice over and over because His sacrifice was perfect. Once is all it took.
In v.28 of today's passage we read, "For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever."
The Law of Moses granted a priesthood to men who were weak and couldn’t bring perfection. Their sacrifices were not adequate enough to procure forgiveness of sins for eternity. As a result, the Old Testament sacrifices could not bring man complete access to God. But God superseded that with the word of His oath when He declared the Lord Jesus as priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
In the Old Testament, the priest wore a breastplate upon which were twelve stones representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Whenever the priest went into the presence of God, he carried with him on his chest all the tribes of Israel. He also wore, draped over his shoulders, an ephod with the twelve stones on them representing all the names of the twelve tribes, also. The priest bore the children of Israel to God on his heart and on his shoulders. Even though the Old Testament priests had a heart for the people, they did not have the strength to shoulder our burden of sin. Only the Lord Jesus Christ is perfect enough to do what is needed. And, He sits at the right hand of the Father with a heart to shoulder the sins of all mankind, forever.
