The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but He [Christ] holds His priesthood permanently, because He continues forever.
Hebrews 7:11-26
Forever, that is how long Christ will be our High Priest. In our verses today, God has sworn by Himself an oath to that effect, and the Lord cannot and will not violate His vows. This proves the superiority of the priestly order of Melchizedek, for God made no such oath to confirm the Levitical order, proving its temporary nature and ultimate inability to secure what it, and the Mosaic law, pictured as an atonement and the perfection of God’s people. Since our High Priest, Jesus Christ, is superior to the Levitical order, then, Jesus is superior also to any of the individual priests from the tribe of Levi, if by nothing else but the death of the Levitical priests in every age, preventing them from continuing their ministry on behalf of God’s people. The benefits of the Levitical priesthood were only temporary, for each priest’s death meant that the whole thing had to start over again, offering new sacrifices and new intercessions to secure again the blessings of the covenant. Aaron, the first official high priest of Israel, could not mediate divine blessing forever, since he died and his priestly work and the benefits it provided came to an end. The Mosaic system could not make anyone perfect because it could not provide a high priest whose atoning work and blessings would continue past his death. Jesus also died. But, Jesus did not remain dead. He was raised in the power of His indestructible life. Thus, the oath the Father, in Psalm 110, swore to His incarnate Son that He would be a priest forever has been fulfilled. Jesus will never cease to mediate the blessings He has secured for His people. He cannot fail to bring about the final and complete salvation of His people. Christ lives to bless us forever, so great is His love for us, and He alone will redeem us by His own irresistible power. A 16th century theologian wrote, Jesus “will not bring about part of our salvation and leave what remains to ourselves and to others…Whatever belongs to our entire, complete salvation, He is able to effect it.” A 17th century theologian wrote, “What sort of pledge and how great is this of love towards us! Christ lives for us, not for Himself!” Jesus lives to magnify the glory of the Holy Trinity, but His love for us is evident in that He also lives to ensure that God’s salvation never comes to an end for us. This is the living and true God, the One who does not think it beneath Him to live for our sake through the priestly work of the Son. Let us meditate on this great love today.
Source: S C Ball April 4, 2024
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