The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest for ever, in the order of Melchizedek.’
We are used to thinking of our Lord Jesus as Son of God and Messiah, but much less do we think of Him as our High Priest. Yet the book of Hebrews, which we’re reading through as a church at the moment, makes much of this. This teaches us much about Jesus.
The need for a priest was established in the Old Testament book of Exodus. To our entitled generation it is a bit of a surprise, but the holiness of God and our sinfulness means that we can only have a secure relationship with Him by means of an intermediary. This was what the priesthood was for – representing the people to God, and offering sacrifices on their behalf. Thus God in His grace established the priesthood, the office of High Priest, and a line of High Priests descended from him.
Hebrews tells us that Jesus is our great high priest (Hebrews 4:14). He is the way to God!
Lest any of his readers think this overturns the Old Testament, Hebrews shows how in the Old Testament, in the astonishing Psalm 110, God promised a king to come, who would also be a priest, patterned on a priest-king in Genesis called Melchizedek. God promised on oath that this king-priest would be everlasting. The implication of this is that this priest would replace the line of priests we read about in Exodus.
That Jesus is this everlasting priest is established by His resurrection: what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who becomes a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. (Hebrews 7:15-16) And what a priest He is!
He is both a priest and a king! How different He is from our normal conception of a priest, who often in history was subordinate to a king, doing religious things for him at his beck and call. No, our priest is also our ruler, establishing a kingdom by His saving work. As priest, He serves us, but as our king, we are His subjects.
And His priesthood is everlasting. Hebrews shows this in two ways.
First, because He is risen from the dead. Because Jesus lives for ever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is always able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. (Hebrews 7:24-25). In the book of Hebrews, the great concern is that we persevere; but our risen Lord Jesus is praying for us: that our faith would not fail, that we are kept from the evil one, and more.
Second, His priesthood is everlasting because His death on the cross was fully sufficient to cover all our sins. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices for sins day after day…he sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. (Hebrews 7:27) What wonderful assurance this should give us: our sins fully paid for!
He it is who can bring us to God, and keep us as God’s people. Even sinners like us.
What a priest we have in Jesus!
