Hebrews 7:23-28: Consecrated For Evermore
2023-01-28
Hebrews 7:23-24
We have seen that the priests of the Old Testament died like all other people in human history. They had to change every so often for this reason. The Lord Jesus “continueth ever.” “Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God” (Romans 6:9-10). All others that have risen from the dead died again. We have no reason to believe Lazarus stayed alive forever. Jesus Christ died for the sins of humanity once for all. He rose again to never die again.
Consequently, His role as high priest is an unbroken chain; it is never interrupted. It being “unchangeable” implies that it is a role that will not be transferred to another and will never expire. He remains forever in our favor before God.
Hebrews 7:25
Being that Jesus remains in heaven, never to die or relinquish his priesthood, He can save anyone to comes to the Father by Him. He is the only way to the Father. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). He is that eternal mediator.
Moreover, He can “save them to the uttermost.” Compare with this: “And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” (1 Peter 4:18). There is nothing that would deliver us from the wrath to come. However, Jesus not only saved us, but in dramatic form tore us from the grasp of hell and brought us into the presence of God.
He lives forever in the presence of the Father “to make intercession for them.” The verb “to make intercession” appears a few other places. See those places here.
This is fulfilling Isaiah the prophet’s saying, when he said, “Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12). He is our advocate.
Hebrews 7:26
Jesus “became us,” or is far better for us and is more appealing and appropriate than the Aaronic priesthood.
Jesus is holy. His holiness is intrinsic as He is the Son of God. He is completely devoted to the Father by nature and from eternity.
Jesus is harmless. Though holy, He does not seek to avenge for our sins. “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). “And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world” (John 12:47). One day He will judge those who do not trust in Him (Acts 17:31), but we are His people, and He does not seek our harm.
Jesus is undefiled. He became a man; He never became a sinner. He may have bore our sins on the tree for us, and He received the wrath for our sins on our behalf. This is showed here: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). This does not mean that He became sinful or defiled. He eternally remains undefiled.
Jesus is separate from sinners. This is related to the previous point. He reached out to sinners to save them, but never tolerated sin. “And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors” (Mark 15:28), but He never was a transgressor, and never could be.
Jesus is “made higher than the heavens.” He is in heaven, at the right hand of the Father, and remains our advocate, intercessor, and mediator. This also shows us that His sacrifice was acceptable to the Father, as no other priest ever was able to do this.
Hebrews 7:27
As we previously saw, the Aaronic priests had their own sins that needed sacrifice. We saw this when discussing the Day of Atonement. What centuries of priests could not do themselves, the Lord did once.
Hebrews 7:28
Compare the Law with the promise made in Psalm 110:4. “The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek” (Psalm 110:4). The priestly ordination in the Law ordained sinners. These priests sacrificed for their own sins and had to be replaced because they would die. The promise of the coming of the Lord Jesus ended all that. He who continually lives and is in heaven has been ordained forever. This promise was “since the law,” meaning that the promise in Psalm 110:4 happened about four centuries after Moses. The Law, as we have seen, is contingent upon our performance; the promise is unconditional. In this we see the superiority of Jesus Christ, the priest of the order of Melchisedec, over the endless sacrifices prescribed in the Law.