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More Melchizedek
A continuation today of the comparison of Jesus and Melchizedek. It moves on to showing how Jesus is better than the other priesthood, but that's pretty self explanatory. Here's more on the first comparison:
"Which of the priests of Aaron lived forever? None. Thus no priest in all of Israel’s history was “a priest forever.” Old Testament priests were vital to the spiritual life of Israel, but they were imperfect and temporary. Only one priest could fulfill God’s plan. The writer explained that this “other priest” came from “another tribe.”
• He is like Melchizedek and has a priesthood in the order of Melchizedek—as described in 7:1–10. By being in the order of Melchizedek, Jesus Christ was both priest and king. Some Jews of Jesus’ day (particularly those at Qumran) were anticipating two messiahs, one priestly and one kingly. Jesus was both.
• He became a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry. As Melchizedek was a Gentile priest, so Jesus did not fit the pattern. As described in 7:13–14, Jesus was not born into the tribe of Levi, but the tribe of Judah.
• He became a priest on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. Because there is no record in Scripture of Melchizedek’s death, it is as if he never died. So with Jesus—death could not master him. He died, but he rose never to die again. As a result, he will never cease his priestly ministry.
• He fulfills the qualification of being a priest forever. The one who never dies has become the final High Priest, and his sacrifice has forever settled the breach that human sin created between almighty God and sinful humanity. Christ is immortal, fulfilling the prophecy of Psalm 110:4. The old priesthood was incomplete and is now abolished.
How important is the Resurrection to Christian teaching? Paul wrote that if Christ is not raised, Christian faith is useless and futile (1 Corinthians 15:14, 18). The author of Hebrews wrote that if Jesus died and is still dead, then all is lost. Aaron’s priestly clan is all dead. But the good news is that Jesus was raised—he is “a priest forever,” serving on our behalf. We can place our confidence in him." [1]
More Melchizedek
A continuation today of the comparison of Jesus and Melchizedek. It moves on to showing how Jesus is better than the other priesthood, but that's pretty self explanatory. Here's more on the first comparison:
"Which of the priests of Aaron lived forever? None. Thus no priest in all of Israel’s history was “a priest forever.” Old Testament priests were vital to the spiritual life of Israel, but they were imperfect and temporary. Only one priest could fulfill God’s plan. The writer explained that this “other priest” came from “another tribe.”
• He is like Melchizedek and has a priesthood in the order of Melchizedek—as described in 7:1–10. By being in the order of Melchizedek, Jesus Christ was both priest and king. Some Jews of Jesus’ day (particularly those at Qumran) were anticipating two messiahs, one priestly and one kingly. Jesus was both.
• He became a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry. As Melchizedek was a Gentile priest, so Jesus did not fit the pattern. As described in 7:13–14, Jesus was not born into the tribe of Levi, but the tribe of Judah.
• He became a priest on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. Because there is no record in Scripture of Melchizedek’s death, it is as if he never died. So with Jesus—death could not master him. He died, but he rose never to die again. As a result, he will never cease his priestly ministry.
• He fulfills the qualification of being a priest forever. The one who never dies has become the final High Priest, and his sacrifice has forever settled the breach that human sin created between almighty God and sinful humanity. Christ is immortal, fulfilling the prophecy of Psalm 110:4. The old priesthood was incomplete and is now abolished.
How important is the Resurrection to Christian teaching? Paul wrote that if Christ is not raised, Christian faith is useless and futile (1 Corinthians 15:14, 18). The author of Hebrews wrote that if Jesus died and is still dead, then all is lost. Aaron’s priestly clan is all dead. But the good news is that Jesus was raised—he is “a priest forever,” serving on our behalf. We can place our confidence in him." [1]
[1] Bruce B. Barton, David Veerman, Linda Chaffee Taylor and Philip Wesley Comfort, Hebrews, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1997), 101-02.
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