JC Blog

“Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 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” ( Hebrews 7:26-27 )

When choosing Jesus as our High Priest, God chose the very best. He did not withhold anything from us but sent Jesus who could perfectly fulfill the requirements of both the sacrifice needed for the forgiveness of sins and for the role of High Priest, who made offering and intercession for us. This is an amazing truth, mankind chose individuals based on ancestry who were subject to sin and death, and God chose Jesus, who was sinless and perfect ( Hebrews 7:28 ).

One of the greatest goals of this letter to the Hebrews is to show the superiority of Christ’s eternal High Priesthood as being different and far superior to the Levitical office. In fact, the writer does everything to connect Jesus with the priesthood of Melchizedek. The reason is because the Levitical line was flawed by the sin and death of the priests. It was perpetuated by death, never having permanence or perfection ( Hebrews 7:16 ). This is why there was a need for another priest “If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the law was given to the people), why was there still need for another priest to come—one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron?” ( Hebrews 7:11 ).

Jesus on the other hand is perfect, sinless, pure, holy, blameless and set apart from sinners ( Hebrews 7:26 ). These qualifications alone show His superiority over the Levitical priests. Not only that but they are also the elements of a perfect sacrifice. Unlike the earthly priests, Jesus did not have to first sacrifice for his own sins before making intercession ( Hebrews 7:27 ). This is because He was perfect and sinless, which already qualified him to make intercession on our behalf. He was both the perfect sacrifice and the perfect intercessor.

This is why God chose Jesus to reconcile the world to Himself, because He was the only one qualified for the job. In fact, Jesus’ redemptive work was so perfect that it only required one sacrifice to forever wipe away and forgive the sins of the entire world ( Hebrews 7:27, Hebrews 8:12, Hebrews 9:14, Hebrews  9:15, Hebrews  9:26, Hebrews  9:28, Hebrews  10:10, Hebrews  10:12, Hebrews  10:17, Hebrews  10:18, I John 2:2 ). The truth is that God loved us so very much that He sent Jesus to do what mankind could not in restoring the relationship between God and man ( Isaiah 59:15-18, John 3:16, Romans 5:1-2, I Timothy 2:5, I John 2:1 ). Through Jesus we are brought into a right standing with God, restored, forgiven and accepted solely on His account. This is why Jesus’ priesthood is far superior to the Levitical priesthood in every way imaginable. This high priest is perfectly adapted to meet our needs which is why God chose the very best right from the start!