Hebrews

As the audience for the author of Hebrews included many unbelieving Jews who would have had a rich history of dealing with priests under Mosaic law, the fact of Christ's divine priesthood would have been challenged. With Christ's sacrifice on the cross, the need for the Temple and the Levitical priesthood was ended. Chapter five begins (vv.1-4) by addressing the three basic qualifications for a Jewish high priest: 1) That God appoints him, 2) That he be sympathetic with those to whom he ministered, and 3) That he offers sacrifices on their behalf. There was no longer a need for a priest such as those who succeeded Aaron. The following six verses show how Jesus fulfilled all of those qualifications (vv5-10), as the High Priest, the Sacrifice, and the provision of eternal opening into God's presence. There is a transition in verse 11 into a new section that extends to 6:11. There are many ways to interpret these verses. Because the overall theme of Hebrews is the superiority of the New Covenant over the Old, I believe they should be read as addressing non-believers who are familiar with the Gospel, but who have not yet committed to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. This would be the situation of many Jews still holding onto the traditions of Judaism and the Law.

Chapter six offers the solution to the problem of growing hard, dull, and stupid that we saw as the situation faced by unbelieving Jews from 5:11-14. Because unbelievers are who this section addresses, do not mistake that the six features pointed out in 6:1-2 are Christian truths to be abandoned in order to go on to maturity. They are Old Testament concepts that these unbelieving Jews would have been holding onto as their faith foundations. But while they point to the gospel, they are not part of the gospel themselves. It is time for them, and anyone who holds onto a faith other than the one true faith in Jesus Christ and His resurrection, to divorce (aphiemi, to forsake) themselves from that teaching and press on to maturity. In this case, it was as if these Jews were holding onto a picture of Christ, while He himself was available to them. It was time to set the picture aside and grasp the Savior. The danger of hearing the truth for too long while waiting to respond is of passing the point of no return (v.6). Conversely, there are five great advantages to pressing on. Those who have received Christ have been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, partaken of the Holy Spirit, tasted the Word of God, and tasted the powers of the age to come (vv.4-5). In verse 9, we know there is a transition because the term beloved (agapetos - from agape) is never used in Scripture to refer to unbelievers. From here, we read of the accompaniments of salvation, to whom they apply, and in vv.13-20 the securities of God's promise.

Hebrews 7 relates the priesthood of Melchizedek to the priesthood of Jesus Christ. Two-thousand years earlier, the Melchizedek priesthood foreshadowed the priesthood of Jesus Christ. Jesus' priesthood is superior to that of the Levitical priests because it is based on an eternal priesthood and the power of an indestructible life. Jesus is our high priest who intercedes for us before God the Father. His priesthood is based on His eternal nature, and unlike the Levitical priests, He did not need to offer sacrifices for His own sins before offering them on behalf of the people. His sacrifice on the cross was sufficient to pay the penalty for our sins once and for all. The chapter encourages us to place our faith in Jesus as our intercessor and high priest and to rely on His power to sanctify and transform us daily. As we approach God through Jesus, we can find mercy and grace to help us in our time of need, we can rest in the assurance of our salvation and eternal life through Him, and we can be confident because we have Jesus as our great high priest and- eternal mediator. "Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Heb 4:16).

The Levitical priests never sat down because their job of offering sacrifices for sin was never done (see Heb. 10:11). As the writer of Hebrews brings us literally to the "main point" he has been leading to in the previous seven chapters, he points out two final indications of Jesus superiority as High Priest: 1) His seat of honor at the right hand of God, and 2) His heavenly sanctuary in the true tabernacle. Just as the law was finished, so too was the work of sacrifice. Jesus' job was complete, and He alone, as our High Priest, was worthy of the honor to be at God's right hand and to rest from the work (v.1). By also declaring Christ to be in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, he also exalts Christ above any other priest. We know that the former tents of the tabernacle were merely intended to mirror the heavenly sanctuary of God, where Christ now resides in the permanent presence of God the Father. So now, in this high and exalted place, as our Mediator, Christ has gone further and negotiated for us a better covenant. It was the same in that it was written by God, and for the Jews. It was dramatically different by not being legalistic (v.9), being internal rather than external (v.10), being personal (v.11), bringing total forgiveness (v.12), and that it was for now, not for the future (v.13). The old covenant no longer served a purpose. Christ's sacrifice was complete. The age of Mosaic law and Levitical priests was over. The age of Christ, God's Son, had arrived and will endure now forevermore.