Year 9, Day 111: Hebrews 7

Theological Commentary: Click Here

The author continues to speak about Jesus and His supremacy in this chapter.  It does not comes quite in the way that we expect.  Instead of relying upon how much Jesus fits the mold, he speaks about a different way.  The author takes the traditional, shows its inadequacy, and then offers a different perspective.

Jesus isn’t a priest in the traditional sense.  Jesus comes from the lineage of Judah, not from Levi and the priests who descend from Aaron.  For Jews, that is an issue.  The priests come from the tribe of Levi and Levi alone.

However, the priests are limited.  Before they can offer sacrifices for the purity of others, there must be sacrifices for their own purity.  The Levitical priesthood is passed down through biology, excluding a great many.  Priests would eventually grow old and die, needing to be replaced. There are great limitations to the Levitical priesthood.

Jesus, on the other hand, has no such limitations.  He already is pure, and therefore can affect the purity of others directly.  His priesthood is not passed down through biology but through righteousness.  Jesus does not grow old and die, therefore He is a consistent source of righteousness in our lives.

The author is making this case to prove a simple point.  God is not confined by human boxes.  We set up patterns and rules and regulations.  We try to define the future through our understanding and tradition.  God thinks outside the box.  God does the unexpected.  As the author of Hebrews writes, because a change in the priesthood was necessary, a change in the Law must follow.  The author’s very point is that God is doing a new thing.

We don’t need salvation through our human understanding.  We need salvation through God’s new thing.  We need a permanent change, one that will reach into our lives and make us a new thing.

<><