A priest other than the law
40) A priest other than the law
(Hebrews 7:1-19)
In Israel, the sacrificial system has been operated according to the law. Therefore, priests have been inherited from the tribe of Levi according to the law. But Jesus' priesthood did not follow Aaron's order, nor was it established according to the law, so his priesthood must be new and different from that under the law. If the sacrificial system according to the law was still needed, God would never have appointed Jesus as a new priest in the order of Melchizedek. God destroyed Jerusalem, where the temple of God was, by the Romans in 70 AD to abolish the sacrificial system according to the law. From then on, Israel was unable to fulfill the sacrificial system according to the law. It was abolished by God.
Then, why did God abolish the Old Testament sacrificial system according to the law and establish a new sacrificial system through Jesus Christ?
1. The purpose of God’s new sacrificial system
The reason is that the Old Testament sacrificial system offered in the temple on this earth was not perfect for saving sinners. Under the law, priests were those who ascended to the priesthood according to Aaron's order, and they are all descendants of Adam's lineage. They too are sinners just like us. As a sinner, human beings cannot approach God. Under the law, priests were only allowed to enter the Most Holy, but only once a year to bring an offering for their atonement.
Such a priest cannot be a perfect priest. Therefore, under the law, priests were only a shadow of Jesus who entered the Most Holy of Heaven as a perfect priest. Verse 28 says, “The law made priests who had weaknesses.” Weakness is sin. The priest who should be the most holy before God has a weakness called sin. If the priest who needs to come to God and repent for the sins of his people is a sinner like us and has the weakness of sin, that sacrifice cannot be a perfect sacrifice. Not only that, but the day will come when the priest under the law will die someday. In that case, the priesthood will be changed to another person. In this way, the priests under the law were not perfect.
And the sacrifice of the law was not perfect for saving sinners. If the law could save sinners, God would never have shown the way of salvation other than the law. Sacrifice under the Law was that it could neither forgive human sins nor provide salvation. What God had planned to accomplish through His Son was to completely save sinners. In this way, in order to completely save sinners from their sins, it was necessary to change the imperfect legal system. And he had to establish a sacrificial system other than the law.
2. A sacrificial system other than the law
Now, the new priest, Jesus, does not carry out his priestly office by the law, so we have nothing to do with the law. When Jesus ascended to the new priesthood, He gave us a new law. In Romans 8:2, it is called the law of the Holy Spirit as the perfect law that accomplishes what the law did not fulfill. The law does not govern us, but the law of the Holy Spirit governs us.
Jesus is more perfect than the priests under the law. Also, Christ does not have to offer a sin offering for himself. Under the law, the priests made a sin offering with the blood of a calf for their sins, but Jesus was without sin, so there was no need to offer a regeneration sacrifice for himself. Such a priest should not be working in the same position as a priest under the law.
Jesus was sacrificed with his own blood. His offering was radically different from the blood of animals offered by the priests under the Law. There is no need for another sacrifice because Jesus sacrificed it once for all with his sinless, eternal blood. His offering was an eternal sin offering, and one time was sufficient.
Then Jesus' priesthood will never change. Because he has no death.
Conclusion: Such a priest is just right for us. All we have to do now is take our sins and go before our priest. That is why 4:16 says, “Therefore let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may find mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Be sure to state this fact that our High Priest, Christ, is still interceding for me in the Most Holy of Heaven, put your hope in him and look to him.